Anyone debulked ? I'm not liking my size!
Kim55555
Posts: 987 Member
Hi
Has anyone here lost some muscle mass on purpose? I have been lifting heavy for the past couple of years and around 9 months ago I started to see some real definition in my arms which was so very exciting!! It has also been exciting and I have been thrilled watching my shape change. I love the hard firm muscle too!
But over the past 6 months or so I'm really not liking what I see. I'm just a bit too big and would like to lean out a bit and not look so stocky. I have that short stocky athletic build.
I've been doing a reset for the past 7 weeks and continued to lift very heavy. I didnt realise it at the time but I was actually bulking lol. I have been experimenting to see how much I can eat without putting on weight so most days i've been eating above 2500 and a lot higher. I had my measurements taken the other day and i put 1 cm on my arms, 2 cm on my chest, but also lost 1 cm off my waist and 1.5 off my hips. I put on 1.3 kg. This is compared to January 8 measurements. I started the reset February 2nd.
You can read my story here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/919536-get-your-metabolic-rate-tested-my-metabolic-reset-story
and here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/886127-my-rmr-low-at-875-working-to-increase-it
Anyway i'm taking a break from the weights for a while as i'm still in surplus. I'm trying hard to eat at tdee but finding it tough to hit it as my appetite has now been switched on lol. I really need to eat as close to 2500 as I can but most days I eat more.
Even when I was in defecit by 10 or even 20% I was looking quite big. I actually managed to put on 4 cm around my legs in the space of 3 months eating at 20% defecit wow, I couldn't believe it haha. You dont always have to be in surplus to put on mass!!
Wondering if anyone wants to debulk too?
Thing is I am really missing the heavy weights!!! I love the buzz I get from it, and its a great challenge to get stronger but i'm not liking what im seeing in the mirror!!! Also I'm finding it harder to clothes shop. Clothes fit around the waist but sometimes are too tight around the shoulders and chest.
Oh I just though of another option. They say its 6-12 reps when training for hyperthrophy, 12-15 for endurance and 1-5 reps for strength. Do you think maybe if I concentrated on just 2-3 reps with an ultra heavy weight for 3 sets that I could gain strength without putting on size?? Anyone done this. Its either that or perhaps I could try 15 reps to just concentrate on maintaining the muscle that I have.
Has anyone here lost some muscle mass on purpose? I have been lifting heavy for the past couple of years and around 9 months ago I started to see some real definition in my arms which was so very exciting!! It has also been exciting and I have been thrilled watching my shape change. I love the hard firm muscle too!
But over the past 6 months or so I'm really not liking what I see. I'm just a bit too big and would like to lean out a bit and not look so stocky. I have that short stocky athletic build.I've been doing a reset for the past 7 weeks and continued to lift very heavy. I didnt realise it at the time but I was actually bulking lol. I have been experimenting to see how much I can eat without putting on weight so most days i've been eating above 2500 and a lot higher. I had my measurements taken the other day and i put 1 cm on my arms, 2 cm on my chest, but also lost 1 cm off my waist and 1.5 off my hips. I put on 1.3 kg. This is compared to January 8 measurements. I started the reset February 2nd.
You can read my story here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/919536-get-your-metabolic-rate-tested-my-metabolic-reset-story
and here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/886127-my-rmr-low-at-875-working-to-increase-it
Anyway i'm taking a break from the weights for a while as i'm still in surplus. I'm trying hard to eat at tdee but finding it tough to hit it as my appetite has now been switched on lol. I really need to eat as close to 2500 as I can but most days I eat more.
Even when I was in defecit by 10 or even 20% I was looking quite big. I actually managed to put on 4 cm around my legs in the space of 3 months eating at 20% defecit wow, I couldn't believe it haha. You dont always have to be in surplus to put on mass!!
Wondering if anyone wants to debulk too?
Thing is I am really missing the heavy weights!!! I love the buzz I get from it, and its a great challenge to get stronger but i'm not liking what im seeing in the mirror!!! Also I'm finding it harder to clothes shop. Clothes fit around the waist but sometimes are too tight around the shoulders and chest.
Oh I just though of another option. They say its 6-12 reps when training for hyperthrophy, 12-15 for endurance and 1-5 reps for strength. Do you think maybe if I concentrated on just 2-3 reps with an ultra heavy weight for 3 sets that I could gain strength without putting on size?? Anyone done this. Its either that or perhaps I could try 15 reps to just concentrate on maintaining the muscle that I have.
