Toning down without building muscle?

rachhanley
rachhanley Posts: 2 Member
edited November 18 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey everyone,

Possibly a dumb question but anyway..

I have lost about 15kgs in 12 months (dropping from 93-78kgs) and found weights training to be really helpful for weight loss.
I am now starting to notice that I am building muscle particularly in my biceps. I still want to lose another 8-10kgs and really tone down, but I don't know how to best do this without building too much muscle.

Any suggestions for what I should be doing with my training to still lose weight and tone down without building muscle?

Thanks,
Rach
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Replies

  • JoJosAnatomymfp
    JoJosAnatomymfp Posts: 178 Member
    Focus on cardio maybe
  • Ironandwine69
    Ironandwine69 Posts: 2,432 Member
    HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
    Okay, okay, could we cut this out?

    Too much muscle definition is subjective . She might never look like the Hulk, true, but that doesn't mean she can't become more muscular than she wants.

    Honestly, I can understand that- at one point when I was dress shopping after clothing size changes, I suddenly discovered that despite going down a size, I couldn't wear those florally-patterned skater dresses without looking ridiculous, due to the juxtaposition of the very feminine style and my upper arms. Fortunately, my goal outfit isn't a skater dress so it wasn't a problem, but if it had been...
    (Also, sadly, I no longer have time for the routine that gave me that, so those muscles disappeared again over winter. Sob.)

    OP: this article may be helpful for you: https://bretcontreras.com/how-to-attain-a-slender-look-like-jessica-alba-zoe-saldana/

    He writes about exactly the issue you're having and how he modifies routines for women who are looking more bulky than they want.

    I can agree with this, even though it's not my personal preference. Not every woman wants defined muscles.

    OP, I would continue lifting but doing high rep sets. You don't have to lift heavy. And would continue eating on a deficit.
    Or you could just stick to cardio.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
    Okay, okay, could we cut this out?

    Too much muscle definition is subjective . She might never look like the Hulk, true, but that doesn't mean she can't become more muscular than she wants.

    Honestly, I can understand that- at one point when I was dress shopping after clothing size changes, I suddenly discovered that despite going down a size, I couldn't wear those florally-patterned skater dresses without looking ridiculous, due to the juxtaposition of the very feminine style and my upper arms. Fortunately, my goal outfit isn't a skater dress so it wasn't a problem, but if it had been...
    (Also, sadly, I no longer have time for the routine that gave me that, so those muscles disappeared again over winter. Sob.)

    OP: this article may be helpful for you: https://bretcontreras.com/how-to-attain-a-slender-look-like-jessica-alba-zoe-saldana/

    He writes about exactly the issue you're having and how he modifies routines for women who are looking more bulky than they want.

    I agree with this somewhat but it doesn't stop the common misconception that lifting 5 lbs (arbitrary amount) will somehow make you look like She-Hulk.

    OP stick to cardio more then.
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    rybo wrote: »
    So what is likely happening is that you are losing fat and exposing the muscle you have. You may be building a tiny bit of muscle, but it's more likely that as you lose weight and become leaner, your muscle is more visible.

    So you have 2 options...make that 3.
    1 stop losing weight so that you don't get leaner and appear too muscular for your liking
    2 stop all strength training, wait a while (probably months) in hopes that your muscles atrophy and then don't lose too much fat to expose the muscle you still have
    3 accept that muscle is a good thing, it's part of being strong and healthy


    +1
  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
    Hmm as others have said I don't think you're building muscle.

    What may be happening is that when you lost your weight you also lost a large amount of body fat and therefore the shape of your bicep muscles are showing. In order to gain muscle you have to usually eat at maintenance, or above, especially for women. With women, we just don't have the testosterone needed to gain that much muscle without purposely trying to do it.

    If you want to be able to lose and you don't want to be muscular . . . which is totally ok if that is what's right for you . . . then I'd say cardio. Cardio burns more calories per session than weight lifting does, so it gives you a little more room to play with calories in your day. However be careful: I am a runner and when I first started I actually gained weight because I was so hungry from running and I thought it just gave me a get out of jail free card to eat whatever I wanted to. Don't fall into that trap ha ha.

    Good Luck :)
  • liftorgohome
    liftorgohome Posts: 25,455 Member
    Cardio and strength training with light weights.
  • lkpducky
    lkpducky Posts: 17,640 Member
    Another reason you're unlikely to have built much muscle, if at all, is that you are eating in a deficit (granted, I don't know how much of a deficit). People trying to build more muscle eat at a surplus instead.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited May 2017
    What do you consider too muscly, @rachhanley? Different people have different ideas of the perfect physique. The thread below has some ideas on what heavy lifting can do.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky/p1

    ilv8xq3c3qjg.jpg
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    Have you been accurately measuring your arm size this whole time? If not I doubt they've grown especially as a female in a deficit. Chances are they just look leaner which in turn results in a more muscular look. Everytime I cut just as I start to hit the single digits I look more muscular than I did at the low teens. Purely because of the muscular definition.
  • Ironandwine69
    Ironandwine69 Posts: 2,432 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    What do you consider too muscly, @rachhanley? Different people have different ideas of the perfect physique. The thread below has some ideas on what heavy lifting can do.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky/p1

    ilv8xq3c3qjg.jpg

    There's people that find even the right pics not to be attractive​. And that's fine. Not every one has the same time.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    tjkita wrote: »
    Cardio and strength training with light weights.


    Wow.. Okay. How does cardio prevent hypertrophy? Ever met a strong man. Those guys are massive and they're also insanely fit in regards to cardio and anaerobic exercise.

    Secondly. Stated by Doctor Schoenfelds findings in multiple independent studies, low weights with high reps have been shown to have an equal to if not greater hypertrophic effect on skeletal muscles.

