Ladies! Question about building muscle

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iamstrange19
iamstrange19 Posts: 1 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone! I'm new here, and very much enjoying how much support myfitnesspal gives. I do have a quick question, however!

So my main goal is to lose a good deal of weight...80 or so pounds. But I also want to tone my arms. I have a large frame, I'm 5'10" and I gain muscle quite easily for a woman, I guess. My main concern is that I don't want to bulk up or anything...I want obvious muscle definition, but I don't want to look masculine. Right now I'm lifting 9lb dumbbells 3-4 times per week, as well as doing some push ups. Is this reasonable? How do you tone up, without bulking up? I just wanna know if I'm on the right track. Thanks!

-Christa

Replies

  • mountan2011
    mountan2011 Posts: 3 Member
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    Try yoga! The gals at the gym I belong to that do yoga have the most sleek bodies but are very strong. So both lifting and yoga should help you get toned not sleek. PS, I am no expert, but this is just an observation.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    edited August 2015
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    I don't think there is a "I gain muscle quite easily for a woman"... women have a significant disadvantage due to not having as much testosterone compared to males.

    If you're training with 9lb dumbbells 3-4 times per week, you're definitely not gaining muscle. Especially if you're in a caloric deficit. That's just how it is.

    There is no such thing as toning... @Ninerbuff has a great thread on it here

    To get that 'masculine look' you'd have to be hitting the weights hard for a good few years... not a few weeks and you might even have to take a few extra things lol.
    mountan2011 wrote: »
    Try yoga! The gals at the gym I belong to that do yoga have the most sleek bodies but are very strong. So both lifting and yoga should help you get toned not sleek. PS, I am no expert, but this is just an observation.

    I guess toning is a bit of a grey area... but most people interpret it (if there even is an interpretation) as having a low enough body fat percentage to see muscle.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    iamstrange19 wrote: »
    Hi everyone! I'm new here, and very much enjoying how much support myfitnesspal gives. I do have a quick question, however!

    So my main goal is to lose a good deal of weight...80 or so pounds. But I also want to tone my arms. I have a large frame, I'm 5'10" and I gain muscle quite easily for a woman, I guess. My main concern is that I don't want to bulk up or anything...I want obvious muscle definition, but I don't want to look masculine. Right now I'm lifting 9lb dumbbells 3-4 times per week, as well as doing some push ups. Is this reasonable? How do you tone up, without bulking up? I just wanna know if I'm on the right track. Thanks!

    -Christa

    No not reasonable

    Lift heavy ...heavy stuff ...9lbs is not lifting and you certainly won't be maximising the benefits of your time without progression training

    Bulking is a nightmare for a woman you aren't going to accidentally slip into being bulky

    Do a proper resistance programme ...compound lifting ...lift like a dude

    How you look is dependent on muscles and body fat
  • AsISmile
    AsISmile Posts: 1,004 Member
    edited August 2015
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    iamstrange19 wrote: »
    Hi everyone! I'm new here, and very much enjoying how much support myfitnesspal gives. I do have a quick question, however!

    So my main goal is to lose a good deal of weight...80 or so pounds. But I also want to tone my arms. I have a large frame, I'm 5'10" and I gain muscle quite easily for a woman, I guess. My main concern is that I don't want to bulk up or anything...I want obvious muscle definition, but I don't want to look masculine. Right now I'm lifting 9lb dumbbells 3-4 times per week, as well as doing some push ups. Is this reasonable? How do you tone up, without bulking up? I just wanna know if I'm on the right track. Thanks!

    -Christa

    No not reasonable

    Lift heavy ...heavy stuff ...9lbs is not lifting and you certainly won't be maximising the benefits of your time without progression training

    Bulking is a nightmare for a woman you aren't going to accidentally slip into being bulky

    Do a proper resistance programme ...compound lifting ...lift like a dude

    How you look is dependent on muscles and body fat

    This. Structured beginners lifting program with progressive overload.
    Good programs:
    -new rules of lifting women
    - strong curves
    - Stronglifts 5x5
    - Starting strength
    - Icf 5x5

    You will not get bulky. If a women is lucky they can only add 1 pound of muscle a month, and that is under ideal eating circumstances when eating at a calorie surplus.
    I'll post some links here as prove. Also, I would suggest reading new rules of lifting for women because it deals specifically with all the misconceptions on weight training and women.
    Read the below links on muscle gaining misconceptions. Especially the staci link will show you that you can have a great body, not being a super low weight, and definitely not being really bulky. Also, go through the pages of the "supah bulky" thread. Many pictures to prove that you won't get bulky.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10232698/muscle-gaining-misconceptions
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky/p1
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
  • yusaku02
    yusaku02 Posts: 3,474 Member
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    IsaackGMOON wrote: »
    I don't think there is a "I gain muscle quite easily for a woman"... women have a significant disadvantage due to not having as much testosterone compared to males.

