big shoulder, veiny forearms... how to get rid of them?

D

desertbriez

Banned
Cathe,

i've been using your workout exclusively for several months and really enjoy them. however, I have gotten very pronounced shoulders (you can see the ridges and they seem very "broad" to me) and icky veins in my forearms (they also bulge on my upper arms when doing biceps. i really don't like this look but don't want to stop working out as the means to getting rid of it.

do i need to use lighter weights? (i generally use what you use on the workouts with the exception of biceps.. i go less on those). what do you recommend?

for additional info about my body type and my ativity level: i'm a pear and my lower body still needs some work toning/firming (IMO)... not a lot... but needs some work. i'm a cyclist and ride at least 5-6 days a week, long rides (anywhere from 35 to 65 miles on a weekend with an occsional century thrown in. on weeknights til the time changes i get in from 15-25 miles) i do your workouts every weekday morning and mix it up with: weights (upper body (obviously), lower body, circuits (my fave style) and aerobics/step).

i eat clean (i cheat occasionally on weekends but not bad and not much). i eat a decent amount of calories (at least 1800 on weekdays, more on weekends cuz of the cycling). i have low body fat (i think what little i have it all in my thighs/hips! lol!) i'm short (5'2") and small-boned actually quite small all over.

sorry to be so wordy... but i'm really at a loss about what to do to get rid of what i call my "man shoulders" and veins but still get my lower body under control now that summer is coming along with short sleeves and sleeveless tops!

can you help me, please?

thanx!


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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
Wow! I can't help you but I just wanted to say I'm a little envious. I wish I had that problem. I hope someone can answer you. Or maybe Cathe. Best of luck.
 
oh no MIC... i really REALLY don't like the large shoulders *pout*... (every time i hear the eminimen song where he says "brittany has shoulders like a man" it makes me think of me!) and the veins in my lowere arms almost make me look anorexic (which i'm not cuz i do chow down! lol!) if you saw them you'd see what i mean and why i want to "fix" it with summer coming..

if i could take the extra fat stored in my hips and legs and inject it into my arms.. i think i'd be quite happy! but i know if i eat more (not that i don't think i eat enough as is).. it would go straight to my lower body (and lower abs)! grrrrr why oh why can't we spot train/reduce?????

maybe i'll have to wear shorts and long sleeves all summer! (just kidding!)

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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
That's cute shorts and long sleeves. I think we'd all feel better about ourselves if we could spot reduce, oh well. I hope Cathe can help you out.
 
Desertbriez,

What you are experiencing is partly genetic. You are just predisposed to shoulder development and the veiny issue. I would definitely recommend lightening up your weights on the shoulder exercises. You could even go to the point of using say just five pounds and not changing up on different sets or changing just minimally. Go for straight toning. The vein in the bicep pops when you work out because of the increased blood flow to the area when you're working out. But there again, lessen the weight and you can diminish the effect.
 
that's kinda what i figured.. about using lighter shoulder weights.. the bicep vein pop i figured.. it's just ugly when i'm working out! lol! but the bicep ones don't stick out normally.. just standing there... the veins that really bug me are the ones on my forearms that show/stick out all the time! like right now i can pull up my sleeve, hold my arm up and there are the popping veins.. i don't know which exercises i'm doing that make those veins pop? (and i tend to think it's a low body fat issue, unfortunately.. but want to do something to fix it.. if i can!) do i have to lessen ALL upper body weights? and how low so that i still tone and get good effect/affect?


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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
Re: veins in your forearms - As you suggested about low body fat, I know a woman with the same issue - she has very low body fat and veiny forearms, but I know another woman with low body fat and no veins. It's unfortunately genetic - there is not a lot you can do about it. For the weights, you know your own body best so you'll kind of have to play around with it. Find a weight that keeps you feeling like your doing something and seeing a toning result. If you're lifting 20 pounds, drop it to 12 or so, for example. See what happens and if you're satisfied, stick with it. You don't have to lessen all however - stick with what you're using for bi's and tri's for example, as long as your satisfied with the results. You may want to increase reps to maintain tone if you drop to a lower weight, however. Again - you kind of have to play around to find out what works for your body.
 
bumping, hoping cathe has some recommendations for me, too!


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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
grrrrr so now i not only get to blame my bad eyes on my mom.... but my veiney arms on either her or my dad too! lol! sometimes i hate this genetics thing!


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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
Oh I just have to respond to this one!!!

YOU AND ME BOTH, Desertbriez!!!!

I have my mother's boney, veiny arms AND hands and I wish I could change that but alas, we can't. I have always been athletic so I have always had well developed shoulder's and arms so when I started doing Cathe workouts I knew not to heavy up like they do or I would probably regret it. I also do nautilus at a gym and I am very careful to work my upper to fatigue but not use really heavy weights. I want to maintain the definition I have but not add any more bulk. I am a smaller person too so I do not need nor want big protruding muscles and I already have enough veins sticking out to create a new person. The only advice I can offer is to lower your weight and work to maintain tone as has already been suggested.
 
