Woman Beginner BB ~ Do I have to look like a man!?!?!?!?!?!?

Janexxx · 21-04-2005, 12:51 AM

Hi!
What a great forum! I hope some of you might be able to help me with some of my thoughts on bodybuilding. I have lots of questions to ask, and I'm not really sure where to begin, but I guess I'll start from the beginning (...that's a very good place to begin!!!)
I am a 25 year old, slightly overweight (by about a stone, I reckon), female. Despite my extra stone, I like my general figure as I am quite curvy (my waist is 26 inches, my bust 44 inches, my hips... nothing to brag about - FAT!!!). My extra weight seems to be on my thighs (mostly), belly and arms.
A couple of months ago I bought 'Hard Bodies' and 'Hard Bodies Express Workout', both by Gladys Portugues, from a second-hand book shop. I found them really inspiring as having spent over ten years trying to lose my extra stone by depriving my body of food (even exercise has always been a case of wanting to 'burn off' my body, rather than add 'good' to it), this seemed like completely the opposite ~ doing something positive for my body instead.
I have never been very impressed by the figures I am supposed to envy in women's magazines ~ I don't want to be thin, and with my natural figure I never could be. I have therefore never really felt 'happy' when following the types of diets and fitness regimes aimed at women ~ I could almost feel my body sagging like a deflated balloon when on these regimes.
What I want to know is this... If done correctly, could bodybuilding help me accentuate my figure, tightening my waist, lifting my boobs, etc, helping to give me a figure more like Sophia Loren, rather than the muscular figures usually associated with female bodybuilders?
I guess I'm trying to find the 'inbetween' ~ I like my soft body and want to keep my woman's shape, but I do need to lose a little weight (or rearrange it!), and if I could increase my woman's shape at the same time, that would be great!
I hope I don't sound too confused (the truth is, I am!), but I have heard so many women say "Ooh! I don't want to look like Arnie!", whenever using weights is suggested ~ I've always laughed at them, but I suppose I can't help wondering now if I may spoil the figure I have/want by bodybuilding.
I'll leave it there for now (I have lots more questions but I don't want to bore you with all of them at once!!!). Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

exaktlywhat · 21-04-2005, 01:17 AM

fear not, you dont have to look like a man. in fact as you work if you see something you dont likeyou can just back off of that part. arms getting too muscular, dont lift as much and so forth. about keeping a figure, you can do that, unfortunately you cant "spot train" fat, to say that you cant decide where its going to come off, it has to burn itself off from the places your body thinks it can spare it the most first. unfortunately one of the first places a womans body loses weight is her breasts, but dont throw in the towel, it wont happen over night. to lift your bust you can work your chest with exercises like flyes and various presses. ( im sure there will be plenty of advice on what exercise is what and how to do them to come ) by developing the muscle behind the breast, the pectoralis, you will lift the breast and make them stand out a little more. for thighs you can do things like lunges, hack squats, leg extensions and leg curls. the curls are especially good for rounding out the glutes ( butt ) and making the back of your leg firm so theres a nicer transition from butt to leg. basicall stick with lighter weights that will still offer some strain to you. and cardio will burn fat well. eat more protein and watch carbs. im sure youll get a lot more helpful from this forum, there are a lot of good people on here. welcome to the forum.

Deadpool · 21-04-2005, 01:29 AM

No weight training won't make you look like Arnold (theres only a handful of men on the planet who have the genetics to look like that!)

As exaktley has said light weights and high reps will give you a toned rather than musuclar look.

With a decent ammount of cardio and a good workout routine you can achieve a very sculpted but not overly muscular frame and burn off that excess BF.

My brother has started training with me and although hes not a woman he to wants to achieve a toned and athletic look rather than a BB look.

He to was under the impression that if he started training he with weights he would end up looking like me when all he wanted to do was lose some BF and get toned.

As I told him without the diet, the supplements and the heavy lifting hes not going to get big and neither will you.

I know a few women at my gym who train regularly with weights doing high rep low weight workouts combined with cardio and they have curves in all the right places as well as a toned and tight physique.