    So you're debunked. Better luck next time.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Ironandwine69 wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    What do you consider too muscly, @rachhanley? Different people have different ideas of the perfect physique. The thread below has some ideas on what heavy lifting can do.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky/p1

    ilv8xq3c3qjg.jpg

    There's people that find even the right pics not to be attractive​. And that's fine. Not every one has the same time.

    Exactly, which is why I was asking her what she was shooting for. Even the women on the right work HARD and have their diets dialed in. You can't even get to that on accident.
  • BrooklynBooty
    BrooklynBooty Posts: 39 Member
    Hey first of all congratulations on the weight loss and sticking with it. Second, if you don't want to build much more than you have currently then focus on volume over weight when lifting (eg: dumbbell bicep curls - do 5-10lb weight for 20-30 reps instead of 15lbs for 12-15 reps) or focus on body weight exercises.

    You can't build much without tearing your muscle and to do that you need to lift heavy.
  • Luna3386
    Luna3386 Posts: 888 Member
    The less body fat, the more definition. You'll have to pick what you want.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    If you are in a caloric deficit you will not build any noticeable amount of muscle.. what will happen if you lose enough fat is you will uncover the muscle you already have. If you don't want the muscular look, then don't let your BF% get low enough that your muscles pop.

    You need to train hard, and be in a caloric surplus (gaining weight) to add appreciable amounts of muscle.
  • DanyellMcGinnis
    DanyellMcGinnis Posts: 315 Member
    I'm starting to think getting more muscle definition is just going to happen, no matter what. I am at maintenance now, have been for 4.5 months. Still doing a lot of cardio (hey, I like to eat and 1520 calories a day are just not enough for me). Not really doing much in the way of strength training. Still losing inches -- have lost about one pants size in all the time I've been at maintenance. (Staying between 117 and 120 in terms of weight, basically tracking monthly hormonal cycles.)

    On the other hand, this doesn't bother me. (Well, having to go out and buy size 0 pants after I went out and bought a bunch in size 2 is a money drain, but whatever.) Being strong is useful and, as a woman pushing 40, I just don't have the hormones (nor the protein consumption) to look like a bodybuilder.
  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
    rybo wrote: »
    So what is likely happening is that you are losing fat and exposing the muscle you have. You may be building a tiny bit of muscle, but it's more likely that as you lose weight and become leaner, your muscle is more visible.

    So you have 2 options...make that 3.
    1 stop losing weight so that you don't get leaner and appear too muscular for your liking
    2 stop all strength training, wait a while (probably months) in hopes that your muscles atrophy and then don't lose too much fat to expose the muscle you still have
    3 accept that muscle is a good thing, it's part of being strong and healthy

    Love this. Don't lift - just do cardio.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    edited May 2017
    Assuming you want to maintain the muscle you have AND assuming you are actually building muscle during your diet, one thing you could do would be reduce the overall training volume on the muscle groups you want to stop building.

    So just for example if you are currently doing 6 sets of bicep work in a week, and those 6 sets are all taken close to failure, you could reduce that to 4 sets and also consider reducing the relative difficulty of those sets by taking them slightly further from failure (leave a couple additional reps left in the tank at the completion of the sets).


    I would take an incremental approach where you make a reduction in overall work rather than completely stop all resistance training since the latter may lead you to losing some muscle in those areas, which you might not want.
  • MystikPixie
    MystikPixie Posts: 342 Member
    Ironandwine69 wrote: »
    May I ask, what's wrong with muscle?

    This is my question as well, unless you work out like the Rock and power load calories, you will never beef out. But you will look slender, toned and attractive with whatever amount of muscle comes from your normal CiCo and weight training.
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
    When I did LOTS of steady state cardio...I had no muscles.
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
    edited May 2017
    Ironandwine69 wrote: »
    What do you consider too muscly, @rachhanley? Different people have different ideas of the perfect physique. The thread below has some ideas on what heavy lifting can do.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky/p1

    ilv8xq3c3qjg.jpg



    OMG the women on the right are my dream bodies. But I doubt this almost 50 year old body will ever look like that. Still can't hurt to try though :D
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    I've heard of "tone up," but never even heard of "tone down" - what exactly are you trying to do OP?
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    and as others have said, no one (especially women) grow huge muscles accidentally...it just doesn't work like that!
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    edited May 2017
    rachhanley wrote: »
    Hey everyone,

    Possibly a dumb question but anyway..

    I have lost about 15kgs in 12 months (dropping from 93-78kgs) and found weights training to be really helpful for weight loss.
    I am now starting to notice that I am building muscle particularly in my biceps. I still want to lose another 8-10kgs and really tone down, but I don't know how to best do this without building too much muscle.

    Any suggestions for what I should be doing with my training to still lose weight and tone down without building muscle?

    Thanks,
    Rach

    1. Weight lifting is not for weight loss...it's for health and fitness.
    2. You are not building muscle if you are losing weight unless you are obese, new to lifting or a teenage boy (none apply to you)
    3. If you don't want to build muscle don't do a bulk...but what you are doing now is not going to build muscle.


    As others have said if you don't want to see definition you need to stop losing weight.

    ilv8xq3c3qjg.jpg
    [/quote]



    and to address this..and not to be snarky either...none of these pictures represent what will happen to a regular woman lifting weights and losing some weight.

    All of these woman train hard and are of low body fat....even the one on the far right does not happen just from lifting...

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    Your not building muscle. You won't accidentally look like the Hulk. :yawn:

    This^

    You are eating at a deficit so you aren't building muscle. You are losing the layer of fat covering the muscle. We don't get to choose where we lose fat from, so it's frustrating. I see my upper body shaping up nicely....but the bottom half never quite catches up (genetics).
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