Don't like arm bulk...need suggestions

For the past 2 weeks I've been following the workouts in the "New Rules of Lifting for Women" book, as well as increasing my protein intake to 30% per day (and fat to 20-25%). Overall the results have been great -- my waist and thighs have gotten smaller, and of course everything is a bit firmer..

However, my arms are too bulgy for my liking, and I'm only on Stage 2 of 5 of the workouts in the book. I guess it might not be so bad if some of the fat on my arms from before were to go away somehow, but now it's the fat + muscle that's 2x as big as it was before. I really don't want my biceps to get much bigger, but I'm not sure what I should do from here. Should I keep following the workout plans in the book or modify them somehow? Btw I've been lifting the heaviest weights I can manage on all the exercises.

Also I've been doing less cardio than I used to -- pretty much just intervals for 15 mins a couple times a week. I'm wondering if I should be doing more endurance exercise.

Thanks in advance for your help :)

you might consider combination lifts and hybrids, which force you to use the weight of your weakest lift.  so if you're doing forward lunge to shoulder press (a classic), you'll probably have to use less weight than if you did forward lunge alone (bec shoulders are generally weaker than legs).  you would increase reps to maybe 10 and rest very little.  this will mean you're lifting less weight overall (bec you won't be able to recover from the previous set), and you'll end up doing a sort of cardio strength workout, rather than solely strength.  some ideas:

deadlift to squat to push press

row to snatch to reverse overhead press

step up to olympic row to lateral raise

pushup jacknife to pullup to jump squat

these examples are mostly from workouts i've seen or whatever.  good luck!

i am no expert, but 2 weeks is not really long enough to put on a significant amount of muscle. what you are likely seeing is water retention from using muscles you usually don't.

i have been lifting and watching calories for quite some time. after the initial gain (which was a whopping inch ooooh aaaaah) my arm measurements have gone down. this translates as muscle gained, fat lost. the fat takes Much Longer to lose, but that is the bulky part. my muscular arms are smaller than my fat arms were.

for what it's worth - give the routine time - and lots of it. like 6 months.

you will not 'hulk out' and get these mad 15 inch pipes. honestly. unless of course you are a genetic freak. barring that, just give it time and you will be sleek, firm, fit and svelte.

:)

Weell I did start weight training a couple months before doing this book workout routine. But nevertheless what you're saying sounds pretty reasonable..

Just to put your mind at ease... there is a theory know as revesibilty theory.  It basically says that any muscle gain can be revesrsed, and lost.  Of course this is bad in the sense that when you work really hard for it you want to keep it, thus you must continue to work.  However, it also means that if you gain too much and want to loss it, you just stop the exercises and the muscle will go away.  I do not recommend this in the least but if a few months from now you have more than you would like, you can always do that.

I would keep up the weight traning but kick up your cardio.  That way you loss the fat that is on top and tone the muscle that is underneath.  You CAN NOT gain muscle and loss weight at the same time.  In order to loss weight you must be operating at a calorie deficit.  In order to gain muscle you must be operating at a surplus of protein in your diet.  If you are doing cardio and lifting weights but running at a deficit then you will loss fat and tone (not build muscle.  This is usually what most women want.  Less fat and tone, smaller muscle.

Try doing cardio bursts in-between your weight training.  Do one excersize then jumping jacks for 30 sec-2 min.  Do another exercise then jump-twists.  Another exercise then jump-planks.  Another exercise then jump rope or jog in place.  Just a few ideas.

Good luck and keep up the good, hard work.

Another suggestion you could try is to look into pilates or something similar. I have in the past combined a weight lifting routine with pilates. The weights to get stronger the pilates to get leaner. The stretching exercises help to keep your muscles long and slim versus weights and in my experiance lead to faster slimming and tone.

Just a suggestion, but still give it time whatever your choice.

I love lifting weights, now I know most women don't like to have big biceps... anyway you need to lift lighter weights and do a whole lot more reps this will help you burn the weight in your arms and build muscle but not make your arms big, but toned and this seems to be what you are looking for, also the heavier weights you lift the more muscle you will build on your arms...hope this helps...good luck

Original Post by lahispana2002:

anyway you need to lift lighter weights and do a whole lot more reps this will help you burn the weight in your arms and build muscle but not make your arms big, but toned and this seems to be what you are looking for, also the heavier weights you lift the more muscle you will build on your arms...hope this helps...good luck

More reps with less weight will not increase muscle tone!!!!!!!!

From this article:

"Simply put, there are two types of muscle tone: myogenic and neurogenic. The former refers to your muscle tone at rest; the latter refers to muscle tone that's expressed when muscular contractions occur.

Low(er) rep training increases the sensitivity of various motor units resulting in increased neurogenic tone. On the other hand, myogenic tone is correlated with the overall density of your muscles (specifically the contractile proteins myosin and actin) and is vastly improved by lifting heavier weights.

This is going to come as a shock to most women, but utilizing light weights (anything above twelve reps in my book) while dieting will likely result in loss of muscle, which is the exact opposite of what you want to happen."

 

Original Post by threigia_skydaemon:

Another suggestion you could try is to look into pilates or something similar. I have in the past combined a weight lifting routine with pilates. The weights to get stronger the pilates to get leaner. The stretching exercises help to keep your muscles long and slim versus weights and in my experiance lead to faster slimming and tone.

Just a suggestion, but still give it time whatever your choice.

 Funny, because the book that she's referring to debunks the myth that Pilates keeps your muscles long and slim.

Original Post by smasifi:

For the past 2 weeks I've been following the workouts in the "New Rules of Lifting for Women" book, as well as increasing my protein intake to 30% per day (and fat to 20-25%). Overall the results have been great -- my waist and thighs have gotten smaller, and of course everything is a bit firmer..

However, my arms are too bulgy for my liking, and I'm only on Stage 2 of 5 of the workouts in the book. I guess it might not be so bad if some of the fat on my arms from before were to go away somehow, but now it's the fat + muscle that's 2x as big as it was before. I really don't want my biceps to get much bigger, but I'm not sure what I should do from here. Should I keep following the workout plans in the book or modify them somehow? Btw I've been lifting the heaviest weights I can manage on all the exercises.

Also I've been doing less cardio than I used to -- pretty much just intervals for 15 mins a couple times a week. I'm wondering if I should be doing more endurance exercise.

Thanks in advance for your help :)

Stage 2 of 5 in only 2 weeks?  Is this a typo?  Phase 1 is 6 weeks long & there are 7 phases.