Weight training & CD....

[Alandra]

I've been weight training on & off (but mostly on) for the past 12 years. I really enjoy it! Since I injured myself triathlon training in March, it's just about the only kind of physical activity I can do without aggravating the injury, so I've been into it more lately.

My strategy the last several months is to do low weight & high rep training. Specifically, I've been doing two sets of 12 - 20 reps. If I can't lift the weight at least 24 times... to hell with it. At 40, it's time to increase the resistance. It's not worth risking injury, and it's not worth the potential of becoming super bulky and VERY un-femme lifting heavier weights.

Without hormones, (I'm not TS, and don't foresee that changing any time soon.) you're kind of caught in a trap. When you hit the gym hard with a man's body, it's going to become more masculine. All that said, I was wondering how many of the other ladies are into weight training and if so, maybe you could share your experiences about hitting the gym hard and still looking femme.

[Jessicaparkson]

I used to weight train quite a bit a few years back before I tore my bicep. Good times. Anyways. When I did I just accepted the more masculine changes that naturally occur from weight training.

[Amiad]

I guess it might have alot to do with why you dress......for me it's about the clothes; hairy legs, beard and all

Of course there is always the up-side of this. None of your clothes will fit right and you will have to go shopping

No...I dont have a beard in my photos. Dont think I would recieve a kind response and it grows back in 2 weeks.

[Kayla Shadows]

My strategy the last several months is to do low weight & high rep training.

Ive heard thats a good way to do it.Lower weight and more reps seems to build a nice longer look to the muscle.Instead of doing 6 reps until muscle failure for bulk,go for 12.Doing really high reps doesnt allow the muscle much resistance to get toned.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/

[Annie D]

Be sure that when you weight train that you use both types of contractions. There are concentric contractions when you lift the weight and that works the belly of the muscle when the muscle shortens and there are eccentric contractions when you lower the weight when the muscle lengthens and that works where the muscle originates and inserts on and across the joint. For example if you do a biceps curl, when you bring the weight up you can see the biceps muscle shorten but if you slowly lower the weight, overcoming gravity, you are strengthening the muscle at the two sides of the belly. This is what builds strength and not bulk.

I'm sure someone where you work out can give you some guidance but remember that after 72 hours you start losing the gains you have previously attained.

An alternative training regiment might be to swim which works the upper body plus it will give you an excuse to shave your body......

[Marjory]

I've been lifting sinceI'm 15, I'm now 65 and have just recently increased my reps to 15 and scaled back my weights to match. Weight lifting has kept me young + I still have a good build. I also taught self defense and martial arts for 25 years which has kept me (fairly) fast.

Things slowed down at about 55 not in my forties, at 44 I could bench twice my weight. Now the most is use is ~200 lbs for bp. I don't make a very passable female.

Marjory

[Raquel June]

The age-old theory that higher reps less weight builds "tone" and higher weight less reps builds "bulk" is unfounded and has been debunked in most respected weight training resources. But, just like the theory that more sit-ups makes you lose belly fat, a lot of people still believe it.

Either you want to build muscle and gain strength or you don't.

If you do, you should lift as much as you can safely for a relatively low number of reps. Sometimes it's a whole lot more convenient to do 15 reps of something instead of adding weight and doing 8 reps, and that's not all that bad, but, for example, if you're doing 20 reps on the bench you're doing something wrong. If the weight is far below your max, then it might be a good warmup or cooldown ... it might even be good aerobic exercise, but it's not the best way to build muscle. If you're doing a bunch of reps and it is a lot of weight, then that's not so bad, but it increases lactic acid and makes recovery take longer, so it's something to avoid if you want to train that muscle group more than once a week.

If you just want "tone," then you should weight train less and focus more on diet and aerobic exercise. Spending a ton of time in the gym doing high reps with low weight isn't bad, but it's less effective. You're less likely to hurt yourself with high reps, though, so that may be a valid trade-off to you.

What exactly is your injury?

If weight training is your favorite way to work out, but you don't want to get too manly, just hit glutes/quads/abs a lot harder and do less sets of upper body stuff.

