Lightweight resistance for inverted triangle shape

Wow. Um, I'm not sure where to start. I have big shoulders and man arms. So did my grandma. It's genetic. Depriving yourself of heavy strength exercises for the upper body that will make you stronger in an attempt to change your body shape won't work. Let's face it, we're girls. Adding muscle mass to make that area even larger is darn near impossible, so you'll likely either a) stay the same. or b) get a little smaller as you lose fat and your muscles tighten up. Unless you're taking testosterone. Then you may get bigger.

Pick up a copy of New Rules of Lifting or Starting Strength and ignore the Yahoo.

Are you doing dumbell exercises of 25 lbs for each arm or total? Because if you are wanting to do it to lose fat then I would suggest higher reps at much lower weight. Lots of reps at 10 lbs or even 15 lbs may help you more. But if you are wanting to bulk then you are fine.

Also, ignore this guy.

Are you doing dumbell exercises of 25 lbs for each arm or total? Because if you are wanting to do it to lose fat then I would suggest higher reps at much lower weight. Lots of reps at 10 lbs or even 15 lbs may help you more. But if you are wanting to bulk then you are fine.

Also, ignore this guy.

^^ This.

You know, it honestly seems to me like no one really read your post lol. But i guess they basically just saying what this woman is:

Wow. Um, I'm not sure where to start. I have big shoulders and man arms. So did my grandma. It's genetic. Depriving yourself of heavy strength exercises for the upper body that will make you stronger in an attempt to change your body shape won't work. Let's face it, we're girls. Adding muscle mass to make that area even larger is darn near impossible, so you'll likely either a) stay the same. or b) get a little smaller as you lose fat and your muscles tighten up. Unless you're taking testosterone. Then you may get bigger.

Pick up a copy of New Rules of Lifting or Starting Strength and ignore the Yahoo.

In other words, go ahead and lift heavy because there is no way that your going to way up one morning and say 'damn i look like the hulk'.

But i'm reading in your post that you already kinda feel that way. Let me first say you are gorgeous and i personally feel that you could lift as heavy as you want and that you would end up looking better (And that you would think you looked better).

Perhaps you should look into body weight exercises such as push ups and pull ups. there is a lot more out there. I wouldn't call body weight exercises - light weight exercises, but there not the kind of resistance training thats going to promote mass building. but it will burn a lot of calories, builds strength and develop the muscle.

Lifting heavy, 8 reps or less, thats mass building. I'm sensing that you ultimately want to lose fat. The pharmacists i work with tell me its biochemically impossible to build mass in the form of muscle, while losing mass in the form of fat. And i mean, it makes sense, one you invariably have to eat less then you use, the other you invariably have to eat more... to expect to do both at once is kinda crazy.

I think we've all experinced losing fat and getting stronger. But just because you are lifting more weight or more reps dosen't necessairly mean you've added muscle mass.

Sorry to go off on the tangent.

Light weight high reps will really only have one effect in the long run: greater muscular endurance.

For the best results, regardless of your "inverted triangle build" (whatever that means) work your whole body by doing compound lifts with heavy weights for low reps.

Compound lifts:
Squat
Deadlift
Bench press
Rows
Pull-ups/chinups
Military/Overhead press

The weights you choose are relative to your current physical condition. Heavy enough is when you struggle to finish the last few reps in a set of 6-8 reps.

I have already encorporated all of those into my workouts and I'm already doing a lift heavy low reps routine.
I was wondering more so if I should stick to what I'm doing or change it up because of my body shape

Inverted triangle meaning I have very broad shoulders and tiny little non existent hips, I was a swimmer for a long time, picture a swimmers body (although mine isn't as fit at the moment) . I hold all my weight in my back and chest, very frustrating, I'm just looking for the best thing for me.

Like I said, you are a Y but need to become an X which means going on a leg development program in order to balance the top half. The narrow waist can stay, I am sure you agree. If you are asking to lose muscle from the top half then the diet and exercise programs become very unusual to say the least, like avoiding protein apart from minimum, lower fat, high carbs and then light weight routines whilst doing cario, like shoulder pressing whilst on the elliptical trainer. Sounds crazy, but a TV program in the UK took two bodybuilders who felt they had gone too far in their look and wanted to train down and two very skinny guys who wanted to mass gain. The bodybuilders lost weight and muscle mass but went from the bodybuilder look to fitness model look.