How can I get toned with strength training without looking bulky?
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I'm pretty muscular and I lift and heavy and with intensity. I don't think I look bad though and I'm definitely not bulky; just defined. If you strip away all the body fat and leave the muscle and muscle takes up less room than fat...0
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Even if you lift heavy weights and eat a metric *kitten*-tonne of food, you won't get bulky unless you want to get bulky. If you start getting bulky, you'll notice and can change things.
Most female powerlifters and weightlifters in the lighter classes just look tiny and kinda athletic, and even the heavier classes don't tend to look "ripped" or "bulky" very often.
I mean, check out Alix Newton from Australia.
Or Morghan King from the USA
That isn't to say that you have to lift, yoga and bodyweight are awesome, but don't worry about getting bulky.0 -
Do bodyweight exercises (check google & youtube), even if you can't access a gym,
and unless your hormones are screwed up (or you're not a natural/normal/real woman)
you're not going to get bulky.
Go look at Sara's profile pictures:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/user/Sarauk2sf/profile/Sarauk2sf
She looks pretty average, right? Really nice, right? Not bulky, grotesque, etc.?
She lifts VERY heavy things on a regular basis. She's a competitive weightlifter.
She works hard at it. See above about looking pretty average.0 -
SpecialSundae wrote: »That isn't to say that you have to lift, yoga and bodyweight are awesome, but don't worry about getting bulky.
Precisely.
Boggles my mind that in 2015 this is even still a debate for some people. Making a weird face won't "freeze" it in that position forever. Lifting heavy won't make you "bulky".
And if you think Jessica Rinaldi is bulky, then you have the wrong definition of the word.
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Oh geez! Again! I can't believe this is still an issue. Yeah, all I did was LOOK at a dumbbell and I just bulked up like you won't believe.0
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I am pretty new at this. I usually have more common sense and assume correctly. I'm only human. I didn't know I wasn't allowed to make mistakes or be a bit ignorant once in a while. No need to be sarcastic.47Jacqueline wrote: »Oh geez! Again! I can't believe this is still an issue. Yeah, all I did was LOOK at a dumbbell and I just bulked up like you won't believe.
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Depends on how you define bulky. People say I'm bulky I measure 34 chest 25 waist 37 hips. I weigh 140 and wear a size US size 4.
Not bulky at all. but bc you can see my muscles and vascularity...people say I'm bulky. when in all actuality I am quite small.0 -
sunnydays851 wrote: »
I am pretty new at this. I usually have more common sense and assume correctly. I'm only human. I didn't know I wasn't allowed to make mistakes or be a bit ignorant once in a while. No need to be sarcastic.47Jacqueline wrote: »Oh geez! Again! I can't believe this is still an issue. Yeah, all I did was LOOK at a dumbbell and I just bulked up like you won't believe.
Don't feel bad. My now-fiancé had the same concern when we started dating and I mentioned lifting weights at the gym.
Don't let the snark-monsters chase you off
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Well I don't want visible muscles (although if they are poking out a little I won't mind) but I guess that would be a bit of an exaggeration. In case you are wondering, I don't look good with muscles so therefore I don't desire them. I just want to look toned.0
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Well I don't want visible muscles (although if they are poking outkshama2001 wrote: »sunnydays851 wrote: »
I am pretty new at this. I usually have more common sense and assume correctly. I'm only human. I didn't know I wasn't allowed to make mistakes or be a bit ignorant once in a while. No need to be sarcastic.47Jacqueline wrote: »Oh geez! Again! I can't believe this is still an issue. Yeah, all I did was LOOK at a dumbbell and I just bulked up like you won't believe.
Don't feel bad. My now-fiancé had the same concern when we started dating and I mentioned lifting weights at the gym.
Don't let the snark-monsters chase you off
Your snark monster sentence cracked me up. I appreciate the support.0 -
Cathe Friedrich, not bulky.
http://cathe.com/should-you-train-your-abdominals-every-day
You have to train and diet rigorously to get that really muscled look. It's not going to happen by accident. Ok, I'll add the caveat that it won't happen to most. We are a species of rare exceptions.
I second the "Body by You" or "You are Your Own Gym" recommendations for your circumstances.
I think it really depends on your definition of bulky. For me, that's bulky, and I don't want to look like that.
And right now I'm at the limit of what I'm ok with my arms to look like, but I still have too much fat around my midsection, so oh well.
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I'd call http://cathe.com/should-you-train-your-abdominals-every-day toned rather than bulky, but different strokes and all that.0
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Cathe Friederichs BULKY???? Now I have heard it all....LOL.....0
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sunnydays851 wrote: »Well I don't want visible muscles (although if they are poking out a little I won't mind) but I guess that would be a bit of an exaggeration. In case you are wondering, I don't look good with muscles so therefore I don't desire them. I just want to look toned.
You know that 'toning' is lowering your body fat to reveal the muscle underneath, right? You can't be 'toned' and not have visible muscles.
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I don't understand what people mean by not wanting "visible muscles"..... Skin and bone or skin, fat and bone? I love my visible muscles, and I'm sure I will love them even more when I am 80 and want to get out of my bathtub without help.....0
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sunnydays851 wrote: »Well I don't want visible muscles (although if they are poking out a little I won't mind) but I guess that would be a bit of an exaggeration. In case you are wondering, I don't look good with muscles so therefore I don't desire them. I just want to look toned.
You know that 'toning' is lowering your body fat to reveal the muscle underneath, right? You can't be 'toned' and not have visible muscles.
