[lovd]

I joined the gym 2 or 3 months ago and I started using cardio machines, mainly the treadmill, the elliptical, and the stairmaster, and I noticed that while I was getting fitter/healthier, my thighs seemed to bulk up and get larger. As a female, that scared the living bejeebus out of me so I stopped.

Does anyone know what causes muscle to build up? I thought it might be resistance training (because that's what I was doing on my machines)...but I'm not too sure.

Which exercises and exercise machines should I/girls avoid in order to get thinner rather than bulking up?

[hae mee]

Trust me, you have to go through extreme measures to bulk up for a girl. We don't have enough testosterone for that. You would be having to lift major weight alot and make serious supplements to get bulky like men.

This, I hear, is the rule of thumb: lots of reps + low weight = tone. Little reps + high weight = bulky and muscular. And of course you are going to get muscle from running. You are still using the muscle to move even though it's considered as a cardio exercise.. It's bound to get bigger haha

Girls can do whatever exercises they want. Just use less weight and more reps. I go into the Advaned Training Center in my gym where it's like 99% men in there all the time and I use their assisted pull-up machine. They just do like 10 with super massive weight while I do 3 reps of 10 with a much smaller amount of weight.

I also red that pilates and yoga makes bodies lean and muscular.

[可愛い]

set the treadmill/elyptical machine to no resistance. that way u wont get bulk.

[enirtep]

running on threadmill bulks up your calves i heard, because when you run on the threadmill, the one that is literally moving is the machine, not you. you are only running on this fake surface where you create a bouncing effect instead of really propelling to the front. so instead of using your glutes and thighs muscles, you are exerting a lot of pressure on your calves which makes your calves bigger or sth. this is also why many have the misconception that jogging makes your calves bulky. nope, only jogging on threadmill makes your calves bulky.

this is what i heard la because i dont know, i dont fancy running on the threadmill because ill feel giddy, so no experience in that case

[KIM_SAYS:]

Trust me, you have to go through extreme measures to bulk up for a girl. We don't have enough testosterone for that. You would be having to lift major weight alot and make serious supplements to get bulky like men.

Seriously. I did A LOT of weight-lifting last year...didn't bulk up a bit, but got toned instead.

As for running...I don't know. I hear that if you do more long-distance running, you'll slim down, whereas if you do more sprinting, you'll bulk up. Any truth to this?

[lovd]

Seriously. I did A LOT of weight-lifting last year...didn't bulk up a bit, but got toned instead.

As for running...I don't know. I hear that if you do more long-distance running, you'll slim down, whereas if you do more sprinting, you'll bulk up. Any truth to this?

I keep hearing that, too...But then my brother told me that sprinting slims you down and long-distance does the opposite. D= He's a long distance runner, but hes a guy and I suppose running would have slightly different effects on guys? Maybe? =P

[MarineGreen]

Muscle is good, your not going to get bulky by running sprinting maybe.
you see muscles actually help you stay lean because the more muscles you have the more calories you burn.

i suggest you get some 1-10 pound dumbells and do basic excercises like curls, lunges, squats, shoulder presses, crunches, chest flys, and triceps curls. work your way up to like 3 sets of 15 or greater if you so no signs or "bulking up"
skip some rope at about 60 percent of your total effort for 3 minutes and do that 3-5 times or jog for 30 minutes.

and most importantly stretch alot before and after you work out.

i highly doubt you will bulk up doing this you might see a increase in muscle but that is proof your "toning" up

[D_K]

I joined the gym 2 or 3 months ago and I started using cardio machines, mainly the treadmill, the elliptical, and the stairmaster, and I noticed that while I was getting fitter/healthier, my thighs seemed to bulk up and get larger. As a female, that scared the living bejeebus out of me so I stopped.

Does anyone know what causes muscle to build up? I thought it might be resistance training (because that's what I was doing on my machines)...but I'm not too sure.

Which exercises and exercise machines should I/girls avoid in order to get thinner rather than bulking up?

What you're noticing is not bulk (lean muscle). It's just water weight and increased glycogen. Keep at it and you'll see results.

[sugarlessgirl]

maybe try stopping or decreasing the stairmaster because it uses so much thigh power + increasing treadmill/elliptical time?

[enirtep]

Seriously. I did A LOT of weight-lifting last year...didn't bulk up a bit, but got toned instead.

As for running...I don't know. I hear that if you do more long-distance running, you'll slim down, whereas if you do more sprinting, you'll bulk up. Any truth to this?

long distance running>sacrifice muscles because too long>no muscles no fats>lesser mass>looks skinnier

but ive never heard of sprinting-bulking-up kinda thing?

[quinwa_gelatin]

If you want to tone, work less for longer. If you want bulk, get BIIIG weight. Tone, small ones over and over and over and over again.

[Blythe999]

Seriously. I did A LOT of weight-lifting last year...didn't bulk up a bit, but got toned instead.

As for running...I don't know. I hear that if you do more long-distance running, you'll slim down, whereas if you do more sprinting, you'll bulk up. Any truth to this?

It's not as simple as stating that someone who sprints will build bulky muscle or that someone who is a long distance runner slims down. It's more the nature of the sport, what kind of bodies adapt to it, and what kind of bodies are more 'ideal' for the sport.

long distance running is an endurance sport. Your body will adapt more to cardio and long term caloric burning. In comparison, sprinting is a high-intensity explosive sport. You are giving it your all in short amount of time. Sprinters train to aid them in their explosive movements and you need muscle for that type of dynamic movement. But that doesn't mean that they aren't "slim," check out some of the Olympic sprinters and notice the incredibly low body fat percentage. Plyometrics and olympic lifts would be a great type of exercise for those interested in those more explosive movements.

