Weight Lifting concern...

iwantniceabs
iwantniceabs Posts: 357 Member
edited October 2 in Fitness and Exercise
I have been doing mostly cardio (Insanity, running, biking, swimming) for the past few weeks and would like to add weight lifting to get some lean muscle on my body. I know that muscle burns more calories, too. However, I'm a little concerned about bulking up instead of getting a slimmer figure. Should I expect not to lose as much weight for a while because I am gaining muscle??

Replies

  • beckystephens
    beckystephens Posts: 117 Member
    You dont need to worry about bulking up. You would have to be eating an insane amount of calories and pushing some extreme heavy weights in order to do that. Its true that muscle weighs more than fat but you will still see the weight come off.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    As a woman you don't have enough testosterone to bulk up, even guy have trouble bulking up. On top of that if you are trying to lose weight and are in a caloric deficit you will not be able to bulk up no matter how much you lift. You might want to check out "New Rules of Lifting for women". And most importantly, don't be afraid of heavy weights, you will see better results lifting heave rather than light.
  • dvarrassi12
    dvarrassi12 Posts: 66
    It takes awhile to gain muscle so I wouldn't worry about it. A common misconception for women is that lifting heavy weights will make you 'bulk up'. Unless you are full on weight training like a body builder there is no need to be worried.
  • Jemmuno
    Jemmuno Posts: 413 Member
    no I don't think so I have consistently been losing about a pound to a pound and a half a week with 5 day a week work outs 2 weight training and the other three cardio, but usually on one or two cardio days I'll add a Jillian Michaels video.
  • Egger29
    Egger29 Posts: 14,741 Member
    Short Answer: Bulking up is a result of testosterone and other anabolic hormones, which 98% of women don't possess or produce in any large quantity.

    it would be incredibly hard for you to bulk up...even if you tried.

    Do your regular exercises and you'll find yourself having a leaner, slimmer figure due to the changes in your body composition.
  • melizerd
    melizerd Posts: 870 Member
    Women don't have enough testosterone to bulk up like those crazy weight lifting models who take steroids. Women look like this:

    http://i.imgur.com/nj1UJ.jpg

    lifting weights will slim you down and smooth you out!

    Here's another woman lifter:
    http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

    Check out the book The New Rules of Lifting for Women, it explains it very well. LIFT THOSE WEIGHTS!
  • Jemmuno
    Jemmuno Posts: 413 Member
    You dont need to worry about bulking up. You would have to be eating an insane amount of calories and pushing some extreme heavy weights in order to do that. Its true that muscle weighs more than fat but you will still see the weight come off.

    Sry I have to say something I don't mean it to mean or anything like that, but muscle is more dense than fat. a pound of muscle and a pound of fat are the same but muscle is more dense, therefore there would be less of it compared to the pound of fat.
  • texancountess
    texancountess Posts: 52
    I was worried about the same thing when my athlete husband made me start lifting weights. He told me that I just needed to lift "lower weights/higher reps" and it's been working fabulously for me. One, I find myself much tighter and stronger and two, my calorie burn has become much more efficient. Weight lifting is actually my favorite part of my routine.

    I lift 3 days a week and am not muscle-bulky in the slightest. If you go to a gym or use a home set - consider asking someone who knows what they're doing to walk through lifting with you. I use the selectorized machines because those are harder to hurt yourself on - but I still had my husband walk me through it for a couple of weeks before I felt comfortable doing it on my own.
  • melizerd
    melizerd Posts: 870 Member
    You dont need to worry about bulking up. You would have to be eating an insane amount of calories and pushing some extreme heavy weights in order to do that. Its true that muscle weighs more than fat but you will still see the weight come off.

    Sry I have to say something I don't mean it to mean or anything like that, but muscle is more dense than fat. a pound of muscle and a pound of fat are the same but muscle is more dense, therefore there would be less of it compared to the pound of fat.

    This is a pound of feathers vs a pound of bricks. A pound is a pound no matter what it is. HOW BIG that pound is in volume is different. Muscle is more dense than fat so it takes up less room in space than a pound of fat. I really wish people would think about this the right way more often :D It's VOLUME we should be talking not weight.
  • trelm249
    trelm249 Posts: 777 Member
    It is not a significant concern. I'm a guy and am still losing after adding weight lifting about 6 weeks ago. Initially you may plateau as your body stores water to react to the new stress. However, growing muscle is difficult and takes time. You will likely continue to lose, though it may slow.

    The trade off will be good though. You should within 4 to 6 weeks notice improved tone and definition, better range of motion (assuming you are doing full range movements), and improved strength. These are all applicable benefits in your day to day life.

