Do I stop weight training? Feeling bulky

[prettyinpink23x]

Ive been with my PT for 7 months focusing on progressive overload 3x strength training 10,000 steps small deficit and body recomp. My waist measurement has gone down but my hip has gone up an inch and my glutes have grown. I think my body looks a lot more toned but as Im tall I feel quite bulky. I am up 2kg since March and I’ve had a family member say I need to stop as I will ‘look like a body builder’.

Do I stop strength training/ do more cardio/ eat less? My PT has told me to continue strength training and not to drastically cut calories.

I bet you look fab! 7 months doesn't seem enough time for a woman to get bulky rather than toned and fit. I definitely ignore people saying you'll look like a bodybuilder, a) why not look like that if you want, b) you're not likely to achieve that look without deliberately working towards it.

Speak to your trainer. Maybe look to maintain whilst you adjust to your new look and body. I wouldn't stop aught training entirely, it's so important for women, especially as we get older to ensure bone health and independence

Could you introduce another form of exercise such as Pilates, Callanetics ,Yoga type exercise and reduce the strength training to maximum of two times a week ?

You must have outstanding genetics to look like a body builder after 7 months of training. I’m tempted to advise that you trust the process. You’re in a calorie deficit so you’ll continue to lose body fat and your muscle building capacity won’t grow exponentially like it did in the first 6 months of training (assuming you’re new to strength training and benefitting from ‘newbie gains’). I bet you look amazing

Well what do you want to look like? I like this look personally and certainly am working towards this aesthetic not away from it. What did you think was going to occur from progressive overload?! 😂

I wouldn’t worry what someone else says I would think it’s a compliment really your hard work is showing!

But if you want to cut down then stop progressive overload and focus on strength not growing

Your family member is misinformed at best. Nobody ends up looking like a body builder without a lot of very deliberate work.

I bet you look great!

How do you feel in yourself?

Nooo! Don't listen to your family member, I bet you look incredible.

It sounds like the dream! I'm desperate for my hip/glute measurement to go up. It's a work in progress.

I bet you really don't look as bulky as you think you look and it's all in your head.

I weight train and am so much stronger. My measurements are the same and my weight is up but I just look better. Trust the process and cut calories if you want to lose more fat. But keep the training up

I met my PT last week for the first time and she asked me for my weight as was setting me up on things, I said 67kg she said are you sure? You don’t look 67kg on first glance as you lean then I showed her my glutes and quads and she laughed and said ok you not been skipping leg day

Depends why you do strength training. I do it to be strong, so it wouldn’t matter to me. Muscles are cool. If that isn’t why you do it, then you might feel differently. I wouldn’t change what I wanted to do based on a family member’s comments.

What are the relevent qualifications of this family member?
Do they have a lifestyle you're keen to emulate?
Is their advice usually from good exposure to a variety of sources and experiences or out-dated and prejudiced? Would they offer the same advice to a man or are they just sexist?

Do you feel good? That's the main thing!

I'd love my glutes to grow - the amount of squats & lunges I do just can't counter the genetics of a flat pancake bottom. But I love having glutes & quads of steel and a tough core, even if it's all covered in a layer of fat, sadly.

Yes!

I'm envious of what you've achieved. Ahhhh, newbie gains ...

I need to stop as I will ‘look like a body builder’
🤣🤣🤭

Um, any body builder will tell you it takes years of training plus performance enhancers and them living on a carb free diet for weeks to cut to look like a body builder!
I had a PT who played rugby for England. She was very self conscious of her butt and thighs, which you can imagine were muscular. But she wasn’t big, just athletic looking for that kind of sport. In clothes she just looked fit . Keep it up!

If it was that easy to get big, body builders wouldn't be injecting themselves with stuff and living on liquified chicken 😃

Sounds more like misogyny to me.. it’s highly unlikely you look like a body builder, ao ask yourself if a man had this kind of muscle tone would anyone be saying anything other than well done?

I'm surprised that you have gains like that after 7 months. I'll bet you look amazing. He sounds like an excellent trainer. Can we see a photo?

You literally can't bulk up like a man, we don't have the hormones for it. Unless you're taking steroids and on it 24/7.

I’d also like to know what qualifies this family member to pass judgement?

Can you post an image without your face? It would be hugely unusual to look anywhere close to a body builder in this amount of time with little weight gain, women really need to go some to build muscle to that extent. I’m wondering if your family member is incorrect and its impact your own thoughts.

I dont think I look like a bodybuilder its whats been said to me

Op you look fit/toned, ignore the family member, either their perception is off or they are jealous. You look great, keep going, the pt is correct.

The family member is probably untoned and envious.

Family members and friends do this if you do exercise and they don't.
I've had 'running is bad for the knees', 'it's not safe to run alone', 'you'll get all bulky', 'runners always look haggard' etc.
They do it to justify their lack of exercise.

You have a lovely physique with muscle definition. You look strong and healthy and many people consider this to be an aspirational body type and reflective of healthy diet and exercise.

There's a catalogue of dumb, inaccurate comments out there that insecure, unmotivated people use to put people down to their level.

whats that saying

should have gone to spec savers

tell your family member to book in for an eye test and get themselves sorted out with glasses