Are women's muscles more relaxed than men's?

Kdp2015
Kdp2015 Posts: 519 Member
edited December 1 in Fitness and Exercise
When I work out my muscles look quite good but as soon as I stop the areas just look soft and fat again - is it just men that look muscly all the time or can women achieve that too? My bf is still 23.5 but I'm 5'10 so don't want to go much lower.
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Replies

  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    lizzelspark wrote: »
    If you drop your body fat more then your muscles will show all the time

    This.
  • lizzelspark
    lizzelspark Posts: 178 Member
    I personally think ladies at 20% body fat look great I love the look of seeing everything toned
  • lizzelspark
    lizzelspark Posts: 178 Member
    When you mentioned about being 5'10 and don't want to go lower you could try to build more muscle if your not wanting the scale to go lower because a lot of times when your body fat drops low your scale is still high but that's all In how much muscle you have
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    how much do you weigh?? I'm 5'9" and have wondered the same thing!
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    Women usually have a higher bf% than men that's why our muscles aren't necessarily as noticeable. Plus since we have way less testosterone we can not build muscle like men without steroids. If you want your muscles to be more noticeable you have to lower your body fat
  • Kdp2015
    Kdp2015 Posts: 519 Member
    Muscleflex79 wrote: »
    how much do you weigh?? I'm 5'9" and have wondered the same thing!
    I'm down from 185 to 157 so prob could lose another 10 or 20
  • Kdp2015
    Kdp2015 Posts: 519 Member
    Thanks everyone, will keep trying to lower fat then :):)
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    It's a body fat% thing. Women naturally have more. To get your own body fat low enough to show the six-pack abs and such, you lose your period. Maybe that's an incentive.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    It's a body fat% thing. Women naturally have more. To get your own body fat low enough to show the six-pack abs and such, you lose your period. Maybe that's an incentive.

    what? do you seriously believe this
  • Kdp2015
    Kdp2015 Posts: 519 Member
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    It's a body fat% thing. Women naturally have more. To get your own body fat low enough to show the six-pack abs and such, you lose your period. Maybe that's an incentive.
    Not really sure on your angle here but thanks for your concern!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Men who look "muscly" all of the time are also typically pretty lean. Women tend to carry more BF than men and so they typically look softer. Women who are below about 20% BF with decent muscle mass will look more "muscly". Also, men tend to put on muscle easier and faster than women because we have more testosterone.
  • OrdinaryDude300
    OrdinaryDude300 Posts: 51 Member
    As a guy I don't have much fat anywhere except some at mid section. Office Chair and diet past lol. My upper body looks muscular because of my home gym workout history and just that lack of visible fat. My legs are not strong or big but what muscle I have can show more than my girlfriend legs. Hers legs are actually a tad stronger then mine cause she works them much more then i do. Hers legs are bigger mid way and up but the muscle is very hidden under her layer of fat if you will. She wants to tone her butt and is succeeding but battling upper thigh and butt fat. If she reduced this fat her legs and butt would certainly reveal the muscle. Now she don't have much arm fat and very slim arms. So she does show some arm muscle but her arms are still on the weak side. Definitely the key is reducing fat if you want to see the muscle.
  • needernt
    needernt Posts: 675 Member
    Kdp2015 wrote: »
    When I work out my muscles look quite good but as soon as I stop the areas just look soft and fat again - is it just men that look muscly all the time or can women achieve that too? My bf is still 23.5 but I'm 5'10 so don't want to go much lower.

    Two important factor to preserve muscles: 1. stress 2. nutrition
    I found out that when I gain muscle by eating 5 meals a day my body preserve muscles better than when I gain by three meals and supplements.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    needernt wrote: »
    Kdp2015 wrote: »
    When I work out my muscles look quite good but as soon as I stop the areas just look soft and fat again - is it just men that look muscly all the time or can women achieve that too? My bf is still 23.5 but I'm 5'10 so don't want to go much lower.

    Two important factor to preserve muscles: 1. stress 2. nutrition
    I found out that when I gain muscle by eating 5 meals a day my body preserve muscles better than when I gain by three meals and supplements.

    This makes no sense.
  • Privatepolicy
    Privatepolicy Posts: 6 Member
    needernt wrote: »
    Kdp2015 wrote: »
    When I work out my muscles look quite good but as soon as I stop the areas just look soft and fat again - is it just men that look muscly all the time or can women achieve that too? My bf is still 23.5 but I'm 5'10 so don't want to go much lower.

    Two important factor to preserve muscles: 1. stress 2. nutrition
    I found out that when I gain muscle by eating 5 meals a day my body preserve muscles better than when I gain by three meals and supplements.

