Heavy Lifting Women

OHammykins
OHammykins Posts: 97 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi All,

I'm new to weight lifting - I've only been doing it for the past 2 months - and I'm really enjoying it and I feel like I'm making good progress and getting better at lifting heavier weight.

I've read loads of blogs and articles about how lifting heavy weight will not automatically make you bulky - of course it takes a lot of hard work to get a body builders body - but I'm still paranoid that if I keep lifting heavier I'm going to get big bulky arms etc.

Is there anyone out there who could alleviate my paranoia!? And heavy lifting ladies out there who have stayed nice and slim???

Thanks in advance :-D

Replies

  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I have been lifting for over 3 years, I wouldn't say I'm bulky, but more curvy and lean...however, I have also bulked several times so my slightly thicker size is actually due to eating in a surplus and lifting.

    You can either try it out, or continue to be paranoid. The thing is once you realize the positive changes in your body weight lifting can bring, feeling strong and awesome, those fears of being bulky (for many women at least) tend to go out the window.
  • Inspirationalwaterjug
    Inspirationalwaterjug Posts: 384 Member
    Also takes chemical enhancement to get to IBBF female body builder big and a literal full time job of getting jacked.
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    as others have said, you are not going to get bulky accidentally and certainly not overnight.
  • ccruz985
    ccruz985 Posts: 646 Member
    You WON'T! We don't have the testosterone required to get bulky the way men do. You'll get toned and lean and your arms and shoulders will look fabulous!
  • OHammykins
    OHammykins Posts: 97 Member
    Thank you for the reassurance - @heytimsla I actually laughed out loud at your "before" and "after" pics.
    Blogs and articles are all well and good but it helps hearing from "real" people :smiley:

    I'm definitely going to stick with it, I'm loving the feeling of getting stronger.

    Thanks all!!
  • Inspirationalwaterjug
    Inspirationalwaterjug Posts: 384 Member
    HamOrla wrote: »
    Thank you for the reassurance - @heytimsla I actually laughed out loud at your "before" and "after" pics.
    Blogs and articles are all well and good but it helps hearing from "real" people :smiley:

    I'm definitely going to stick with it, I'm loving the feeling of getting stronger.

    Thanks all!!

    It's actually a video of you click it haha
  • plaidshirtgirl
    plaidshirtgirl Posts: 58 Member
    I work with a personal trainer and I highly recommend you to get one
  • ISweat4This
    ISweat4This Posts: 653 Member
    You will not get bulky, strong yes! Everyone responds to weight training differently.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    heytimsla wrote: »
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PSC5C-9kMQQ

    This is priceless! <3<3
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
    I looked "bulkier" when I was fat. Now, I'm built.
  • Superkwing83
    Superkwing83 Posts: 21 Member
    It's all a mental game with yourself. I completely understand where you're coming from as I felt my arms were getting "thick" but I was building muscle then the top layer of excess fat started to shed and the definition happened..BOOM! POW! BAM! Be consistent and dedicated, trust the process and the results will come.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I've been lifting for about 3 yrs now, with some breaks. I was 110 size zero (too slim imho) when I started and about 116 size 0-2(mostly 2) or xs now. I am "bulking" but still slim and my arms are pretty small.
  • megan_elizabeth8
    megan_elizabeth8 Posts: 216 Member
    I’ve been lifting heavy for over 2 years. Trust us, it won’t happen accidentally.
  • KarenSmith2018
    KarenSmith2018 Posts: 302 Member
    I've been an avid CrossFitter for 3 years (and yes its not a dedicated lifting program but I split jerk 110% of my body weight over my head yesterday and can deadlift double my body weight for reps so i would say i am fairly strong) and it has taken me that long to get muscle definition in my arms and legs. Yes i would say i am more defined than your average chick but I love that I have great muscle definition in my arms and legs and the things i can do. The definition of bulky is different to everyone. I would not say i was bulky still yet someone else might say I am. Your average female with a decent diet and a progressive lifting program should start to see definition but without serious training and bulking cutting cycles you will not get bulky.
  • michellebirtleeds
    michellebirtleeds Posts: 62 Member
    edited December 2017
    If you need any more reassurance: Look at the pictures in this article. These women WON MEDALS for weightlifting in the 2016 Olympics. They lift a lot of weight and they lift hard. While they have visible muscles, they're not "bulky". Trust what you're seeing and hearing: bulky does NOT happen by accident in women.

    https://www.olympic.org/news/asian-domination-in-women-s-48kg-weightlifting
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited December 2017
    HamOrla wrote: »
    And heavy lifting ladies out there who have stayed nice and slim???

    um. :D:D well, here's my experience. i started out on losing weight because i found a picture of my 20-something self who weighed 20-something pounds at the time and it shattered my whole denial circuit about how 30 extra pounds wasn't 'really' that noticeable visually. i wanted to get back to that 'slim' person again. somewhere along the way towards doing that, i got into compound lifting.

    i don't lift super-heavy but i've been doing it three times a week for three years and i certainly try for as heavy as i can go. over that time i've weighed 120-something again [currently back there right now]. and i've also gone back to 140-something as well.

    my experience was: yes, even at the same weight i look different 'with' lifting from how i looked in that photograph. that woman is gone. basically, i guess i must be the same size - i weigh the same, so yeah. but i've got curves now no matter what the scale says. that photo i found is too lost for me to do any comparisons, but some things are probably never going to come back. my collarbones and that bony ridge along the front of your pelvis are 'gone'- instead i almost have a slight indentation along the bone line. my thighs have a single faint curve from hip to knee that didn't used to be there, and my ankles and calves have actually slimmed out a bit.

    so i found that lifting mostly filled me 'in' - it's added muscle tissue where i used to have gaps between bone segments. but it didn't really fill me 'out' in the kind of way that you're worried about.

    and if you like doing it, why not do it? it's definitely no more of a risk to the way you'd like to look than, say 'i like eating oreos, so why not do that.'
  • OHammykins
    OHammykins Posts: 97 Member
    That's so true @canadianlbs ! I am really enjoying it, The confidence boost I've gotten after only a few weeks has been amazing - I never thought I'd actually like what I'd see in the mirror but when I have weights in my hands I definitely do!

    It's still early days and as other posters have pointed out -I can always go backwards if I want to.

    Thanks for all the support!
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