do women bulk??

[dEgeNeRaTe8211]

i was just wondering about this...not that i was considering it though. but for bulking women, dont u worry about getting all....u know....big and stuff? or does that not happen so much?

 

[poohbear]

That's a misconception about weight lifting for women. We don't all of a sudden grow huge, bulging muscles over night ... not even after years of training. Some women are more genetically inclined, though. Elevated testosterone help women bulk up slightly, but most of us only have traces of it. Muscles on women actually look great. Not only is it a sign of overall strength, it is also aesthetically appealing.

But no, I don't worry about it

 

[jeangenie]

personally, i think women do 'bulk' but not in the same way guys do. I have experimented and done an eight week low-cardio, higher (VERY clean carb) upped calorie diet coupled with intensive targetted weight training to build muscle followed by and 8 week 'cut' cycle to lower BF through more advanced cardio and lower carb/calorie dieting. this has been a pretty effective way for me to make the kind of gains i want (building bis, tris, and back specifically) and then cutting the fat off my body afterwords. This may be fairly unique to my metabolism etc etc, but during the cycles when i reduce cardio (4x a week 20 minutes) and ramp up cals + weights, i feel my muscles naturally get bigger and harder and my weight tends to plateau or increase. the cutting cyle then trims off the bf i put on throught the extra cals (lots of dietary experimentation is necc) + stacking ECA, yohimbine+cardio. works for me, but everyone is different.

 

[litterbox]

I can't say it's totally false, because some women (like me) put on muscle rather easily, and a woman's lower body strength is generally equal to that of a man. Having said that, however, I will add the following...

1) 99% of women in the gym train with no intensity, whatsoever. You have to actually lift some weight and challenge yourself consistently over time. People look at me strangely because I actually close my eyes and grit my teeth when I'm pushing out my last few reps. Are you doing that?

2) Muscles swell (especially legs) after a hard training session. Many women stop at this point, when their favorite pants might be a little tight for 24 hours, and proclaim "oh my god, I'm BULKING!!!

3) Guess what? You have to actually change your diet, too. A lot of women keep eating their junky carbs and blame the weights instead.

4) Women are addicted to the scale. I'll assume you know muscle weighs more than fat but TAKES UP LESS SPACE.

Bottom lie - This is a woman's most convenient excuse not to exercise, and they refuse to get their heads out of the sand.

 

[wilson6]

The only women that bulk are the one's that get fat. Putting on muscle is not bulking, getting fat is and there are plenty of bulkers in America that don't even lift weights.

W6

 

[ann]

I feel like I am against the general on that one--- I feel like all my strength is in my upper.....am a wuss in my lower

 

[litterbox]

O.K...let's say it's 80% of a male's strength. If you combine that with the fact that women generally tend to store bodyfat there, as well (as opposed to a man storing fat in the abdominal area), you have the potential for a large size increase - one that may not be desired.

I guess someone should define "bulking". This term is almost as meaningless as "toning" Why would anyone train with weights if they didn't want to add muscle? What's the point?

 

[new@gettinbig]

Bulking is a term used as an excuse to get fat....sure you may put on a few extra lbs in your off season but not like Lee priest.......not out of control sloppy!

 

[poohbear]

It's interesting to read all the different definitions of bulking. Personally, I would have never associated bulking with getting fat, but to each....

 

[wilson6]

If you combine that with the fact that women generally tend to store bodyfat there, as well (as opposed to a man storing fat in the abdominal area), you have the potential for a large size increase - one that may not be desired.

If I had a dime for every woman that used the "my ass and legs will be bigger than they are if I lift" excuse, I'd be rich. As I tell my female clients, loss the fat and replace it with muscle or just learn to live with a bigger but shapely ass. Sure not lifting will keep your legs and ass smaller, but legs and an ass with some muscle even covered with some fat certainly looks better than the, "fat covered carrots attached to a wide flat pancake" look even it means a couple of sizes bigger in pants.

W6