Help with my fitness routine - getting too bulky. (1 Viewer)

[clarity.novo]

Hi,

I tend to exercise quite a bit - previously, i did speed-skipping for about 30 minutes each day but for the past 4 months or so, I started going to the gym. I attend pilates once/twice a week and the remaining days I'm on the treadmill, bike or cross trainer for about 30 minutes, use the rowing machine a bit and if I feel up to it, I'll do a some weights. On the weekends, I try to walk for about an hour each day. Anyway, I've noticed a huge change in my body and while I'm happy that I'm much more toned in the arms (biceps) and legs (its just hard), I feel I'm getting a bit too bulky. I've put on a lot of muscle weight (about 6 kilos) in the last 4 months and its really starting to scare me. Friends say they can't really see a difference but I can, and I don't want to lose the muscle and my fitness but I don't want to keep on bulking up....
Any suggestions on my fitness routine? When I was skipping, I noticed that I didn't bulk up but I wasn't very toned either.

Suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks

oh, love cardio and refuse to give it up. Will this be a problem?

 

[NinjaSauce]

I'm sorry, but:

How big are you? Height+weight.

Gender?

----

Looking over the program you have written, I'd be surprised it you grew at all.

Other Q's:

- Why are you scared to gain (good) weight?
- Ever thought of eating less? Weight has to come from somewhere.


Unless you are doing some epic Squat+deadlift program on the days that you actually use weights, from which i gather is a rare occurrence, i don't see where you are providing any serious level stimulus to gain weight. This is assuming the pilates is not a very new occurrence, as a severely detrained individual might gain something from that.

But yes, my Q above, i don't know anything about you, or your body's make up.

 

[clarity.novo]

female - 163 cm and 53 kilos.

and i know that puts me in a healthy weight range according to my bmi, which is fine. but i prefer not to add on any more weight becuase although additional muscle bulk is good for men, for women...too much and it doesn't look so great.

well, it could be food - i probably eat a bit more because i'm exercising a lot more, but when i feel my thighs. its not fat. they're rock solid. so i'm assuming that a lot of that is more muscle than anything else. same goes for my arms. and pilates i just started it about 3/4 months ago when i joined my gym.but i love it, and don't want to give up exercising for the fear of bulking up but i don't want to bulk up any more. and i'm not sure how to find a balance between the two.

 

[CharlieB]

Hi,

I tend to exercise quite a bit - previously, i did speed-skipping for about 30 minutes each day but for the past 4 months or so, I started going to the gym. I attend pilates once/twice a week and the remaining days I'm on the treadmill, bike or cross trainer for about 30 minutes, use the rowing machine a bit and if I feel up to it, I'll do a some weights. On the weekends, I try to walk for about an hour each day. Anyway, I've noticed a huge change in my body and while I'm happy that I'm much more toned in the arms (biceps) and legs (its just hard), I feel I'm getting a bit too bulky. I've put on a lot of muscle weight (about 6 kilos) in the last 4 months and its really starting to scare me. Friends say they can't really see a difference but I can, and I don't want to lose the muscle and my fitness but I don't want to keep on bulking up....
Any suggestions on my fitness routine? When I was skipping, I noticed that I didn't bulk up but I wasn't very toned either.

Suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks

oh, love cardio and refuse to give it up. Will this be a problem?

Your entire routine is cardio, thrown in with some weights when you feel like it. With that routine i don't see how it is possible to gain 6kgs of muscle mass in 4 months. (Which is a lot for a female who does no mass building exercises).

I'm going to take a wild guess and say its puberty.

 

[*TRUE*]

Pilates is brilliant , i know , especially for ballet dancers , cant get bulky.
Maybe do that more often that weights.
Careful with the weights & rowing machine

 

[quik.]

Seriously?

You're a girl... you arn't going to stumble into huge guns and straited glutes. Unless you're shooting up / practically dedicating your LIFE to it your body simply cannot get 'too bulky'.

I can't see why being firmer and having more muscle than you did before is in any way a bad thing. Your current routine isn't going to turn you into the hulk, far from it. It will probably take you in the opposite direction.

 

[Wassup?]

Seriously?

You're a girl... you arn't going to stumble into huge guns and straited glutes. Unless you're shooting up / practically dedicating your LIFE to it your body simply cannot get 'too bulky'.

I can't see why being firmer and having more muscle than you did before is in any way a bad thing. Your current routine isn't going to turn you into the hulk, far from it. It will probably take you in the opposite direction.

Mate, I bid to disagree. There's a chick in my class at school who is bulky. Her thighs are HUGE, and don't get me started on her arms. I also envy her traps.

 

[Nat3skiz]

Mate, I bid to disagree. There's a chick in my class at school who is bulky. Her thighs are HUGE, and don't get me started on her arms. I also envy her traps.

LOL that means its time to hit the gym.

to the OP, why don't you train with weights for power instead of endurance. ie low reps compared to high reps.

 

[Nereis]

You mind letting look at your daily calorie intake? Its impossible to gain muscle on a calorie deficit.

 

[russs]

As NinjaSauce said before, unless you are doing some major compound movements / and on the gear it is highly doubtful you can put on so much muscle mass. Unless you are a female that produces testostorone in monster quantities (haven't seen this before).

6kg of muscle mass will also cause a very heavy change in appetite, especially if you are active.

A guy at your height/weight with 6kg extra muscle mass will have a tough time maintaining this mass. We are talking at eating every 2 hours and waking up hungry in the middle of the night.

 

[205ism]

Wow, 6kg of lean mass in 4 months, I'm envious.

Anyway, once your body adapts to your routine you should stabilize and not gain much/any more muscle. For example, I'm a canoe slalom athlete/addict, which involves little leg use, I don't seem to be able to gain much upper body muscle mass on top of what I have, regardless of if I do gym O times a week or 3 times, but my legs on the other hand, when I do a period of running or cycling, after a month of this (say 3 times a week) my legs a re considerably more bulky, and if I stop for a while, they go back to how they were.

 

[Pace_T]

your body has a natural balancing mechanism, thats why. if you want to get a bigger upperbody you gotta train lower body too. otherwise your upper is limited.

 

[Nat3skiz]

Wow, 6kg of lean mass in 4 months, I'm envious.

Anyway, once your body adapts to your routine you should stabilize and not gain much/any more muscle. For example, I'm a canoe slalom athlete/addict, which involves little leg use, I don't seem to be able to gain much upper body muscle mass on top of what I have, regardless of if I do gym O times a week or 3 times, but my legs on the other hand, when I do a period of running or cycling, after a month of this (say 3 times a week) my legs a re considerably more bulky, and if I stop for a while, they go back to how they were.

ever heard of mark rippetoes starting strength routine?
that will put on the lean muscle mass you want.