Reply to They say women don't get bulky when they lift. I'm getting bulky :(

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm not totally getting massive, but I know my arms, shoulders, and traps have increased in size (and I know it's muscle, not fat, my waist is actually a little smaller), which I feel is making me look bulky, and also causing issues with fitting into some fitted shirts in my upper body. Maybe most women don't get bulky, but I seem to be one of the few who do, and I don't like it. It feels like it showed out out of nowhere and rather quickly :(

If I stop lifting, how long will it take for the muscles to shrink? [/quote]

What's your height and weight? [/quote]

What does this matter? I don't weight myself, and the scale isn't telling of anything if you're into fitness. I tend to be a size S/XS (more S these days, especially on top and things with sleeves:( ). [/quote]

It says something about whether you are "bulky" because you are muscular or fat[/quote]

New poster here - you're a moron, and obviously not athletic at all.  When you're an athlete, weight is a whole different animal.[/quote]

Not really.  A switch doesn't flip when you call yourself an "athlete" that changes physiology.  Lacking a significant amount of testosterone, women have a limited capacity to add lean tissue irrespective of the training workload they take on.

Knowing somebody's height and weight is a generally useful proxy for knowing body composition regardless of the training they're doing.  For instance, if you're 5'6 and 150, you are likely carrying a significant amount of extra bodyfat.  To be under, say, 20% bodyfat at that height and weight, you would have to be outrageously muscular.  For reference, Kim Walford, probably the strongest pound-for-pound woman in the world, is 5'5 and 145-150, and can deadlift well over 500 pounds.

The vast majority of us significant underestimate the amount of bodyfat we are carrying.  At 25%, most women can see a degree of abdominal definition.  At 20%, you're likely to have clear abdominal definition and probably the beginnings of some vascularity in the upper arms.  Below 18% or so you are unmistakably ripped.

On a final note, to your "when you're an athlete..." comment, I find it unlikely that anyone who could seriously be called an "athlete" would be ringing their hands and dramatically changing their training plans because their shoulder muscles were a little swollen or a shirt fit a bit differently.  And that was, of course, the context in which the height/weight question was asked.  So the "moron" thing was maybe misdirected.[/quote]

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