Lean muscle vs bulky

N

NathL

Cathlete
Hi Cathe (and everyone who would like to chime in!)

Since Christmas, I have been workoing out a lot my upper body with S&H and the GS. Though I have seen great improvment in my strength :) , it seems to me that I have become bulkier instead of leaner. I don't seem to be able to get definition. I would like it if it was visible that I'm working out (yes, it's vain, I know!)

Should I change the type of workouts that I'm doing? For example, should I do more endurance workouts instead of the S&H and GS? Is it because I don't workout often enough (only 3 times per week)? Is it because I don't eat right (my diet is not perfect but I eat healthy foods) Or is it only genetics?:-(

Thanks
Nathalie
 
Not Cathe, but for me? It is a combination of a very clean diet, lots of cardio and moderate to heavy lifting.

That combination is pretty tried and true for most women, or at least the women I know.
 
Nathalie, I'm just jumping in here to tell you that I had the exact same issue. Like you, I had been doing heavy lifting since December, with great strength gains, but not the definition and leaning out that I wanted. Three weeks ago, I started a rotation of 2 full-body workouts per week, 3 days of cardio, and one day of a circuit workout. This has been the perfect "cocktail" for me and is already yielding great results. Change it up, girl!

Sarah ;-)
 
>Nathalie, I'm just jumping in here to tell you that I had the
>exact same issue. Like you, I had been doing heavy lifting
>since December, with great strength gains, but not the
>definition and leaning out that I wanted. Three weeks ago, I
>started a rotation of 2 full-body workouts per week, 3 days of
>cardio, and one day of a circuit workout. This has been the
>perfect "cocktail" for me and is already yielding great
>results. Change it up, girl!
>
>Sarah ;-)

Thanks for this response, Sarah! I've been experiencing the same thing -- nice strength gains, but not the definition I'm hoping for. I may try your mix out for a bit to see what kind of results I get. What kinds of workouts have you been doing for your full-body days?
 
Hi Leanne. The full-body workouts I have been using are: Muscle Max, Muscle Endurance, Power Hour, and the full-body bonus on the Pyramids. The circuit workout once a week is just the right finisher to my "cocktail," in addition to the 3 days of cardio. This mix isn't anything I invented, but I wanted to post because I was frustrated with my progress and this REALLY worked. If you decide to try it, let me know how it works for you.

Sarah :)
 
Here's another vote for full body workouts. I run about 3 days per week, sometimes use my elliptical or spin instead. What really made a difference for me was incorporating kettlebells and some body weight stuff into my workouts. My cellulite is finally gone!!! My muscles are super defined, and for the first time in my life I look as lean as what I've been trying to achieve forever! I started doing circuits using kettlebells and adding in burpees (squat thrusts with a jump at the end), box jumps, sit 'n' jumps, and a$$ to the grass squats (you squat down until you feel your butt touch your calves). Instead of increasing the weight I use, I've decreased it and added more plyometric-type moves. I also use Drill Max, High Step Challenge, and Boot Camp. The only muscle groups I still lift heavy on are my biceps and triceps.

The others are right on about super clean eating too. Some very smart person (not me) said "You can't out lift, out run, out spin... a bad diet. It's 80% what you eat (and don't eat) and 20% how you work out.

I think you'll really notice a difference if you lighten up on the weights and start some full body workouts. Don't forget the cardio either. (Intervals seem to blast fat faster than steady state.) Good luck!

Jan
 
Thanks so much, Sarah and Jan! I just ordered some kettlebell workouts, so it'll be great to add them into my rotation as full-body workouts.

I've been doing splits and heavy lifting for awhile, so this will be a nice change of pace!:)
 
>Do you mind sharing your rotation with me? Is this one of
>Cathe's rotations or yours?

Hi Alicia,

Wasn't sure who you meant, but thought I'd post what my next month is going to be. :)(I just make up my own rotations; not sure how good they are!) For the past six months or so, I've been doing split rotations for periods of 4-6 weeks, where I'll use something like GS or S&H 3 x/week and then do 2 days of cardio. Using the full-body workouts will be something different, so I'm curious to see what changes (if any) I'll notice!

The generic rotation I put together this morning for the next four weeks looks something like this:

Day 1 Kettlebell workout
Day 2 Step Cardio + Abs
Day 3 Muscle Max (no abs)
Day 4 Kickboxing + Abs
Day 5 Muscle Endurance
Day 6 Cardio + Abs
Day 7 Rest

I may tweak it a bit so that my rest day comes earlier if I feel like I need more time off between weight workouts. I also rotated in other total-body workouts, so that I won't be doing just MM and ME every week.

