Need Reassurance...

[slenamond]

I did the S&H Legs and Shoulders this week. I did the 50lb squats. (Yea for me) Plus all the other poundage Cathe did for the legs. No way I could keep up on the shoulders though!!

I have heard over and over that women can not "bulk". I hope not because I do not want my legs to get one smidgen bigger. Only smaller.

Have you guys found this to be true - that you do not get bigger when doing such heavy weight? Have any of you gotten bigger and if so what did you do? Lighter weight and more reps?

Thanks

 

[Katerchen]

I am using rather heavy weights. For example, for leg work I am using up to 60 lbs and for chest 50 lbs and I DO NOT look like Arnold. Don't worry about bulking, women cannot look like men (unless you are using supplements).

 

[LizzieLiz]

It was my experience while on a PS/S&H rotation (using very heavy weights for S&H) that my legs, mainly my quads, got a little bigger initially. That was only temporary however, and after my rotation was finished (about 4 weeks) I was very pleased with the results. I've been told that the initial size increase was most likely due to the muscles retaining water after heavy lifting. In the end my legs were definitely smaller with more obvious muscle tone in my quads and hamstrings. Of course, I was very good with my eating habits at that time too. My clothes fit better all over and I was in no way "bulky."

 

[Gayle]

Hi there,

I wouldn't worry about bulking. I've been gearing the majority of my workout rotations toward mass building and while I've seen muscle growth and definition, I can't say it's come anywhere near to being bulky...try as I might. ;-)

 

[Stebby]

This is what I lift too. My legs are MUCH smaller than they used to be before I started lifting heavy (about 5 years ago). More defined and I wear a smaller pants size.

A lot of this has to do with clean eating too. At any rate, the combination of eating properly and lifting heavy has kept my metabolism high (I'm 42) and slimmer than I was in my 20s.