OMG please help me.

Try out various things. Even go out and try squash, swimming, rowing, skiing, etc. you never know what you might enjoy.

When you find something that puts a huge grin on your face, while keeping you active, that's the exercise you should do.

Life is far too short to do something you don't enjoy.

Someone's probably already said this but if you are a woman, you cannot possibly get big and bulky like men. (Unless you take some steroids) You do not have the testosterone to build big bulky muscles.

Weight lifting for women is essential for things like building bone mass (and avoiding osteoporosis later in life).

do strength training but keep your body fat percentage above 22%. How defined and muscular you look depends on your body fat percentage (provided you have strong muscles, because low body fat % + no muscles = emaciated). Most women will see muscle definition somewhere between 15-18%. For a "softer" look, more like a bikini model, as in a nice shape, firm body, but not actual muscle definition, that's what you get usually around 20-22% body fat. Don't cut below that and you won't look defined.

big, bulky muscles won't happen to women without steroids, and certainly don't happen by accident. Even the above thing about muscle definition doesn't happen by accident as it's hard to sustain 18% body fat. 20-22% body fat is easier to maintain, so if the look you want is from that amount of body fat, then it's win-win for you. But yes do strength training, for health reasons and also it ensures your body's firm, not flabby.

Someone's probably already said this but if you are a woman, you cannot possibly get big and bulky like men. (Unless you take some steroids) You do not have the testosterone to build big bulky muscles.

Weight lifting for women is essential for things like building bone mass (and avoiding osteoporosis later in life).

This!

Lifting heavy things is my least favorite work out, but I can't deny the benefits. Muscle increases your metabolism and gives you a nice contour to your shoulders and legs, and the results can start quickly. The first week I did push ups I could barely do three. The next week it was so much easier, and every week I do it I can do more and do it more gracefully (instead of swearing, sweating, wimpering and begging....yeah, not pretty) And, it makes things a lot easier to do, like carry heavy bags of wood pellets for the pellet stove (40lbs) etc. So, as much as I hate lifting heavy things, and I wish I could say don't do it, I think that it can add a lot to your fitness routine without you having to make it your only workout. I found some good, free workouts on bodybuilders.com (Jaime Eason's Live Fit program is awesome) and ChaLean Extreme from Beachbody. You can always give it a try, like doing the 13 week Jaime Eason program and if you hate it and don't like the results then you know. (ps-if you do it take before and afters!)

This

You won't explode into some muscle machine just from lifting heavy.

Lift heavy, eat right. Repeat & continue.

this (unless your genetics allow for it, which is not likely)

Someone's probably already said this but if you are a woman, you cannot possibly get big and bulky like men. (Unless you take some steroids) You do not have the testosterone to build big bulky muscles.

Weight lifting for women is essential for things like building bone mass (and avoiding osteoporosis later in life).

and this

The ones that look really ripped, look that way not because they are necessarily HOOOOOGE, but more because they have a low bodyfat and you are able to see the muscle definition better.

I have been lifting since February of last year. With the exception of exactly two Zumba classes and a couple of 5K's, my workouts have been lifting.

I submit to you what happens when you get all strong and stuff from weights...



This was taken in late October...I don't think I look all that muscle-y...Or at all muscle-y. I want to look all wonderful and muscle-y...but let me tell you...that chit's some work, and I'm nowhere NEAR close...It won't happen by accident.

Just sayin'...

If you are interested in it? Give it a try. And hey...you might find that you like it and don't WANT to do anything else.

Someone's probably already said this but if you are a woman, you cannot possibly get big and bulky like men. (Unless you take some steroids) You do not have the testosterone to build big bulky muscles.

Weight lifting for women is essential for things like building bone mass (and avoiding osteoporosis later in life).

And joint health, and retaining your muscle mass. That is, your calorie burning engine. Otherwise, you will have to eat progressively less and less to maintain the same weight. No thanks!

Also, I don't see what's unnatural about having muscle, so I don't really get "natural looking". Your looks are going to be a very subjective thing that you're not really going to convey in words. A picture would be more helpful.

Bret Contreras drives me up a damn wall, but one of my friends has this link, that might be of interest to you:
http://bretcontreras.com/how-to-attain-a-slender-look-like-jessica-alba-zoe-saldana/ .

You won't explode into some muscle machine just from lifting heavy.

Lift heavy, eat right. Repeat & continue.

troof.

check this thread out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/977538-halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky

then join this group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/12919-girls-who-lift-the-guys-who-spot-them

read, learn, lift, read, learn, lift.

QFT

I showed this picture to someone and it may interest you. Even fitness models look very different when they aren't preparing to compete or model. They have more muscle definition during competition times because they have cut body fat and tanned specifically to reveal that muscle definition. Most of the time, they look healthy but not nearly as muscular.

You won't get that look by accident, even with heavy lifting. Even if you did, it certainly doesn't stay that way without hard hard work. All you'd have to do is scale back on progressive weight training.

^this.

I wish more people realized this.

You won't explode into some muscle machine just from lifting heavy.

Lift heavy, eat right. Repeat & continue.

troof.

check this thread out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/977538-halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky

then join this group: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/12919-girls-who-lift-the-guys-who-spot-them

read, learn, lift, read, learn, lift.

Quote for troof.

Total confirmation, without the testosterone levels of a man, you can't overdo the muscle look without steroids and some damned hard work that most of us haven't got time for. Strength training for women on the other hand, is not discussed enough. It has so many benefits for us which are preventative of serious aging illnesses like weak bones etc. as well as being healthy day to day.
Try this page for some helpful information x x http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1736

Try out various things. Even go out and try squash, swimming, rowing, skiing, etc. you never know what you might enjoy.

When you find something that puts a huge grin on your face, while keeping you active, that's the exercise you should do.

Life is far too short to do something you don't enjoy.

Great advice :-)

Someone's probably already said this but if you are a woman, you cannot possibly get big and bulky like men. (Unless you take some steroids) You do not have the testosterone to build big bulky muscles.

Weight lifting for women is essential for things like building bone mass (and avoiding osteoporosis later in life).

Which lends itself to an interesting question for me then...

As a woman with PCOS, my tests showed that I have two and a half times the typical testosterone level for women. Does this increase the likelihood of me bulking up if I lift weights?