The eccentric (negative) action of lifting is the more important one, so you want to lift the weight fairly quickly and lower it slowly.

Training density (doing more work in less time via more weight and less reps) is a very important factor in building muscle and also in stimulating the release of HGH. It also stimulates the release of testosterone (like all physical activity), but this brings us back to the question of why you're weight training in the first place. If you don't want to build muscle, then you shouldn't be doing much weight training.

You just have to realize that "tone" is a term which people are confused about. Moderate muscle mass and low % body fat gives you what is known as tone. When you look at a girl and say "she has toned arms," what you're saying is that she has muscle, but she's not too bulky, and she has no fat on her arms.

[yms]

Hi

I weight lift a few days each week, using the same kind of format you described. Been doing it for ten years. The amount of muscle mass you develop using that kind of regime is minimal.

[fluffy_kingston]

I ran and lifted weights for years. Now I only do yoga/ballet.

All I can tell you is my body is better now (leaner, smaller muscles, less abdominal fat).

[Schatten Lupus]

I use to do some serious weight training, mainly in high school before I tore my left ACL. Since then, I've stuck to a high rep, low weight regiment, mainly for my legs. It has so far kept my legs strong, and not much muscle mass gain. But, I'm also no longer a series weight trainer. Allthough I enjoy pumping iron and pushing myself alittle more further than I did the last time, I lost the desire and will to do it seriously, and do it more out of necessity than pleasure.

[Marissa Mae]

Yes.. this is a double edged sword for someone who dresses that wants to both look more femme, but also loves being a guy and looking fit. It makes finding the cuter clothing more difficult, thats the worst part for me. I don't really care as much that I don't look slender, since I am not really trying to be a woman 24/7.

[Nicole Erin]

I used to be into bodybuilding.
I don't do it anymore for the very reason of it would make me look even less femme.
Consider this - yes exercise will trim your body and make it look more masc or femme [depending on your birth gender] but that is better than looking fat.

Muscles are not hard to hide.

Go look at Andrea Forbes profile and check out the difference, en femme you would never know she had that body...

[Raquel June]

Go look at Andrea Forbes profile and check out the difference, en femme you would never know she had that body...

Yeah, Andrea's really cute ... and JayToJillian is hot, and totally built as a guy ... and I think I'm kinda cute for someone who weighs 190 and can bench 300+ lbs.

Rippling upper back muscles would be ridiculous, but hair mostly covers that up, so I think overdoing your biceps is the most non-feminine thing you can do. Having big pecs and even triceps doesn't really stand out as much as you'd think en femme.

[BillieJoe]

As a young man I had every desire to present myself as a 'man'. I was into sports and I was into weight-training. I did this because everyone expected me to be a 'man'. Little did anyone know THE OTHER SIDE of ME. I secretly wanted to be very feminine. I did everything I could to keep this side of me from everyone. Had I known then all that I know now I would have transitioned. At one point I was about 20 pounds away from benching 400#. Then the army called and most of my lifting was confined to much lighter weights and attempts after that. I believe as a result of all my weight training and then essentially not doing it anymore was the fact that my breasts became flabbier and larger. I have since torn both rotator cuffs and if I practice I can do 60# on the bench. I can't even do a push up anymore. I still exercise regularly (mostly bicycle) but anything I do is geared toward a more feminine body...

[DonnaLynn77]

I've been thinking lately about what kind of exercises one could do to achieve a more feminine shape, namely in the hips/backside area.

Does this make sense? Squats and leg lifts and such? I would guess that trying to increase only that muscle mass would be tricky but, with specific workouts, one might be able to fill out a bit.

Otherwise there are hormones of course but I'm a little hesitant to do that.

[Raquel June]

I've been thinking lately about what kind of exercises one could do to achieve a more feminine shape, namely in the hips/backside area.

Most gyms have a leg press machine and a bench for quad extensions and hamstring curls. Squats are great, but you really have to be careful. You should have someone who really knows what they're doing watch you until you've got your form right.