You can to so don't panic lifting a weight doesn't mean your going to wake up the next morning with 20inch arms!

As for workout programs etc well theres guys here with a lot more knowledge than me who are more than willing to help so any qestions post em and I'm sure someone here is able to give you the answers.

Janexxx · 21-04-2005, 02:48 AM

Thanks for your replies!

'Exaktly' - I was pleased to read the bit you said about being able to lift the bust ~ that was going to be another of my questions. I worry about my boobs because they're so damn heavy. I have taken 'the pencil test' (put a pencil under your boobs ~ if it stays there when you take your hand away, your boobs are saggy!), and I reckon I could hold a baseball bat under there!!! The thing is, they're not 'empty' saggy... they're just kind of 'long' ~ I still have cleavage at the top, but the bottom of them is almost to my waist. The thing that encourages me though, is that if I squeeze those muscles I can lift them an inch or so, so I thought I might be able to 'bodybuild' just those muscles, but I have heard that you can't build just one muscle... you have to build all the others as well or you'll end up hunchbacked, or something?!?!?! Oh, and I hope nobody minds me going into such detail about my boobs!!! ~ These are the kind of problems us ladies face!!!

'Deadpool' - When you say "light weights", how light exactly do you mean? ~ For years I have played around with books and videos that use little hand weights ("... or a tin of baked beans would do!"), and I guess I just got tired of the idea. In the books that I bought she talks about 'Pyramid Training' ~ I've tried this a little bit and really enjoyed it as I love the feeling that I'm finally actually pushing my body to it's limits. Do you think I should not do this? Like I mentioned above about my boobs, I really feel some bits of my bod need all the help they can get!

Thanks again for your replies and welcomes!

Deadpool · 21-04-2005, 01:35 PM

Light weights is pretty subjective a light weight for me for instance would be a very heavy one for a lot of women.

Basicly your looking at a weight you can get 15 to 20 reps out of once you past 15 reps your going into toning and cutting territory and to a point increasing cardio fitness rather than trying to add bulk.

I don't have much experience with Pyramid training I did it for a while a few years ago and all I can really remember about it is it was bloody hard lol, so I will let one of the other guys answer that as I don't want to mis advise a beginner.

BB is all about Symertry you don't want to over develop one body part and under train another as you will look lopsided its all about balance everything should stay in proportion and any weak body parts should be worked harder than the stronger ones to get them up to speed.

Arnold said it was like a sculptor looking at a statue he might say the shoulder needs to be bigger and he would add more clay where as a BB will work harder on the shoulders to get them up to speed.

Anonymous · 21-04-2005, 02:51 PM

welcome to the board Janexxx

biatch who is also new to this board has just got into bodybuilding,

maybe you could pm her, just a thought.

you might be able to share some boob info

Deadpool · 21-04-2005, 03:38 PM

If they want someone to look at there boob info to give them a second opnion my PM is always open! lol

biatch · 21-04-2005, 04:20 PM

okay guys (sorry for hijacking ur thread jane) here's my boob info:

before training 38F, now after 8mths training 38DD and if they shrink any more am gonnae scream! mind you they are a nicer firmer shape now.
maybe you guys could have a whip round if i need to go for implants eh?

themule · 21-04-2005, 05:10 PM

Welcome to the board jane, enjoy the forums, in my time here i have learned a lot and the guys and now girls, have been exceptionally forthcoming. Biatch you seemed to have sparked something here the start of a rapidly growing ladies forum, in any case i wish you well.

Dave.

