need advice!

[jes429]

i'm a 16 yr old female...currently 125 lbs and somewhere between 5 ft 6.5-7in.
last december i started working out hardcore and barely eating trying to lose weight. i would run, lift 5 lb weights (i wanted to tone up, not get bulky), and do other aerobic excersizes...sometimes up to four hours a day. it became obsessive.

last summer i went from always being between 108 & 115 naturally to being my highest weight of 130 lb, and i know i had much less muscle then i do now... then i dropped down to 115. 115 is my ideal body weight and id be satisfied. i didn't work out for about 3 months this summer and that's why i'm back to 125. i still kept active in my daily life though but i overate. i'm doing better eating wise but i also need help on what to eat.

i'm curious to how much i should be lifting. how often..when...and how much cardio i should do. i want to lose fat but also have more defined muscle, without being bulky. any advice & i'd really appreciate it! thanks!

[Eileen]

For a start, don't worry about becoming bulky. If you knew how hard female bbers have to work to get any sort of visible muscle, you'd be amazed. So forget toning, lift those weights. Aim for a weight that will barely let you complete 10 reps, and do three sets with that weight. Work on the big compound lifts, like squat, deadlift, benchpress, sholder press, etc.

What works for a lot of people is doing one or two bodyparts per day, and working hard, and finishing in 30-40 minutes. As a general rule, if you can keep going longer than that, you're not working hard enough.

Do your cardio, but too much cardio and not enough cals can push you into starvation mode, so be sensible about it. You can switch between regular moderate intensity sessions and high intensity intervals (sprints, then jog) for 20 minutes. HIIT revs up your metabolism like nobody's business. Forget the four hours a day, that's not doing anything useful for you.

Eat clean, work hard, have fun.

[pumpedupgurl]

For a start, don't worry about becoming bulky. If you knew how hard female bbers have to work to get any sort of visible muscle, you'd be amazed. So forget toning, lift those weights. Aim for a weight that will barely let you complete 10 reps, and do three sets with that weight. Work on the big compound lifts, like squat, deadlift, benchpress, sholder press, etc.

What works for a lot of people is doing one or two bodyparts per day, and working hard, and finishing in 30-40 minutes. As a general rule, if you can keep going longer than that, you're not working hard enough.

Do your cardio, but too much cardio and not enough cals can push you into starvation mode, so be sensible about it. You can switch between regular moderate intensity sessions and high intensity intervals (sprints, then jog) for 20 minutes. HIIT revs up your metabolism like nobody's business. Forget the four hours a day, that's not doing anything useful for you.

Eat clean, work hard, have fun.

Well said :)

[jes429]

thanks!

[desert_rose]

I totally agree. I get so frusterated with people who think that lifting weights is gonna make them bulky. It's generaly just not in a woman's genes to get bulky (well, natuarlly anyhow ;) )

[Eileen]

I've just been looking at September's issue of "Muscle and Fitness" and there are pix in there of Aneta Florczyk, the world's strongest woman, deadlifting 600lb. And you know what? She doesn't even look particularly muscular. You certainly would not point at her in the street as being too bulky.

[Sable_Strenua]

I've just been looking at September's issue of "Muscle and Fitness" and there are pix in there of Aneta Florczyk, the world's strongest woman, deadlifting 600lb. And you know what? She doesn't even look particularly muscular. You certainly would not point at her in the street as being too bulky.

The "Female Polish Powerhouse" isn't bulky by far.
The second picture features her pulling a car.