For girls who lift or men who know?

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

Scroll towards the bottom, till you see a picture under "Staci Now". To get to that point she has been eating 3000-4000 cals per day for months, and burning most of it off. She is 5'4", and 142lbs in the more muscle-y one. 131lbs in the one that has a bit more fat in it. This is up from her low of 117lbs (Didn't like how she looked and felt), which is down from her starting weight of 170lb.

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.

This is another excellent perspective and point!

And it depends on the person. Being bulky is beautiful. But, for some women it is very hard to get to that point. I'm not even sure it's possible for all women.

Rep range has had absolutely ZERO effect on my progress. Nothing. Nada. Whether I do 6-8 or 12-15 reps, I do not grow. However, I do eat at maintenance so contingent on your goals/food intake, your results could differ.

Speaking from experience, men do the same thing. After a certain time of lifting the routine feels slow and you just want to lift heavier, to be stronger. You will get injured. Strength is a slow progression and most lifters learn this the hard way - injuries.

I would increase the weight and stick with 3-4 sets of 10 controlled reps. Once you can do the reps, increase the weight slightly.

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.

Get'em girl! :flowerforyou:

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!

probably the most motivating thing i'll read all day THANK YOU

DUCK, here comes a snarky comment, lol.

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!

I wonder if her inherent bulkiness (more than most women who lift?) comes from her slightly higher testosterone level as evidenced by her angry rant, lol.

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 wouldn't consider you "bulky" in the sense that OP means. You're certainly not bulky like a bodybuilder or a man.

If a man had roughly your musculature, he's be considered fairly average. (No offense meant - you look great. Just not "bulky.")

I wonder if her inherent bulkiness (more than most women who lift?) comes from her slightly higher testosterone level as evidenced by her angry rant, lol.

The "Jealousy" forum is the next one down.

You won't bulk. Women do not produce enough testosterone to get bulky. The only way it would is if you were taking a supplement or steroids that gave you more testosterone.

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.

Well if all you want is a six pack, then what you really need to do is cut body fat and get ripped. You have your six pack muscle there, it's the body fat that is hiding it, so the only way to get rid of body fat is to do aerobic activities - mild to moderate exercise for a long amount of time, and also try to incorporate that with HIIT. If you can try not to reduce your calories, because that's just going to lower your metabolism, and you want a fast metabolism to burn more fat.

I'm sorry I didn't look at your profile so I'm not sure if you are male or female, but the unfortunate fact is if you are female this may or may not be an acheivable goal, because women are supposed to have a natural fat layer for giving birth. If your body has a natural fat layer it may be extremely difficult to cut down to a low body fat, and you should be aware of the risk that cutting down to a low body fat will require drastic caloric reducing, in other words starvation. And I would never advise anyone to turn to starvation or anorexia to acheive any goal. I think it's sad that so many people want to be so thin, why not strive for a healthy weight? If you think that being at a healthy weight will get in the way of your sports and fitness goals, you are wrong. Unless you are just doing it for vanity reasons and want to look like a person on a fitness poster, having some body fat is only going to help you perform better at sports! Some body fat is good for you

Even some men have a very hard time getting completely ripped and are healthier at healthy weights, but what we learn in our fitness courses is that men don't have as much body fat as women in general so it's easier for them to obtain low body fat levels.