    If you're training with 9lb dumbbells 3-4 times per week, you're definitely not gaining muscle. Especially if you're in a caloric deficit. That's just how it is.

    There is no such thing as toning... @Ninerbuff has a great thread on it here

    To get that 'masculine look' you'd have to be hitting the weights hard for a good few years... not a few weeks and you might even have to take a few extra things lol.
    mountan2011 wrote: »
    Try yoga! The gals at the gym I belong to that do yoga have the most sleek bodies but are very strong. So both lifting and yoga should help you get toned not sleek. PS, I am no expert, but this is just an observation.

    I guess toning is a bit of a grey area... but most people interpret it (if there even is an interpretation) as having a low enough body fat percentage to see muscle.
    ^ listen to this advice.
    No woman will ever accidentally end up looking like a body builder.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,574 Member
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    Yeah, you need to lose fat and lift heavy to save muscle mass. That will give you the "toned" look you want. After you lose the fat and get to a decently low body fat% you can either work on a recomp (losing fat slowly, gaining a tiny bit of muscle slowly), or running bulk/cut cycles. If you look at my progress pictures, that came from lifting heavy in a deficit.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    iamstrange19 wrote: »
    Hi everyone! I'm new here, and very much enjoying how much support myfitnesspal gives. I do have a quick question, however!

    So my main goal is to lose a good deal of weight...80 or so pounds. But I also want to tone my arms. I have a large frame, I'm 5'10" and I gain muscle quite easily for a woman, I guess. My main concern is that I don't want to bulk up or anything...I want obvious muscle definition, but I don't want to look masculine. Right now I'm lifting 9lb dumbbells 3-4 times per week, as well as doing some push ups. Is this reasonable? How do you tone up, without bulking up? I just wanna know if I'm on the right track. Thanks!

    -Christa

    No not reasonable

    Lift heavy ...heavy stuff ...9lbs is not lifting and you certainly won't be maximising the benefits of your time without progression training

    Bulking is a nightmare for a woman you aren't going to accidentally slip into being bulky

    Do a proper resistance programme ...compound lifting ...lift like a dude

    How you look is dependent on muscles and body fat

    So much this. Take a look at everyone in my profile pic. All powerlifters, a couple with goals of getting as much muscle on our frames as we can within our current weight classes, not a single bulky woman in sight.
  • _bellator_
    _bellator_ Posts: 50 Member
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    Please stop worrying about putting on too much muscle. Until you actually attempt to put on actual muscle mass, you can't fathom how INCREDIBLY difficult it is to do for a female. It will NEVER happen on accident.

    It's actually hard just to maintain your current lean body mass when you're losing weight.

    Lift heavy and eat at a deficit if you want a toned, defined look when you reach goal weight.
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,520 Member
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    I'm on the same lifting program as my husband. He 6'3 195lbs. I'm 5'3 125lbs and a size 2. My point being...even if you lift "like a man" it isn't likely that you'll "bulk" like a man. Another poster replied with a list of programs, you should pick from one of those.
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,406 Member
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    I just want to add that it may seem like the heavy-lifting is making you bulky. That is just your muscles retaining water and pushing your fat to the surface. If you are in a caloric deficit and a progressive lifting program you can start slimming down. It could take four weeks before you see results.
  • oh_happy_day
    oh_happy_day Posts: 1,137 Member
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    iamstrange19 wrote: »
    Hi everyone! I'm new here, and very much enjoying how much support myfitnesspal gives. I do have a quick question, however!

    So my main goal is to lose a good deal of weight...80 or so pounds. But I also want to tone my arms. I have a large frame, I'm 5'10" and I gain muscle quite easily for a woman, I guess. My main concern is that I don't want to bulk up or anything...I want obvious muscle definition, but I don't want to look masculine. Right now I'm lifting 9lb dumbbells 3-4 times per week, as well as doing some push ups. Is this reasonable? How do you tone up, without bulking up? I just wanna know if I'm on the right track. Thanks!

    -Christa

    You're not going to bulk up. Bulking up for women doesn't just happen accidentally, you're not suddenly going to look like a body builder or a man. Lift heavy and lose fat to get muscle definition.

    Find a compound lifting program and get rid of the 9lb dumbells.
  • christch
    christch Posts: 238 Member
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    Hi I am 5'10 and a woman too. It will take us alot longer to develop the muscular look because of our height and longer limbs than other women. As the others have said lift heavy develop the muscles, and that will lead to the look you after. I lift 12.5kg (27.5lb)dumbbells and honestly you don't notice the little bit of muscle l've gained. Some lifts like bench press can be a bit harder because of our longer limbs - its a physics thing - but it's worth it.


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