Building Muscle

athomsen86

So this may seem silly but since the beginning of the year I've lost 42 lbs using Jillian Michaels DVD's and the Body By Vi meal replacement shapes coupled with eating healthier overall. Well now I'm at my goal weight but I'd like to build more lean muscle (I'm just a little more squishy than I'd like), I've been continuing to use Jillian but there's a decent amount of cardio in almost all of her DVD's and I really don't want to lose any more lbs so I didn't know if anyone here had difeerent DVD's or idea of ways to tone but not lose weight? Any suggestions are welcome

mellimel19

Working with kettlebells is a great way to build muscle and get a full body workout. I know there are some kettlebell DVDs, but I don't know the names of them.

Lobsters25

Well, you could just up your calorie intake on cardio days while keeping with your current program.

I'm doing p90x classic.  There's minimal cardio, and it's great for muscle building and toning.  I'm on day 10 now and really enjoying it.

athomsen86

Thanks guys, I'll look into kettle bells for sure and I think I have a friend who may own P90x so I can try that too.

firsttimersluck

DOn't lose the cardio. Cardiovascular endurance is VERY important to your overall health. If your body drops pounds, it's doing what it wants to do to be at the weight IT wants to be at. Ya just have to go with it But lifting is fantastic (Kettlebells are AWESOME. I want to buy a set for myself) and it'll pack on muscle, so, while you might still continue to lose fat, you will be gaining muscle.

You can still build muscle with body weight exercises (pushups, tricep dips, etc are all awesome "toning" moves that require no equipments. 

runpipparun

Women get concerned about "bulking up," but it's just not possible unless you're juicing on steroids, so don't be worried about that in the least. For toning, I like push-ups, tricep dips (either on the floor or using a chair), ab drills, and plyometric jumps (squat jumps, lunge split jumps, star jumps, etc). And I run about 60 miles a week. Woot!

runpipparun

If you have access to free weights, definitely use them.

athomsen86

I don't mind if I trade fat for muscle (in fact I'd LOVE that) I just don't want to lose TOO much. I'm just about 5'8" and down to 127lbs if I get much smaller I don't think my dress will fit! My mom would kill me if I need a new dress lol I'm hoping to start running about 3 days a week so I want to keep some cardio for sure but I just don't want to be doing too much cardio and not enough strength? If that makes sense, I have a one year old who was born via c-section so getting my ab muscles to do anything has been a LOT of work. But thanks ladies I'll deffintely check into everyones suggestions. Perhaps this is just an excuse to put on my dress more often... you know to make sure it still fits hahahaha

Starqueg

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_building-muscle?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:c23f565d-4239-4153-a637-ef4eb9ad87faPost:8d24db5a-b11b-4066-a2cd-307bb10eacc5">Re: Building Muscle</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>Women get concerned about "bulking up," but it's just not possible unless you're juicing on steroids</strong>, so don't be worried about that in the least. For toning, I like push-ups, tricep dips (either on the floor or using a chair), ab drills, and plyometric jumps (squat jumps, lunge split jumps, star jumps, etc). And I run about 60 miles a week. Woot!
Posted by runpipparun[/QUOTE]
The bolded part really isn't true.  My mom was a powerlifter, and she definitely bulked up,with no drugs.  I gain muscle pretty easily, so I figure it's genetics.

runpipparun

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_building-muscle?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:c23f565d-4239-4153-a637-ef4eb9ad87faPost:ac05abcb-7653-48a4-9894-1a026216033e">Re: Building Muscle</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Building Muscle : The bolded part really isn't true.  My mom was a powerlifter, and she definitely bulked up,with no drugs.  I gain muscle pretty easily, so I figure it's genetics.
Posted by Starqueg[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>Right, but your mom was a POWERLIFTER, meaning she was doing a very particular kind of weight lifting. That's different from somebody who's just working out. Too many women go into the gym and do like 30 reps with a 5-lb weight and wonder why they see no results. "Um, because you're basically just flailing around..."</div><div>
</div><div>I am a muscled person as well, but I did a lot of lifting in my teens, and I come from German farm stock. Personally I think this developed my bone density and has kept me from getting stress fractures despite the fact that I run 60 mi/week, but it also means I don't have to do any lifting now to have toned arms. But even when I benched 140-lbs, I never looked like a body builder. I was pretty small.
</div>

Starqueg

Yes, my mom was a powerlifter.  I'm not and I still build muscle easily with the lower weights that I use.  

I laugh at those women (in my head), the ones who refuse to go above 10-15lbs because they're afraid of bulking up.  

I'm not doubting that my mom gained muscle because of the way she trained, that's exactly why.  I was more saying that it has nothing to do with drugs, and that women can gain muscle mass through weight training.  

eeweiss

Do you have access to a gym? You should start lifting weights.  I lift 5 days a week and have really tightened up!