Hi , I hope someone can clear my confusion, I want to lse weight (about 20 lbs) by may 1, should I do alot of cardio or alot of weights? I cant afford to go through a bulky transission phase, I just want to look trim. what should I do?
I have read tons of the threads and I am still confused? I guess I am just really worried about looking bulky?

So tell me waht should I do to look trim by May 1

Thanks

As a female, you can probably lift to your hearts content without "bulking". Women just don't get big muscles without incredible effort or using steroids. And even then, still very small in comparison to males.

So I would say lift for sure and run also if you want. Though my experience is that running is not that great for weight loss for some reason.

I would say both! Running is a great way to slim down, but lifting helps build muscle, which will increase your calorie burning when you are not running.

Lifting doesn't have to take more than 15-20 minutes after a decent run.
I do it every other day.

Little John- I think you need to be careful about making generalizations...unfortunately my genes are such that if I do upper body reps with 8 lbs weights, I bulk up in just one or two workouts. enough that people at work start to notice. my brothers do as well, so it must be genetic. they are very muscular and lift a few times a week (6'3", 220, no fat). I have to be very careful not to bulk up--I even bulk up on the bike if I set the resistance too high. the guys at work started to call me "guns" when I was using the 8lb weights, so I quit lifting all together and am trying to decrease body fat to get a more defined look...

everyone is different. there's a lot of good reasons to lift weights (bone density, metabolism, etc). the only way to find out is to go for it and see what works!

Ok - but my generalization is from my observations. I have never seen a woman get very big at all. And for that matter not all that many men in general. Maybe the difference is in the work bulk. I'm thinking about thick mass of muscle - surely you can't get that from 8 lb. weights. It takes a lot of work to get bulky masive muscle on any frame regardless of the genetics.

Are you sure those are 8 lb weights? That wouldn't even get much muscle tone. Shoot my fork nearly weighs 8 lbs.

I do think that little John is right....

Way2Busy, you probably see some bulk in your muscles when you initially start lifting because during the lifting process your muscles tear and then use excess water to repair those muscles. It's pretty normal to see some inflamation of muscles during initial lifting.

Ongoing it is very difficult for a woman to bulk up like you see in men, we're just built differently. I'm not saying that you don't have that but if you were to continue lifting you might see those muclse toning long an lean.

But, as you said, each woman is different. I love the way that weight lifting has shaped my body. I look lean and toned - better than I ever have before, even at my skinnest!

Atkins Induction phase will drop 8 or 10 pounds in a week or so. Then it drops to 2 pounds a week. If you add running, you can drop more than 2 pounds a week. What works fastest is mixing a small amount of running at 90% of maximum heart rate with a large amount of jogging at 60% of max heart rate. That small amount of sprinting stimulates a lot of growth hormone.

Several years ago a study was done at Laval University. Two groups were tested. One group used a stat bike for 45 minutes, keeping the heart rate in the 60% range. The other group did a few minutes of running at 90% max per day. The runners lost considerably more weight than the cyclists. The theory is that the intense running caused a lot of growth hormone to be secreted. The only problem is that type of running can easily lead to injury in an unathletic person. If you can't sprint to get your heart rate up, you might try a treadmill set at 15% grade.

Weights don't cause instant bulkiness. More likely, increased blood flow to the muscles swells them and makes the person look bigger. Body builders pump up before a competition for that reason.

I have to say when I want to lean out I up my cardio and do somthing that uses my body weight instead of weights like pilates. I DO BULK for whatever reason. Others may not notice but my shoulders got very broad and quads were pretty bulky. I cut down on and increased my cardio and now I look lean and strong. I do push ups and pilates and it really works for me. Some people don't gain muscle very fast but I do. Also I do squats and walking lunges with out added weight. Works for me!

The "I don't want to bulk' aggravates me a bit. I hear it a lot. Most people couldn't make themselves look 'bulky' from weightlifitng if they tried to their hearts content.

Lifting weights will give you more muscle tone, which will make you look better. Doing only cardio will catebolize what muscle you already have and potentially land you in the dreaded 'skinny-fat' zone.

Let me just add that I don't know of a single overweight person who ever started weightlifting and as a result became more 'bulky looking'. In every instance, to varying degrees they become sleeker and more streamlined. Muscle mass, in non-steroid proportions LOOKS GOOD on all people.

well that answers the question i had about looking puffy after lifting only 8 lbs. After using weights ,I look puffy "bulky" for a day or two and then my body deflates and i look lean and tight.
I think less weight and higher reps is the answer to burn fat and get lean.

A man would do less reps and higher weight and he gets muscular in no time.
anyone else agree with the high rep less weight tactic inorder to lose wight?

When I used weights and such for 20 minutes a day...
followed with a 40 minute run, I just trimmed down, rather then bulked up

Personally I don't agree with the "less weight more reps" concept. I did that for years and nothing happened to my body fat. Last summer I started with much heavier weights and as little as 2-3 reps on some things. I do very little cardio (less than an hour total a week).

Here's the results:
Difference in measurements from last July to now:
Weight - down 6 pounds
Shoulders - up 0.8 in
Waist - down 0.2 in
Abdomen (circumference around belly button level) - down 2.0 in!!!!!
Hips - down 0.5 in
Calves - down 0.3 in
Other areas of measurement less than 0.2 in difference.

Body Fat (from mybodycomp.com website) - down 1.5%


As you can see, I did not "bulk", even though I was trying to grow at least my biceps, calves, and quads. Those two measurements stayed the same, BUT, instead of flab it is hard lean muscle. I used to have a sag of fat at the bottom of my thigh just at the knee, but it's gone now. My clothes fit better. I can also eat more now since I have more muscle mass and my maintenance level of calories is a bit higher. I carry myself with more confidence and better overall posture. I've had nothing but positive results since I started with heavy weights.

I don't understand how your body can react to lifting weights by looking 'puffy' for a few days afterwards.

a) No single workout is likely to have any effect on your body composition
b) A workouts effect isn't usually manifested for sometime afterwards.

Personally after doing any excercise 'puffy' is the last thing I feel. Might this 'puffy' feeling be a manifistation of your fear of getting bulky. I guaruntee you your body is not expanding in 'puffy' mass after working out.

There is a place for low weight and high reps in certain situations but it does not intrinsically magically unlock weightloss.

The point of lifting weights is to build and/or preserve muscle mass. Fat burning is a side effect from calories consumed in workouts and by additional muscle mss. Now, is lifting low weights for more reps the definitive way to add more muscle mass?

Like I said there are times and places for it but unless you committ yourself to lifting with some intensity which will involve lower reps and higher weights then you are just going to be cheating yourself and not getting the most out of your workouts.

Must agree with everyone who says it's difficult for women to "bulk"/build muscle. I am busting my butt to gain muscle....or at the very least preserve what I have while burning fat. I have the genetics for it, too.....all 3 of my brothers and my lil sis gain muscle easily (got a pic of one bro in my gallery), but it's still a long slow process. I lift heavy, intense, and look much better now than when I started. I started my serious lifting and diet at the beginning of January...... to date, I have lost 18.5lbs of FAT (an average of 1.85lbs per week), gained 3.5lbs of LBM (muscle, bone, etc.), and gone from 37.4% body fat to 29.9%.
So, my advice to the OP is to lift first, and add in a bit of cardio.