To be so upset that exercise has effectively ruined my figure?

[MyBodySucks]

I was a size 6-8 until about a year ago, when I started Pole Fitness classes, as well as a few other classes at the same club, things like Body Pump.

I've eaten the same as always (clean!) but the exercising has given me a body that I hate and I'm so upset about it.

Basically my thighs and upper arms have beefed up, for want of a better expression. I can barely even get size 10 jeans over my thighs now, and my arms look like men's arms. My waist, and tummy look good I suppose but everything else is just horrible and I hate how I look!

I'm quite short at 5ft 4 inches and so in clothes I just look large and stocky.

Has anyone else found the same thing? I am stopping classes and going to just walk and do pilates in future and hopefully my muscles will shrink and I'll look ok again.

AIBU to be upset?

Give up that exercise and take up pilates.

All that stuff about long lean muscle from Pilates is total rubbish. Muscles can't grown long, and they are lean (or no fat) anyway. Pilates just builds less muscle than weight training. Lean just means you have lost (or never had) the fat sitting over the muscles. OP - I'm pretty sure you need to just do a cut and lose some fat.

This is really interesting as I also think I’ve bulked up from weight training. My trousers don’t fit anymore as my bum is more rounded and thighs are bigger, shirts feel tight around the arms and gape at the chest. I feel like the Incredible Hulk bursting out of my clothes
I thought it was just because I’d put on weight (I have) but I think some of this is also from changing body shape. On reflection though I think I prefer being stronger (history of back problems and physio recommending strengthening my glutes). Being able to walk pain free and sleep properly is worth feeling a bit chunkier. Although I am a bit gutted that my clothes don’t fit!

@fishonabicycle

The human body has 3 sorts of muscle; fast twitch, slow twitch, and one that can change depending on the way it's used. So, for body builders and sprinters, more fast twitch muscle develops, which is short and bulky. For distance runners, more slow twitch muscle develops, which is long and lean.

Changing what exercise you do can change the shape of your muscles. It's not simply that we all have a set shape we turn into if we work our muscles.

@500BusStops

I also think I’ve bulked up from weight training

Did you not expect that, though? How did you think your body would change?

This is why I'm afraid to exercise. My sister took up running and whilst she lost weight her calves (?) and thighs are now absolutely huge and look ridiculous as her body is so out of proportion. She's also wrecked her knees too.

What a lovely sister you are @zatarontoast 😂

@zatarontoast

That's a good excuse.

Pablos don't worry I've been a great sister. I've say patiently and pretended to be interested in every single route she has ran over the last two years 😂 Running turns people into such bores 😅 Dsis (who is lovely btw) even laughs about her legs too!

Some are yes. People often laugh at themselves we don’t have to say ‘Yeah you’re out of proportion’ Muscly people out there don’t lose heart, you’ll be the fitter elderly 😚

I get why you hate it. I've also got muscly legs. Even some fat people have thinner legs than me. Yeah I'm fit and healthy, but can I find long boots to fit my legs off the shelf? Not a bloody chance, I have to get made to measure, that of course cost a fortune. Nice payback for being fit. Makes doing horse riding even more expensive than it already is, and I'm limited for choice, most long boots that are made to measure/for large people are ugly as hell.

I am a pear shape with tree-trunk legs - I will always be that shape unless dangerously underweight. I used to be self-concious about my bum.
But lifting and being a fast gainer meant that I look more curvy since I've built my shoulders and arms. I thought that if I'm going to have tree trunks I want them to squat 100kg, jump 1m and carry me over 30km of rough terrain - being buff is a superpower!

This didn't happen after one session. If someone came on here saying they'd done 100 push ups a day for 5 years, and now they were pissed off because their chest was all muscly, they'd be laughed out of the room.

That wouldn't be very nice though would it?

Equally you could apply that thinking to other type of body insecurity/dysmorphia/eating disorders

And that also wouldn't be very nice

"Got fat? That'll be the 10 years of pies amirite?"

I'd rather clothes fit people than the expectation of people fitting clothes. That's why I like wrap dresses. Although I've given up on women's shirts and wear mens since women's shirts are skin tight in the armpit and I get the dreaded keyhole (quite the achievement for an A-cup).

The sewing machine is going to see some action soon...

Depends on your body type

Endomorphs are prone to chunkiness for eg

Cardio With any resistance can make this body type look large - the very worst being spin

OP do lots of long walks on the flat and Pilates or yoga to correct this

I’m a mesomorph and would only do an occasional weights class (like every 10 days ish) as I like the lean, fit and slender look and I get too big if I do weights or any cardio involving resistance

Just my two pennies worth:

You absolutely can gain muscle mass even on a defect diet..well some body types can. I'm an endo-mesomorph.

I have had huge legs and calves all my life..I've been doing weights for over a year now and intermittent fasting the whole time, I use light weights and low reps and only do cardio maybe once a week if that. I also walk a lot..my arms are definitely bulkier, my calves havent changed and my glutes are big and round (what I was aiming for as they now fit my big thighs).
I have about 1000 calories a day clean food.
If I ate more I'd be the size of the hulk.
But I dont mind this..I would like to look tad leaner maybe but I much prefer my toned muscle to my wobbly fat. I cant really do any lighter weights and I love love exercising so I'm not going to stop.whwn I do stop I'm just as bulky but its fat instead of muscle.
I'm also not doing this for looks anyway, I'm doing this for health reasons mainly mental health so I'm going to keep it up.

@EasyAndy101

OP is pissed off that actively making an effort to do a muscle building exercise has built her some muscle. She could have stopped at any stage, but chose to carry on building muscle she didn't want. If you think the truth isn't nice, that's your prerogative. But it doesn't make the truth any different.

@Eckhart no I didn’t expect to bulk up, because I had believed what I’d read about it being really difficult for women to get bulky from weights without doing masses of body building type activity (which I wasn’t). I’ve also seen a lot of very strong women at the gym who still looked lean. I guess our bodies all react differently.

@500BusStops It can't have happened overnight though. It does take a bit of time to build substantial muscle, even for young testosterone-laden lads. The bit that's confusing me is why you wouldn't stop when the muscles started to grow more than you expected, and do something else. I mean, did you just wake up one morning and look in the mirror to find He-Man looking back at you?

Just realised what a ridiculous name He-Man is, but that's beside the point.

@Eckhart I don’t know why you seem so across the OP feels she has bulked up?

Cross !

I mean , this can happen - depending on body type some people bulk up whereas another person with different body type may not

I really surprised that pole fitness and body pump have been on during the last 6 months. Are you in the UK OP?

I hear you, OP. I prefer the long and lean look. I can go somewhat heavy with my lower body (105 pound kettlebell for deadlifts, for example) as I have narrow hips and thin legs, but prefer to do body weight only or low weight/high rep for my upper body, as my shoulders can get wide and then I look out of proportion.

Good point ALLIS0N. Surely your alleged muscles have disappeared by now? Mine are not quite the same even if I take just a few weeks off..

Les Mills classes you can stream on demand