    Wait..what? It's calories in-calories out and lifting. How often you eat has nothing to do with muscle gain.
  • Privatepolicy
    Privatepolicy Posts: 6 Member
    OP, to answer your question..its a combination of your muscle mass and body fat. You can lower your body fat as much as you want, if there's no muscle to show, nothing with be shown. On the other hand, no muscle will be shown when hidden underneath fat.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    SonyaCele wrote: »
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    It's a body fat% thing. Women naturally have more. To get your own body fat low enough to show the six-pack abs and such, you lose your period. Maybe that's an incentive.

    what? do you seriously believe this

    Find pics of a 4% bf woman. Find that woman. Ask about her period. I'm happy to be demonstrated wrong on this, but please realize that it's the statements of 4% bf women who led me to repeat their statements.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    edited May 2016
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    SonyaCele wrote: »
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    It's a body fat% thing. Women naturally have more. To get your own body fat low enough to show the six-pack abs and such, you lose your period. Maybe that's an incentive.

    what? do you seriously believe this

    Find pics of a 4% bf woman. Find that woman. Ask about her period. I'm happy to be demonstrated wrong on this, but please realize that it's the statements of 4% bf women who led me to repeat their statements.

    Women don't get that low and definitely don't need to be that low to see abs. More like 15%.

    I'd love to know what 4% women you have talked to seeing as I don't know any in real life or even fitness competitors that get close to that.
  • bmb42
    bmb42 Posts: 19 Member
    Different females lose their period at different body fat percentages. From experience, I lost mine around 14%.
  • Privatepolicy
    Privatepolicy Posts: 6 Member
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    SonyaCele wrote: »
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    It's a body fat% thing. Women naturally have more. To get your own body fat low enough to show the six-pack abs and such, you lose your period. Maybe that's an incentive.

    what? do you seriously believe this

    Find pics of a 4% bf woman. Find that woman. Ask about her period. I'm happy to be demonstrated wrong on this, but please realize that it's the statements of 4% bf women who led me to repeat their statements.

    You are right..to a point. But 4% bf is a crazy low number, so I don't think many of us don't have to worry about that:-)
    Also, losing your period is not necessarily a bad thing:-)
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    A woman with 4% body fat has way more things to worry about other than her period. For example, death.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    It's a body fat% thing. Women naturally have more. To get your own body fat low enough to show the six-pack abs and such, you lose your period. Maybe that's an incentive.

    I've never lost my period, even when competing in bodybuilding competitions. I didn't starve myself and over exercise. Most women with adequate muscle should see their abs around 18%.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    SonyaCele wrote: »
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    It's a body fat% thing. Women naturally have more. To get your own body fat low enough to show the six-pack abs and such, you lose your period. Maybe that's an incentive.

    what? do you seriously believe this

    Find pics of a 4% bf woman. Find that woman. Ask about her period. I'm happy to be demonstrated wrong on this, but please realize that it's the statements of 4% bf women who led me to repeat their statements.

    Women need 10-13% (some sites say 13-17%) fat as essential fat. If you're less than that, you're risking permanent infertility, bone loss, and hormonal damage. Yes, you'll lose your period also. But there are more side effects and risks than that.
  • Kdp2015
    Kdp2015 Posts: 519 Member
    I'd be happy at 20%!
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,744 Member
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    SonyaCele wrote: »
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    It's a body fat% thing. Women naturally have more. To get your own body fat low enough to show the six-pack abs and such, you lose your period. Maybe that's an incentive.

    what? do you seriously believe this

    Find pics of a 4% bf woman. Find that woman. Ask about her period. I'm happy to be demonstrated wrong on this, but please realize that it's the statements of 4% bf women who led me to repeat their statements.

    The question that comes to mind is, why do you care??? However, I realize I don't care what the answer is. I just find it odd that you felt the need to even bring this up.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    A woman with 4% body fat has way more things to worry about other than her period. For example, death.

    Very true. I'd be interested to meet a woman who achieved 4% without steroids who wasn't on the verge of her body shutting down. Most competitors can't get that low naturally, I've only seen anorexics reach that and they weren't worried about having enough muscle for a 6 pack.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    Kdp2015 wrote: »
    When I work out my muscles look quite good but as soon as I stop the areas just look soft and fat again - is it just men that look muscly all the time or can women achieve that too? My bf is still 23.5 but I'm 5'10 so don't want to go much lower.

    @kdp2015 you may want to consider recomposition. Essentially maintaining your current weight while following a progressive lifting routine. It will help you add muscle and drop fat. I'm 5'9" and had higher than average lean mass, but the first time I had visible abs I felt the rest of me looked like a skeleton. Recomposition is a slow process. It is a better choice mentally for many people.
  • Kdp2015
    Kdp2015 Posts: 519 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    Kdp2015 wrote: »
    When I work out my muscles look quite good but as soon as I stop the areas just look soft and fat again - is it just men that look muscly all the time or can women achieve that too? My bf is still 23.5 but I'm 5'10 so don't want to go much lower.

    @kdp2015 you may want to consider recomposition. Essentially maintaining your current weight while following a progressive lifting routine. It will help you add muscle and drop fat. I'm 5'9" and had higher than average lean mass, but the first time I had visible abs I felt the rest of me looked like a skeleton. Recomposition is a slow process. It is a better choice mentally for many people.
    Thanks for this - the one time in my life I've had a flat stomach my ribs all stuck out so that does worry me. I'm happy to take a lot longer if I can end up looking fit rather than skinny!
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