Increased activity + large portions of food ---> bulky muscles???

[Miss Yu]

I love food, but I'm trying to lose weight. If I don't reduce the portion sizes, but maintain a high level of physical activity, does that mean I will get bulky even when I lose weight?

[Addict]

1) Why are women always so worried about bulky muscles? It takes a great deal of effort, especially for women, to become overly muscular.

2) Why don't you try losing fat instead of losing weight?

3) I believe if you maintain a caloric deficit (burn more than you consume) but still eat enough, you should lose fat.

[SmellyOrc]

Originally Posted by Addict

1) Why are women always so worried about bulky muscles? It takes a great deal of effort, especially for women, to become overly muscular.

It's because bodybuilding is the worst thing that has happened to strength training.

@Miss Yu, Addict summed it up for you. So the answer is no, you will not get bulky.

[Gyanish Gungaram]

And I maintain it. No you won't get bulky!

[silicon toad2000]

To get bulky, you'll need to do low repetition and high resistance exercises, if you keep your repetitions at about 15 or above you will run very little risk of putting on muscle mass.

[Ste Hoyles]

That is not strictly true.

Muscle hypertrophy (growth) occurs when a muscle is stressed beyond its usual capabilites and is then supplied with the required nutrients in order to grow.

For a female however, there is little to worry about in terms of actually developing big, bulky muscles. You need high levels of growth hormone and testosterone, and you have around about 10% of that a man has, so dont worry! Also on a calorie restriction you are not supplying the body with the nutrients required for muscle growth.

I am currently building a website that will help explain this.

[Miss Yu]

great. thanks for the replies.

there's a big difference between lean and thin and myself. my legs are very strong, but they don't look lean.

my dad made me wonder..he's more of an old school kinda guy...and he doesn't really approve of my approach to fitness. i sometimes bike to work and he says that it will only make my legs get bulky.

i have seen many fit women, some did seem bulky, however some of those very fit ladies had amazing bodies...

help!

[Baltar]

From what I've read, women in general don't have enough testosterone in their blood to grow the bulky muscles that men can grow. Which as I understand means that a woman doing a similar kind of exercise as a man would get much less muscle growth as a result. In other words, don't worry about it. Also, something many people don't seem to know is that muscles use up calories passively, without any extra work on your part. In that sense it's easier to burn fat/calories in the long term by growing your muscles a bit through weight training than through cardiovascular exercise, which only burns calories while you're doing it. Kind of like passive income streams vs having a job.

[dennis08]

Don't kid yourself eat that food LOL. Fooooooooood. Women can not get big for two reasons.

1. They do not have enough testostrum in their blood.

2. Men can get more oxygen into their bodies during workout allowing them to go much longer before tiring.

[Matthew Shea]

Miss Yu, this is totally unscientific, but I'd tend to side with your dad. I biked CONSTANTLY when I was a kid. I also have big legs. Coincidence? I'm not too sure it is.

I'll tell you this, though: jogging will tend to lean out your legs. Core-strengthening exercises like Pilates are also known for leaning out your figure.