wanna start lifting heavier is there a chance ill bulk?

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gmelody66
gmelody66 Posts: 19
in Fitness and Exercise
i used to lift heavy as a kid thinking is was cool to be with my brother and his friends curling 30's at 10 then i stopped and i started doing lighter weights when i got older like 5's and 8's cause i heard lower weight higher rep is the way and i haven't been doing it much cause i don't see my arms shrinking (by the way i put on weight by then and i don't have the same amount of muscle there its just wiggly) so i'm thinking after seeing all these crossfit and weight lifting girls with smaller arms i should go heavier but really don't wanna have bigger arms then i do now! lol but did i screw myself up lifting as a kid? and forever gonna have bigger arms? and if i need to lift heavy how much is to much?

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  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    Um, no. Unless you're eating more you won't "bulk". Bulking isn't easy for women.

    Heavy is a relative term, do multiple sets of 5-8 reps, whatever is difficult but maintainable to lift for 5-8 reps is heavy.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    ^^^Yep

    Bulking takes an on point diet consistent of a caloric surplus, hours of progressive lifiting, takes a LONG time, and is extremely hard......for guys. It's exponentially harder for women to bulk.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    Bulking for a woman is laughably hard and requires a great deal of dedication and mental commitment.

    It absolutely 1,000,000% will not happen unless you go well out of your you way to build size.

    heavy is relative to THE PERSON.

    Because heavy is a rep range

    General guide line
    0 reps = too heavy
    1-5 = heavy lifting- strength building- minimum cardio gains
    5-10- heavy lifting - strength gains, hypertrophy/size (if the diet supports it) gains and maybe some cardiovascular gains if you are really pushing it
    10-15- not heavy- training muscle endurance- significant potential for cardio gains here.
    15+ = too light.
  • cuinboston2014
    cuinboston2014 Posts: 848 Member
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    It will have the opposite effect actually. I used to be concerned about it, too. I'm not a special snowflake but I do seem to have a larger, sturdier frame and am pretty athletic. It's never been hard for me to gain strength so I was terrified of lifting too heavy.

    Since I started lifting I've just started shrinking and minimized the jiggling. I've also got some nice, defined shoulders.

    So you won't bulk - you'll probably become more compact :)
  • WildCatClimbs
    WildCatClimbs Posts: 35 Member
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    I WISH bulking was easier. I lift heavy 3x a week and while yes I am stronger and tighter I don't really have much significant muscle mass. In fact I would kill for more but estrogen keeps shutting me down ;)

    You will tighten up, loose fat, and feel better though!
  • wolfsbayne
    wolfsbayne Posts: 3,116 Member
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    <----lifting heavy 3 times a week since November. DO IT!
  • sjaplo
    sjaplo Posts: 974 Member
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    Bulking for a woman is laughably hard and requires a great deal of dedication and mental commitment.

    It absolutely 1,000,000% will not happen unless you go well out of your you way to build size.

    heavy is relative to THE PERSON.

    Because heavy is a rep range

    General guide line
    0 reps = too heavy
    1-5 = heavy lifting- strength building- minimum cardio gains
    5-10- heavy lifting - strength gains, hypertrophy/size (if the diet supports it) gains and maybe some cardiovascular gains if you are really pushing it
    10-15- not heavy- training muscle endurance- significant potential for cardio gains here.
    15+ = too light.

    Sound advice as always.
  • gmelody66
    gmelody66 Posts: 19
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    Bulking for a woman is laughably hard and requires a great deal of dedication and mental commitment.

    It absolutely 1,000,000% will not happen unless you go well out of your you way to build size.

    heavy is relative to THE PERSON.

    Because heavy is a rep range

    General guide line
    0 reps = too heavy
    1-5 = heavy lifting- strength building- minimum cardio gains
    5-10- heavy lifting - strength gains, hypertrophy/size (if the diet supports it) gains and maybe some cardiovascular gains if you are really pushing it
    10-15- not heavy- training muscle endurance- significant potential for cardio gains here.
    15+ = too light.
    okay yeah i was lifting wayyyy to light lol and thanks cause this make it alot easier to understand
  • juliewatkin
    juliewatkin Posts: 764 Member
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    I've lifted heavy for 8 years. As you can see by my picture, I'm not over burdened with bulk. The degree to which you grow, depends on your body type but generally speaking, women don't have much worry about getting 'big'.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    okay yeah i was lifting wayyyy to light lol and thanks cause this make it alot easier to understand

    no problem :)

    unfortunately women bulking is a painful myth that I wish would just seriously die already. You are merely a victim of bad media and crappy fitness schemes

    here's a great article to read about women power lifters
    http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/top-20-things-men-should-know-about-female-powerlifters/

    I would highly suggest the following as places to research and get started on a program.
    Strong lifts
    Starting strength
    New rules of lifting
    Strong curves

    Also check out "so you think you can squat, so you think you can dead lift and bench"
    they are great youtube tutorials for form.

    Don't worry about where you start as far as weight- even if it's just the bar or a PVC pipe- form trumps weight- especially in these early stages.
  • gmelody66
    gmelody66 Posts: 19
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    i think im gonna try the strong lifts and this was super interesting and doesnt seem as hard as i thought i guess i just gotta make my bf take me to the weight room and try to explain to him im not gonna bulk cause thinks i will
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
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    i used to lift heavy as a kid thinking is was cool to be with my brother and his friends curling 30's at 10 then i stopped and i started doing lighter weights when i got older like 5's and 8's cause i heard lower weight higher rep is the way and i haven't been doing it much cause i don't see my arms shrinking (by the way i put on weight by then and i don't have the same amount of muscle there its just wiggly) so i'm thinking after seeing all these crossfit and weight lifting girls with smaller arms i should go heavier but really don't wanna have bigger arms then i do now! lol but did i screw myself up lifting as a kid? and forever gonna have bigger arms? and if i need to lift heavy how much is to much?

    sounds like you want your arms to get smaller.

    losing weight is about eating less. the only reason people suggest to lift is to hold on to muscle. mostly because the lean mass will help you burn fat and make you look better.

    but your stated goal is that you want your arms smaller. lifting is only going to reduce the amount of muscle you lose, in other words limiting how much mass you will lose in your arms.

    personally i think that would look good, but your stated goal was that you want to reduce the size of your arms.

    with that goal in mind, i would focus primairly on lower body when lifting.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
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    You activate muscle with lower weight/ higher rep workouts as well, or almost as well. Plenty of studies out there to support this. And great for athletic endurance. High rep/low weight can also incorporate this into a high intensity workout very easily for more cardio. Big thing would be diet and making sure whatever you do you are at caloric deficit. to reduce fat.
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
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    i think im gonna try the strong lifts and this was super interesting and doesnt seem as hard as i thought i guess i just gotta make my bf take me to the weight room and try to explain to him im not gonna bulk cause thinks i will


    Show him some pictures of ladies on this site who lift heavy.
  • gmelody66
    gmelody66 Posts: 19
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    Show him some pictures of ladies on this site who lift heavy.
    [/quote]

    hes still questioning it but ill make him take me ;)

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