0
Replies
-
I replied on another thread but I think you'd do well just to maintain your muscle, focus on endurance, not strength and do a cut at the same time. It would be a shame to lose the mass you've attained! I think once you've cut some fat, you'll be pleased and it wouldn't make sense to deliberately let your muscles shrink at this point. After all, they are a huge part of why your metabolism is so good!0
-
Sounds like your in a bulk stage.. which would mean your getting bigger.. muscle and fat.. To Debulk, or cut.. you need to eat in a smaller deficit while still lifting.. I would suggest going off BF%, find out where you are.. and then try to get to the percentage for the body type you want..
I didn't read the other 2 links you put on, but debulking or purposely losing muscle is probably not something most people are going to support... as (I am guessing your a female) its hard for you to put muscle on, and I am sure the bulky feeling your seeing is more due to a higher BF% then muscle mass.. as woman getting bulky like men is pretty hard to do.. especially if just looking at those link names you were undereating.0 -
Oh my don't stop lifting, just shift gears. Drop to 60% 1RM and increase reps. While increasing cardio a tadbit.0
-
Hi Kim,
I am in the same place, enjoying the muscle but hating looking "big" (I am 5'4" and 160 pounds with a very athletic build, thick legs and *kitten*). I notice that some blouses are too tight in the arms, which feels awful.
During my reset I did zero cardio and lifted heavy 4X/week. Now I'm lifting 3X/week, not as heavy, adding cardio, and
eating at a SLIGHT deficit - none of that 1400 calorie a day BS I did before. Am hoping I can burn some of this fat off while still maintaining as much muscle as possible.0 -
This is me! I have gained about 8lbs since starting to lift last June. My bras don't fit and some of my pants dont fit. I like how toned I feel but I definately have some fat in my tummy area now. I don't mean to hijack your thread but I don't think I understand how to cut. Can someone help?
I am currently doing NROL Fat Loss and the reps are at 10. This whole time I have been weight lifting I have been struggling with my true TDEE. I dont know if I am measuring right and I dont know my body fat. Tomorrow I am getting my body fat tested. Yeah! Once I get my body fat then I can plug it in Heybales spreadsheet and hopefully come up with my true TDEE.
So to cut, how many reps should I be doing? What % should I cut from TDEE?0 -
@ Lucia, translate please...0
-
I haven't done a real bulk but over bulking was a concern for me too. Where's the happy medium?0
-
If you don't increase the load, you maintain.
If you decrease the load while in a deficit, you can chance losing it.
It's difficult, selecting which muscles you'll work out lighter, and then you do them endurance style, up to 2 x 20 reps.
That will many times help get rid of retained water. Sometimes doing isolation lifts through full range of motion will help lengthen the muscle fiber too. Many compound lifts are narrow range of motion for some muscle group.0 -
Curious what your current program looks like?0
-
Ya guys don't need to decrease weight or your exercise routine (though you should be pushing yourself if your able to easily get past rep 8 on your lifts.. by that meaning INCREASE weight).. You need to create a deficit from your TDEE but not a huge one you want to drop BF%..
So if your eating currently and the scale is increasing, and your measurements are increasing.. you need to eat less.. 100 or so, if still going up, another 100 til it stops or scale decreases then Eat correctly (Protein!!!) and put 100% into your workouts... BF% will drop.0 -
As far as not getting bigger, once you are happy with the amount of muscle you have, you need to just maintain your strength and no longer eat at a *surplus*. Don't give your body a reason to build more muscle (overload & surplus).
My advice would be.
Eat at a modest deficit (250-500) and lift to maintain where you are at and see if you like where your at when you are it your ideal bf percentage.
ETA: Kim I don't recommend eating more calories than you need and backing off excercise. That is how most of us found our way to this site in the first place (ie. We got fat)0 -
Hi
Thanks for the encouagement and help everyone!
I have decided to do a mixture of heavy lifting and endurance type lifting. Today I started eating at a defecit again so I dont put on any more muscle. This will actually be a good incentive for me not to eat over my tdee because I now know what the consequences are lol.
I have really missed the weights!!!! Its been 8 days now since I have lifted. I'm totally miserable.
I have some photos i'm currently working on uploading to photobucket. I want to share with you my transformation from December 2009 - December 2012. I've lost around 32 kg since April 2010. 0 -
Oh and guess how much I lost from the christmas 2011 pic to christmas 2012 pic ! I will upload some more pics of me in my gym gear tomorrow.
0 -
Kim, you look great and congrats on your transformation! I am going through a similar thing right now so feel free to send me a friend request, we can support each other! 0
-
thanks 0
