HALP! Heavy Lifting Made Me SUPAH Bulky!!!
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celiairenejackson wrote: »Been lifting heavy since June, and this is the longest and most consistent I’ve ever been with going to the gym.
Started cutting calories one month ago and took a before picture. Took a progress picture this morning and I can actually see a difference! I’ve only lost 4 lbs so far… lifting works!
Looking forward to another progress pic in a month… always been a forum lurker but had to contribute to my favorite thread!
Fantastic results 💪1 -
You look amazing! Keep up the great work.1
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Bumpity bump. Ladies who lift! Need new before/after pics. Don’t be shy!2
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@amioc Is that a new profile pic? Share that win, honey!0
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I lift, love lifting, love what it does for my body AND my mind, I feel powerful and strong AF and have more confidence. My legs and bum are taking a long time to transform but I know they are even though the scale isn't moving and my weight fluctuates as much as 7 pounds depending on how much I allow myself to flex with food. It isn't true weight that is going to stick because I know I will be hitting it hard again at the gym and if I adjust back to my regimented eating, it's only a day or two to get back to 130 which is my settling point but I go from 127-134 lately. If you enjoy lifting, trust the process--results WILL come and the scale may go up at first--it definitely did for me. Happy to connect and support anyone who needs it!
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Hi everyone! I'm going to be joining the gym in a few months after a 3 year hiatus. I used to love weight lifting (I was 165lbs at that time) but didn't get much results other than strength (which is great don't get me wrong!). This time around I want to actually get fit.
Anyone have any tips? I'm 5'5 @ 195lbs. Gained a lot over the last few years sadly. I know my main goal is to lose weight but I've always heard I should be weightlifting at the same time and I should still lift heavy. I found it harder last time to stay in a deficit while weight lifting because I was always hungry2 -
MelissaLu1216 wrote: »Hi everyone! I'm going to be joining the gym in a few months after a 3 year hiatus. I used to love weight lifting (I was 165lbs at that time) but didn't get much results other than strength (which is great don't get me wrong!). This time around I want to actually get fit.
Anyone have any tips? I'm 5'5 @ 195lbs. Gained a lot over the last few years sadly. I know my main goal is to lose weight but I've always heard I should be weightlifting at the same time and I should still lift heavy. I found it harder last time to stay in a deficit while weight lifting because I was always hungry
I'm not the best advertisement for lifting TBH, but here's a thing I learned: A person can have decent muscle mass, and not see it, because of the overlying fat layer. I'm not being judgmental or critical about you here at all, because I have no info about your body composition or anything. I'm speaking from my own experience.
I'm your height, 5'5". I started weight loss at 183. Kind of bizarrely for a class 1 obese woman who was pretty old (59 then), I'd been pretty active for around a dozen years. I'd done a bit of lifting here and there, but mostly a whole big bunch of a strengthier type of what most people would consider cardio, i.e., on-water and machine rowing. Underscoring: Really a lot of rowing, for a dozen years. It's essentially up to 1000 reps/hour of light (not zero) resistance lower body push and upper body pull. For . . . oh, man, hundreds of hours, most years?
I looked like your average blobby older woman, TBH - maybe a little smaller than my bodyweight would've suggested, certainly smaller than I'd been at similar weight before starting to be active. But doughy, blobby, not muscular at all.
Then I started calorie counting, lost weight. Slowly, over the better part of a year, I went down from class 1 obese to a healthy weight, lower 20s BMI (120-125 pounds, at our height). I'm currently around 127, with some holiday extras still in place.
The thing is - though I didn't dramatically change my workout routine - as I got thinner, it turned out that there were some modest li'l ol' lady muscles under the dough. They just hadn't been visible before, even though they were there. (I didn't do a bunch of lifting while losing, though I tried to be a little bit more consistent about it than usual, since I did want to lose minimum muscle while in a calorie deficit. I did some, but lackadaisical, inconsistent not very heavy, etc. - definitely suboptimal.)
What's my point? Yes, lose weight. A smaller calorie deficit (slow loss) will minimize muscle loss, maximize chances of (slow) muscle gain. Good nutrition (especially but not exclusively added protein) is helpful. Definitely lift regularly, with a good progressive program, if you want a more muscular look. (What I did was absolutely sub-optimal, and I don't recommend it to others.)
You may find, if you have a good athletic/lifting history, that as the fat drops off gradually, you have more muscularity even now than you realize, it's just under wraps.
Best wishes!11 -
My first post! Have been stalking for a long time..and love this thread..wanted this to be my first. Its a very old before pic..and a new pic I had to take..as I couldnt beleive I could actually see leg muscles lol. I've always had tree trunk legs..so it's a big nsv for me
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guidebarbie1 wrote: »My first post! Have been stalking for a long time..and love this thread..wanted this to be my first. Its a very old before pic..and a new pic I had to take..as I couldnt beleive I could actually see leg muscles lol. I've always had tree trunk legs..so it's a big nsv for me
Wow! Truly impressive.4 -
Blue Lotus tea is awesome.2
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If I just lift weights and don’t change my diet would I still get good results and loose inches? I’ve started lifting again and it’s going great 😊 I love it and I’m pretty much back to the strength I was before I stoped over lockdown and various illnesses 😀. I already feel a bit less wobbly. I just can’t stick to healthy eating for long because I’m weak in regards to food 😕. I want to loose weight so badly so why can’t I stick to the food side of things 🤷♀️ Which is why I’m asking if I will still loose inches without a clean diet? Any advice would be much appreciated 🙏
Abs are made in the kitchen. You can train like an animal, but the diet has to be clean for the results to show. Sure, you'll look better and feel better in terms of strength, but you can't forget about what's under the skin. Your heart and overall health in-general benefit from a clean diet. You may lose, but it will be minimal. You're concerned with weight after just admitting that you've dealt with various illnesses. Well, a healthy diet will help that tremendously! Why not? That should be the question you're asking.4 -
Whoa! This post took me back in the way way back machine... when MFP was still fun and we just had one general chat...6
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Loveeeeee how lifting makes me feel AND look!!’ I work hard and it feels amazing!! Just do it!14 -
Following!2
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You all are so inspiring! I've been interested in lifting for a long time. With my stiff wrists though don't think there's a lot I can do. I do my Total Gym for now and love it. Keep it going!
