i'm so afraid to lift heavy in fear that i will get too musclely. i know its stupid and i know all the facts of how women can't bulk up due to not having high levels of testosterone but i can't get it out of my head. i've only done meso 1 from sts and mabe 2 weeks of meso 2. i haven't even looked at meso 3. so i was hoping some of you strong ladies who have went from light to heavy weight training can share the results you had as well as how you overcame the fear of being bulky.
heavy lifting fear
- Thread starter kariev
- Start date
Fit_mommy
Cathlete
Just because a woman can't bulk up like a man can doesn't mean you will like the results from heavy lifting. Whatever changes heavy lifting makes to your body may or may NOT be what you like/want. I'm not saying not to try it but don't think the fear is silly because I have heard women say that they don't like the look that heavy lifting gives them.
AYLE09
Cathlete
Hi kariev,
It's true that you will gain muscle from heavy lifting, but you really have to feed the muscle in order to bulk up at all. Unless you're planning on upping you calories and protien intake I really don't think you have to worry about getting bulky. That's not to say you won't see changes and Fit_Mommy is right when she says that you may or may not like those changes. It all depends on what you're going for. I enjoy heavy lifting and my muscles have grown, but hey- if you start disliking the results then you can always just ease off and lighten everything back up right?
p.s. MESO 3 is fantastic!
It's true that you will gain muscle from heavy lifting, but you really have to feed the muscle in order to bulk up at all. Unless you're planning on upping you calories and protien intake I really don't think you have to worry about getting bulky. That's not to say you won't see changes and Fit_Mommy is right when she says that you may or may not like those changes. It all depends on what you're going for. I enjoy heavy lifting and my muscles have grown, but hey- if you start disliking the results then you can always just ease off and lighten everything back up right?
p.s. MESO 3 is fantastic!
Melclear
Cathlete
Hi Kariev -
I just wanted to mention that heavy lifting helped me lose a lot of weight. No bulk (as far as I can tell). I had lots of pounds/inches left to lose, did STS (3-month) and by the middle of M3, had dropped 3 clothing sizes (without big changes to my diet). I was really skeptical at first that heavy lifting and less cardio (I was only doing 2-3 each week and some were short although all were Cathe so intense) could result in weight loss (although I had read about that working for folks on this forum), but it really did the trick for me. Because of M2 and M3, I am smaller than I was in HS (and I am 35).
Maybe it will work for you too! Good luck!
Mel
I just wanted to mention that heavy lifting helped me lose a lot of weight. No bulk (as far as I can tell). I had lots of pounds/inches left to lose, did STS (3-month) and by the middle of M3, had dropped 3 clothing sizes (without big changes to my diet). I was really skeptical at first that heavy lifting and less cardio (I was only doing 2-3 each week and some were short although all were Cathe so intense) could result in weight loss (although I had read about that working for folks on this forum), but it really did the trick for me. Because of M2 and M3, I am smaller than I was in HS (and I am 35).
Maybe it will work for you too! Good luck!
Mel
LaughingWater
Cathlete
Well, I'm actually trying to bulk up a little. I have stick arms and would kill for guns like Cathe's.
I have 3 weeks left of my 6 month rotation, and I'm really enjoying Meso 3. I notice the strength gains in other areas of my life too, like when I'm carrying things up and down the stairs or helping move furniture. I love being stronger.
Psychologically it's a blast as well. When I pick up a weight and think, "Oh, man. I'm not going to be able to lift this," and then I actually DO lift it with great form, I'm so excited. That stays with me for the rest of the day.
As for the bulking, I have nice definition now, but no guns yet.
I have 3 weeks left of my 6 month rotation, and I'm really enjoying Meso 3. I notice the strength gains in other areas of my life too, like when I'm carrying things up and down the stairs or helping move furniture. I love being stronger.
Psychologically it's a blast as well. When I pick up a weight and think, "Oh, man. I'm not going to be able to lift this," and then I actually DO lift it with great form, I'm so excited. That stays with me for the rest of the day.
