How to attain a slender look

It's a good read and not much different what you see heavy lifters saying in many of the "I don't want to look bulky" threads. His big point is to focus on fat loss and then avoid progressive overload as the person progresses.

I quote from the article:

My primary advice to ladies seeking the “slender model look,” however, is the following:

Wait until you start getting “bulky” or “overly muscular” until you decide to switch up your training.

Start off training just like other fit women. Wait til you get too bulky to admonish heavy strength training. Many women never bulk up or develop bulging muscles. This is why the typical strength training advice – to focus on progressive overload on a handful of primary movement patterns – works for a good percentage of women.

Moreover, any muscle that a women packs on will elevate their metabolic rate and help them lose bodyfat. So the training itself and the adaptations the training imposes will help women reduce their bodyfat levels and improve body composition.

Considering that 69% of Americans are either overweight or obese, most women should be more concerned with losing weight and fat rather than packing on muscle. When women lean out sufficiently, they lose the fat that hides their muscles so that they can start to see whether or not they indeed have too much muscle.

hmmmmm I cant decide what id prefer slender look or some muscles here and there, either way that was great read, need to make choice!

"In summary, training plans should be tailored to the individual and are dependent upon genetics, logistics, preferences, and goals. There is no one-size fits all approach to strength training and we all need to respect the various training methodologies."

- Bret Contreras in "How to Attain a Slender Look (like Jessica Alba & Zoe Saldana)"

This is so true. I wish more held this perspective.

Yes! That quote needs to be repeated on MFP constantly! Some people forget that everyone is different and will get upset and quit trying if they aren't getting the same results as someone else. "Well how come (s)he lost 20lbs and looks toned, but when I did the same routine, I only lost 5lbs and still look 'soft'?!! Waaahhh! I give up!" *facepalm* Tailor your training and caloric intake to yourself to get the results you are looking for in your body, not someone else's.

Really, really interesting.

Now, I've just got to get to the stage where this is an issue :laugh:

bump for later

Bump for later.

Good info thanks for the link

Bump

"Now, the majority of lifters (men and women) aren’t very good at lifting. They never progress that far because they don’t understand proper form, proper intensity, and proper program design. Therefore, there’s a sort of built-in safety net for female lifters not seeking advanced muscular development. When very good coaches and trainers train their clients, however, they often achieve very rapid results. Skilled female lifters with good kinaesthetic awareness and a genetic propensity toward building muscle tend to see rapid results too, and these are the ladies who speak up and heavy progressive resistance training and its tendency to add too much bulk. The typical response in the industry to these ladies is to tell them that women are unable to get too muscular. This is both foolish and myopic as it depends on the woman’s training, genetics, and goals." -- from the article

I liked this part a lot. Finally, it's refreshing to see somebody mentioning this fact about women's bodies in an honest and open way. I'm sick of the "if you're a woman, you'll never bulk up while lifting heavy" nonsense that's regurgitated over and over again. Of course most women will not...but some will...and it's time people recognized and acknowledged that. For some women, that's their goal. For others, it isn't. And that's fine!

I like Bret's emphasis that it's ok to have different fitness goals. Everyone can do whatever they want to their own body.