HALP! Heavy Lifting Made Me SUPAH Bulky!!!

You ladies look amazing!
I haven't looked through all of the threads so I'm not sure if this has been asked/answered but I tend to gain muscle very easily, would I be more likely to actually bulk up or does the amount of weight used matter more than how easily you can build muscle? I don't want to get too bulky but I would love to see similar results to all of you.

booyah--you are amazing! I want to be like you when I grow up!


Hey guys--been pretty shy about progress photos but here they are. You will note that in the interim, I actually did learn how to flex.



I only weigh about 3-4 pounds less in the second set of pics than the first. This was after six months--two of which were circuit training, and four of which were Stronglifts.

I'm at:
deadlift:140
squats: 115
bench: 65
OHP: 55
Rows: 75

No full pullups yet, but I've been working on negatives. I'm excited to keep progressing and my favorite part of all of this is how much stronger I am!

And a fun Halloween pic to show mah bulk.

You look awesome!!

I also love how happy you look in BOTH pictures. Says loads about your confidence, regardless of how your body looks. I envy that. :flowerforyou:

I just want to say all you ladies look awesome and beautiful. I started using the weight machines at the gym and was wondering if that is a good place to start for lifting? I will be the first to admit I am clueless when it comes to weight lifting.

Can't get enough of this thread...so many girl crushes!! LOL...Seriously, I'm newer to lifting, but you're ALL such huge inspirations and just so lovely!!

same great motivation though

You ladies look amazing!
I haven't looked through all of the threads so I'm not sure if this has been asked/answered but I tend to gain muscle very easily, would I be more likely to actually bulk up or does the amount of weight used matter more than how easily you can build muscle? I don't want to get too bulky but I would love to see similar results to all of you.

You most likely aren't gaining muscle easily. You're either retaining water in your muscles (glycogen), which makes them puffy after working them, or you're reducing body fat %, which highlights muscle definition (a.k.a, "looks like lots of muscles," not actually bulky).

Unless you have a hormonal issue (specifically testosterone) and are eating at an insane surplus, you are not going to bulk up from lifting weights. Genetics can play a role, and you'll see certain stubborn women swear up and down that they instantly look "huge" after lifting weights, but it is almost always the two issues I mentioned earlier. It is very, very difficult for a woman to gain a sizable (noticeable) quantity of muscle in a year... let alone the few months some people only put in.

I just want to say all you ladies look awesome and beautiful. I started using the weight machines at the gym and was wondering if that is a good place to start for lifting? I will be the first to admit I am clueless when it comes to weight lifting.

It's definitely a decent start, but if you want to achieve results similar to the ones in this thread, you'll need to head over the free weight area.

Stronglifts 5x5 is a good starting place (there's also a group for women here on MFP for it) and I've heard that New Rules of Lifting for Women (NROLFW) is a great book to get you started.

You can also check out a group called Eat, Train, Progress on MFP that has a ton of useful information.

Thanks I appreciate it. I will check all of those out!

Bump!

Bump

You ladies look amazing!
I haven't looked through all of the threads so I'm not sure if this has been asked/answered but I tend to gain muscle very easily, would I be more likely to actually bulk up or does the amount of weight used matter more than how easily you can build muscle? I don't want to get too bulky but I would love to see similar results to all of you.

If you eat at a devastate you will be fine.

I love this thread in any case but this brilliant example of autocorrect has just made it!!!

OP, thanks for starting this thread. Everyone has done an amazing job. I'm 4 weeks into SL. Hopefully some day I too will have comparison pics to post