How to get lean and NOT look like a body builder?

Just don't lift heavy, stick with body weight exercises and cardio.

I lift heavy and I'm not getting bigger.


:huh:

Just don't lift heavy, stick with body weight exercises and cardio.

I lift heavy and I'm not getting bigger.


:huh:

Indeed, I've been following you around the forum for months and months now, and you seem to be getting smaller!

You probably are more defined... is that what you mean?

After four solid months of healthy diet and exercise, I just keep getting bigger and bigger muscles but am not losing fat... I want to be lean and small! What can I do to get that? I currently do a lot of jogging (3-5 times a week) and various Jillian Michaels workouts 5 times a week. I eat about 1400 calories a day plus exercise calories.

Should I be eating more or less of a particular thing? Should I do more cardio? Bump up the jogs to a faster pace (I am focusing on distance.. not speed)? What am I doing wrong?

Pics? I don't see any big muscles in any of your existing pics.

yeah....got a long way to go before you hit Nicole Bass status. In fact, although I didnt stay at a Holiday Express last night, I think I can guarantee that on 1400 calories a day and JM workouts you will never ever look like Nicole Bass.

Just don't lift heavy, stick with body weight exercises and cardio.

I lift heavy and I'm not getting bigger.


:huh:

Indeed, I've been following you around the forum for months and months now, and you seem to be getting smaller!

Thanks for noticing! :flowerforyou:


I swear, I'm not a special snowflake either. Heavy lifting is an awesome way to reduce body fat. (of course, there are lots of other ways to do this as well)

It's unlikely your muscles have actually gotten "bigger" (in other words the density of myofibrils has increased) but it could be that they actually [/i]appear[/i] bigger. I know that sounds weird but bear with me....

There could be a number of reasons for this including fluid retention, inflammation and so.

However, it could be that you are storing glycogen in skeletal muscle at the training sites. This will probably be true if your carb consumption is relatively "high" (which is by no means a bad thing however.)

An easy way to test this is to cycle down carb consumption to about 100 - 120g on non training days (to ensure sufficient amounts of liver glycogen. The amounts the liver holds doesn't vary that much between men and women so this would be as true of men as it would be for women.)

On the days you do train if it includes any kind of high intensity work (weights, HIIT) or long endurance work then increase intake to about 150g or so, the majority of which consume around the time of training (preferably after if possible but that depends on the time of day you train on a practical level.) If your training goes on for more than an hour cycle up carbs by 30g or so for every additional hour trained.

If you appear to have leaned out after 4 weeks or so of trying this then the answer will be, I suspect, that your muscles did not in fact grow.

It's then up to you how you want to proceed.

I will eat my arm if heavy lifting turns you into a bodybuilder.

You are not going to accidentally get too buff. That's ridiculous. Just eat healthy, lift and do cardio in equal portions and all the pieces will fall together.

If seriously undereating and doing 30DS with extra cardio will get me lookin' like a bodybuilder, then dammit, sign me up.

If seriously undereating and doing 30DS with extra cardio will get me lookin' like a bodybuilder, then dammit, sign me up.

LOL!!!! I also loved the one who said he'd eat his own arm!! I've been lifting for awhile and I am definitely not a body builder physique lol. It has helped me drop lots of inches and fat though! Muscles starting to get more defined!