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Too much at the gym, or too little?

Old 12-01-2010, 04:27 AM
  #11  
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Just wanted to throw my two cents behind what has already been said.

* Make weight lifting your focus. Lift heavy, use weight that allows only 5 to 6 reps to failure. To see examples of how this can change your body check out the Female Transformations of the Week at Bodybuilding.com Bodybuilding.com Writer: Female Transformation Of The Week - How Much Have You Changed?
* Use HIIT so you don't have to do 2 hours of cardio. This lets you work smarter not harder.
* Protein, follow Nik's suggestion. I have read countless times of women who were frustrated in their weight loss efforts until they increased their protein intake.
* Take measurements. As almeeker said, we can't always 'see' the changes.

Don't get discouraged, make the tweaks and stay consistent. The results will come, although never as fast as we would like.
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Old 12-01-2010, 05:53 AM
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Hey bbycakes,
I just wanted to second what's been said and throw out a book recommendation. Based on personal experience (I'm not associated with the book in any way), I'd encourage you to check out The New Rules of Lifting for Women by Lou Schuler. It clearly and logically lays out the information that other folks have already shared (more protein, more weights, replace steady-state cardio with HIIT, keep eating, have patience). If you're like me, no matter how many times you hear even the most valuable and heartfelt suggestions/tips/recommendations, it doesn't really sink in until you've seen a "big picture" argument for WHY you should do something. This book did that for me.

I can virtually guarantee that the argument for a different fitness routine layed out New Rules will turn your workout upside down. Not only does it explain why hours of cardio might be impeding your efforts, but it also lays out plenty of high-protein/clean-eating meal ideas, gives an easy-to-follow workout schedule, and explains various strength and conditioning exercises in detail.

Even of your fitness goals do not match the book's "plan" precisely, there's still plenty of great information. In my experience, there's hardly anything that changes your perspective more than going form 10+ hours a week in the gym to 4 hours! Might be worth a trip to your local library...

In any case, I salute your efforts thus far -- you certainly have a great deal of drive and motivation and I think that's more than half the battle!
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Old 12-01-2010, 06:54 AM
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I agree with all the previous posts, but I want to add from personal experience, the yoga is a GOOD thing and I hope you follow through with it. For one, alternating workouts does a lot more for you than the same exact routine every day ever will. I have joint issues, and I cannot tell you how much of a difference regular deep stretching does to make me feel better. A good yoga/meditation routine relieves my pain better than vicodin, and that's no lie. It also gets you in tune with your body, allows you to focus on individual body parts and really FEEL what you're doing. Watching tv while mindlessly trotting on the treadmill doesn't do this. The deep relaxation at the end is the reward, don't skip it or shortchange it. Breathe deep and exhale all the stress in your life, and you'll sleep better and recover faster.

Two weeks is not enough time to judge anything. It's barely enough time to start feeling like you aren't going to die during cardio. Stick with it, the results will come.

Also if it hurts, don't do it, especially where your injury is concerned. There's a difference between feeling the burn and being in pain. Burn is good, pain is bad.
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Old 12-03-2010, 07:24 AM
  #14  
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Thanks for all the input, I really appreciate it!

It seems like everyone agrees to do more weight lifting, but the truth is I already AM rather bulky...I have massive huge thigh muscles with a layer of fat over it, so I just look huge and fat in my opinion. If I keep building muscle under the fat, wont it just make me look even bigger?

I want some way to work out and lose weight, and maybe make the muscles leaner too? I have a wide, thick body shape that I really, really dislike.
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Old 12-03-2010, 08:00 AM
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I don't think you will bulk up, the bulky appearance comes from body fat, not muscle.

Trust me its hard for any women to put on enough pure muscle to make them look bulky. The bulk is from having too much subcutaneous fat (under the skin.)

Muscle is way more dense than fat so even if you are packing on some decent muscle, by the time you get to your desired body fat, you will love the way you look!

Just look at that picture I posted on page 1, if you can't squat as much as her, you won't be bigger either. Muscle size = muscle strength. Not to mention squats are way more effective for getting six pack abs than crunches.

I hope this makes you feel better: there a lot of men out there that love women with curves, not stick figures, so love your body!
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Old 12-03-2010, 08:22 AM
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Originally Posted by bbycakes
Thanks for all the input, I really appreciate it!

It seems like everyone agrees to do more weight lifting, but the truth is I already AM rather bulky...I have massive huge thigh muscles with a layer of fat over it, so I just look huge and fat in my opinion. If I keep building muscle under the fat, wont it just make me look even bigger?

I want some way to work out and lose weight, and maybe make the muscles leaner too? I have a wide, thick body shape that I really, really dislike.
bbycakes,
The weight lifting will help because:
1- more muscle building will increase the amount of calories you burn in a day.
2- you will increase lean mass AND reduce body fat by lifting weights AND doing cardiovascular activity AND eating a balanced diet that fuels your workouts.
3- the muscles will help your body be stronger and reduce your risk of injuries.