Anonymous · 21-04-2005, 05:36 PM

Quote:

If they want someone to look at there boob info to give them a second opnion my PM is always open!

i,ll second that,my box is open too :P

Quote:

maybe you guys could have a whip round if i need to go for implants eh?

i,m sure we could arrange something

21-04-2005, 12:51 AM	#1 (permalink)
Janexxx Under Construction Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 2 Rep Power:	Woman Beginner BB ~ Do I have to look like a man!?!?!?!?!?!? Hi! What a great forum! I hope some of you might be able to help me with some of my thoughts on bodybuilding. I have lots of questions to ask, and I'm not really sure where to begin, but I guess I'll start from the beginning (...that's a very good place to begin!!!) I am a 25 year old, slightly overweight (by about a stone, I reckon), female. Despite my extra stone, I like my general figure as I am quite curvy (my waist is 26 inches, my bust 44 inches, my hips... nothing to brag about - FAT!!!). My extra weight seems to be on my thighs (mostly), belly and arms. A couple of months ago I bought 'Hard Bodies' and 'Hard Bodies Express Workout', both by Gladys Portugues, from a second-hand book shop. I found them really inspiring as having spent over ten years trying to lose my extra stone by depriving my body of food (even exercise has always been a case of wanting to 'burn off' my body, rather than add 'good' to it), this seemed like completely the opposite ~ doing something positive for my body instead. I have never been very impressed by the figures I am supposed to envy in women's magazines ~ I don't want to be thin, and with my natural figure I never could be. I have therefore never really felt 'happy' when following the types of diets and fitness regimes aimed at women ~ I could almost feel my body sagging like a deflated balloon when on these regimes. What I want to know is this... If done correctly, could bodybuilding help me accentuate my figure, tightening my waist, lifting my boobs, etc, helping to give me a figure more like Sophia Loren, rather than the muscular figures usually associated with female bodybuilders? I guess I'm trying to find the 'inbetween' ~ I like my soft body and want to keep my woman's shape, but I do need to lose a little weight (or rearrange it!), and if I could increase my woman's shape at the same time, that would be great! I hope I don't sound too confused (the truth is, I am!), but I have heard so many women say "Ooh! I don't want to look like Arnie!", whenever using weights is suggested ~ I've always laughed at them, but I suppose I can't help wondering now if I may spoil the figure I have/want by bodybuilding. I'll leave it there for now (I have lots more questions but I don't want to bore you with all of them at once!!!). Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

21-04-2005, 01:17 AM	#2 (permalink)
exaktlywhat Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: florida usa Posts: 642 Rep Power:	fear not, you dont have to look like a man. in fact as you work if you see something you dont likeyou can just back off of that part. arms getting too muscular, dont lift as much and so forth. about keeping a figure, you can do that, unfortunately you cant "spot train" fat, to say that you cant decide where its going to come off, it has to burn itself off from the places your body thinks it can spare it the most first. unfortunately one of the first places a womans body loses weight is her breasts, but dont throw in the towel, it wont happen over night. to lift your bust you can work your chest with exercises like flyes and various presses. ( im sure there will be plenty of advice on what exercise is what and how to do them to come ) by developing the muscle behind the breast, the pectoralis, you will lift the breast and make them stand out a little more. for thighs you can do things like lunges, hack squats, leg extensions and leg curls. the curls are especially good for rounding out the glutes ( butt ) and making the back of your leg firm so theres a nicer transition from butt to leg. basicall stick with lighter weights that will still offer some strain to you. and cardio will burn fat well. eat more protein and watch carbs. im sure youll get a lot more helpful from this forum, there are a lot of good people on here. welcome to the forum. ______________________ that which does not kill me only serves to make me stronger.

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21-04-2005, 01:29 AM	#3 (permalink)
Deadpool Making Progress Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: In my house Posts: 175 Rep Power:	No weight training won't make you look like Arnold (theres only a handful of men on the planet who have the genetics to look like that!) As exaktley has said light weights and high reps will give you a toned rather than musuclar look. With a decent ammount of cardio and a good workout routine you can achieve a very sculpted but not overly muscular frame and burn off that excess BF. My brother has started training with me and although hes not a woman he to wants to achieve a toned and athletic look rather than a BB look. He to was under the impression that if he started training he with weights he would end up looking like me when all he wanted to do was lose some BF and get toned. As I told him without the diet, the supplements and the heavy lifting hes not going to get big and neither will you. I know a few women at my gym who train regularly with weights doing high rep low weight workouts combined with cardio and they have curves in all the right places as well as a toned and tight physique. You can to so don't panic lifting a weight doesn't mean your going to wake up the next morning with 20inch arms! As for workout programs etc well theres guys here with a lot more knowledge than me who are more than willing to help so any qestions post em and I'm sure someone here is able to give you the answers.

