fat in to muscle?

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Sj20fame
Sj20fame Posts: 205 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello all,

I need some help, so I want my arms to get toned, not bulky....My husband says I need to do cardio to burn off the fat and then start doing light weight lifting to tone, but he say's if I start weight lifting now that the fat will turn into muscle and I could look bulky.

People at work say to start weight lifting now, less weight/more repetitions...?

My arms do jiggle, and I just want them to get toned, not bulky...so I'm not really sure what the proper way is.

THANKS for your help! :)
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Replies

  • BackTatJIM
    BackTatJIM Posts: 1,140 Member
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    i would do cardio and weight train, light weight a lot of reps
  • MorganLeighRN
    MorganLeighRN Posts: 411 Member
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    i would do cardio and weight train, light weight a lot of reps

    Absolutely! Light weights with multiple reps will tone, heavy weights will build muscle.
  • Just_Dot
    Just_Dot Posts: 2,289 Member
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    Oy, the misconceptions around women lifting...it kills me!! First of all, women don't have enough testosterone to get "bulky". Second of all, fat doesn't turn into muscle. You gain "tone" by breaking down the muscle fibers, and rebuilding them. As you burn and shed fat, you can see your muscles better.

    Lift heavy, low reps. Check out the book New Rules of Lifting for Women...it has some great info for people just starting out.
  • mama2shi
    mama2shi Posts: 300 Member
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    Fat does not turn into muscle when you lift weights...and lifting weights will not make you bulky. I lift heavy and love it. You can incorporate the cardio with lifting and you will get amazing results! People love to argue about the weight of weights, but I go heavy and it works!
  • dropshortjock
    dropshortjock Posts: 1
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    Light weights & high reps, alternatively try Circuit Training.
  • mama2shi
    mama2shi Posts: 300 Member
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    i would do cardio and weight train, light weight a lot of reps

    Absolutely! Light weights with multiple reps will tone, heavy weights will build muscle.

    This is not true...I lift heavy low reps and am not building bulky muscle. Women are not built that way.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,141 Member
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    Fat can't turn into anything. There's no reason why you can't do strength training whilst still doing cardio, you can burn the fat and start maintaining/building your muscle.
  • BenderFitness
    BenderFitness Posts: 349
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    Hello all,

    I need some help, so I want my arms to get toned, not bulky....My husband says I need to do cardio to burn off the fat and then start doing light weight lifting to tone, but he say's if I start weight lifting now that the fat will turn into muscle and I could look bulky.

    People at work say to start weight lifting now, less weight/more repetitions...?

    My arms do jiggle, and I just want them to get toned, not bulky...so I'm not really sure what the proper way is.

    THANKS for your help! :)

    That's not true! The more muscle you put on the higher your metabolism is. You will still need to do cardio to burn fat (but weight lifting burns fat as well). You can do cardio and toning at the same time, and your results will be quicker. You can tone your arms with body weight exercises, light weights, or heavy weights. They are all effective.
  • Jgasmic
    Jgasmic Posts: 219 Member
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    I'm pretty sure fat turning into muscle would be similar to a dog turning into a cat. Most people say heavy weight works best, but for all I know everyone on this site is a 12 year old with no knowledge of anything just messing around on the internet. Most people need to work very hard at it for quite some time before they get "bulky" so I wouldn't worry about that. Good luck! :)
  • mama2shi
    mama2shi Posts: 300 Member
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    Oy, the misconceptions around women lifting...it kills me!! First of all, women don't have enough testosterone to get "bulky". Second of all, fat doesn't turn into muscle. You gain "tone" by breaking down the muscle fibers, and rebuilding them. As you burn and shed fat, you can see your muscles better.

    Lift heavy, low reps. Check out the book New Rules of Lifting for Women...it has some great info for people just starting out.

