Let me first say - I trust NROL4W completely (and lurv it to death!)
However I have two main concerns relating to the exercises and my having leaned out a bit (which was one of my goals):
1) Will any of these exercises make my neck thick?! I'm dead serious when I say that I fear that all of a sudden I'm going to end up with a thick neck - can someone put me at ease? And also tell me which exercises might make one's neck thick so I can avoid them like the plague?
2) Are there any exercises that will make my waist wide? Since I've been getting leaner I'm starting to loose my curves (bye bye boobies ) and this is no big deal, particularly b/c the back/shoulder exercises are keeping me in proportion. However, I'm afraid to make my waist any wider (i.e. blockier) than it already looks. I read that squats and deadlifts make you're waist wide! Could this be? Again any exersizes I should avoid?
Make your neck thick? I can only speak for myself by saying that I have not experienced my neck becoming thicker. If you're thinking you're gonna look like an NFL lineman, I don't think you need to worry.
A study from the early '90s looked specifically at neck development among male athletes -- football players, IIRC. It found that without specific neck exercises, their neck muscles didn't hypertrophy from a strength-training program. And these guys, as I recall, were doing serious and heavy training.
Abs: A series of studies from a researcher (at Appalachian State, IIRC) looked at the involvement of specific muscles in a variety of exercises, ranging from deadlifts to ab exercises. His research showed that, contrary to popular belief among strength athletes and coaches, the abdominal muscles aren't activated in a major way in squats and deadlifts.
The first one looked at long-term hypertrophy, and the second isolated muscles with EMG equipment, but I think we can put to rest the idea that your neck will get thick and your waist will expand when you lift heavy weights.
Anecdotally, we've all seen naturally skinny guys and gals who've packed on some muscle. Their neck muscles sometime stand out for being noticeably small compared to their shoulders and upper torso. In my experience, younger guys who're naturally thin will often obsess over their pencil necks.
Our necks do seem to get thicker with age (I guess because brains are getting heavier with all that knowledge and wisdom we accumulate), as do our waists. But I'm pretty sure that happens with or without lifting.
And even if I'm wrong about squats and deadlifts thickening waists, is there really an aesthetic disadvantage to having a muscular waist in the context of, and in proportion to, muscular hips and shoulders?
I mean, if it's hanging over your belt, it's fat, and you can't blame that on the barbell. But if your waist is tight, flat, and muscular, and nothing sags or hangs, is that a problem? Those muscles aren't going to grow out of proportion to your hips, so whatever you end up with will look right on your body.
I have always read that the isolated oblique moves can widen your waist and that shoulder shrugs can make your neck look bulky. Neither of these are in NROLW.
I have always read that the isolated oblique moves can widen your waist and that shoulder shrugs can make your neck look bulky. Neither of these are in NROLW.
Right. The bodybuilder, thick traps thing that I was worried about are only built with isolation exercises. "Our" kind of exercise will develop muscle proportionately. That's my understanding of it.
Olympic weight lifting builds traps!
Most regular lifting doesn't really build traps up all that well..
Must say that a bit of traps doesn't look bad on a girl.. & I lurv the way my shoulders look with Oly lifting!
If you really want to develop a thick waist, the exercise to do is heavy oblique work. There's not many exercises around that would do this & so it's easy to avoid. Unless you're a dumb gal/guy who thinks working abs heavily will make them lose fat faster. That's not how things work... losing fat on abs is what you do in the kitchen.
It is a bit of a surprise to read that only direct ab work will really build up abs. Seems that from here on out, extra ab exercises are the ticket (for me).. I am one of these peepz who dislike ab work (boooooooring!!!) & nearly only work them indirectly.
If you're another person hating ab exercises, try overhead squats! From all 'indirect ab exercises' I know, those seem to work the abs most of all, with front squats as a runner-up.
Abs: A series of studies from a researcher (at Appalachian State, IIRC) looked at the involvement of specific muscles in a variety of exercises, ranging from deadlifts to ab exercises. His research showed that, contrary to popular belief among strength athletes and coaches, the abdominal muscles aren't activated in a major way in squats and deadlifts.
The first one looked at long-term hypertrophy, and the second isolated muscles with EMG equipment, but I think we can put to rest the idea that your neck will get thick and your waist will expand when you lift heavy weights.
And even if I'm wrong about squats and deadlifts thickening waists, is there really an aesthetic disadvantage to having a muscular waist in the context of, and in proportion to, muscular hips and shoulders?
