How to tone up without bulking up???

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angelgreathouse9
angelgreathouse9 Posts: 103 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I only have 2lbs left to hit my goal of 135lbs, 62.6lbs down so far, I started going to the gym 3 weeks ago for some variety in my work out, I want to tone up without bulking up... any suggestions would be great thank you o:)
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  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    Lift heavy things, compound movements (squats, deadlifts, bench press, pull ups, and overhead press). Unless you’re taking steroids, you won’t bulk up.
  • sgthaggard
    sgthaggard Posts: 581 Member
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    You're a woman. The chances of you 'bulking up' without putting in some serious effort are nil. And even then. . .
  • canary_girl
    canary_girl Posts: 366 Member
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    I agree with lifting heavy. You won't bulk up.
  • TCO76
    TCO76 Posts: 242 Member
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    First get rid of the notion that toning is a simple thing to do. Start lifting on a beginners routine. Google will give you several top notch ones. Eat according to your goals. Lose fat or gain muscle. Pick one.

    Report back in several months.

    You won't get all swole, trust me.

  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    angelgreathouse9 wrote: »
    I only have 2lbs left to hit my goal of 135lbs, 62.6lbs down so far, I started going to the gym 3 weeks ago for some variety in my work out, I want to tone up without bulking up... any suggestions would be great thank you o:)

    OP: I'm a woman. I've been lifting since 1996. No bulk here.
    The others are quite right: unless you're specifically trying to bulk up (and following a plan designed to do that) you won't get "big". You'll just look awesome.
  • TCO76
    TCO76 Posts: 242 Member
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    angelgreathouse9 wrote: »
    I only have 2lbs left to hit my goal of 135lbs, 62.6lbs down so far, I started going to the gym 3 weeks ago for some variety in my work out, I want to tone up without bulking up... any suggestions would be great thank you o:)

    OP: I'm a woman. I've been lifting since 1996. No bulk here.
    The others are quite right: unless you're specifically trying to bulk up (and following a plan designed to do that) you won't get "big". You'll just look awesome.

    BAM...... / Thread
  • TCO76
    TCO76 Posts: 242 Member
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    Nothing hotter than a woman who squats...
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,622 Member
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    Bulking doesn't happen unless you're taking in a surplus. Bulk is muscle and fat increasing.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • juliedee20
    juliedee20 Posts: 44 Member
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    I know where you're coming from. People have always told me women don't bulk but I guess I am one of the exceptions that can. I'm not saying I can look like Atlas, but I used to bike up and down hills when I was young and built up some serious thigh muscles. As a result, it is very easy for a little exercise to build up my thighs now, something I do NOT want to do! The rule of thumb is to use light weights with lots of reps. Also, stretching at the end is supposed to elongate the muscles and keep them from getting bulky. I do this and so far it has worked. I am not a professional trainer or anything so this is just my experienced opinion that I am offering. Hope it helps! :)
  • ScorpioJack_91
    ScorpioJack_91 Posts: 5,241 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Bulking doesn't happen unless you're taking in a surplus. Bulk is muscle and fat increasing.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    This
  • angelgreathouse9
    angelgreathouse9 Posts: 103 Member
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    oh trust me I know toning isn't simple I have been on my journey for almost a year now and just recently decided to join a gym because working out at home has only gone so far now for the hard stuff. thanks for the info.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    Lol… Women don't 'bulk up.'
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,622 Member
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    juliepunchak wrote: »
    I know where you're coming from. People have always told me women don't bulk but I guess I am one of the exceptions that can. I'm not saying I can look like Atlas, but I used to bike up and down hills when I was young and built up some serious thigh muscles. As a result, it is very easy for a little exercise to build up my thighs now, something I do NOT want to do! The rule of thumb is to use light weights with lots of reps. Also, stretching at the end is supposed to elongate the muscles and keep them from getting bulky. I do this and so far it has worked. I am not a professional trainer or anything so this is just my experienced opinion that I am offering. Hope it helps! :)
    Misconception. While muscle can increase in size slightly while in deficit, it's usually due to the fact that they atrophied and exercise now is filling them up with glycogen and water.
    Stretching does NOTHING to elongate muscle physically. Muscles are attached at joints and unless your bones are getting longer, the muscle length stays the same. You can increase a muscle "stretch" point by making it more flexible by stretching though.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    juliepunchak wrote: »
    I know where you're coming from. People have always told me women don't bulk but I guess I am one of the exceptions that can. I'm not saying I can look like Atlas, but I used to bike up and down hills when I was young and built up some serious thigh muscles. As a result, it is very easy for a little exercise to build up my thighs now, something I do NOT want to do! The rule of thumb is to use light weights with lots of reps. Also, stretching at the end is supposed to elongate the muscles and keep them from getting bulky. I do this and so far it has worked. I am not a professional trainer or anything so this is just my experienced opinion that I am offering. Hope it helps! :)

    What you’re explaining is what we old school guys call muscle memory. It is easier for an athlete to bring back/hypertrophy muscles that were previously well conditioned/trained. That probably isn’t the case for her. I’m guessing you don’t see the same easy gains for your upper body?

    You can’t really elongate a muscle, it is attached where it is attached. But you can reduce fat and show leaner muscles if that is what you have. Higher rep schemes will help her build muscle endurance (there is a specific muscle type that responds to this training, look at the legs of well trained marathon runners).

    Each of us will react to a specific program slightly differently. My advice stands that you learn the compound movements, go as heavy as you can with good form (3 - 6 reps per set, 3 - 5 sets per exercise). After a 6 - 8 weeks of this, you should see how your body responds and you can adjust your training. The lower rep range is focused on strength (a core fitness and health component). You may see some mass, but the vast majority of folks won’t gain enough mass to consider themselves bulking up.
  • suppakana
    suppakana Posts: 307 Member
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    Don't take steroids. Done! =) Get your booty in the weightroom, honey!
  • ScorpioJack_91
    ScorpioJack_91 Posts: 5,241 Member
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    suppakana wrote: »
    Don't take steroids. Done! =) Get your booty in the weightroom, honey!

    This
  • angelgreathouse9
    angelgreathouse9 Posts: 103 Member
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    juliepunchak Posts: 24 Thank you... I have always built muscle pretty easily also.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    juliepunchak wrote: »
    I know where you're coming from. People have always told me women don't bulk but I guess I am one of the exceptions that can. I'm not saying I can look like Atlas, but I used to bike up and down hills when I was young and built up some serious thigh muscles. As a result, it is very easy for a little exercise to build up my thighs now, something I do NOT want to do! The rule of thumb is to use light weights with lots of reps. Also, stretching at the end is supposed to elongate the muscles and keep them from getting bulky. I do this and so far it has worked. I am not a professional trainer or anything so this is just my experienced opinion that I am offering. Hope it helps! :)

    Yeah. no.
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    angelgreathouse9 wrote: »
    juliepunchak Posts: 24 Thank you... I have always built muscle pretty easily also.

    I’m almost tempted to place a monetary bet you couldn’t put on any significant muscle in six months. Its quite insulting to those who do lift for mass when someone claims they have superior ability to get swole. Hippy lifting it is.
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    edited March 2015
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    OP - as everyone has said - lift heavy, fewer reps. Women in particular do not bulk easily. I think this misconception may partially come from women who typically only do cardio switching to doing some lifting and seeing some swelling of muscles due to glycogen, and probably losing fat as well. So, their muscles become more defined than they're used to, but they are not getting bigger. And unless you're eating in a surplus, aside from - possibly - very minimal gains for a new lifter, your muscles will not get bigger.

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