*IF* you want to try lifting (it sounds like you do, but if you're happy with what you're doing now, don't let us talk you into changing!), one thing you could try is practicing the moves with a broomstick. It won't be as challenging*, but you can build mobility and practice good form without putting any load on your wrists.
Then if that doesn't bother your wrists, you can try gradually increasing the weight. If you have gym access, they probably have a selection of barbells and weighted fitness bars (training bars?) from 10 to 45 lbs. These are also available on Amazon or Walmart pretty cheaply, assuming you have somewhere to store them. :P
* (That said, a REALLY full-depth bodyweight squat is no joke.)1 -
I have finally read all 135 pages of this thread! Would love to see some more updates or new ladies with progress pictures!7
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This thread has always been a HUGE inspiration to me and I have always wanted to be able to post here. I have started heavy lifting before, but this is the first time I've stuck with it long enough to see significant results. I know my results aren't nearly as dramatic as some, but I'm very happy so far! I am 5'1" and started counting calories, lifting, and walking on 1/1/21. I am following Stronglifts 5x5 and using a home gym that my husband and I built. My starting weight was 213.6 and my current weight is 187. I would like to get down to 130 and then I'll reevaluate, but I'd much rather be strong and healthy than skinny! Here are some progress photos so far:
@valspaeth - how are you doing? Your transformations are SO inspiring!1 -
[Accidental Duplicate Post Deleted]0
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Same experience here. Congrats, you look amazing.1
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Bumping this to inspire more weight lifting babes5
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It would be helpful if you could post two pics that are the same angle. Would you please post a pic square facing the camera for the after pic, that is the exact same angle/pose as the before pic?0
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MoveandChew wrote: »It would be helpful if you could post two pics that are the same angle. Would you please post a pic square facing the camera for the after pic, that is the exact same angle/pose as the before pic?
Speaking for myself, there are no “before” pictures.
I was too embarrassed about my weight to let anyone take any.
I think you’ll find many people here dodged the camera “before”.7 -
MoveandChew wrote: »It would be helpful if you could post two pics that are the same angle. Would you please post a pic square facing the camera for the after pic, that is the exact same angle/pose as the before pic?
@MoveandChew, this thread is literally 136 pages of photos. They were taken by normal average people like yourself, and not all of them even knew they were planning to post before and after pictures that (in most cases) are at least months and possibly even years apart. They can't go back and retroactively pose in some old photo in a way that's most illustrative. I'm sure many wish they could! (I do, even though I don't have results as good as shown in this thread.)
I understand and appreciate where you're coming from, but there are quite a few photo pairs here that do seem to be posed as you'd like. Maybe enjoy those?
I hope you're making a plan, based on your comment, for exactly how you should pose in your before photo (or as "before" as today happens to be) so that your before and after photos will have the maximum benefit for future readers of the thread?
Best wishes for amazing progress on your path: The women here have (IMO) given us the clear signal that amazing things come from hard, patient work.14 -
MoveandChew wrote: »It would be helpful if you could post two pics that are the same angle. Would you please post a pic square facing the camera for the after pic, that is the exact same angle/pose as the before pic?
@MoveandChew, this thread is literally 136 pages of photos. They were taken by normal average people like yourself, and not all of them even knew they were planning to post before and after pictures that (in most cases) are at least months and possibly even years apart. They can't go back and retroactively pose in some old photo in a way that's most illustrative. I'm sure many wish they could! (I do, even though I don't have results as good as shown in this thread.)
I understand and appreciate where you're coming from, but there are quite a few photo pairs here that do seem to be posed as you'd like. Maybe enjoy those?
I hope you're making a plan, based on your comment, for exactly how you should pose in your before photo (or as "before" as today happens to be) so that your before and after photos will have the maximum benefit for future readers of the thread?
Best wishes for amazing progress on your path: The women here have (IMO) given us the clear signal that amazing things come from hard, patient work.
This is exactly why I like you Ann :-)4 -
(Hope this works - phone won’t always post pics on MFP!) time to bump up this thread, and for those worried about suddenly looking huge when they lift 😀
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🔥🔥0
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Lighting and posture v important: in normal light I look like an average short 49 year old. Only when I’m bracing and in the right light do I look like I have muscles. And I lift a lot. And hard (for me).15 -
claireychn074 wrote: »
(Hope this works - phone won’t always post pics on MFP!) time to bump up this thread, and for those worried about suddenly looking huge when they lift 😀
Total OT aside (though still admiring the beautiful muscles and slender frame!) I’m loving your hairdo.
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springlering62 wrote: »claireychn074 wrote: »
(Hope this works - phone won’t always post pics on MFP!) time to bump up this thread, and for those worried about suddenly looking huge when they lift 😀
Total OT aside (though still admiring the beautiful muscles and slender frame!) I’m loving your hairdo.
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