For girls who lift or men who know?

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Brooke4206
Brooke4206 Posts: 140 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I have been lifting about a year now. I've always lifted to 10 reps. Did 4 sets of DL, squats, and bench. I am now considering upping the weight and doing 3 sets of all of the above but only 5 reps. I was told by a friend that this could possibly make me bulk with the increasing weight? I don't eat a massive amount so I am not sure if that plays into it as well. I already have the low body fat. I am just looking to get a six pack. I have the top two already.
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Replies

  • seanhamilton
    seanhamilton Posts: 5 Member
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    You won't just get bulky, that doesn't happen. It comes down to nutrition and hard work. Do people go to University and accidentally get degrees?
  • 16shelz
    16shelz Posts: 11 Member
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    Naw...you have to eat at a surplus to bulk and gain size. Generally lower reps are for strength and higher reps are for hypertrophy.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    That's an excellent plan. You won't bulk. Go for it! You will love the results.
  • CountDown321
    CountDown321 Posts: 117 Member
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    It sounds like you were referred to do Starting Strength. You do 3x5, and increase every week until you fail. Once youve failed the same weight and the same exercise for 3 separate lifting days, you deload and work back up. Its a little more than those 3 lifts though and there is an A and B set of lifts you alternate every other day. It might be a good book to get, or at least good program to research online.

    Like others said, women dont accidentally get bulky. They dont accidentally look like she-man.
  • liftingpanda
    liftingpanda Posts: 13
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    Women genetically hold more fat than men and it varies how low in bodyfat a person has to be for their abs to show.

    1) Work abdominals, as a guy, all I have to do is do leg raises and reverse crunches to build the abdominal muscles bigger, for a woman you just have to do the same and it might take a little more time (it took me 3 months to build the muscles). If you can feel each of your ab muscles through your belly fat, then that's good.

    2) Diet down low enough to see all your abs, men have to be 12-10% before they start seeing all 6 abs. Not sure about women.

    Oh and as a woman, you have like 1/10th of the amount of testosterone a guy has, so you don't hormonally have enough test to support that much muscle mass, so you won't get bulky.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    4-6 reps = strength range

    8-10 = hypertrophy range (which is muscle growth but only when combined with a calorie surplus)
  • ghosthackexe
    ghosthackexe Posts: 181 Member
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    You won't just get bulky, that doesn't happen. It comes down to nutrition and hard work. Do people go to University and accidentally get degrees?

    For the longest time I've heard people say "I dont want to lift I'll just get bulky and look like a balloon" and for the longest time I've tried to think of a way to say "nope" in a way they understood and I think you good sir have done it. I will most likely use this in the not too distant future. *round of applause*
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
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    You won't bulk. You really have to try extra hard to bulk as a female...
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    It's laughable difficult to get bulky even when you are TRYING to do so- it absolutely 150million% will not happen just by picking up heavy things.
  • mathjulz
    mathjulz Posts: 5,514 Member
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    Yeah, you're not going to bulk on that without eating a lot more calories (and protein). From everything I've seen, 4-6 reps is best for strength, 8-10 is where you start working on hypertrophy (building muscle mass). I generally do 5 sets of 5, and love the feeling of strength from that. :wink:
  • OriginalKatie
    OriginalKatie Posts: 119 Member
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    Women won't get bulky because we don't have the hormones for that like men do. You will develop lean muscles, and an athletic physique.
  • VibrantAnnette
    VibrantAnnette Posts: 43 Member
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    I love love love how great my body looks and feels from using free weights and bodybuilding exercises, and I still look very feminine. I've trained since college years.

    to this day I do not know how that myth started, of women bulking up. it just doesn't happen. you have to train a certain way to bulk up, and also take certain supplements to bulk up. if you look at the women who compete in bodybuilding events, they're all smooth and feminine looking when they're not training, and they're lean and ripped with blood vessels popping during competition because they do certain things to enhance muscle tone and veins for judging competition.

    muscles burn more calories than fat. muscles weigh more than fat. with muscle tone you'll burn more calories and stay fitter longer in life. this is a huge benefit to women in that muscles will also strengthen your bones.
    When you hit 40 you lose 10% muscles, which weakens your bones.
    when you hit 50 you're now losing 20% of muscles, further accelerating bone loss. and it keeps increasing as we get older.
    so you want strong lean muscles as early on in your life as possible.
    and you can start to strengthen muscles anytime in your life.
    muscle's have memory. what you did as a kid or when you were fittest will create the fastest gain for you all your life.
  • VibrantAnnette
    VibrantAnnette Posts: 43 Member
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    speaking of weightlifting routines... I think it's good to keep changing it up.
    I absolutely love the routine Ultimate Body Workout published by men's health.