    ^^ THIS THIS THIS!!!! Listen to her :)
  • NoxDineen
    NoxDineen Posts: 497 Member
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    Your husband is mistaken, and from what I've read lately you should be lifting as heavy as possible for about 8 reps rather than doing endless sets of 12 reps with light-medium weights. Bulk requires testosterone, so unless you take steroids you'll stay lady-shaped. I just started the whole lift heavy thing so I can only really handle 15-18lb dumbbells but I'm getting smaller rather than bigger as remaining body fat falls off and muscle shows up. :)

    Personally I'm a fan of compound exercises, things that hit more than a single muscle group. Try stuff like push-ups (arms closer together works triceps more), even girlie style on your knees will work those arms.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    Fat cannot turn into muscle any more that lead can turn into gold. They are two different substances.
  • Martucha123
    Martucha123 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    lift heavy, no way fat will turn into muscle
    lifting will help you to prevent muscle while you lose fat

    to lose fat you need to eat less then you burn
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
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    Nope. Your fat won't turn into muscle. The muscle beneath the fat will grow stronger and while you might look a little 'bulky' at first because they will swell {they get injured with lifting, small micro-tears that must be repaired, hence the soreness, swelling, and slight water-weight gain), if you stick with it, you'll get the look you want.

    I suggest lifting HEAVY actually, not light, and lift for fewer reps. I do 5 sets of 5 reps each, but I've also done 3 sets of 8 reps each. Both can work for you. Check out the book New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women. You can probably find it at the library. Even if you don't do the program, it's got some great info in there explaining why you should lift heavy weights. You might pass it on to your husband too, so that he can revise his out-dated ideas (no offense meant to him, but he is using old-school info and passing on some myths).

    Cardio will help burn calories. It will burn fat AND muscle. It's not a bad thing. There are lots of reasons to do cardio. It's just not a 'fat burner'.

    Good luck!
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    The problem with high rep/low weights is she wont get strong.
    Shes basically walking around with inflated arms till they run low again.
    The pump....

    OP.
    Lift heavy and do it 3x a week.
    And dont worry about the arms but do the whole body.
    Reason is youll work the arms as a by product of compound lifting.
    www.stronglifts.com
  • FunandFitMom
    FunandFitMom Posts: 146 Member
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    Do both...you do need the cardio to burn off the fat laying over the muscle, but muscle burns more calories than fat (and keeps burning post-workout). Light to medium weight, but higher reps. You won't bulk up :)
  • PHATmommy68
    PHATmommy68 Posts: 112
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    I do Tricep Extensions EVERY day regardless of whether I exercise or not and I only use a 5 pound weight, 3 sets of 10!

    Easy stuff and it seems to be working!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,606 Member
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    Hello all,

    I need some help, so I want my arms to get toned, not bulky....My husband says I need to do cardio to burn off the fat and then start doing light weight lifting to tone, but he say's if I start weight lifting now that the fat will turn into muscle and I could look bulky.

    People at work say to start weight lifting now, less weight/more repetitions...?

    My arms do jiggle, and I just want them to get toned, not bulky...so I'm not really sure what the proper way is.

    THANKS for your help! :)
    It's physically IMPOSSIBLE for fat to turn to muscle. It's also a MYTH that women get BULKY. This is an ongoing myth that doesn't go away because many women and men who are unfamiliar with lifting weights thinks that lifting will ALWAYS put muscle on people.
    First a little education. I am assuming when you say "bulky" you actually mean "muscular". If you looked "bulky" you would actually look fatter and bigger at the same time. If you looked more "muscular" you would see much less bodyfat with muscle definition.
    You don't "gain muscle" on calories deficit with the exception of newbies, returning athletes and obese/very overweight people and even with them it's minimal gains.
    So to "tone up" (tone is the wrong terminology) the muscle underneath, lift weights that will challenge them for about 6-8 reps to strengthen them. DON'T buy into the low weight/high reps method. This would build "muscular endurance" and doesn't condition the muscle to make it more firm than a low rep/higher weight program.
    Lift heavy (relative to you). You'll get much better results.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,606 Member
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    light weight a lot of reps
    That's for "muscular endurance" and does little to firm up muscle.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • MrsLVF
    MrsLVF Posts: 787 Member
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    Lift weights, heavy ones. :smile: And do your cardio.

    The only thing that makes a woman bulky is a lot of FAT.

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