    3 days a week for 30 minutes on non cardio days would be a good start and get you significant benefits.

    Drink plenty of water and up your protein to the 30 to 40% of calories consumed ball park. This will help cut some of the soreness.
  • Crusader01
    Crusader01 Posts: 1
    If you start adding strength training/ Weight lifting you won't be experiencing the "Holy cow these pounds are flying off of me!" feeling. You will loose a small amount of weight but you will be adding lean muscle. If you do start adding weight lifting you should start taking measurements to track your progress (hips, waist, neck, chest [this is mostly a guy thing], biceps, thighs, calves, etc.).

    As for you lifting weights and becoming some freakish lady that looks like she belongs on American Gladiator? It won't happen... the female body and muscular system always leans toward a lean look. The female body builders you see on tv are on serious steroids/supplements.

    Weight lifting is amazing for weight control because even after you are done lifting, the muscles need to repair. This takes calories even when you are not working out! Besides, you don't want to go through your cardio weight loss with no strength training and have a slim, sickly look.

    The only thing that I would recommend if you start lifting is don't go crazy on the weights right off the bat! you will hurt yourself (Trust me, I did it). Ease your way into it, give yourself a day of rest for whatever area you worked (Don't work the same part of your body two days in a row ).

    One last thing: if you start lifting you will need to increase your protein intake. Muscles LOVE protein and will be forever grateful to you for providing it.

    Hope this helps!
    Chris :happy:
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    You dont need to worry about bulking up. You would have to be eating an insane amount of calories and pushing some extreme heavy weights in order to do that. Its true that muscle weighs more than fat but you will still see the weight come off.

    Sry I have to say something I don't mean it to mean or anything like that, but muscle is more dense than fat. a pound of muscle and a pound of fat are the same but muscle is more dense, therefore there would be less of it compared to the pound of fat.

    This is a pound of feathers vs a pound of bricks. A pound is a pound no matter what it is. HOW BIG that pound is in volume is different. Muscle is more dense than fat so it takes up less room in space than a pound of fat. I really wish people would think about this the right way more often :D It's VOLUME we should be talking not weight.

    Yes but in equal volumes muscle will weigh more than fat 100% of the time. When some talks about muscle weighing more than fat, they are implying in equal volumes, so there is no reason to come back with the lame argument that 1lb=1lb, everyone know that, and it just shows you miss the point of what the person was trying to say.

    And because muscle is more dense, the earth's gravitational pull causes it to weigh more than fat, volume weighted of course.
  • _gwen
    _gwen Posts: 501 Member
    Check out these Olympic weight lifters:
    http://www.qwa.org/womens/content.asp

    These women are strong and weigh 69Kg
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbF1AwPlIYE
  • yanicka
    yanicka Posts: 1,004 Member
    As a woman you don't have enough testosterone to bulk up, even guy have trouble bulking up. On top of that if you are trying to lose weight and are in a caloric deficit you will not be able to bulk up no matter how much you lift. You might want to check out "New Rules of Lifting for women". And most importantly, don't be afraid of heavy weights, you will see better results lifting heave rather than light.

    Second this. Go get the book, forget about barbie weights high number of repetition, It's a waste of time. Lift like a men, look like a goddess ;)
  • dragonflydi
    dragonflydi Posts: 665 Member
    I have been doing mostly cardio (Insanity, running, biking, swimming) for the past few weeks and would like to add weight lifting to get some lean muscle on my body. I know that muscle burns more calories, too. However, I'm a little concerned about bulking up instead of getting a slimmer figure. Should I expect not to lose as much weight for a while because I am gaining muscle??

    I lost weight and then added strength training and while I'm tone, I'm not bulky. Don't sweat it :)
  • iwantniceabs
    iwantniceabs Posts: 357 Member
    Wow! Thanks so much for all the information and input, everyone! I start lifting on Monday! :)
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    Women don't have enough testosterone to bulk up like those crazy weight lifting models who take steroids. Women look like this:

    nj1UJ.jpg

    lifting weights will slim you down and smooth you out!

    Here's another woman lifter:
    meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero

    Check out the book The New Rules of Lifting for Women, it explains it very well. LIFT THOSE WEIGHTS!

    Exactly.

    Additionally...cardio is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT unnecessary for losing fat. If anything, it's inherently ineffecient. Look at these two links:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/328354-women-strength-training-for-real

    http://members.rachelcosgrove.com/public/The_Final_Nail_in_the_Cardio_Coffin.cfm

    While there are other conditioning and health benefits to cardio...you do NOT need it for fat loss.

