Can Women Get Bulky?
Options
Replies
-
something I find interesting that most people dont talk about when this comes up is that there are two kinds of muscle fibers.
type I - the endurance muscles - make up more than half of the muscle fibers in women.
type II - the power! - make up about two-thirds of the muscle fibers in men.
we aren't structured the same.
it doesnt work on us like that.0 -
Women can bulk up-but it is in a different way than men. I have seen it happen.0
-
Nobody is saying women can't build muscle. Women's bodies, just like men's bodies, are made up of muscle and with a dedicated regimen of heavy lifting, daily calorie surplus and supplementation, sure, women can build muscle.
Fact is, women simply don't ordinarily produce enough testosterone to turn into mini Ah-nold's overnight, or even over the course of the year. Generally when people encourage women to "keep lifting and not worry about it" they most likely mean that women shouldn't be afraid to pick up a weight or seven because most likely they'll appreciate the results.0 -
BTW, when I google the word bulky, this is what I get:
bulk·y/ˈbəlkē/
Adjective:
Taking up much space, typically inconveniently; large and unwieldy.
(of a person) Heavily built.
This, to me, is a very different definition from what people throw around to describe women who have muscular frames. I just want to clarify where I am coming from when I see that term.
One's personal definition of bulky and what a dictionary says might be two different things. I have my own level I would love to achieve which may be considered "slim" to some and "bulky" to others. I really believe that a lot of people that say "women can't bulk up" have it in their heads that the women are scared to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, when in fact, the women are scared to look like the swimmer from the article I posted (who is not really bulky at all as several people have pointed out).
As someone else mentioned, some women are scared to look bigger than Jennifer Aniston. (Not myself personally, but some women don't want any muscle definition at all). So why keep telling these women to lift and that they shouldn't be scared? Why keep perpetuating the myth that women can't build muscle?
Because most people on here are unaware of what another person's subjective, according to what you just wrote, definition of what bulky is, and therefore, arguments happen. You can't fault someone for having a definition different from you of what bulky may actually look like and therefore answer a question that relates to their own world experience and definition of the term, if you have just clearly stated it is up to one's own opinion of what bulky means. I have defined what bulky means to me and which ladies in the pictures fulfill that definition. My scope defines my advice to give. People hit a plateau and are not getting the results they want, all most of us have to offer in way of advice is what has worked for them.
If you think bulky is muscular (as I see muscular as well defined and not bulky) then my advice would not be beneficial to you because I have a different understanding of what it means.0 -
I get that many women want definition or want to bulk up. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from those goals. However, I see lots of women that really don't want to bulk up (even a little), or those (like me) who want to slim down muscles they already have. There doesn't seem to be a lot of good advice for how to go about that and all over the place there are people saying "Woman can't bulk up." In some places, it even looks like they haven't read the original post and have just said that indiscriminately.
My purpose was merely to state my doubt. I assumed (correctly) that I would get plenty of counter-arguments. I would be happy to be proven wrong, just as I would also be happy if someone had interesting advice.
Also, yes, I agree with BerryH that some women believe they will "bulk up" as soon as they look at a pink dumbbell. You are quite correct (in my opinion) that water retention and swelling in the beginning can be mistaken and during that time it is important to encourage such women to continue.
However, I take major issues with saying "most" or "all" (I'm not saying you think that, but I'm going by the amount of posts where "women can't bulk up" was given as the only response to any kind of doubt). There are plenty of people here who understand the difference between water retention and real muscle gain. Some people are actually quite in touch with their bodies despite having gone soft. As someone who knows she builds muscle easily and quickly, it is extremely disheartening to hear over and over again that this can't happen or if it does there is no way to prevent it so give up and accept it.
*sigh*
Your original post was not actually asking for advice, but as the responses were not to your liking, here you go...
If you want to lose the definition in the muscle then stop using them. And if you want that area smaller - lose BF%.
