Weight lifting woes + multiple bonus questions

StrongCurves
StrongCurves Posts: 31
in Fitness and Exercise
Please bare with me, as I try to voice my many questions in a comprehendable manner :P

I'm a female, 22, currently weighing in at 134lbs (17lbs lost!). I eat 1600 calories a day and have a healthy and balanced diet.

I started lifting about 2 and half months ago and have experienced fantastic and quick results from doing so. Seeing as I've never successfully lost weight before and have been borderline overweight since I was 12, I realised I actually have no idea what my body looks like without all the cushioning. I believe counting calories and lifting has been the reason for my rapid weight loss. However my body is losing fat in all the wrong places (I know I have no control over this) so, my question is...If I stop lifting will I lose all my muscle and strength? What I am today is a girl with a pot belly and very muscley back and thighs. My arms looked toned and I love them, and the muscley legs I kind of dig as well. but my back is getting very broad and defined and I'm not too much a fan of that. I started to dislike what I was seeing about a month ago but enjoyed lifting so much I didn't want to stop and of course in that month my back has become more defined and broader. I said this too my trainer and he just said "no it's nice just keep increasing reps until you can increase weight" which I didn't really understand, I thought if I kepted using the same weights I could maintain my muscles and prevent them from changing at all, but then again I know nothing about this sort of stuff and he's the expert I guess, right? :S

I was thinking of switching my routine to just jogging (love to jog) for a while and counting calories while doing some bodyweight compound exercises at home for my arms to keep them looking trim and maybe let my back settle down a bit. I have a funny feeling that that's not how it works however. I'm guessing if you can't control where you lose fat then you can't control where you lose muscle?

I recently bought a copy of Bret Contreras Strong curves and am thinking of doing the glutes only work out plan at the gym instead of the fully body to try and get the womanly figure that I'm after. Thoughts anyone?

Bonus question for the ladies... I lost about a stone in just under two months (which I was not expecting at all!!) and I'm now 3 weeks late for my period. I've read that losing a lot of weight quite quickly can do that, anyone else had similar experiences? I'm ususally like clockwork.

Not really a question, just a statement... I miss my boobs, I know they so valiently sacraficed themselves so that I could lose weight, but still. I miss those guys.

Replies

  • Menix8
    Menix8 Posts: 210 Member
    Honestly, I have a really hard time believing that your back is "very broad and defined" after less than 3 months of lifting. And I think "spot toning" is about as stupid as "spot reduction", so I would encourage you to follow Strong Curves the way it's written, and not pick and choose only the glute exercises.

    The fact is a strong back and built legs only work to made your waist appear that much smaller. Seriously, google any of the IFBB bikini pros; they all have incredible "womanly figures" and I can guarantee you they work their backs (as you should).

    Edited to clarify: Not doubting your progress, but I think your perception of your back might be different than other people's; we often have vastly different views on our own body, and it's likely that most people think your back looks great, and not too broad at all.
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    i agree with the above poster in that your back probably isnt as broad as you think, but you can lose muscle by not working that particular muscle group if you are in a deficit. its called muscle atrophy

    if you work only your glutes in a surplus you will gain muscle mostly in your glutes, just like how you see alot of guys at the gym with big biceps and hardly any leg mass, because they sit there and curl for days but cant do a squat to save their life

    its not recommended though, you could end up looking really disproportionate, and in certain cases working one muscle group without working another can lead in injury
  • Fujiberry
    Fujiberry Posts: 400 Member
    If you switch to bodyweight (which is not going to give you any strength. Endurance, yes), and do cardio, you'll lose both fat and muscle.
    Unless you're doing calisthenics, but that's pretty hard for most people to do without a good strength base.

    No, you shouldn't pick and choose parts of a program, especially if you're a beginner. You don't have a good idea on how to manipulate your training and calories just yet, so I wouldn't suggest it. In fact, most people greatly overestimate the amount of muscle they have when the first start lifting. About your 'wide back'-- It takes people years to do that, so i wouldn't worry about it.

    Like you said, you can't choose where you lose fat from. Keep going and your body will even itself out.
  • random_user75
    random_user75 Posts: 157 Member
    If you switch to bodyweight (which is not going to give you any strength. Endurance, yes), and do cardio, you'll lose both fat and muscle.
    Unless you're doing calisthenics, but that's pretty hard for most people to do without a good strength base.

    No, you shouldn't pick and choose parts of a program, especially if you're a beginner. You don't have a good idea on how to manipulate your training and calories just yet, so I wouldn't suggest it. In fact, most people greatly overestimate the amount of muscle they have when the first start lifting. About your 'wide back'-- It takes people years to do that, so i wouldn't worry about it.