As for the bulking, I have nice definition now, but no guns yet.
thanks guys. i also keep reading how full body workouts are beneficial for time constraints as well as results. I like doing full body so i decided to pull out meso 2 and put a new spin on it. I did one exercise for each muscle group (week 1 workouts) today and lifted to complete failure on each set. So for chest i did flat bench, back: bent over rows, shoulders: front press, biceps: barbell curl, triceps: lying extensions and legs: the 1st triset of the workout. It took about 40 min in all and i really pushed myself. I then following it with 15 min of HIIT on the treadmill (hill sprints) I set the incline at 12% and ran for 1 min at 6mph and then took it down for 1 min at 3mph (repeat 8 times) I feel like i got a really good workout in and since the workout had me jumping around on muscle groups i didn't get bored. I'm going to stick with this 3 times per week choosing different exercises each time and the other 2 days do some steady state cardio with abs. I think this will ease me into heavy lifting with my own little twist.
RapidBreath
Cathlete
so don't do it. I prefer to lift light or do bodyweight work. I am one of the few ladies (1 in 5) who are capable of putting on lots of muscle (thanks to insulin resistance) I prefer yoga for strength training, running or step for cardio and ballet for fun. I put on muscle from bringing in a flat of 24 water bottles So, if you don't want to lift heavy don't lift heavy.
So, if you don't want to lift heavy don't lift heavy.
ldy_solana
Cathlete
i had to trial and error. i found upper body gets great results with heavy lifting while my legs build rather easily b/c they are naturally strong so i have to lift really heavy (about 225 leg press 3 sets of 12) to get a good workout but although it didn't look like i gained there i can tell by how my pant legs were to tight. i still do some leg presses but only two sets once a week. the rest of my lower body work comes from kettlebells,barre workouts, and lower body focused workouts like pylometrics,step,kickboxing as well as some dance.
even with my eating at its cleanest and leaning out my legs still built up pretty easily. not that i looked real bad just uncomfortable in my clothing.
kassia
kathryn
Cathlete
YMMV, but "heavy" lifting (6-8 reps) addresses strength more than hypertrophy (increase in muscle size). What works best for increasing muscle SIZE is more sets in the 8-12 rep range, with most sets to failure.
Whenever you become nervous about getting 'too big,' remember that with working out, you can always back off, or change what you are doing and reverse the effects. If you decide to lift heavier and you notice you are getting 'bulkier' than you want (it is a very subjective thing), then change things around.
Whenever you become nervous about getting 'too big,' remember that with working out, you can always back off, or change what you are doing and reverse the effects. If you decide to lift heavier and you notice you are getting 'bulkier' than you want (it is a very subjective thing), then change things around.
jennifermaria
Cathlete
Kathryn: Stupid question but when doing the 6-8 reps, one would need to use a weight that's heavy enough to fatigue the muscles in 6-8 reps, yes?
Also, from your post, it sounds like it is possible to grow in strength (which I think we all are cool with) but not have to grow in size (which fewer of us want)?
Also, from your post, it sounds like it is possible to grow in strength (which I think we all are cool with) but not have to grow in size (which fewer of us want
)?
kathryn
Cathlete
Kathryn: Stupid question but when doing the 6-8 reps, one would need to use a weight that's heavy enough to fatigue the muscles in 6-8 reps, yes?
Also, from your post, it sounds like it is possible to grow in strength (which I think we all are cool with) but not have to grow in size (which fewer of us want
From what I understand (from the protocols presented in Jim Stoppiani's "Encyclopedia of Muscle and Strength"), for hypertrophy, one should go to failure on almost every set. For strength, one should avoid going to failure (though I'm thinking perhaps his definition of failure is being unable to complete the final rep completely).
I don't think strength and hypertrophy can be completely separated. There will be some size gain with strength work, and vice versa.
jennifermaria
Cathlete
Gotcha... Thanks, Kathryn!!