Ladies who lift (and knowledgable me)...ADVICE PLEASE!!!

fitOsaurusRex · July 2014

Hello all!

Ive been lifting off and on since 2012 but never long enough to answer the question I have. I know, as a lady, I do not create enough testerone to bulk without supplements and crazy stuff like that; i totally get that.

My question is this...when is the proper time to lift? You see a big craze in the fitness industry of women lifting heavy and knowing we won't bulk and become She-Man from it, but should we be lifting prior to getting closer to our goal weight?

The reason I ask this is the whole bulking/cutting phase. On one hand women are told we should start lifting asap and that it will help with weight loss. On the other hand, when men want to gain muscle they go on a bulk to gain weight and then cut to grow muscle. So if I've essentially bulked for most of my life, will the bulk i have start to dimish and turn to muscle? Or should I try to lose more weight before lifting? Would losing weight before lifting make my end size smaller than just lifting weights now?

I mainly ask because i'm trying to learn my body compsition and type. The more I lose the closer I get to an hourglass figure, but when I gain i'm more of a pear. I'd like to shave off some size from my thighs, and i know lifting will do this, but i dont know if i'm better off lifting now or trying to lose some inches and then doing it. I want smaller thighs but lifting in the past hasnt really make them any smaller and I didn't know if it was because i wasnt a smaller size when i started. I will embrace my muscular legs, but i'm always striving for progress and realistic goals.

i appreciate any input!

willrun4bagels · July 2014

I still have ~40lbs left before I'm at my goal, and I regret not starting to lift heavy earlier (started in May). As I am losing weight, lifting heavy makes what's left after the weight loss look a lot better... meaning I don't have any loose skin anywhere, and my body looks a lot better. Lifting when eating at a deficit to lose weight won't build any new muscle (aside from the noob muscle gains), but you retain the muscle you already have on your body. If you don't do any resistance training and lose weight, you risk losing a lot of muscle, and end up with that "skinny fat" look.

Also, I think you have the bulking/cutting definitions a bit mixed up. Bulking would be eating at a caloric surplus AND lifting weights to build new muscle (new muscle can't be built without excess energy aka calories). Gaining some fat is inevitable in the quest to gain muscle, so after someone completes a bulk, they will cut - eat at a deficit (while still lifting weights - remember... retain the muscle), to lose the fat. One does not grow muscles when cutting. Muscles may seem to be more noticeable on someone that is cutting / just coming off of a cut because they've lost the fat that covers up some of the muscles that they've worked so hard to build.

I hope this makes sense!

JoRocka · July 2014

Start lifting- yesterday.

If you're losing- you want to maximize fat loss- minimize muscle loss.

A bulk is a specific- regulated calorie surplus WITH heavy lifting. Bulking doesn't just mean over eating and over eating with abandon-or observation. It's regulated- calculated and specific in order to optimize muscle gain and minimize fat gain.

As far as you're body shape- it is what it is. The shape of your bones determines that. You may be an hour glass- but when you put on weight- you gain a lot- so you wind up appearing pear shaped- or apple shaped. There is no spot reducing- there is only weight loss or weight gain- and where and how you do that is up to your body.

When you are bulking- it tends to be a more even application- yes you'll see more gain in some areas- but you aren't going to see all that extra weight just go straight to your *kitten*.

But it seems like what you're asking is- can you spot reduce and no you can't. Odds are if you are built heavy- you're going to stay built heavy- even when I have abs- I still am bottom heavy. I'd have to lose an unacceptable amount of weight in order to have smaller legs.

So I chose not to.

Get on your squatting and dead lifting- and learn to appreciate what 'dem things can do.

fitOsaurusRex · July 2014

I still have ~40lbs left before I'm at my goal, and I regret not starting to lift heavy earlier (started in May). As I am losing weight, lifting heavy makes what's left after the weight loss look a lot better... meaning I don't have any loose skin anywhere, and my body looks a lot better. Lifting when eating at a deficit to lose weight won't build any new muscle (aside from the noob muscle gains), but you retain the muscle you already have on your body. If you don't do any resistance training and lose weight, you risk losing a lot of muscle, and end up with that "skinny fat" look.

Also, I think you have the bulking/cutting definitions a bit mixed up. Bulking would be eating at a caloric surplus AND lifting weights to build new muscle (new muscle can't be built without excess energy aka calories). Gaining some fat is inevitable in the quest to gain muscle, so after someone completes a bulk, they will cut - eat at a deficit (while still lifting weights - remember... retain the muscle), to lose the fat. One does not grow muscles when cutting. Muscles may seem to be more noticeable on someone that is cutting / just coming off of a cut because they've lost the fat that covers up some of the muscles that they've worked so hard to build.

I hope this makes sense!

thanks so much for this! it definitely does make sense...when i first started out lifting i didnt dive into the specifics of it and kind of regret it now because i'm a little ignorant to it all. i was eating lots of fruits for a while with high carb macros and am trying to get away from that now. i'm adjusting my macros up a little to decrease carbs and increase protein and i'm hoping that will help a little too.

fitOsaurusRex · July 2014

Start lifting- yesterday.

If you're losing- you want to maximize fat loss- minimize muscle loss.

A bulk is a specific- regulated calorie surplus WITH heavy lifting. Bulking doesn't just mean over eating and over eating with abandon-or observation. It's regulated- calculated and specific in order to optimize muscle gain and minimize fat gain.

As far as you're body shape- it is what it is. The shape of your bones determines that. You may be an hour glass- but when you put on weight- you gain a lot- so you wind up appearing pear shaped- or apple shaped. There is no spot reducing- there is only weight loss or weight gain- and where and how you do that is up to your body.

When you are bulking- it tends to be a more even application- yes you'll see more gain in some areas- but you aren't going to see all that extra weight just go straight to your *kitten*.

But it seems like what you're asking is- can you spot reduce and no you can't. Odds are if you are built heavy- you're going to stay built heavy- even when I have abs- I still am bottom heavy. I'd have to lose an unacceptable amount of weight in order to have smaller legs.

So I chose not to.

Get on your squatting and dead lifting- and learn to appreciate what 'dem things can do.

thanks for the info and taking the time to post!

in regards to spot training, i definitely know that doesnt exist. i think i'm definitely bottom heavy, and i'm sure it will stay this way. i just wanted to make sure i wasnt doing myself a disservice by not leaning out more now, but especially so in my legs. i definitely want to embrace my legs! but only if i have no other choice haha I love them and all that they can do. But i'm also a shortie (at 5'2") so thich thighs look even thicker. there are plenty of ladies out there that i've followed that arent bottom heavy and since i'm starting to acknowledge that i am bottom heavy, i'm going to start looking to other similarly built women for inspiration and motivation. with lifting, like weight loss, i started looking to others for motivation and to get ideas of what i liked in a fit body and what i wanted. since i'm so short a lot of the ladies i was looking at were 5'9" + and for me personally, i need to look at women built more like me to not get discouraged and embrace the parts of myself that i dont like as much as others.

time to embrace those thighs and bums!

Ladies who lift (and knowledgable me)...ADVICE PLEASE!!!

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