    Like you said, you can't choose where you lose fat from. Keep going and your body will even itself out.

    Body weight exercises won't give you strength?
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    If you switch to bodyweight (which is not going to give you any strength. Endurance, yes), and do cardio, you'll lose both fat and muscle.
    Unless you're doing calisthenics, but that's pretty hard for most people to do without a good strength base.

    No, you shouldn't pick and choose parts of a program, especially if you're a beginner. You don't have a good idea on how to manipulate your training and calories just yet, so I wouldn't suggest it. In fact, most people greatly overestimate the amount of muscle they have when the first start lifting. About your 'wide back'-- It takes people years to do that, so i wouldn't worry about it.

    Like you said, you can't choose where you lose fat from. Keep going and your body will even itself out.

    Body weight exercises won't give you strength?
    better results would be had from a proper strength routine but they will with adequate intensity and nutrition to a degree, eventually you'll hit the point where your strength catches up to your weight though and then they wont do much for strength
  • StrongCurves
    StrongCurves Posts: 31
    Just a quick point, in the book there are two seperate routines one is full body and one is glutes only, i'm not picking and choosing parts out of the routine. And I think youre right, it probably is mine own perception. Perhaps because my tummy is the last place that's shifting weight that I feel stocky. Hopefully it will even itself out in the coming months x
  • rejectuf
    rejectuf Posts: 487 Member
    Keep lifting, use all your muscles. Doing only glutes is just going to end up slowing down your progress and potentially create muscle imbalances.
  • rejectuf
    rejectuf Posts: 487 Member
    Just a quick point, in the book there are two seperate routines one is full body and one is glutes only, i'm not picking and choosing parts out of the routine. And I think youre right, it probably is mine own perception. Perhaps because my tummy is the last place that's shifting weight that I feel stocky. Hopefully it will even itself out in the coming months x

    Some people just naturally hold weight in their abdomen. I went down to 10% body fat and I swear it's literally all stored in my gut.

    You lost weight and gained strength doing a lifting routine. Why change it now?
  • Fujiberry
    Fujiberry Posts: 400 Member
    If you switch to bodyweight (which is not going to give you any strength. Endurance, yes), and do cardio, you'll lose both fat and muscle.
    Unless you're doing calisthenics, but that's pretty hard for most people to do without a good strength base.

    No, you shouldn't pick and choose parts of a program, especially if you're a beginner. You don't have a good idea on how to manipulate your training and calories just yet, so I wouldn't suggest it. In fact, most people greatly overestimate the amount of muscle they have when the first start lifting. About your 'wide back'-- It takes people years to do that, so i wouldn't worry about it.

    Like you said, you can't choose where you lose fat from. Keep going and your body will even itself out.

    Body weight exercises won't give you strength?

    The reason why people increase their weights when lifting is because the body adapts to the weight, and the weight becomes easier. During bodyweight exercises, you are using your own weight, and your body, like with all other weights, will adapt to this resistance.
    Unless you're doing harder and harder tricks (calisthenics) and you know what you're doing, I don't recommend sticking to bodyweight exercises to gain strength.

    For strength, you need 1-6 reps. For muscle, 7-12 reps.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    "I recently bought a copy of Bret Contreras Strong curves and am thinking of doing the glutes only work out plan at the gym instead of the fully body to try and get the womanly figure that I'm after. Thoughts anyone?"

    Train to create muscular imbalances. Sounds like a good idea.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    Certain bodyweight exercises are excellent, such as Dips, Pull-ups / Chin-ups, and Planks. Air Squats are a waste, you do them when you go take a crap or pee (ladies), why do them on purpose?

    Don't think of individual body parts, glutes, hips, etc, but think of your muscles as one big chain. Dysfunction or weakness in one can lead to injury in another. Ideally use compound movements as they basically train everything, and add a couple things like Bret's glute-bridges if you feel it's necessary. A strong person will typically have a strong back.
  • Anniebotnen
    Anniebotnen Posts: 332 Member
    Just a quick point, in the book there are two seperate routines one is full body and one is glutes only, i'm not picking and choosing parts out of the routine. And I think youre right, it probably is mine own perception. Perhaps because my tummy is the last place that's shifting weight that I feel stocky. Hopefully it will even itself out in the coming months x
    Bret actually recommends the "glutes only" routine in the book for most women. That routine includes a number of compound exercises (such as squats and deadlifts) so that you actually work your entire body, there are just no specific exercises for back, chest and arms.I say try it and see what kind of results you get. Although I agree with others that your back probably is not as disproportionately wide and muscly as you think!

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