For all women afraid of gaining muscles!

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uLinx
uLinx Posts: 148
in Motivation and Support
Dear ladies,

I would like to share this with you because women sometimes think they could gain too much muscle and look masculine if they exercise a lot. (It also happened to me.) Well, I am now exercising a lot and I am gaining muscle... and IT LOOKS GREAT!!! My arms and legs (that's where I'm losing fat more quickly and muscles can be seen better) are not getting masculine, they're TONING UP and getting firm!

This morning I was getting dressed when my boyfriend looked at me and told me that my shoulder blades and arms look sexy now that they are getting more defined. :blushing:

So ladies, my advice is: do strength training and don't worry about gaining muscles! They make us look healthier and sexier and we will not become body builders over night for lifting one handle weight. :wink:
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Replies

  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
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    I'm not worried about looking too toned; it's my husband that's worried about it. He's actually gets worried about me starting something new (like the crossfit Sharee and I just signed up for) because he's worried about me looking "manly." Seriously, my scrawny *kitten* he's worried about bulking up too much; I think it's a bit silly. I tell him the same thing: I'm not going look like a body builder overnight.
  • uLinx
    uLinx Posts: 148
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    Really?! He's worried? Well, then the only thing you can do is doing your exercise to show him how sexy a toned up wife can be! :glasses: Go for it! He won't believe his eyes... and hands. :wink:
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    All the ladies upset about gaining too much muscle are free to pass some my way. I'd love to have a six pack and some guns!
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
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    I agree, but I think that women that Crossfit do not look good. My boss (who owns/runs a Crossfit gym) has even admitted that women who Crossfit tend to look more masculine. Watch the Crossfit Games on ESPN (or ESPN2) if you need some proof...

    Muscle is good, I don't worry about bulking up, but I have seen some women (a very small minority mind you) that are just too thin with too much muscle and I think they look awful. It's all personal opinion though!
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    I agree, but I think that women that Crossfit do not look good. My boss (who owns/runs a Crossfit gym) has even admitted that women who Crossfit tend to look more masculine. Watch the Crossfit Games on ESPN (or ESPN2) if you need some proof...

    Muscle is good, I don't worry about bulking up, but I have seen some women (a very small minority mind you) that are just too thin with too much muscle and I think they look awful. It's all personal opinion though!

    The trick is, don't get that thin. Has little to do with muscle and more to do with body fat percentage.
  • AZTrailRunner
    AZTrailRunner Posts: 1,199 Member
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    You realize that those ladies who compete at the high levels for the Crossfit games aren't your average woman trying to lose a few pounds and "tone up", right? It take years of dedication and nutritional perfection to get to that level of fitness and physique, not to mention genetics. That would be like telling me I shouldn't lift weights because I'll look like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

    Please don't confuse elite athletes and their elite results with the average Joe(anne).
  • Fatbuster205
    Fatbuster205 Posts: 333 Member
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    Thank you and I think it is so important to know that to get the muscle bound look is seriously hard work. I prefer the toned and lean look! Thanks for highlighting it!
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
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    You realize that those ladies who compete at the high levels for the Crossfit games aren't your average woman trying to lose a few pounds and "tone up", right? It take years of dedication and nutritional perfection to get to that level of fitness and physique, not to mention genetics. That would be like telling me I shouldn't lift weights because I'll look like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

    Please don't confuse elite athletes and their elite results with the average Joe(anne).

    I was using the Games as an example if some people don't know what CF'ing is. And yes, I am aware of the work that goes into being able to compete in the CF Games. The body type of a woman who Crossfits (and yes I know some non-elite CF'ing women) is not one I want. Just my .02, I am agreeing that women shouldn't be afraid of muscle, I just think there's a line where sexy/bulky meet...and that's the CF world. And if you're too skinny and have a lot of muscle...it just isn't a good look. All my opinion. Don't be looking for an argument where there isn't one to be had!
  • AZTrailRunner
    AZTrailRunner Posts: 1,199 Member
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    You realize that those ladies who compete at the high levels for the Crossfit games aren't your average woman trying to lose a few pounds and "tone up", right? It take years of dedication and nutritional perfection to get to that level of fitness and physique, not to mention genetics. That would be like telling me I shouldn't lift weights because I'll look like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

    Please don't confuse elite athletes and their elite results with the average Joe(anne).

