HALP! Heavy Lifting Made Me SUPAH Bulky!!!

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Replies

  • naenyva
    naenyva Posts: 1 Member
    You girls are amazing! <3 I just started with 5x5, before I lost lbs but no body fat by just doing Cardio and light weights but things have changed ;-) I am looking forward to posting progress pics
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
    Question for all you gorgeous ladies. I am very interested in starting stronglifts while I still have around 20 pounds to lose. My question is regarding calories. Did you stay at your MFP goal of 500 calories short (or whatever it was for you) or did you increase your intake and still lose weight? I don't want to underfuel, but I also don't want to sabotage my weight loss by overfueling either. This might have been answered somewhere, but I haven't had a chance to read every page yet, and I want to start my program tonight. :)

    Personally I keep in a deficit. Lifting doesn't burn a lot of calories, so I very much recommend not eating back the calories burned or eating back no more than half what MFP tells you that you burned.

    Keep in mind that if lifting is new for you, your body will retain water at first (to repair muscles), which often makes people unhappy as they see the scale go up. Do not worry about it. It will eventually come down. Make sure you drink lots of water. Once you start lifting and start seeing the positive changes in your body composition, you may pay less attention to the scale and more attention to body measurements.
  • Madux1818
    Madux1818 Posts: 307 Member
    Unflexed clothed photo. Looking at me, you wouldn't necessarily think that I lifted.

    l23f8xncxwav.jpeg



    You have beautifully toned arms and shoulders.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
    Thanks @Arditarose and @Madux1818. I love my shoulders and arms now. They used to be so long and skinny without any definition.

    @MsMaeFlowers, I lifted on a small deficit as well. Just make sure to eat well before and after.
  • fanncy0626
    fanncy0626 Posts: 7,080 Member
    mom23mangos- you look amazing! Definitely can tell you lift! Nice tone! I love the dress and your shoes! I'm looking for a pair of those shoes!
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
    The shoes are Chuck Taylor knock offs from Target @fanncy0626. Thanks for the compliments. Your transformation is amazing.
  • PandoraGreen721
    PandoraGreen721 Posts: 450 Member
    Unflexed clothed photo. Looking at me, you wouldn't necessarily think that I lifted.

    l23f8xncxwav.jpeg

    Never get to see your beautiful face...your arms are fantastic, lady!
  • leecha2014
    leecha2014 Posts: 385 Member
    Hi ladies, question about deficit. I too am lifting however trying to lose weight right now. Mfp has my limit set to 1400, so is that my deficit if I maintain that calorie limit? When you say, a deficit of 500, what does that mean? Thanks !

  • dpaden25
    dpaden25 Posts: 99 Member
    Question for all you lovelies! I did download the app 5X5 and it really seems so minimal in terms of exercise. In the beginning, did you all start with just bar? How many calories? Sub with cardio? How long did a typical workout lasts? TIA for all my questions! Sorry if it's answered somewhere else!
  • jessiefrancine
    jessiefrancine Posts: 273 Member
    leecha2014 wrote: »
    Hi ladies, question about deficit. I too am lifting however trying to lose weight right now. Mfp has my limit set to 1400, so is that my deficit if I maintain that calorie limit? When you say, a deficit of 500, what does that mean? Thanks !

    If you eat the number of calories as instructed by MFP (presuming that you set your goal in MFP to lose weight), then yes you are eating at a deficit.

    To say "a deficit of 500" means consuming 500 fewer calories each day than would be required to maintain your same weight (your maintenance level). This causes your body to draw on energy stores (body fat) to meet its energy needs and you become leaner.
  • jessiefrancine
    jessiefrancine Posts: 273 Member
    dpaden25 wrote: »
    Question for all you lovelies! I did download the app 5X5 and it really seems so minimal in terms of exercise. In the beginning, did you all start with just bar? How many calories? Sub with cardio? How long did a typical workout lasts? TIA for all my questions! Sorry if it's answered somewhere else!

    I did start with just the bar. For some people on some lifts (like overhead press), even the bar might be too much at first. If that happens, you can modify the lift by using a smaller bar (a ladies' bar is 35 lbs instead of the 45 lbs of a standard Olympic bar) or you could use smaller hand weights until you are able to graduate to the full bar.

    Calories - Enter your stats and goals into MFP and let the app figure out the calorie amount for you.

    Cardio - Do it if you like it or want to burn more calories, but keep in mind that doing tons and tons of it might hamper your recovery between lifting sessions and reduce your lifting results. Personally, I do a short cardio class a couple times a week and other than that I pretty much just lift and walk or ride my bike. Everyone has a different philosophy on this, and you might need to experiment and see what feels good for you over time and how your body responds.

    Stronglifts workouts don't take very long at first if you're only doing the main compound lifts...maybe 20 minutes if you're just doing the bar and don't have to change out plates or rest longer than 90 seconds between sets? They start to get longer as you start to lift heavier, especially if you add warm up sets or accessory lifts.

    If you haven't joined the ladies' stronglifts group here on MFP you definitely should. Lots of info regarding these questions and many helpful women there happy to share what they know.
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
    dpaden25 wrote: »
    Question for all you lovelies! I did download the app 5X5 and it really seems so minimal in terms of exercise. In the beginning, did you all start with just bar? How many calories? Sub with cardio? How long did a typical workout lasts? TIA for all my questions! Sorry if it's answered somewhere else!

    I started with less than the bar for most lifts. I supplemented with cardio and other things like crunches, leg lifts, lunges, etc. I try to put in about an hour at the gym. However, doing the three lifts for 5 x 5 does take a bit of time, as you need rest between sets, etc. You can add more accessory lifts too. If you look up Ice Cream Fitness 5 x 5 that person pretty much has SL 5x5 with accessory lifts. When my arm is healed (currently nursing tennis elbow) I'll be incorporating more accessory lifts to strengthen specific muscles for playing tennis :smile: so I don't end up injured again (hopefully!).
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
    @mom23mangos You look absolutely fantastic!
  • megemrj
    megemrj Posts: 547 Member
    Loving this thread!
  • MoHousdon
    MoHousdon Posts: 8,719 Member
    dpaden25 wrote: »
    Question for all you lovelies! I did download the app 5X5 and it really seems so minimal in terms of exercise. In the beginning, did you all start with just bar? How many calories? Sub with cardio? How long did a typical workout lasts? TIA for all my questions! Sorry if it's answered somewhere else!

    In my experience, it's best to work the program as instructed and not to stray. You'll build up to heavy weight soon enough. Trust the process. :heart:
  • Heirgreat
    Heirgreat Posts: 262 Member
    Love your sneaks- my favorite
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