I find discussion of a topic leads to many interesting ideas to explore. It doesn't have to have a specific aim such as "advice" or "argument" to be useful. Perhaps I don't even really know what I want out of this and by discussing it I'll find it.
Some things:
1) I find any idea that is given as an absolute hard to take, therefore I have a difficult time accepting that "women can't bulk up" is true 100% of the time and seeing it over and over again bothers me.
2) I am losing BF% by jogging. I am not however losing any muscle despite doing next to no other exercise. I have quite large muscles from having done ballet (to a serious level) from the time I was 4 till the time I was 17. I am now 35 and there has been no loss of muscle. If any other suggestions are forth-coming I'd be very very interested in hearing them.
3) In reference to #1 and #2 I have a fear that some lady out there will follow the advice to weight lift and will bulk up beyond what she personally is comfortable with and then will not be able to rid herself of the gained muscle. I realise this is a rare chance, but some people do go hard core on here and I'd like there to be at least one article/discussion/topic/whatever that they can search where someone has expressed doubt and where perhaps others can also share their muscle building/losing stories so that they have one more piece of information to think about before they get into a serious weight-lifting routine.
4) I didn't realise that is what I was aiming for until just now.0 -
My legs decided to get bulky. But what can ya do? I dont even lift! I had no say in the matter! I just did my workouts and my body decided to do what it wanted! lol0
-
holy *kitten*, I woke up this morning after doing a 3 sets of reps with my 3lbers last night and my arms were so bulky I couldn't get out of bed.
ffffffuuuuuuu-0 -
It's less to do with training and more to do with eating tbh. Obviously you need to train hard, but a lot of people don't realise how much food plays a part in muscle building.
I've done a "bulk" before purposefully. Before that I had little muscle definition (only a bit in biceps/shoulders) although I lifted heavy for over a year. Now I put on muscle easily, I think, and yet I didn't actually start gaining any until I was eating to bulk up (3,000 calories a day +)
This.
I'm a guy (and thus have male testosterone levels), but unless you've done it before, few people understand what it takes to bulk. It isn't just lifting weights, it is also cramming more food in your face than you can stand. I'm closing in on bulking, holding maintenence right now, at >3500 calories a day. To bulk that number will have to go north of 4000 calories a day. You don't accidentally eat that much. It is hard to do. Some people might do it here and there, but to sustain that level of eating day after day is every bit as hard, if not moreso, as dieting to lose weight.
Bulking is not something you accidentally do, even if you are lifting heavy.0 -
BTW, when I google the word bulky, this is what I get:
bulk·y/ˈbəlkē/
Adjective:
Taking up much space, typically inconveniently; large and unwieldy.
(of a person) Heavily built.
This, to me, is a very different definition from what people throw around to describe women who have muscular frames. I just want to clarify where I am coming from when I see that term.
One's personal definition of bulky and what a dictionary says might be two different things. I have my own level I would love to achieve which may be considered "slim" to some and "bulky" to others. I really believe that a lot of people that say "women can't bulk up" have it in their heads that the women are scared to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, when in fact, the women are scared to look like the swimmer from the article I posted (who is not really bulky at all as several people have pointed out).
As someone else mentioned, some women are scared to look bigger than Jennifer Aniston. (Not myself personally, but some women don't want any muscle definition at all). So why keep telling these women to lift and that they shouldn't be scared? Why keep perpetuating the myth that women can't build muscle?
Because most people on here are unaware of what another person's subjective, according to what you just wrote, definition of what bulky is, and therefore, arguments happen. You can't fault someone for having a definition different from you of what bulky may actually look like and therefore answer a question that relates to their own world experience and definition of the term, if you have just clearly stated it is up to one's own opinion of what bulky means. I have defined what bulky means to me and which ladies in the pictures fulfill that definition. My scope defines my advice to give. People hit a plateau and are not getting the results they want, all most of us have to offer in way of advice is what has worked for them.
If you think bulky is muscular (as I see muscular as well defined and not bulky) then my advice would not be beneficial to you because I have a different understanding of what it means.
