Naturally big body parts!

iceey
iceey Posts: 354 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Not what you are thinking - dirty minds!

I wanted to know from you all if you chose to work less on a body part, eg arms or legs if you are naturally larger there and gain muscle faster but would prefer not to have them get even larger than they are.

I have no issue with being strong or having muscles, but my arms have always been large and gain muscle faster than other parts. I don't wish to focus on them too much and have them get even bigger in relation to the rest of me, so I often will not do muscle work on them as much as other body parts.

What do you think? Should I "go hard" and work all parts equally or is it common to try to focus muscle gains on other parts that need more work?

Replies

  • iceey
    iceey Posts: 354 Member
    no opinions/input?
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • grace42d
    grace42d Posts: 156 Member
    I would also be interested in an answer to this. Eople always comment on by big arms. "What do you do to get such strong shoulders?" My answer - Nothing. My shoulders have always been big along with my biceps and it pisses me off.

    however, i just decided to go ahead and do the 30 day shred, and hoping not to get even bigger.

    Any suggestions on how to not get bigger lifting weights?
  • m4ttcheek
    m4ttcheek Posts: 229 Member
    Just don't isolate your bi's and tri's. You'll still need to train chest, shoulders and back though
  • cwojo
    cwojo Posts: 156 Member
    Unless you are taking something you will not get huge arms but you will get toned arms. Women just don't get huge unless they take something.
  • newcs
    newcs Posts: 717 Member
    I have naturally large and muscular calves so I do virtually no exercises (besides walking/running) to specifically target them. I have a hard time really working them to a point that makes an impact anyway so it's wasted effort in my mind. Instead, I focus on my quads/glutes/hamstrings and upper body to balance it all out.
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    That's an interesting hypothetical question to me. I can't imagine any of my muscles ever getting bigger than I'd like, but if they did, I don't know what I'd do because I love lifting weights and I'd be sad to have to cut back lol :sad: But, yea, I think if you are wanting to grow one body part and not another, you'd want to focus your training on those muscles so squat and deadlift more than you row and press ...? Maybe do 1 full body day and 2 just lower body days...? Of course, if you're on a surplus to gain muscle in your lower body, you're going to gain some fat all over.

    I'm 99.99999% sure I'll never be in that situation though :wink: My muscles are teensy lol
  • newcs
    newcs Posts: 717 Member
    Unless you are taking something you will not get huge arms but you will get toned arms. Women just don't get huge unless they take something.

    Not necessarily true (case in point: women with PCOS may gain mass more readily than the average female)
  • jenniferrusso7393
    jenniferrusso7393 Posts: 189 Member
    I agree with newcs... I think some women are just naturally able to get larger muscles than others...
  • Cr01502
    Cr01502 Posts: 3,614 Member
    I found that when I was heavier I used to think I had certain body parts that were disproportionate.

    They were and it wasn't because of muscle it was because of fat.

    But as my body fat came off and I did compound strength exercises I found that really my body was pretty proportionate.

    My advice OP would be to train your entire body equally.
  • brokenjawedmuse
    brokenjawedmuse Posts: 132
    I love when people say that naturally women don't get bulky.

    Clearly, I am a special snowflake because my body puts on muscle like a BOSS. (And no PCOS here thankfully) Though, that's not to say I'm going to get as big as a man doing the same lifting, but I will definitely get bigger than majority of women. I know, I've seen me do it!
  • carolyn0613
    carolyn0613 Posts: 162 Member
    I have been thinking about this too. My thoughts go in two directions, and i'm not saying that they are entirely scientific directions....
    1. for fast results build up the muscles you've got, so that you have more muscle to burn off your calories
    2. build up the weaker ones to get a more even body.

    I'm just fat at the moment so am favouring option 1. Maybe once I get to goal weight I will move to option 2
  • liftingcoach
    liftingcoach Posts: 65 Member
    There are also different ways to train body parts to achieve different goals. The conventional thinking has always been lifting heavy with low reps can increase muscle size. While lower weights, and higher reps, can provide a less bulky, but more defined look.
  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
    You don't want to cause any imbalances, but you do want to even out if you have some. Like most people with desk jobs, my front delts are way dominant, so I do compound shoulder exercises and then isolation stuff only for my rear delts.

    And, you know, you never know. I have naturally big shoulders and am short-waisted, to the point where it was really hard to find shirts that fit. I always thought I should leave my shoulders alone, but turns out once I said screw it, I'm lifting that, everything sort of fell into balance and they look a lot more proportional now. And shirts fit better. Not sure how that one worked out, but I'll take it.
  • monipie
    monipie Posts: 280 Member
    i thought i had naturally large legs and they always did gain muscle faster than the rest of me so i did not focus too much on them but as i progressed and dropped a considerable amount of body fat i began to notice that my legs were shrinking fast and i had to train them twice as much to catch up to the rest of me so i say just train everything equally. you never know how much muscle could be under fat. i thought my legs were just big and muscular but it turns out that is where i store my fat. not saying you are fat- just saying this is my personal experience- to give you some insight.
  • nytius
    nytius Posts: 173 Member
    Good topic. I love my muscular thighs but I'm not sure I would want them to get bigger. From what I've seen in the past, (with all the fat off and no weight lifting) they are about as big (and defined) as I would want to see them. I think these are instances when even a little muscle gain gives an undesired result. However, right now I'm loving lifting. Since I still have a lot of fat to lose, I'm thinking I'll just adjust once it's burned off. If at the end my legs are too muscular for my liking...I'll adjust then but what a much better problem to have than them being just too fat LOL.
  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
    I found that when I was heavier I used to think I had certain body parts that were disproportionate.

    They were and it wasn't because of muscle it was because of fat.

    Heh, this too. Most women I know who say "but I bulk up just looking at a dumbbell!" just tend to store more fat in their arms. And yeah, your body doesn't grow/shrink proportionally like the math says it should - you'll put on a little muscle here but lose a little fat there and then freak out because you're all weird-looking. Gotta remember that it's all a work in process and there might be some messy parts along the way.
  • lcvaughn520
    lcvaughn520 Posts: 219 Member
    I think you should train equally all over. There are so many benefits to having increased muscle mass. If you counter it with enough cardio, I don't think you should bulk up TOO much. I always thought I was prone to "bulking up," because I have a more athletic build (despite not being very athletic...) but, I've started a lifting regimen in addition to cardio, and I'm finding that I'm dropping a significant amount of inches. My arms look more toned, but definitely smaller.
  • iceey
    iceey Posts: 354 Member
    Interesting perspectives. And yes, I probably am storing some fat in my arms, but I know from past experience that they do get quite muscular compared to my other parts.

    I tend to gain muscle somewhat easily in my arms and legs, but I love lifting heavy and don't want to ease up just because I might look too bulky for my liking! I am sure I'll lean up once some more fat is gone, but I don't have much to lose - I'm about 24% BF and 134lbs.

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