    I can honestly say this is for serious body strengthening and fat burning.
    I find that the men's routines are much better for muscle strengthening, than their women's workouts.
    Their women's workouts are great cardio, where I need to build muscle that I've lost with aging. I've always been a strong well balanced girl that doesn't look like a guy.... any woman can benefit big time from this workout.

    http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/ultimate-body-weight-workout

    they publish a new version annually. I found it in book format back in 2008. Now that I'm familiar with the routine sequence, I just keep a few cliff notes in my iphone 'notes' app to take to the gym.
  • drepublic
    drepublic Posts: 180 Member
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    Seems that your goal appears to be a six pack, so you need lower body fat. Are you incorporating cardio sessions into your daily routines?
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
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    First of all, I'm sick and freaking tired of everyone demonizing bulky women. I am strong. I have endurance. I am fast. I am bulky. I don't care if someone looks long and lean in a pair of leggings. I can most likely kick their a##. I understand that this is subjective, as someone else my height and weight with similar BF might not consider themselves bulky but I do consider them so. And I think those women should be proud as heck of their mass gains!

    Okay, I feel I've gotten bulkier than most without really trying. I eat at maintenance. I have almost 130 pounds of lean mass and I am only 5'5". I have been lifting for strength, not mass gains. I don't mind being bulky though. My body is naturally built for doing stuff, not having a thigh gap. I am an anomaly and there is nothing wrong with me and I refuse to let everyone keep shaming "bulky women" who are often kick-butt athletes! It's genetics!

    Yep, 6 pack=lower body fat.

    Up to 5 reps is generally used in strength progressions. If you are looking for hypertrophy, continue on with the 8-12 reps and clean up your diet to a fat loss plan.
  • MagnumBurrito
    MagnumBurrito Posts: 1,070 Member
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    I like having programs that have all rep ranges involved. I'd get bored if I was always lifting heavy or light. Both will get you abs. Keep eating at a deficit, lift, and hit your macros.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    4-6 reps = strength range

    8-10 = hypertrophy range (which is muscle growth but only when combined with a calorie surplus)

    This :)
  • logg1e
    logg1e Posts: 1,208 Member
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    I want to know what boys and women think on this issue.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    I have been lifting about a year now. I've always lifted to 10 reps. Did 4 sets of DL, squats, and bench. I am now considering upping the weight and doing 3 sets of all of the above but only 5 reps. I was told by a friend that this could possibly make me bulk with the increasing weight? I don't eat a massive amount so I am not sure if that plays into it as well. I already have the low body fat. I am just looking to get a six pack. I have the top two already.

    Only if you are in surplus would you "bulk", but even then, that would require time.

    Now a 6-pack will be a result of caloric deficit
  • swimmermama
    swimmermama Posts: 526 Member
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    First of all, I'm sick and freaking tired of everyone demonizing bulky women. I am strong. I have endurance. I am fast. I am bulky. I don't care if someone looks long and lean in a pair of leggings. I can most likely kick their a##. I understand that this is subjective, as someone else my height and weight with similar BF might not consider themselves bulky but I do consider them so. And I think those women should be proud as heck of their mass gains!

    Okay, I feel I've gotten bulkier than most without really trying. I eat at maintenance. I have almost 130 pounds of lean mass and I am only 5'5". I have been lifting for strength, not mass gains. I don't mind being bulky though. My body is naturally built for doing stuff, not having a thigh gap. I am an anomaly and there is nothing wrong with me and I refuse to let everyone keep shaming "bulky women" who are often kick-butt athletes! It's genetics!

    Seconded! You rock!

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