BodyPump - How NOT to bulk??

Christie248
Christie248 Posts: 3
in Fitness and Exercise
I have started taking bodypump classes which i love, but I have a huuge fear of bulking up.. I don't want huge thighs or massive biceps and I know they say you won't bulk up and there's thin/nicely toned girls at the front doing it with pretty heavy weights which i guess is living proof they havn't bulked up but can anyone actually explain why pushing weights doesn't give you big muscles just to get it in my head?

Oh, and I'm planning on keeping up with bodypump twice a week and cardio the other days

On the bodypump note - squats and lunges don't make mu gluteals sore :( what am i doing wrong?! I don't have my knees over my toes, i try to keep the weight in my heels, my back is straight etc etc so why doesn't it get by bum muscles!? It just makes my thighs burn

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks :)

Replies

  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
    Unless you take steroids, you will never bulk up from Pump.

    I squat much heavier than you ever will in Pump, and my only bulk is the 25kgs I've still got left to lose.
  • littlebudgie
    littlebudgie Posts: 279 Member
    In order to bulk, you need to be eating more than you burn in a day. It also takes quite a bit of work - with concentrated effort, eating excess, focusing on protein, etc, a pound of muscle a week is considered very good progress for men, and half that for women. So unless you're trying to bulk, it's unlikely to happen.
  • Christie248
    Christie248 Posts: 3
    Okay good, thanks guys - this is encouraging!
    So does it just help burn fat and tone/strengthen?

    I think i just have this mental block where I can't accept how you can still be getting skinnier while being able to lift heavier and heavier weights as you get stronger? In my mind the more weights you lift = the stronger you get = the more muscle mass/bulk you will put on
  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
    there's thin/nicely toned girls at the front doing it with pretty heavy weights which i guess is living proof they havn't bulked up

    And there's your evidence! :smile:
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
    Okay good, thanks guys - this is encouraging!
    So does it just help burn fat and tone/strengthen?

    I think i just have this mental block where I can't accept how you can still be getting skinnier while being able to lift heavier and heavier weights as you get stronger? In my mind the more weights you lift = the stronger you get = the more muscle mass/bulk you will put on

    Strength and muscle mass aren't the same thing.

    You can gain strength and not put on muscle mass.
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    Put simply you have nothing to build muscle from in a deficit.

    If you don't give a builder bricks, what would he extend your house with? As many workouts under the sun won't build an extension without the raw materials.
  • littlebudgie
    littlebudgie Posts: 279 Member
    You're also developing your central nervous system, which controls your muscles. Learning how to get more out of them, go longer, etc. I thought I had a good article explaining how the central nervous system works with strength training, but I can't find it. Hopefully someone else does.

    But in a nutshell, strength does not necessarily mean mass.
  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
    Put simply you have nothing to build muscle from in a deficit.

    If you don't give a builder bricks, what would he extend your house with? As many workouts under the sun won't build an extension without the raw materials.

    Brilliant analogy! Going to shamelessly steal this for future posts!
  • Christie248
    Christie248 Posts: 3
    Awesome, thanks guys! Will participate much more keenly now I know I won't end up huge :P

    Any tips for making squats and lunges hurt my bum muscles??
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
    Awesome, thanks guys! Will participate much more keenly now I know I won't end up huge :P

    Any tips for making squats and lunges hurt my bum muscles??

    Yeah. Lift heavier weights. :wink:
  • HelloDan
    HelloDan Posts: 712 Member
    Awesome, thanks guys! Will participate much more keenly now I know I won't end up huge :P

    Any tips for making squats and lunges hurt my bum muscles??

    Go deep!
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
    The only time I really get sore from squats and lunges is working to complete failure, incorporating plyometrics, or doing squats as part of my pole dancing class. So by this I mean I only get sore when I challenge my body in new ways that it's not accustomed to.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    Awesome, thanks guys! Will participate much more keenly now I know I won't end up huge :P

    Any tips for making squats and lunges hurt my bum muscles??

    Having muscle soreness is not necessarily the sign of a great workout.

    However, add more weight and/or squat and lunge lower, and be sure to squeeze your thigh and glute muscles as you rise back up which will all add more intensity to your workouts and increase the intensity on the muscles.
  • leketchup
    leketchup Posts: 27 Member
    Huge man like muscles.. very common fear in ladies who has zero experience in gym. You girls produce natural GH nearly nothing comparing to what male does. The only thing you need to worry about is man jaw, because you will be beautiful if you train heavy.
  • crazihel
    crazihel Posts: 72 Member
    Hey, like everyone else said - do not worry about it. I've been doing pump for 3 years and have increased my weights from beginner light weights to pretty damn heavy and I haven't bulked up at all. What I will say is doing pump just once/twice a week will tone you up but slowly. It's recommended to do it 3 times a week (according to my class teachers) for maximum benefit. That said I love the class, the music is great & it burns calories so just keep enjoying it :)
  • PurpleTina
    PurpleTina Posts: 390 Member
    Short answer; not enough testosterone. Girls don't have as much, which is why we cannot look as muscular as the guys.
  • mdizzle99
    mdizzle99 Posts: 169 Member
    In order to bulk, you need to be eating more than you burn in a day. It also takes quite a bit of work - with concentrated effort, eating excess, focusing on protein, etc, a pound of muscle a week is considered very good progress for men, and half that for women. So unless you're trying to bulk, it's unlikely to happen.

    Even building muscle that fast would be incredible. Half that would still be considered pretty amazing.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    All the talking won't make a difference to how you feel. Just monitor yourself every day. If one morning you look in the mirror and see changes you don't like then just do Body Combat for a week or two. In the event that you wake up one morning and look like Arnie S then please take photos. It'll go viral and make you rich. :smile:
  • jsan5933
    jsan5933 Posts: 33
    seriously? everyone that i see doing body pump gets fatter over time and i've been going to the gym for about 10 years now. i don't do body pump anymore unless its a rest day. if you want to actually get toned but not bulk, you need to lift heavier weights- bodypump is practically like cardio... (well not exactly but you know what i mean)

    you only bulk up if you take steroids aka michelle bridges or female bodybuilders.
  • PurpleTina
    PurpleTina Posts: 390 Member
    seriously? everyone that i see doing body pump gets fatter over time and i've been going to the gym for about 10 years now. i don't

    the only person who is fat in my class is me, and I am 68lbs down since I started Pump. Glad I don't go to your class to be honest :laugh: )
  • jsan5933
    jsan5933 Posts: 33
    yeah i haven't figured out why everyone who keeps doing the class has gotten fat. lol.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    yeah i haven't figured out why everyone who keeps doing the class has gotten fat. lol.

    Eating to reward their hard work. Watch them head straight for the Starbucks in the gym. :D
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    you only bulk up if you take steroids aka michelle bridges or female bodybuilders.

    You wouldn't bulk up on a calorie deficit on steroids.

    Basic rule of the universe:

    energy cannot be created, only transferred.

    Nothing alters this fact.
  • kingofcrunk
    kingofcrunk Posts: 372 Member
    I do body pump quite regularly and I am definitely not bulking and have no chance of bulking up from it. I've noticed some extra toning and personal strength (which I'm pleased with!) but there is nothing bulky about the transformation. Don't worry at all - you'll be fine!

Categories