Stronglifts 5x5 for Women

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lynseya83
lynseya83 Posts: 84 Member
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Nattering to my Body Pump instructor tonight and she said that i should be careful with doing SL as i will end up with bulky muscles. Im aiming for strong muscles that burn calories! And a muscle is a muscle at the end of the day - im not in to this 'toning' theory/opinion that many folk have!

(i do BP 1x per week and SL 2x per week - seems to be working for me! strength + endurance :-) )

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  • Jennifer_Lynn_1982
    Jennifer_Lynn_1982 Posts: 567 Member
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    my boyfriend said the same thing to me this week....and he knows I've lost inches since starting to lift heavy so ya no, I'm not getting bulky. So frustrating right? especially with an instructor!
  • christch
    christch Posts: 238 Member
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    Women can not get bulky unless they are taking testosterone. We do not have the ability to grow that amount of muscle. And it would take the perfect combo of diet, heavy lifting and genetics for women to get bulky. We can build muscle through heavy lifting and eating surplus calories and they show when you have low bf% but only with a good base. Your instructor should know better.
  • DawnEmbers
    DawnEmbers Posts: 2,451 Member
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    Ahh the misconception. My coworker even noticed my arms when we were lifting and tried saying how I've been gaining muscle. Been on deficit for over a year, not so much. However, when there is less fat, the muscle is more noticeable. I have the measurements that show nothing has increased in size, even if it looks that way. :wink:
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
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    the amount of eyerolling i've done since i started lifting, it's a wonder i don't have "bulky" eyeballs.

  • Isca_1
    Isca_1 Posts: 124 Member
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    ^^ that made me laugh.
  • Ariadnula
    Ariadnula Posts: 435 Member
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    Isca_1 wrote: »
    ^^ that made me laugh.

    Me too :smiley:
  • kimiuzzell
    kimiuzzell Posts: 611 Member
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    Ariadnula wrote: »
    Isca_1 wrote: »
    ^^ that made me laugh.

    Me too :smiley:

    Me three!!
  • lynseya83
    lynseya83 Posts: 84 Member
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    canadianlbs wrote: »
    the amount of eyerolling i've done since i started lifting, it's a wonder i don't have "bulky" eyeballs.
    Nice one!
  • lynseya83
    lynseya83 Posts: 84 Member
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    christch wrote: »
    Women can not get bulky unless they are taking testosterone. We do not have the ability to grow that amount of muscle. And it would take the perfect combo of diet, heavy lifting and genetics for women to get bulky. We can build muscle through heavy lifting and eating surplus calories and they show when you have low bf% but only with a good base. Your instructor should know better.

    I know! Just a bit surprised she thought that!
    It would be fairly academic even if my muscles were to 'bulk up'... I seem to keep them well camouflaged under an even layer of unwanted fat that seems to like insulating me anyway! :-P
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
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    Ugh. The fear of the bulky muscles! So ridiculous.

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