21-04-2005, 02:48 AM	#4 (permalink)
Janexxx Under Construction Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 2 Rep Power:	Thanks for your replies! 'Exaktly' - I was pleased to read the bit you said about being able to lift the bust ~ that was going to be another of my questions. I worry about my boobs because they're so damn heavy. I have taken 'the pencil test' (put a pencil under your boobs ~ if it stays there when you take your hand away, your boobs are saggy!), and I reckon I could hold a baseball bat under there!!! The thing is, they're not 'empty' saggy... they're just kind of 'long' ~ I still have cleavage at the top, but the bottom of them is almost to my waist. The thing that encourages me though, is that if I squeeze those muscles I can lift them an inch or so, so I thought I might be able to 'bodybuild' just those muscles, but I have heard that you can't build just one muscle... you have to build all the others as well or you'll end up hunchbacked, or something?!?!?! Oh, and I hope nobody minds me going into such detail about my boobs!!! ~ These are the kind of problems us ladies face!!! 'Deadpool' - When you say "light weights", how light exactly do you mean? ~ For years I have played around with books and videos that use little hand weights ("... or a tin of baked beans would do!"), and I guess I just got tired of the idea. In the books that I bought she talks about 'Pyramid Training' ~ I've tried this a little bit and really enjoyed it as I love the feeling that I'm finally actually pushing my body to it's limits. Do you think I should not do this? Like I mentioned above about my boobs, I really feel some bits of my bod need all the help they can get! Thanks again for your replies and welcomes!

21-04-2005, 01:35 PM	#5 (permalink)
Deadpool Making Progress Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: In my house Posts: 175 Rep Power:	Light weights is pretty subjective a light weight for me for instance would be a very heavy one for a lot of women. Basicly your looking at a weight you can get 15 to 20 reps out of once you past 15 reps your going into toning and cutting territory and to a point increasing cardio fitness rather than trying to add bulk. I don't have much experience with Pyramid training I did it for a while a few years ago and all I can really remember about it is it was bloody hard lol, so I will let one of the other guys answer that as I don't want to mis advise a beginner. BB is all about Symertry you don't want to over develop one body part and under train another as you will look lopsided its all about balance everything should stay in proportion and any weak body parts should be worked harder than the stronger ones to get them up to speed. Arnold said it was like a sculptor looking at a statue he might say the shoulder needs to be bigger and he would add more clay where as a BB will work harder on the shoulders to get them up to speed.

21-04-2005, 02:51 PM	#6 (permalink)
Anonymous Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 0 Rep Power:	welcome to the board Janexxx biatch who is also new to this board has just got into bodybuilding, maybe you could pm her, just a thought. you might be able to share some boob info

21-04-2005, 03:38 PM	#7 (permalink)
Deadpool Making Progress Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: In my house Posts: 175 Rep Power:	If they want someone to look at there boob info to give them a second opnion my PM is always open! lol

21-04-2005, 04:20 PM	#8 (permalink)
biatch Under Construction Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Central Scotland Posts: 68 Rep Power:	okay guys (sorry for hijacking ur thread jane) here's my boob info: before training 38F, now after 8mths training 38DD and if they shrink any more am gonnae scream! mind you they are a nicer firmer shape now. maybe you guys could have a whip round if i need to go for implants eh?

21-04-2005, 05:10 PM	#9 (permalink)
themule Making Progress Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: scotland Posts: 540 Rep Power:	Welcome to the board jane, enjoy the forums, in my time here i have learned a lot and the guys and now girls, have been exceptionally forthcoming. Biatch you seemed to have sparked something here the start of a rapidly growing ladies forum, in any case i wish you well. Dave.