Hi Desertbriez! Unfortunately where and how much your veins "pop" is strongly influenced by genetics. You will also notice that they seem to be more prominent in a hot climate because of increased blood flow. Low body fat can pronounce a veiny look but it is not the sole cause. A person with low body fat can be veiny while another person equally lean will not have that same veiny effect. I would cut back on heavy weight training and go to lighter weights. But keep in mind this will help some but not totally. Other than that there is not much else you can do. I know when I cut back on weight training plus gain about 5 pounds, my veiny look calms down some, but not fully. I got my veins from my dad's side. Whooeey, did my grandma have some popping veins ;-)
 
thank you cathe and everyone! looks like it's a slam dunk... lower the weights! :-( or move to canada! lol! of course that gets me thinking that this summer the veins will be a-poppin more! cuz no doubt my weight and BF will go down (more cycling) and the heat will go up! (summer in the desert!) i will just stop my "mental block" that the veins are bad and deal with it! (repeat to myself: the veins are a sign you are fit and healthy!)

i won't tell my hubby about all your answers (lighter weight).. he told me that about my shoulders a while back.. but being a woman.. i chose to ignore him!

lol.. now watch.. i'll lower the weights on my shoulders.. then they'll get disproportionally (is that a word?) smaller than the rest of my arms! lol!!!!!!!

again... thanx, all!

editted to add/ask: let me clarify this: am i just supposed to go lighter on just SHOULDER exercises? or ALL upper body exercises? (including tris, bis, back, chest?) (and i'm not even blonde! just easily confused!)


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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
>Oh I just have to respond to this one!!!
>
>YOU AND ME BOTH, Desertbriez!!!!
>
>I have my mother's boney, veiny arms AND hands and I wish I
>could change that but alas, we can't.

ya... i didn't even mention that my hands were veiny too! lol!

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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
HEY!!! I'm insulted. It's not cold here ALL the time you know!

(Sorry for going off-topic, but I had to defend my nation.
 
lol... soooooorrrrrry! i know it's not! canada is GORGEOUS! and it's not always hot here! (we had snow this year! talk about gorgeous! snow in/on the desert! purdy!)


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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
Shelley you beat me to it. I was going to throw in I live in Canada and I could have written desert's letter - veiny, veiny, veiny!!! I remember playing with the veins in my mom's arms when I was little and now I have my very own to play with:)!!! And oh don't I wish I could lose some of that lower body fat - my upper body is super lean but my butt and thighs...*Sigh*.
I did have to laugh a week or so ago when I was able to go jogging in +6 and our southern neighbours were complaining about getting another foot of snow. What's a foot of snow? That's something I haven't seen in a while. The great white north isn't living up to it's reputation.

Trish
 
desertbreiz...how you should workout is hard to say without knowing your body. I would suggest...reducing weight on shoulder work most definately and don't go real heavy on the bicep work unless you are happy with your bi's.

Here's my story. Like I said before I have always had well defined shoulder's and arms for two reasons: 1)I grew up doing hard labor on a livestock operation, our hay bales weighed 70 lbs and we had 70 cows that had to be fed hay three times a day. Corn silage which is a heavy dense feedstuff had to be wheel barrowed around the barn. So, you're getting the picture that I have always been a very strong girl, especially for my size. 2)I was very athletic since Jr. High...I was probably a good runner because my legs were always in great condition again, due to the physical labor I did at home, every single day.

So...all that said, my shoulder's and biceps do not need anymore bulk or definition because I am fortunate to be blessed with a more muscular physic so it doesn't take alot of weight work for me to start to get too big (my opinion of too big for me).

I pretty much stick to Cathe's endurance type of weight work because it works for me without adding more inches. I love the total body and interval weight workouts best because they are what works for me. I've always been leery of the S&H set because I'm afraid I would get really big on top. But again, I know my body and I've always been in great physical condition carrying low body fat. And we have horses and cattle so I am still carrying bales of hay everyday. Some things in life just never change!

Another thing I would suggest that is more of a fun workout is go to the gym and shoot baskets. I have a teenage son who is growing too fast for his own good and he's 'weak' in his upper body and it affects his play in sports so we go to the gym twice a week and do nothing but shoot baskets for two hours and do dribbling/passing drills. I also have him do intervals of push ups and dips. We've been doing this for two months now and his arms and back have gotten much stronger. This is also a nice workout for me that changes my regular routine. When we shoot baskets we play a game where you start with a free-throw shot and then you run to the basket to get your own ball and you fast dribble back to the same place and shoot again. When you miss you run to get your own rebound and then quickly shoot from where you are. We do that for 15 minute intervals and it can be tuff if you keep missing and you're running all over the court to get your ball...I'm huffin and puffin I'll tell ya! It's also making DS a better shot since he's learning to shoot from all over the court. This is a game I used to play with the boys when I was in high school.
 
Desertbriez, wish I had some of your veins. I've got ropes in my hands and feet, though. However, when it comes time to draw blood from me, my veins retreat way inside. A real challenge for those trying to draw. Mine still don't show in my forearms, but since starting Cathe, I can see and feel them under the skin better. I don't have much body fat on top so think it's more genetic.

Know you're a cyclist (Bicycling Forums :)), what Cathe DVD's have you felt really helped your cycling (metrics, centuries, climbing strength)? I have ME/Bootcamp and Muscle max hopefully coming today. I've been doing lots of cardio too (CTX, Lowmax, Imax2, Classics, Timesavers) and think the interval blasts have raised my aerobic threshold on the bike. Sometimes when I want to stop on a tough climb I hear Cathe's voice say "Work Hard!" and I somehow can! (I'm 5'2" and weigh 116 so climbing comes fairly easy, course I'm usually the last one down a hill due to less rolling weight.) So nice to have a personal trainer along for the ride!

Ride on (and thanks for any help you can give)!

Jeanette

:)
 
that's a good question! i'll open a thread over in dvd & video workouts so others that won't want to answer here.. can chime in!


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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
big shoulders, veiny forearms

You can go to a vein treatment clinic and they can shrink the veins with a solution they inject which collapses the vein and makes it smaller and then deeper veins take over. It works for veiny hands and forearms that are not varicose. You can research it on the internet. As far as the big shoulders, stop using heavy weights and your muscles should get smaller, a muscle size can increase with heavy weights and when it is not worked heavy it should go back to it's original size when you stop training it unless you just have big shoulders by heredity.
 
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