I Want Lean Not Bulk
A Question from a Facebook fan; Alison, Hoboken, NJ.
I’ve been working out for the last year and a half and feel that not only am I not getting the results I want, but I’m getting the exact opposite. Lately, I feel like I have been bulking up more than anything (though not working out with weights) and I am just unhappy. Was originally looking to tone what I had but now, I also want to lose some of the bulky muscle I have built, lose some pounds and fit back into my pants …yes, I’ve gone up a size rather than down a size. Any advice?
Bulking is not an overnight process. It takes time. What you eat and how you train matters. After careful research we’ve narrowed it down to four solutions; eat correctly, strength train, cardio exercise and stretch.
EATING
First, eat 5 – 6 small meals a day. Eat 15 grams of protein per day if you’re a female, 20 grams for males.
It is vitally important that you only consume good food when you are bulking up. Foods like lean protein, unsaturated fats and high fiber foods. Aim to get natural foods as much as possible instead of processed meals. This will give you a great foundation for building strong muscles and help you progress. Eating this way will boost your metabolism. Increasing your metabolic rate is the key to achieving and sustaining a low percentage of body fat.
STRENGHT TRAINING
The common misconception among women is bulking with weight training. The reality is men and women work for years to build bulk. Women have about 15 to 20 times less testosterone than men. Because men have more testosterone, they are much more equipped to gain muscle. Since the testosterone is not present in sufficient amounts in women, the muscle will develop, but it won’t gain a large amount of mass. The “toned” appearance comes from removing the fat that is covering a well-developed muscle.
Muscle bulk comes from a high volume of work. The high weights high reps promotes hypertrophy (muscle growth). We recommend lower weights (3-5lbs for women and 5-10lbs for men) with 1-2 sets of 12 -20reps. Make sure to take a day off from strength training.
CARDIO
Cardio burns calories and fat. Choose some kind of mild cardio exercise that you hate the least and do it 2 days a week. I suggest brisk walking. Take a high impact class 3 days per week like a bootcamp. The high impact, cross training, while help you shed 300-600 calories per session as well as add the toning you’re looking for. We created a workout for the purpose of creating lean muscle as well as build strength and endurance. We crosstrain constantly with various cardio drills (soccer, football boxing) combined with weight training yoga and pilates. We also run, climb steps and add squats and lunges with weights. The workout always changes so that your body will constantly feel challenged.
STRETCH
Stretching is vital when you’re working out. With our workouts we stretch after a weight set. This elongates the muscles already oxygenated while adding flexibility to help reduce the risk of injury. In addition, we use our body strength to perform planks or downward facing dog to elongate the muscles and prevent hypertrophy (muscle bulk).
There you have it. The perfect combination is very basic. Eating right and training correctly will help prevent bulk in women. If you’re like Alison, we want to hear thoughts. Please send us your comments.
-Bernadette McLoughlin
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