If you'd like more specifics, just email me and I'd be happy to send you all four weeks.:)
 
Thanks Sarah and Jan!

You confirmed what I was thinking. I had been thinking for a while that I should do more endurance type workouts rather than strength ones like S&H and the GS. Before Christmas I was doing SS, P&P and BM2 with lighter weights and it seems to me that I was less "bulky". The type of workout I do could be part of the issue. It is as if my body reacts better to lighter weights. I think I will also need to take another look at my diet ;-) Even though it's not bad, it is probably not clean enough (sigh!)

Nathalie
 
Not stupid at all!! I actually do several types of intervals. I usually run three days per week. One day I do speed intervals (1 min. fast/1 min. recover). The next day I do hill intervals (30 sec. - 1 min. uphill sprint, 1 minute recovery). Since the weather hasn't warmed up much in the mornings yet, I usually do these on my treadmill. The third day I try to run outside at a challenging pace, or I'll use my elliptical and do one of the pre-programmed interval settings.

I also do intervals using kettlebells and body weight. For example, I'll do 10 snatches per arm, then I'll do 10 burpees. Recover 30 sec. to 1 min. Then I'll do 10 swings per arm followed by 10 box jumps (I jump up onto my Cathe high step and either step or jump back to the floor.) Usually this type of workout lasts 45 min. to an hour. I alternate between kettlebell exercises and burpees, box jumps, jump squats (light barbell or dumbbells on my shoulders), A$$ to grass squats (light weights on my shoulders and I put a medicine ball on the floor under by butt, then I squat down until my butt touches the medicine ball). Even though I'm using much lighter weights for the jump and ATG squats, my legs have really firmed up and become defined. I truly believe the plyometrics is the trick for me as far as my lower body is concerned. And, because flinging kettlebells around taxes just about every muscle in the body, they help burn a huge amount of fat during a workout. I also have a couple of kettlebell DVD's that I use when I don't make up my own workout - Newport (Art of Strength) and Extreme Kettlebell Cardio Workout (Keith Weber).

During a typical week I try to run/elliptical three days. I try to hit the Kettlebells 2-3 days. On the leftover days I'll do something like Drill Max, Boot Camp, High Step Challenge... Sometimes I'll finish one of my workouts with traditional bicep/tricep work, fairly heavy weight. I normally work out 7 days per week.

Hope this helps. :)
 
>Leanne....
>
>I'd like to see all four weeks, if possible. This is a great
>thread....leigh:)


Hi Leigh,

I just emailed it to you! :)
 
Oh Leanne, sister girl, you have me contemplating my "need" for kettlebells. I really think I may have a little problem with equipment addiction. Oh my.

Sarah ;-)
 
>Oh Leanne, sister girl, you have me contemplating my "need"
>for kettlebells. I really think I may have a little problem
>with equipment addiction. Oh my.
>
>Sarah ;-)

Oh, Sarah -- I know exactly what you mean! ;-) In fact, just a few weeks ago, I told my DH that the only equipment I would need to buy in the coming months would be the pull-up tower and a few small things for STS. And then here I go with the kettlebells! I guess we could have worse addictions, right?!}(
 
just to jump into this thread i do much better with endurance type of workouts and more cardio. i did a few months of lifting heavy and i just didn't like the way i looked. its good that you at least experimented with it and now you know what works for you. i think for the new sts series i'm just going to get the endurance cycle and possibly the one after that to switch it up a little but i will stick to higher reps and lower weight for sure.
 
I'm going to try the high reps low weight for a while and see the results I get. I may find that it's better for my body than heavy lifting.
Nathalie
 
Hi. Just wanted to jump in and ask when you ladies talk about heavy lifting how much are you talking. I had done 4DS for a couple of months and found that I saw nice definition but I also felt like I was getting a little bulky, or it could have been that I wasn't used to seeing my arms look like that. But Cathe and the girls use heavy weights in 4DS and in the upcoming STS and they don't look bulky- or do they?
I'm still trying to find what works for me and it's really hard to know. I just created a rotation using 4DS and doing 2 60 min & 2 30 min cardio but now I'm wondering if I should just do 3 days od cardiox(
 
Hi,

When I lift "heavy" and use a Cathe workout I try to use the same amount of weight she is using. I used 4DS for quite awhile also, and notice that my bi's and tri's were growing nicely, and I still try to lift heavy for my arms. Otherwise, I do a lot of total body workouts/circuits/plyometrics... I really don't want to be huge - just cut and defined.

I agree that from what I've seen of STS Cathe and the girls don't look bulky at all, but then again, we don't know what type of workouts they normally do when they're not filming a Cathe workout. I'm a fitness instructor, and the workouts I do for myself are usually quite different from what I teach in my classes. :)
 
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