I've seen a lot of places with thigh abductor machines -- the one where you sit in it and spread your legs. That works your outer hip muscles. You can also use the cable machines if they have a strap that you can put around one ankle and spread your legs one at a time. But if you're not at a gym, you can just lie on one side with your legs stacked on top of each other and raise your one ankle in the air.

The problem, of course, is that women with nice shapely hips don't have them because of muscle bulk. It's fat.

[prene]

No weights for me . . . I need to keep a smaller top.

[yms]

I've been thinking lately about what kind of exercises one could do to achieve a more feminine shape, namely in the hips/backside area.

Does this make sense? Squats and leg lifts and such? I would guess that trying to increase only that muscle mass would be tricky but, with specific workouts, one might be able to fill out a bit.

Otherwise there are hormones of course but I'm a little hesitant to do that.

Hi Donna

I don't know as you can "widen" your hips (don't I wish I could). Women tend to have more fatty tissue around their hips and thighs and rear.

Another good "butt-building" exercise is bicycling. Not so much a stationary bike but something that allows for hill climbing. A stair-stepper or elliptical trainer simulates this motion.

[Tasha McIntyre]

Hi Donna. Racquel got it right, muscles can only get bigger (hypertrophy) through training, or smaller (atrophy) through lack of, or ceasing training. The more aerobic your exercise the more calories you will burn, therefore dropping body fat. This I believe, is where the myth of lower weights and higher reps toning and not building muscles comes from.

I have been a bit of a gym junkie for about 25 years, and have found that a controlled diet and moderate aerobic exercise keeps the figure trim, if you want a slim / athletic look.

I'm 6 ft 2 and a tad under 200 pounds, but I have been lucky enough to have a look that makes my wife a bit envious when I wear my little black dress. Remember, unlike our GG friends, we don't have to battle cellulite.

Good luck.

[DonnaLynn77]

Thx for the suggestions, ladies.

I'm already an avid cycler, have been for almost twenty years, so I know that's not helping haha! Yeah I try to stay trim but now trying to limit myself to abs/core and cardio workouts so I don't build any more upper body bulk.

I am sometimes reminded about people that make the decision to transition with hormones and stuff and their hips look great but I don't think I am ready for that kind of commitment. <<slinks off to go search for hormone threads>>

xo,
Donna

[kymmieLorain]

That's what I need to start doing working out first for wieght loss then for tone. I would love to get down to at least a 14 is not a 12.

Kymmie

[foxyjj111]

i have been competing in triathlons myself and find that the type of training is very conducive to the kind of physique i want. i do the same type of low resistance training you spoke of just to maintain core strength and injury prevention. i dont use weights at all though, just push-ups, ab workouts, lunges and things of that sort. that way i dont get the bulky look or feel. (plus swimming and cycling is a darn good reason to shave the legs. no such explanation for the pink nails though. lol

[jenny_centaur]

I've been weight training regularly (3 or 4 times a week) as well as cycling, running and generally keeping fit for most of my adult life. I've never tried to 'bulk up', preferring more reps over bigger weights. I'm of the opinion that a lean, fit physique makes me look more feminine or more masculine depending entirely upon how I dress. Judge for yourself: Here

[geri]

Most gyms have a leg press machine and a bench for quad extensions and hamstring curls. Squats are great, but you really have to be careful. You should have someone who really knows what they're doing watch you until you've got your form right.

I've seen a lot of places with thigh abductor machines -- the one where you sit in it and spread your legs. That works your outer hip muscles. You can also use the cable machines if they have a strap that you can put around one ankle and spread your legs one at a time. But if you're not at a gym, you can just lie on one side with your legs stacked on top of each other and raise your one ankle in the air.

The problem, of course, is that women with nice shapely hips don't have them because of muscle bulk. It's fat.

racquel,
i'm a big guy ( 6' 6" ) and have the old guy belly. the pouch below the waist. how do i get that down or eliminated by weights?
i want to tone so some of those neat clothes will fit.

thanks,
geri

[DonnaT]

I also swim, which helps avoid the bulking up.

A CDing friend of mine holds several world records in power lifting, yet she isn't bulky. Probably because she doesn't do a lot of reps with the heavy weights. So it's possible to gain strength without bulking up.