"Bulky" vs "Muscular". The real definition.

No one has the authority to say what is and isn't objectively bulky. It's not a scientific term. We should each use the term as we see fit.

I personally get a little bulky when I lift. I look more toned, but suddenly my legs won't fit into my pants, and my sleeves get tight. I look strong, but less feminine.The reason is that contrary to what some people will have you think, lifting weights and eating a clean diet doesn't in itself lead to fat loss (especially if you are not medically overweight to begin with and have been eating clean forever). If you are not losing fat but are gaining some muscle, yes you WILL be relatively more bulky than before. The good news is that you won't mind too much, because you'll be so much more toned. Even without fat loss, deadlifts do a fast number on the cellulite on the back of my thighs, for example (Honestly I think it all but disappeared in 2 weeks). And I never thought I'd say that I'm happier with my bigger, more toned thighs, than I was with my (already big) jiggly thighs. And here's the best part: If you are diligent in cutting some calories along with eating right, you CAN lose fat. And when the fat comes off your *bulky* body, you will look AMAZING. I am now in the slightly bulky, toned phase and trying to lose about 10 pounds of fat (going from 130 to 120). It's not easy. I did this before a couple years ago though, and trust me it is worth the trouble.

I really hate these posts. They completely ignore women with high muscle mass and reasonable BF. My favorite body I know in RL belongs to a woman with sub 20% BF who weighs 155-160 and is 5'5". She is bulky. She has high lean mass. She is big. It is not a bad thing.

Strongwoman Alanna Casey, is in my opinion, bulky and awesome. I'm sick of fitness models being the only acceptable muscular women on this forum. Check out Belle of the Bar on FB if you are a woman, join it and you will see a lot of female powerlifters who are BIG and not fat--in fact, bulky.

Hey ninerbuff or anyone else that can answer this. I understand the difference between bulky,muscular and fit, i understand that you can not build muscle eating a deficit. Whats confusing me is before i lost weight i could not see muscle definition,after the fat left i could obviously see the muscle, 6 months later with continued deficit or mainetance diet and continued progressive lifting the muscles are bigger, there are traps and lats now , i have a hard time shaving my armpit even , theres bulging muscles on my thighs. Im still very slowly losing weight, ive only got about 5 more lbs to lose. So whats going on. Also it makes it sound like every body whos fat just has this ripped body underneath the fat and as long as they preserve as much of it as possible ,lifting while losing it will be unveiled, i just dont get it. Sorry this is so long but i have another question, young guys and some girls for that matter look ripped have they done a bulk and cut or were they just never fat so all they had to do was lift and eat? And like my favorite look is erin sterns body,she is muscular,athletic strong etc. Does she bulk and cut or was she just building all that muscle lifting heavy and eating . Thank you

I'm not convinced that you can accurately define a word to be one thing or another, and relate it to a specific type of body shape.

The exception to this are scientific words that most people never get to see, but they're out there, defining slight variations of one thing or another.

There are words which have specific meanings in the fitness world, developed over decades of use. People on MFP confuse them regularly.

The OP was spot on.

So there is "Bulky" and "Muscular", what are the other names that the fitness world has defined?

There is "ripped", "shredded", "jacked", "juiced", "cut", "natty", "freaky" to name a few.

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

ROFL

I think my BF is about 20%?? I’m muscular but soft still. I honestly don’t like the defined look on a female, but I admire the hard work and dedication

ninerbuff wrote: »

Zombie thread bump cause I'm bored.

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

Nice! I hadn’t seen this one before. I like it. 👍🏽