    I was using the Games as an example if some people don't know what CF'ing is. And yes, I am aware of the work that goes into being able to compete in the CF Games. The body type of a woman who Crossfits (and yes I know some non-elite CF'ing women) is not one I want. Just my .02, I am agreeing that women shouldn't be afraid of muscle, I just think there's a line where sexy/bulky meet...and that's the CF world. And if you're too skinny and have a lot of muscle...it just isn't a good look. All my opinion. Don't be looking for an argument where there isn't one to be had!

    I wasn't looking for an argument, but clearly you were!!!! <-- I can use exclamation points as well.

    The OPs purpose here is to relieve fear of gaining muscles, and you use an example of extreme athletes and how "women that Crossfit do not look good" and are "masculine". I merely pointed out that the average person won't look that way, which supports the OPs original purpose here. I would never say "women that Crossfit do not look good", because I know plenty that look great!
  • purpledollstar
    purpledollstar Posts: 3
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    Does muscle really burn more calories?
  • MyCoachNYLA
    MyCoachNYLA Posts: 158 Member
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    ho, hum...
  • trelm249
    trelm249 Posts: 777 Member
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    Does muscle really burn more calories?

    Yes. Though how much is debated.
    1 lb of fat burns 2 to 3 calories a day just sitting on your body contributing to insulin resistance.
    1 lb of muscle on the other hand burns anywhere from as little as 6 calories according one recent study to as much as 50 calories according to other studies, just sitting on your body looking firm and fit. So even the most skeptical and conservative estimate is twice as much as the equivalent weight in fat.

    Other benefits of lifting: You retain the muscle mass as you lose weight as long as you get enough protein and keep caloric deficits relatively modest. You get stronger. You look better sooner as you drop the fat. More muscle means better blood sugar management. The weight training places a load on the bones, delaying osteoporosis.
  • AZTrailRunner
    AZTrailRunner Posts: 1,199 Member
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    ho, hum...

    My thoughts exactly! :laugh:
  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
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    I've seen a lot of misinformation circling around on this thread. Lifting weights or doing crossfit or any other sort of strength training does not cause women to bulk up. It is extraordinarily hard for adult women to put on muscle weight, since you need testosterone to do it. The women you see who look like the bulked up women look that way because they are getting assistance (steroids). If you're not using steroids, all strength training will do is help prevent muscle loss during weight loss (which everyone who is losing weight experiences some of), and increase definition. It won't make you look manly.
  • lesliemk
    lesliemk Posts: 382 Member
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    I LOVE lifting and I've been at it (along with eating clean) for almost a year now and I'm no where near bulky. It definitely takes time, work & a good diet to even begin to add size if you're a woman. Muscles are hot and if anything it's taught me that my body fat percentage is more important than the # on the scale. I think that's an amazing thing for a woman to realize!

    And for the guys who don't think muscles are sexy... Jamie Eason??? Seriously?!?! I think she's SO hot!
  • catshark209
    catshark209 Posts: 1,133 Member
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    I'm not afraid of bulking up or gaining muscle at all....and nor do I care if men find me attractive or not:happy:
    It's what I want.
    Either way, my partner (he's a man lol) is behind me no matter what I want to do.
  • Shanphichloe
    Shanphichloe Posts: 118
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    ho, hum...

    My thoughts exactly! :laugh:

    I second that!
  • Classalete
    Classalete Posts: 464 Member
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    Muscular women are gorgeous.

    Abs like a cheese grater, back like a road-map, quads like Christmas hams...I love it!

    Vein poppin', spit flyin', with enthusiasm like a coat of paint...coverin' up all the mistakes! My kind of woman.

    /end rant
  • laughingdani
    laughingdani Posts: 2,275 Member
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    I've not had any complaints about my muscular build. If anything, I'm hoping to get more muscular in the next year.

    I think some women use the "I don't want to get bulky" excuse so they don't have to work hard. No one said it was easy.

    Muscles are beautiful.
  • thecrossfitter
    thecrossfitter Posts: 424 Member
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    To each their own :) but I personally would LOVE to look like one of the women of the crossfit games:

    Screenshot2011-12-01at60216PM.pngScreenshot2011-12-01at61951PM.png

    Screenshot2011-12-01at80937AM.png

    But more importantly than looking like them, is I want to be strong like them. I love being part of a community that values physically strong women.

    I do know a lot of women who aspire to look like this:
    Screenshot2011-12-04at73832PM.png

    If that's your thing, that's fine... but for me, this isn't only unrealistic, but it also wouldn't allow me to do what I love - run and lift! (I'm not saying I think the poster who wrote they don't like the bodies of the CF women wants to look like the image above! I'm just thinking back to a lot of girls I knew in college, and the women they looked to for inspiration for bodies)

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