[EenXsooN]

just run for a long time
running slowly and for a long time helps get smaller muscles.
like the people that do marathons .. they are so skinny

[kinein]

Which exercises and exercise machines should I/girls avoid in order to get thinner rather than bulking up?

Just clarification and a gentle kick in the butt.

There is no such thing as toning in the end, it is about building muscle and losing fat. the whole bulk misconception is where a person hasn't lost the fat yet or made enough progress.

With no concept how to really workout, no experience training, no nurtured desire or discipline, nor do you have high testosterone levels like a teenage boy. The end. You should avoid being lazy and avoid anything to do with being inconsistent.
* So to summarize : you need to learn how to crawl before you can discuss sprinting, hiking, sky-diving, or walking. Worrying about what to bring to a firefight when you don't know how to use a gun is what you are doing right now ^^

Do work. Reflect on how well you are doing your work ~ Learn and apply. Practice. Go back to the drawing board - learn more and apply. Practice. Repeat for life!

Worried about looks? Control your carbs ~

I keep hearing that, too...But then my brother told me that sprinting slims you down and long-distance does the opposite. D= He's a long distance runner, but hes a guy and I suppose running would have slightly different effects on guys? Maybe? =P

Your brother is a genius tell him I said so.

But your ending response : do you think... girls aren't human? o.O I have a plot of land on mars to sell to you.

[abusegirl]

yoga. you need to stretch along with what you're doing. It will give your muscle a leaner appearance and you wont be all ugly huge.

like ballerinas....they have seriously muscular legs but they don't look big and mini cooper.

worked for me. You'd never know how much i can lift by just looking at me....it's like i have almost no muscle at all. ^_____^

a good 10-15 minutes after a workout will work.

[kinein]

Seriously. I did A LOT of weight-lifting last year...didn't bulk up a bit, but got toned instead.

As for running...I don't know. I hear that if you do more long-distance running, you'll slim down, whereas if you do more sprinting, you'll bulk up. Any truth to this?

Long distance running will end up eating into muscle ~ you'll slim down but your body will reflect the added loss of muscle.

Sprinting ~ you will lose fat and retain functional muscle -

* but to get any bigger requires a lot more food - the average gym goer let alone the average soompi person has no concept how much more eating that requires. don't be confused with olympic sprinters - they have personal trainers, coaches, and nutrionists and money to purchase gigantic quantities of food to eat weekly.

It isn't easy for a girl to get big ~ fat sure, but look like a guy? no way ~
* reviewing the hooters girl 2008 calendar and beauty pageant, ms. Universe 2008, Ms. Super Bikini Universe ~ they all lift weights, exercise consistently, and train hardcore - there are maybe half-dozen guys on soompi that understand why and how.
- So you have thousands of girls that train like guys ( sorry must destroy this mythbusting ) "they train smarter and more effectively" and they look freaking hot and millions upon millions of guys ogle and drool"

Really worrying about bulk is just an issue with bodyfat - carb intake - and water retention.

CALIPERS!! Get some!

It is a misconception to think girls are not also human ~ But there are some fundamental things to understand like guys are stronger up top while girls are naturally stronger with the lower body.

To the girls : you eat you pee you bleed you poo

Guys do the same!!!!! Cut us and we bleed purple!!!!!! <-- lol did I get my point across yet?

--------------------------

The hot girls are the sprinters, the skinny bony ones with no figure are the long distance runners!

Sprinters > Long distance ( though hard paced running 2-4 miles a day ) I don't count that as the camel work of long distance runners ~ But lifting weights helps protect muscle and a proper diet does wonders!

* note : bringing up ppl that do triathalons etc doesn't count they aren't pure long distance runners - as reflected upon their training in and out of the gym and work with weights.

[outerspace]

^wow nice, i keep learning everyday here haha

Mmm, so sprinting, how long would you say i should sprint, then pause/walk? then have a go at it again to be affective?
..i should start lifting weights T_T but I get so confused whenever I'm in the weight room.

I'm usually on the bike, then treadmill, then elliptical, then stairmaster lol.

oh and while I'm at it, what's an easy to remember warm up stretches that I should be doing? I always do random stretches =(

[joshingtxcl]

well, usually you're supposed to run - use the elliptical machine - don't use the stairmaster. when you're trying to slim down -
even though going up hills and mounds burn more calories it adds a lot more bulk to your thighs cause they have to
work harder.
just run, sprint, jog, use the elliptical machine - for at least 20 to 30 minutes 3 days a week. more if you want -
and do strength training along with using small weights on the weight machines. it should help you tone up instead
of bulking up.

[edidi]

Using the legs to much tears the muscles and builds mass on the thighs XD

[Makaveli]

well, usually you're supposed to run - use the elliptical machine - don't use the stairmaster. when you're trying to slim down -
even though going up hills and mounds burn more calories it adds a lot more bulk to your thighs cause they have to
work harder.
just run, sprint, jog, use the elliptical machine - for at least 20 to 30 minutes 3 days a week. more if you want -
and do strength training along with using small weights on the weight machines. it should help you tone up instead
of bulking up.

Using the legs to much tears the muscles and builds mass on the thighs XD

Sorry but both of these are incorrect. First of all bulk is highly dependent on diet,
HGH levels, and testosterone levels. An average female will never become
bulky because most don't eat enough or have enough testosterone to create such
a physique. The stair master is a great way to burn calories. Also strength training
in general using weights or machines is fine. Challenge yourself, you wont look toned
or lean if you don't. If you're using 10lbs on a leg press do you honestly think that's
doing anything besides wasting your time?

Using the legs too much doesn't build mass. It overtrains them, because you walk
daily also. Overtraining doesn't create growth. It inhibits growth. The only thing
you should really be worried about right now is keeping your workouts intense
so you can burn those calories.