Do not want big muscular arms

Women don't have enough testosterone in their bodies to actually bulk like a man. I think definition on a woman's arm is beautiful. What may make them look bigger to begin with is if you have extra body fat over your arms and you tone the muscle underneath. But, as soon as you start dropping body fat that will go away. I go as heavy as I can go with high reps. I actually go for a full minute w/o rest or until I can't do anymore. Right now the highest weight I can do and keep good form is 8lbs. Doesn't sound like much, but I started at 3lbs. And I am doing circuits in order to get my heart rate up with no rest between.

lay off the steroids, and you won't bulk up.

madonna doesn't have bulky muscles, she just has very low body fat. I wouldn't put her arms at any more than 12". If she gained a little fat she would probably look 100x better. I agree she looks gross though

You won't bulk up on a calorie deficit. As mentioned, you women need to seriously eat a lot of calories to make up for the lower testosterone to add substantial amounts of lean muscle. Just lifting heavy, or training in high volume (resistance x total reps) isn't going to elicit that kind of hypertrophy in muscle.

It's incredibly difficult to get muscular arms. Don't sweat it. Just work toward fitness, and you'll be pleased with your results.

That's great, because you won't. Simple as that.

Women don't have the amount of hormones (testosterone) to create big manly muscles. If they want anything close they have to work REALLY hard at it. Heavy weights, strong commitment to training (not just "working out") TONS of food.

A person's arms (or any body part for that matter) will look bigger when they have a combination of excess fat and muscle. Lose the fat and your arms will get smaller. Don't get too lean though or the muscle you do have (which won't be that much, as mentioned above) will show more, creating more definition. I'd say around 18-20% as a minimum if you don't want much definition.

Also, don't worry about the heavy weights. They may be a factor in what's needed to build muscle, but it doesn't happen with heavy weights alone. In fact, plenty of women (myself included) have gotten smaller and had great results by lifting heavy. I have probably more than average, but please don't take that as having happened overnight. I've lifted heavy for over 2 years straight and purposefully "bulked up" last year with 3000+ calories a day and 5 days a week in the gym pushing myself as hard as I could!...
...and I still don't look like a man!

Also, to add, you mentioned Madonna. Her body fat is really low, hence all her muscles showing. If she had a little more body fat she would look slim still, but pretty normal muscle-wise. Lifting heavy is awesome, it won't bulk you up, especially on the amount you would be eating to lose weight. It does give absolutely fantastic results though in terms of "toning up"

For me to get really skinny arms i weight train a lot.
I first warm up (start with) 5lbs weights and then the next week the last set i will do 10lbs.
This makes my arms skinnier not bigger.

Hi, not intended to offend. I am 5'3 I last weighed 159 at the start of my journey, its been 2 weeks and a couple of days. I'm eating cleaner probably 80/20. I am doing the 30day shred and cardio (airdyne, walking/jog) Plus a little extra leg lifts and abs.

I don't want to get muscular arms. I think its unattractive on me. My upper arms are big (fat now) they are large compared to my lower arms, disproportionate. How do I not get too much muscle? Keep using small weights, and not increase?

I think I have pretty strong arms just from carrying my kids around, but don't want that manly definition. Thanks!

Don;t worry there aren't a lot of ways you can screw this up. You will benefit from any lifting program and your arms will look much better with a little muscle supporting them.

Here is an excellent book which will answer many questions and give you ideas for a lift program that works best for your goals "New Rules of Lifting for Women" - this is an excellent book.

I do want muscular arms. Mine are 12.5 inches big and I like them. I lift heavy. Photos in profile.

If you don't want muscular arms don't lift. Don't get low body fat.

It's not muscle, it's fat - once your body fat is reduced you'll see that lifting heavy will have left you with pretty slender arms - and you'll be even quicker to reduce that body fat if you lift heavy.

Win / win.

So I SHOULD lift heavy, and I won't bulk up? That doesnt make sense to me, lol. Chicks w/muscles like Madonna for instance looks weird to me.

Haha, someone just mentioned her to me the other day and said her arms were scary looking.

Madonna has very little body fat which is why you can see so much definition in her arms. Take a look at my pics. My main pic is my arm flexed but look at my pics where my arms are relaxed. Not bulky, right? I have been weight lifting for 7 years. I have body fat that hides a little of that definition and I also don't look extremely heavy to try to get them bigger. You can lift up to 25 or 30 lbs on curls and still not look like madonna, I'd safely say.

Okay, I know everyone says that you can't build muscle all that quickly and unless you are intentional about it as a female. Well.. that may be true - but I also know the fear you feel when you take measurements of your arms and they get bigger.. not smaller! Eeek! Not a fan of looking like an offensive lineman. Sigh.

I've found it fairly easy to develop muscle personally - but I know that what looks like "bulk" is just what "TourThePast" says - it is that the fat on top of the muscle hasn't disappeared yet. My body is just going through a transition stage - you may be the same.

I remember someone saying recently it takes some damn hard work for a man to build muscle, nevermind women

Okay, I know everyone says that you can't build muscle all that quickly and unless you are intentional about it as a female. Well.. that may be true - but I also know the fear you feel when you take measurements of your arms and they get bigger.. not smaller! Eeek! Not a fan of looking like an offensive lineman. Sigh.

I've found it fairly easy to develop muscle personally - but I know that what looks like "bulk" is just what "TourThePast" says - it is that the fat on top of the muscle hasn't disappeared yet. My body is just going through a transition stage - you may be the same.

In case you wanna know.... I really don't think you look like an offensive lineman haha