Very true. Also, thank you for writing out nice long, well thought-out and intelligent responses. I really appreciate and admire that! 0 -
I find discussion of a topic leads to many interesting ideas to explore. It doesn't have to have a specific aim such as "advice" or "argument" to be useful. Perhaps I don't even really know what I want out of this and by discussing it I'll find it.
Some things:
1) I find any idea that is given as an absolute hard to take, therefore I have a difficult time accepting that "women can't bulk up" is true 100% of the time and seeing it over and over again bothers me.
2) I am losing BF% by jogging. I am not however losing any muscle despite doing next to no other exercise. I have quite large muscles from having done ballet (to a serious level) from the time I was 4 till the time I was 17. I am now 35 and there has been no loss of muscle. If any other suggestions are forth-coming I'd be very very interested in hearing them.
3) In reference to #1 and #2 I have a fear that some lady out there will follow the advice to weight lift and will bulk up beyond what she personally is comfortable with and then will not be able to rid herself of the gained muscle. I realise this is a rare chance, but some people do go hard core on here and I'd like there to be at least one article/discussion/topic/whatever that they can search where someone has expressed doubt and where perhaps others can also share their muscle building/losing stories so that they have one more piece of information to think about before they get into a serious weight-lifting routine.
4) I didn't realise that is what I was aiming for until just now.
What's to fear? Weightlifting isn't life threatening, if you're a healthy individual. If she follows the advice to lift weights and finds that she's dissatisfied with the "bulk," she can always scale back. I'm just not sure where this "fear" thing comes from.0 -
BTW, when I google the word bulky, this is what I get:
bulk·y/ˈbəlkē/
Adjective:
Taking up much space, typically inconveniently; large and unwieldy.
(of a person) Heavily built.
This, to me, is a very different definition from what people throw around to describe women who have muscular frames. I just want to clarify where I am coming from when I see that term.
this brings to mind the picture of an obese person, not a strong woman - BUT i would love it if muscle took up most of the space in my body instead of fat, word?0 -
BTW, when I google the word bulky, this is what I get:
bulk·y/ˈbəlkē/
Adjective:
Taking up much space, typically inconveniently; large and unwieldy.
(of a person) Heavily built.
This, to me, is a very different definition from what people throw around to describe women who have muscular frames. I just want to clarify where I am coming from when I see that term.
One's personal definition of bulky and what a dictionary says might be two different things. I have my own level I would love to achieve which may be considered "slim" to some and "bulky" to others. I really believe that a lot of people that say "women can't bulk up" have it in their heads that the women are scared to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, when in fact, the women are scared to look like the swimmer from the article I posted (who is not really bulky at all as several people have pointed out).
As someone else mentioned, some women are scared to look bigger than Jennifer Aniston. (Not myself personally, but some women don't want any muscle definition at all). So why keep telling these women to lift and that they shouldn't be scared? Why keep perpetuating the myth that women can't build muscle?
Because most people on here are unaware of what another person's subjective, according to what you just wrote, definition of what bulky is, and therefore, arguments happen. You can't fault someone for having a definition different from you of what bulky may actually look like and therefore answer a question that relates to their own world experience and definition of the term, if you have just clearly stated it is up to one's own opinion of what bulky means. I have defined what bulky means to me and which ladies in the pictures fulfill that definition. My scope defines my advice to give. People hit a plateau and are not getting the results they want, all most of us have to offer in way of advice is what has worked for them.
If you think bulky is muscular (as I see muscular as well defined and not bulky) then my advice would not be beneficial to you because I have a different understanding of what it means.
Very true. Also, thank you for writing out nice long, well thought-out and intelligent responses. I really appreciate and admire that!