    You dont need to worry about bulking up. You would have to be eating an insane amount of calories and pushing some extreme heavy weights in order to do that. Its true that muscle weighs more than fat but you will still see the weight come off.

    Sry I have to say something I don't mean it to mean or anything like that, but muscle is more dense than fat. a pound of muscle and a pound of fat are the same but muscle is more dense, therefore there would be less of it compared to the pound of fat.

    This is a pound of feathers vs a pound of bricks. A pound is a pound no matter what it is. HOW BIG that pound is in volume is different. Muscle is more dense than fat so it takes up less room in space than a pound of fat. I really wish people would think about this the right way more often :D It's VOLUME we should be talking not weight.

    Yes but in equal volumes muscle will weigh more than fat 100% of the time. When some talks about muscle weighing more than fat, they are implying in equal volumes, so there is no reason to come back with the lame argument that 1lb=1lb, everyone know that, and it just shows you miss the point of what the person was trying to say.

    And because muscle is more dense, the earth's gravitational pull causes it to weigh more than fat, volume weighted of course.

    Thank you Eric. This whole 'a pound of elephant excrement weighs the same as a pound of monkey food' crap is getting old. It is obvious that a pound weighs a pound...and the fact that people constantly feel the need to point this out shows a fundamental narrow midedness that's shocking to be honest. Most of these people are otherwise quite intelligent on the whole.

    When comparing WEIGHT, you HAVE to assume a given volume. What's the point of comparing a pound...to...well, a pound?

    Bleh.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    Another recommendation for the "New Rules" book. It's cheap on Amazon and it's a good easy read, plus it has a work out schedule and can be done in as little as 1 hr twice a week. I'm going to start it in a couple of weeks.
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,953 Member
    I've been lifting for six months and while I am seeing muscle definition appearing I am NOT seeing "bulk". As the fat is lost the muscles are beginning to peek out and they're looking pretty good if I do say so! ;) Initially when you first start you may see a little bit of increase but it's a temporary thing and NOT your muscles getting bulky! And know that the days you life you will feel like your muscles are pumped up but that's normal and not you turning into the Incredible Hulk. Don't be afraid to lift heavy!
  • ladycomix
    ladycomix Posts: 104
    Women don't have enough testosterone to bulk up like those crazy weight lifting models who take steroids. Women look like this:

    nj1UJ.jpg

    lifting weights will slim you down and smooth you out!

    Here's another woman lifter:
    meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero

    Check out the book The New Rules of Lifting for Women, it explains it very well. LIFT THOSE WEIGHTS!

    Exactly.

    Additionally...cardio is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT unnecessary for losing fat. If anything, it's inherently ineffecient. Look at these two links:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/328354-women-strength-training-for-real

    http://members.rachelcosgrove.com/public/The_Final_Nail_in_the_Cardio_Coffin.cfm

    While there are other conditioning and health benefits to cardio...you do NOT need it for fat loss.

    You dont need to worry about bulking up. You would have to be eating an insane amount of calories and pushing some extreme heavy weights in order to do that. Its true that muscle weighs more than fat but you will still see the weight come off.

    Sry I have to say something I don't mean it to mean or anything like that, but muscle is more dense than fat. a pound of muscle and a pound of fat are the same but muscle is more dense, therefore there would be less of it compared to the pound of fat.

    This is a pound of feathers vs a pound of bricks. A pound is a pound no matter what it is. HOW BIG that pound is in volume is different. Muscle is more dense than fat so it takes up less room in space than a pound of fat. I really wish people would think about this the right way more often :D It's VOLUME we should be talking not weight.

    Yes but in equal volumes muscle will weigh more than fat 100% of the time. When some talks about muscle weighing more than fat, they are implying in equal volumes, so there is no reason to come back with the lame argument that 1lb=1lb, everyone know that, and it just shows you miss the point of what the person was trying to say.

    And because muscle is more dense, the earth's gravitational pull causes it to weigh more than fat, volume weighted of course.

    Thank you Eric. This whole 'a pound of elephant excrement weighs the same as a pound of monkey food' crap is getting old. It is obvious that a pound weighs a pound...and the fact that people constantly feel the need to point this out shows a fundamental narrow midedness that's shocking to be honest. Most of these people are otherwise quite intelligent on the whole.

    When comparing WEIGHT, you HAVE to assume a given volume. What's the point of comparing a pound...to...well, a pound?

    Bleh.

    Fat and muscle:

    fatmuscle.jpg

    volume's most certainly important...so is composition. Go for the weight lifting and look smoking hot!
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