As long as you are burning more calories that you are taking in, and you are not on any steroids you are NOT going to get more bulky! No worries!

Originally Posted by midwestj
I don't think you will bulk up, the bulky appearance comes from body fat, not muscle.

Trust me its hard for any women to put on enough pure muscle to make them look bulky. The bulk is from having too much subcutaneous fat (under the skin.)

Muscle is way more dense than fat so even if you are packing on some decent muscle, by the time you get to your desired body fat, you will love the way you look!

Just look at that picture I posted on page 1, if you can't squat as much as her, you won't be bigger either. Muscle size = muscle strength. Not to mention squats are way more effective for getting six pack abs than crunches.

I hope this makes you feel better: there a lot of men out there that love women with curves, not stick figures, so love your body!
I agree!
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Old 12-03-2010, 08:43 AM
  #17  
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Hey bbcakes,
I totally agree with what midwestj is saying. Muscle on us ladies rarely looks bulky (barring certain health problems/hormonal imbalances) -- your time is better spent focusing on eliminating some of that body fat overlying it. Ironically, for females, doing what guys do to "bulk up" has what I would consider an opposite effect on us since lifting weights challenges your body in ways that result in major calorie burn both during and after your work out. That interval training-type cardio others have mentioned has a similar effect. You will lose body fat and retain muscle mass. Additionally, the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns naturally -- so instead of having to eat less and less as you lose weight the "conventional" way (i.e. low calories, lots of cardio, etc. which results in loss of both muscle mass and body fat resulting in a slower metabolism) your body will continue to need a lot of energy (calories -- yum!) to maintain its new leaner, meaner form. Instead of focusing on "weight loss", try thinking about "fat loss" -- this means cutting body fat while preserving (or increasing!) your metabolism. In my experience, this is way more delicious than feeling guilted into choosing the salad over the burger or, worse, having to pass up a fun night out.

Also, just a note of reality in here, girl to girl -- I saw that you wrote that you dislike the shape of your body, and this worries me. I can relate in some ways, being a short "curvy" girl myself -- sometimes I feel like I'm all boob, thigh and hip and not in a good way! A person cannot change the underlying dimensions of your body or the shape of your muscles no matter how hard you work out. You cannot have a "dancer's body" by doing a dancer's workout (as I saw on a Shape or Fitness magazine lately) and your muscles cannot become longer or leaner than they are genetically predetermined to be. Because you cannot change these things (i.e. no matter how hard I try I will never, ever have a body like Kate Moss), you have to work with what you have and realize that this is not a bad thing! For me, that meant becoming less jiggly (lol), stronger (Here's me: "Like, holy crap! I'm pretty strong! I could get REALLY strong, like stronger-than-some-guys-at-my-gym strong!"), and faster than I was previously. I say this with all sincerity: realize you already have a good base to start from. Don't try to change it into something it can never be, but morph it into something that makes you feel better about your badass self!


(sorry for letting this get so long, its just something I've been thinking a lot about lately )
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Old 12-03-2010, 09:16 AM
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Great post Sailordoom!

I think what you said about lifting is spot on.

Everything guys do to get big muscles cause women to get lean, athletic, and toned.

I think its a shame that most women think that weight lifting will make them bulk up, when the opposite truly happens. They in turn never pick up any weights or go at the weight training seriously and spend way too many long grueling hours doing marathon cardio sessions (YUCK! which are seriosuly boring and not challenging at all!)

Its all about testosterone, we have it so we get big muscles, women produce a fraction of the testosterone men do, so they produce way less muscle mass too. It doesn't mean they can't be really strong and lean, it just means that the size of their muscles cannot naturally get as big as a man.
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Old 12-08-2010, 09:24 PM
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well i was once told to either focus on muscle gain or weight loss not both.
the training programs are two different things. to gain muscle sometime requires eating more than a daily caloric needs.
if you want to loss and tone up. just eat your daily level and exercise to burn more so you will always be under the daily needs. also refine your numbers based on your current weight monthly at a min. they are right a person needs a lot of protein base on current weight for example i need about 160 grams of it a day. according to what info i have read. i get that thru fish,nuts,grains, powders, bars.

my suggestion is to dial down the cardio you could very well be over training. also after your routine within 30 minute intake as much protein as you can an easy way is a glass of whole organic milk (with some nuts in my case) which has the two best proteins in it. names escape me. also every 9- 12 weeks a rest week helps. change up routines somehow every 8 weeks so your body will not get used to it. gains come in from over lifting but not over training.
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Old 12-09-2010, 12:06 PM
  #20  
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I would like to just say it took me about 5-6 weeks before I saw any weight loss. I know everybody's metabolism is different so just be patient. I was getting a little frustrated but once it started to come off it was steady. I am kind of at a plateau now but have lost 76lbs since January 17th. I focused on weight loss first because I did not want to be bulky. Now I am at a point where I want to build muscle because I lost a lot of it by my weight loss. So if you want to build muscle you might want to take the advice of some of posters. Good luck and congrats on taking your first steps.

Patti
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