If they're not too big I won't mind.0 -
I don't look very good with muscles... like I said, if they're little I won't mind. It's better than fat or bones.I don't understand what people mean by not wanting "visible muscles"..... Skin and bone or skin, fat and bone? I love my visible muscles, and I'm sure I will love them even more when I am 80 and want to get out of my bathtub without help.....
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Do you have a pic from when you had big muscles?sunnydays851 wrote: »
I don't look very good with muscles... like I said, if they're little I won't mind. It's better than fat or bones.I don't understand what people mean by not wanting "visible muscles"..... Skin and bone or skin, fat and bone? I love my visible muscles, and I'm sure I will love them even more when I am 80 and want to get out of my bathtub without help.....
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No, I never liked pictures.DeguelloTex wrote: »
Do you have a pic from when you had big muscles?sunnydays851 wrote: »
I don't look very good with muscles... like I said, if they're little I won't mind. It's better than fat or bones.I don't understand what people mean by not wanting "visible muscles"..... Skin and bone or skin, fat and bone? I love my visible muscles, and I'm sure I will love them even more when I am 80 and want to get out of my bathtub without help.....
I hated then more after I got fat.
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sunnydays851 wrote: »
No, I never liked pictures.DeguelloTex wrote: »
Do you have a pic from when you had big muscles?sunnydays851 wrote: »
I don't look very good with muscles... like I said, if they're little I won't mind. It's better than fat or bones.I don't understand what people mean by not wanting "visible muscles"..... Skin and bone or skin, fat and bone? I love my visible muscles, and I'm sure I will love them even more when I am 80 and want to get out of my bathtub without help.....
I hated then more after I got fat.
Then to rephrase. Have you ever had big muscles and not excess body fat, at the same time? If not, you can't claim to not like how you look with big muscles.0 -
Well, I guess the answer is to lift until your muscles get as big as you like and then stop progressing. It's not something that happens over a weekend.sunnydays851 wrote: »
No, I never liked pictures.DeguelloTex wrote: »
Do you have a pic from when you had big muscles?sunnydays851 wrote: »
I don't look very good with muscles... like I said, if they're little I won't mind. It's better than fat or bones.I don't understand what people mean by not wanting "visible muscles"..... Skin and bone or skin, fat and bone? I love my visible muscles, and I'm sure I will love them even more when I am 80 and want to get out of my bathtub without help.....
I hated then more after I got fat.
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Is it really true the not getting bulky part applies to all women, regardless of health issues?
With PCOS and all that you know, free testosterone floating around in my system, I've noticed I DO get bulkier when I lift. Even light weights. Isn't it true if you lift to the point of muscle exhaustion, you will end up getting bigger to some degree? Even if it's lighter weights?
One of the reasons why I am somewhat wary of upper body weight work is because of how chunky I look. My legs and butt could certainly use more mass, but I don't want to end up with some thick upper body where I have a fused shoulder/neck thing going on.0 -
Btw I would love to have Alix Newton's arms. They look slender and sleek, but I'm sure she's very strong. My arms always get this weird muscled bumpy look going on.0
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Nerdycurls wrote: »Is it really true the not getting bulky part applies to all women, regardless of health issues?
With PCOS and all that you know, free testosterone floating around in my system, I've noticed I DO get bulkier when I lift. Even light weights. Isn't it true if you lift to the point of muscle exhaustion, you will end up getting bigger to some degree? Even if it's lighter weights?
One of the reasons why I am somewhat wary of upper body weight work is because of how chunky I look. My legs and butt could certainly use more mass, but I don't want to end up with some thick upper body where I have a fused shoulder/neck thing going on.
Guys have much more testosterone than women on average and even we are hard pressed gaining more than a pound per month or so. And that's when actively trying to gain more muscles.
There's no way, I repeat, no way, that you could accidentally get bulky. Not as a woman, not even as a man.0 -
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Nerdycurls wrote: »Is it really true the not getting bulky part applies to all women, regardless of health issues?
With PCOS and all that you know, free testosterone floating around in my system, I've noticed I DO get bulkier when I lift. Even light weights. Isn't it true if you lift to the point of muscle exhaustion, you will end up getting bigger to some degree? Even if it's lighter weights?
One of the reasons why I am somewhat wary of upper body weight work is because of how chunky I look. My legs and butt could certainly use more mass, but I don't want to end up with some thick upper body where I have a fused shoulder/neck thing going on.
What do you think it takes women to get "bulky"? If your answer is not: years of dedication, an amazing diet, and a ridiculous amount of lifting, then you are mistaken.0 -
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Nerdycurls wrote: »Is it really true the not getting bulky part applies to all women, regardless of health issues?
With PCOS and all that you know, free testosterone floating around in my system, I've noticed I DO get bulkier when I lift. Even light weights. Isn't it true if you lift to the point of muscle exhaustion, you will end up getting bigger to some degree? Even if it's lighter weights?
One of the reasons why I am somewhat wary of upper body weight work is because of how chunky I look. My legs and butt could certainly use more mass, but I don't want to end up with some thick upper body where I have a fused shoulder/neck thing going on.
We are all different shapes and some people tend to build easier in some areas than others but even with PCOS you have to be very dedicated to lifting and do it for quite a while (and not while eating at a deficit) to build muscle. And even that amount of muscle isn't necessarily going to make you bulky. I'm saying necessarily because clearly everybody has different ideas as to what is bulky. But avoiding upper body work and only doing lower body work is likely going to have you ending up looking pretty soft on top.
And do you really have that much testosterone floating around? I have PCOS too and like to dream that any extra testosterone I have may help with lifting but I'm pretty sure that even a PCOSer with elevated levels has only a fraction of what a man has. (Trying to find a source for this.)0
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