Awww, you're welcome and thank you for the compliment, it has really made my day! We have all sorts of uplifting going on in this thread!! :flowerforyou:0 -
If you are interested in being "smaller" then simply lose weight by reducing your bf (as I see you are trying to do through running). I'm not sure what physique you are aiming for, but many users on MFP advocate for weight lifting because its proven to aid in fat loss (which is what you are trying to do). And because having muscles helps to create more definition in anyone's physique, which looks good aesthetically. LIfting weights alone is not going to cause anyone to get bulky, so if you're concerned about getting bulky through weight lifting you are mistaken. You should do your own research on how much it takes to eat in order to build just 1 pound of muscle. I'm sure you are probably eating at a deficit, so there is no way you will bulk if you lift weights. If you are not happy with your size you need to re-evaluate your diet. Running will only give you a greater calorie deficit, it's not going to decrease your body fat. Weight lifting can. But if you are unhappy with the size of your muscles then simply eat a deficit and you will lose both fat and muscle.As a former athlete, that's what I did and I'm not happy with how "wiggly and jiggly" my body is, so now that I've got my bf down I'm back to hitting the weights... heavy lifting specifically. I know I'm not going to bulk because I'm eating at either maintenance or a slight deficit. Its also possible that the look you want to achieve is not realistic given your genetics.0
-
"And because having muscles helps to create more definition in anyone's physique, which looks good aesthetically."
I think the point of the article was, not every woman has the same idea of what looks good aesthetically.0 -
Plus, we have to accept the body type that we have. People get a "goal body" in their head - which are often heavily photoshopped - and are disappointed if they don't match up.
I have a significant amount of muscle on my legs. It's also were my body likes to hold onto fat. If my goal was to have legs like a Victoria's Secrets model with a thigh gap, the only way to achieve that would be complete bed rest so my muscles atrophied. Not an option.
Personally, I'd rather my meaty legs (which, in my opinion, look pretty damn hot in a pair of high heels, despite being meaty) that are strong and muscular than non-bulky sticks.
Also, like others have said, Olympic athletes have bodies that are specific to their sport. Similarly, a Quarter Horse - which does sprints - is a stockier built horse than an Arabian, which do endurance running. Both are smaller than draft horses like Clydesdales.
First, I want to say that I think you look great in your profile pic and yes, you rock the high heels!
I'm disheartened to hear that you feel the only way to achieve less muscle in your legs would be to lie in bed all day though. I also have muscular thighs (that are where I store my fat too) and was somewhat hoping some tangent on this discussion would eventually get around to how to lose that in a healthy way.
Somewhere else you mentioned that a lot of women that are afraid to bulk don't actually post pics so you know what they mean. That would be useful, I agree. As for me, my own thighs are my definition of too bulky, but since they are covered in fat as well right now, they aren't a very good standard of comparison. (There's a little less fat than in my profile pic now, but alas, I seem to have lost fat from everywhere except my thighs).0 -
yes women can get bulky... bulky = fat+ muscle.. if you intentionally want to get this way you continue to train with weights and working out in general but eat over your TDEE.
honestly i think i'm a good example of this :laugh: i have quite a bit of LBM but I'm also 30% fat. i got that way by continuing to exercise and strength train (so I am pretty fit and strong for a 200 pound woman) while eating well over my TDEE which means I gained fat.
if you want to lift weights and not increase your bulk then just eat a bit below your TDEE and you will slim down your fat which will reduce overall bulk0 -
I think the main focus on this article, though they somewhat skirted around it, is that our bodies are a form of their function. They adapt to what we ask, in order to perform what we ask. Whether that ends up creating more muscle, less, or any combination in between, it's all a form of function.
Which is really the point. People get so caught up in what their bodies look like, they forget that their body exists for one thing: To move. They forget that their body has a function of movement, and it's designed to do stuff. How it looks, and whether that look is accepted by themselves or others, is merely a bonus aspect of the original purpose.
All those athletes pictured do care about what they look like, but it comes second to what they want their bodies to do. Many, many athletes will say that they like looking "good", but they prefer better performance.0 -
Did you read the full article on how these women get there?? They aren't just hitting the gym and lifting weights, there is waaaaay more to it as written.
