does weight lifting make women even SLIGHTLY visibly "big"???

for i dont know HOW MANY YEARS i've believed that weight lifting NEVER made women bigger in size.

but now im starting to wonder all over again....

im trying to lose weight, but instead of focusing more on cardio, im doing weights much more than cardio.... now im trying to change that so that i'd do some more cardio..

so now im worrying... what if all those times when i did more weight lifting than cardio and built up more muscles... i ended up just looking "bigger" instead of losing weight???

 

i really need some feedback

If you lift on a deficit, you won't gain muscle. As a girl (with less testosterone than a man-obviously lol) it is rather difficult to gain muscle, and while on a deficit it is almost impossible.

Although, if you are trying to lose weight cardio is a good way to do it.

If you want to raise your basal metabolic rate (the calories you burn just living) you have to build muscle. BUT it takes upping calories to build muscle. A lot of bodybuilders will eat a lot, gain muscle (which makes them gain fat also most of the time) and then they go on a deficit to lose the fat, leaving them with muscle.

If you build muscle, you will look SMALLER while staying the same or gaining weight. Because muscle takes up less room than fat. So if you lose fat and gain muscle, you may weigh the same, but you will appear smaller.

I'm not sure if I answered your question lol.

Love, gaining muscle IS NOT something you're going to do by accident, if you're going to do it at all. To you this may come as a  relief, to women lifters like me it's more along the lines of sad, but true.

I have to bog people down with seemingly trivial semantics but the catch is: do you want to lose weight (fat, muscle, water) or just fat? For the former, cardio works just fine combined with a caloric deficit (it will also keep any unwanted muscle gain at bay, promise) but for you to lose more fat than muscle and water, weight lifting is superior.

If you just do some recreational light weight lifting every now and then and discover you can miraculously defy all known laws and build noticeable amounts of muscle, you need to be studied. I want to know your secret!

invest in a tape measure.

I think a combination of cardio and lifting is best. I used to focus mainly on cardio and light weights, but now I've switch over to more weights that cardio (it much more fun I think!) I've seen an increase in muscle mass, but I am proud of it. I'd rather be muscle-y and skinny than skinny-fat.

But I still keep up with the cardio (although less now), just to create a larger deficit, since I eat a little bit more when I work out.

I know some girls that lift weights pretty often and I wouldn't call them "big" at all.  In fact, they have great figures that have a fair amount of tone as a result, not the pumped up muscles you probably mean when you say "big".  Weight lifting won't do that for a woman, but it will increase the tone and figure, which is great (at least for me to look at I guess).

I lift weights A LOT, and I'd hardly call myself "big"!

The only thing that will make anyone even SLIGHTLY visibly (or invisibly) "big"er is eating more calories than they burn.

Lift weights with a calorie surplus = bigger

Lift weight witha calorie deficit = smaller

Run with a calorie surplus = bigger

Run with a calorie deficit = smaller

Sit on the couch all day with a calorie surplus = you get the idea.

kankan213

- so you're saying... that in order to gain some weight.... i need to eat MORE than my maintenance on days when i lift weights?!?

so then, if i still make a deficit on days when i lift weights, then all that grueling work at the gym would be no use???!!!! are you serious....

and oh yeah - i don't care about what the numbers on the scale tells me. im scale-phobic. so i don't DARE to take a glimpse of how much i weigh!!

i've decided that the healthiest way to evaluate my body is through the mirror!

 

eveliina

- ahahahah!!! you're sooo funny!! so weight lifting 3-4 times a week... about 30-60 mins each in moderate-intense level is OK?? no big girl as a result?

 

theswissmiss

- oh wow!! you're journey is SOOOOOOOOO much similar to mine!! when i first started gym-ing, i focused soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooo damn much on cardio. i religiously lifted weights (like almost everyday) but they weren't heavy weights. id use light weights and do many repetitions , and usually 3 sets of each

and i totally agree with you, love!! id rather be toned and weigh more, than be flabby and weigh much less!!

 

dakatz

- yeahhh, when i said "big" i meant that overall, they seemed to have a bigger body.... maybe not necessarily a more defined body, but just their body in general looks "a bit" bigger than the norm..... urghhh... it's hard to explain haha

 

floggingsully

- oh yeah i definitely get the idea! thanks for the short but precise feedback!! loved it !! <333

okay so the question is....

 

 

if i keep a calorie deficit even on days when i lift weights, would i still be able to gain muscle from weight lifting?

Original Post by sooji:

for i dont know HOW MANY YEARS i've believed that weight lifting NEVER made women bigger in size.

but now im starting to wonder all over again....

im trying to lose weight, but instead of focusing more on cardio, im doing weights much more than cardio.... now im trying to change that so that i'd do some more cardio..

so now im worrying... what if all those times when i did more weight lifting than cardio and built up more muscles... i ended up just looking "bigger" instead of losing weight???

 

i really need some feedback

I think you'd look more svelt and toned, instead of "bigger". Look at Jessica Beil! She did some weight training for blade 3 and got ripped up, but not bulky!

 

Is it true that I can't build muscle while on a deficit?  Melkor-where are you on this one? 

There isn't a chance in h#$% that I am going to go through the whole...up my calories, build muscle, lose weight thing.  I've seen people do this and they look chubby for about 3 months before they start looking good again.  If that's really the case, I guess I'll just be skinny fat. 

Original Post by cassrd05:

Is it true that I can't build muscle while on a deficit?  Melkor-where are you on this one? 

There isn't a chance in h#$% that I am going to go through the whole...up my calories, build muscle, lose weight thing.  I've seen people do this and they look chubby for about 3 months before they start looking good again.  If that's really the case, I guess I'll just be skinny fat. 

 There is a period of "newbie" growth, where someone new to weight lifting will see some gains (or at least changes) in muscles. How long that lasts is specific to the individual.  Regardless, weight lifting will help you maintain muscle, which unfortuately can be lost during dieting, so even if you are at a deficit, keep weight training - it'll make a difference.

Weight training can help to strengthen your muscles whether on a deficit or not.

But, as a female it is very hard to build muscle in the first place, it is almost impossible to do it on a deficit. Amethysgirl is right, there will be initial muscle gain when you first start, but chances are it won't last.

Unless you produce abnormal amounts of testosterone, I wouldn't worry about it at all...

 Yup, apart from the all-too-brief period of newbie gains (and some really special people who never stop making newbie gains) there's no way to efficiently build muscle in a calorie deficit - usually.

 There's the whole "lean recomposition" thing that works for a lot of people, most notably Leleia, where you eat very close to maintenance on some days and slightly below on others - it's less efficient than the bulk/cut cycle, but efficiency isn't everything.

 And personally I'm more on the build/burn side of things than bulk/cut - same thing in principle, but on a build/burn you have a very small 300-500 cal/day surplus for 6-8 weeks and then diet off the couple pounds of fat you might have gained in 2 weeks, as opposed to going on a 1000-1500cal/day surplus gonzo bulk for 3 months.

 Outside of newbie gains though -and you passed the newbie stage years ago, Sooji - there's no way you can add significant muscle and size in a calorie deficit. Unless you're doing serious amounts of injectable steroids and other substances, that is. Not something you'd have happen to you accidentally!

In addition to building muscle -- weight bearing exercise like lifting is the best thing you can do to develop peak bone mass and lower your risk for bone disease like osteoporosis later in life.  Strength is just as important as cardio and everyone should be lifting some weights.  Also, I find mat exercises like Pilates a great way to build muscle and tone while using your own body as the weight your lifting -- so you don't need to use machines or hand-helds as a means to build muscle and tone.