I mean, if it's hanging over your belt, it's fat, and you can't blame that on the barbell. But if your waist is tight, flat, and muscular, and nothing sags or hangs, is that a problem? Those muscles aren't going to grow out of proportion to your hips, so whatever you end up with will look right on your body.
But there are those of us who already have a thick waist, proportionally to hips and shoulders. What I'd like is to widen hips while keeping waist and shoulders the same (or smaller, in the case of the waist).
Quote:
Originally Posted by LaraT
I have always read that the isolated oblique moves can widen your waist and that shoulder shrugs can make your neck look bulky. Neither of these are in NROLW.
No isolated oblique work? What about lateral flexion? What about woodchops?
I started that Muscle Gain in Abs? thread, and have been afraid to do a lot of side crunches or add weight on the woodchops since reading what was said there.
I would put woodchops in the category of an oblique move, as I would Seated Russian Twists, and side crunches on a swiss ball (one of the flexion moves).
Side bends, Saxon bends, those opposite knee-elbow bicycle crunches would all target the obliques.
Quote:
Originally Posted by missjane
I would put woodchops in the category of an oblique move, as I would Seated Russian Twists, and side crunches on a swiss ball (one of the flexion moves).
Yes; this is what I thought. They are oblique moves. So I am going to continue my trend of not tremendously upping the weight on these moves, just in case they do have a waist-thickening result.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Etana
Lil, are you a guy or a gal? Your avatar confuses me. Seems like you are a guy. Your posts could be either, I guess.
Haha. I had wondered that too, because of the avatar, but I read a post by her that revealed she is a woman. Can't remember what it said, but I did learn that.
1 Girlish figure
2 NROL4W
3 was able to tell from earlier posts she's a girl
4 no guy would ever choose 'lil' as a forumn name
so.. obviously she has a crush on this guy on the avatar (boy friend or a famous soccer player?)
I would put woodchops in the category of an oblique move, as I would Seated Russian Twists, and side crunches on a swiss ball (one of the flexion moves).
In the book or somehwere in these forums it was discussed that this is not meant to be an oblique move (even though it does work them) rather it is meant to stretch/move/flex the spine. It is not supposed to be a heavily weighted move either where you wind up using your whole body to pull.
Haha! I love the dubiousness, but yes, I am indeed a lady.
The avatar happens to be Carlos Tevez, an incredible soccer player that I admire (wish he were my boyfriend! yes, even with his Qausimoto look) and the name is after a different soccer player Lionel Messi - so you see I'm a bit of a footie fanatic.
But yeah, while I love the muscle I've gained in the last few months, which btw has upped my soccer game to a whole new level - I think my concerns are pretty much related to simply getting used to my new strong body. I get tons of compliments which is nice, but I guess without the "softness" of what's considered conventionally feminine i'm having problems adjusting and have become a bit insecure. This i think has been exaccerbated by the fact that I've been working on getting lean, and I have thus become pretty flat chested (Evie: yes! the booty does compensate ). Plus, while i love the figure model/athlete body that I see on the web, a lot of them have implants further skewing my perception - meh! i feel like a teenager.
At any rate, I love that so many of you chimmed in on this thread-you've all made me feel so much better about this. I'll definitely keep the oblique work to a minimum (although I do love my pilates class - such an ass kicker). But as Lou so astutely put it "is there really an aesthetic disadvantage to having a muscular waist in the context of, and in proportion to, muscular hips and shoulders?" Definitely not!
Am I crazy, or did someone correct the spelling in this thread's title? It used to say "loosing my. . ." And it always bothered me. . . . .that's my grammar/spelling fanaticism manifesting itself. . . .
yup - it got changed sometime today I think. When I would see it, I would try to make "loosing" make sense like "releasing the inner girlish figure" but I guess losing was meant all along.
Am I crazy, or did someone correct the spelling in this thread's title? It used to say "loosing my. . ." And it always bothered me. . . . .that's my grammar/spelling fanaticism manifesting itself. . . .
lol I would also have spelt it like that but before getting to a doctorate (probably/maybe in biopharmaceutical sciences) I will know, but only because I visit this forum
Quote:
Originally Posted by bekkilyn
If it makes you feel any better, I can't wait to lose more of my "girlish figure". Feminine and soft? Yuck!
x20
It makes me totally mad sometimes other girls are thinking this will happen accidentally, and me trying everything and can't get it done
Losing my girlish figure?
) and this is no big deal, particularly b/c the back/shoulder exercises are keeping me in proportion. However, I'm afraid to make my waist any wider (i.e. blockier) than it already looks. I read that squats and deadlifts make you're waist wide! Could this be? Again any exersizes I should avoid?
Linear Mode
