UNwanted bulk

hi all!

i am so thankful to have found this community! i am a 26 year old female who has been lifting for about 6 months. i originally started lifting when i was on a 100% raw vegan diet. i found the diet to be to restrictive/isolating for my lifestyle so i switched to a vegetarian diet. since then i have put on a lot of unwanted bulk. i know most trainers say it is impossible for women to "bulk up" but my body really looks bulky (without definition). i run 3.5 miles 5 times a week and lift 6 times a week. i predominately follow a whole foods diet lots of fresh raw fruits and veggies, whole grains, every blue moon some cheese or something containing eggs but mostly it's vegan. i'm 5'5" 144lbs. lots of muscle, but i'm still bulky. i would like to trim down maybe 8-10 lbs. any suggestions? my lifting routine is: Monday/thurs: shoulders,biceps,triceps

tues/fri: back, chest, abs wed/sat: legs and running 3.5 miles 5 times a week.

thanks in advance!

-regan

Hey Regan,

Nice name. Why dont you insert your state and city so we can see what corner of the world you are from.

If a woman is lean (i.e. low body fat), then she wouldnt look bulky. A lot of women think the bulk is LEAN muscle when it really is fat, or muscle cells marbled with fat cells. Lean muscle cells TAKE UP LESS SPACE than fat cells.

For example, many women are afraid to work tehir arms, for example, because they dont want their arms to be bigger. Well, if you lose the fat on your arms and replace it with lean muscle, then your arms will shrink, not expand. Also, remember that if you add muscle without losing fat, then your arms may be bigger. That is why some women's right arm is slightly bigger than their left arm -- because the right arm is the stronger arm, with more muscle cells, but still has the same amount of fat cells as the other arm. So it is stronger (i.e. more muscle cells), yet bigger/bulkier. Know what I mean?

In short, lose body fat, increase lean muscle, and you will shrink thighs, hips, arms, whatever and look nice and toned. And a calorie deficiit is of course also essential. Rememer that remember that muscle takes up less space than fat. Also, rememer fat cells can be marbled around with muscle cells. (Eewww, this just reminded me of a piece of a marbled steak. nasty!!) So that is my opinion on how a woman should go about losing body fat and retain lean muscle: both proper /smart cardio AND weight training are key, in addition to calorie deficit and you are on your way to a lean, toned, sexy swimsuit body!

What is your body fat %?

I am no expert however. There are some certified instructors on this board which I am sure will take great pleasure weighing in on your questions and my answers. and I would have explained better if I had time but I am going to sleep now cuz I am tired and feel like I'm gonna pass out, even though it is only 6 pm here. So good night all!

Women are really self concious with their image. If they weigh more the next week, they think it is fat even though it most likely would be muscle. I don't know much about your Bodyfat percentage or anything, so I will take it that you just gained too much muscle for your liking. Correct me if I am wrong. Heres some questions:

1) What is your rep range for all your exercises?

2) What exercises do you do?

3) How long is your cardio per day?

4) How long is your resistance training per day?

5) What's your diet like?

This is really easy to solve (if what I said was correct). Basically you just lower the weights that you do, and do lighter with repetititions of 15 or more. The reason being is that if you do heavier weights with a repetition scheme of around 8 to 12, more than likely you will be stimulating Muscle Fibers Type 2a, which are the ones responsble for the bulk of muscle. If you do a repetition scheme like I provided, it will work on the Type 1 muscle fibers which are the lean muscle.

thanks for getting back with me guys...

1.) rep range is 12 reps per set.

2.)i do a 3 day split mixed free weights and machine

3.)cardio is about 30 min a day

4.) resistance is about 40 minutes a day

5.) diet is mainly vegan... (eggs sometimes though so not 100%) try to stick around 1400 calories a day.

i have never gotten a correct bf% calibration. i'm 5'5" 144 pounds. i wouldn't mind it if it was all defined muscle, but it's not... i'm solid, but not defined and look bulky. any suggestions?