The article wasn't exactly about those women in the pictures, but yes, I am aware they were working out a LOT harder than the average woman (and some of them were attempting to bulk up specifically, though I'm not sure the gymnasts or the swimmers were attempting to bulk up per say).
The point is not that someone will lift up a weight and suddenly put on 10lbs of pure muscle. The only point I was trying to make was that women CAN bulk up and shouldn't be told indiscriminately that they can't. If they are ex-athletes or just prone to putting on muscle, that chance is even greater.
Everyone has made a very good point about food being important too and that is true. However, when you say "we are eating in a deficit", you are not accounting for improper or mistaken logging where a woman might think she is eating in a deficit but is actually above.
I continue to have doubt.
A couple of hundred calories extra each day will NOT get to what the few women in the pictures who may be considered 'bulky' get to - they eat a boat load more than that. Most of the women in the are not that muscular at all and you can bet most of them lift heavy weights. If these highly trained athletes do not bulk up, why would be expect the mass population of women to?
And you will obviously continue to have doubt.
Yes if they really want to gain a good amount of muscle they would have to align the stars right. They use supplements some of these ladies. Shot put lady is a lot of body fat. gymnasts and swimmers have a very low body fat percentage showing the definition of muscle. and body builders spend a week carb depleting and are in excessive dehydration on the days of the shows.0 -
something I find interesting that most people dont talk about when this comes up is that there are two kinds of muscle fibers.
type I - the endurance muscles - make up more than half of the muscle fibers in women.
type II - the power! - make up about two-thirds of the muscle fibers in men.
we aren't structured the same.
it doesnt work on us like that.
if this were true the way you were presenting it then there would be no female sprinters and no male marathon runners. muscle fibers dont work via comparison, they work on on individuals. so yes, women can train to strengthen their type 2 muscle fibers and men can train to strengthen their type 1 muscles. also, there ae some studies that show that the types of muscle fibers can change depending on how they are used.0 -
If you are interested in being "smaller" then simply lose weight by reducing your bf (as I see you are trying to do through running). I'm not sure what physique you are aiming for, but many users on MFP advocate for weight lifting because its proven to aid in fat loss (which is what you are trying to do). And because having muscles helps to create more definition in anyone's physique, which looks good aesthetically. LIfting weights alone is not going to cause anyone to get bulky, so if you're concerned about getting bulky through weight lifting you are mistaken. You should do your own research on how much it takes to eat in order to build just 1 pound of muscle. I'm sure you are probably eating at a deficit, so there is no way you will bulk if you lift weights. If you are not happy with your size you need to re-evaluate your diet. Running will only give you a greater calorie deficit, it's not going to decrease your body fat. Weight lifting can. But if you are unhappy with the size of your muscles then simply eat a deficit and you will lose both fat and muscle.As a former athlete, that's what I did and I'm not happy with how "wiggly and jiggly" my body is, so now that I've got my bf down I'm back to hitting the weights... heavy lifting specifically. I know I'm not going to bulk because I'm eating at either maintenance or a slight deficit. Its also possible that the look you want to achieve is not realistic given your genetics.
Thank you thank you thank you! I think I finally get something I wasn't putting together properly before. It's weird how one can read the same information six times, but just the way it is said makes the difference to whether one actually "gets" it or not.
Let me see if I get this straight - basically, if I continue to drop weight by dieting, eventually the fat will be gone and my body will start to use the muscle next? or somewhat at the same time?
Yes, it is possible I won't achieve the look I want given my genetics. Looking at both sides of my family tree, though, it could go either way, so I still have hope. (mother's side is skinny, father's side is muscular). However, you are the first person to say something to me that made me think I have a chance. I actually posted a query before about how to lose muscle and didn't really get an answer I could grasp.
Anyway, it's the middle of the night where I am so I should be off to bed. Thank you everyone!0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 389 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 919 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions