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The women you cite have a point though (while misusing the word "bulky" in front of a bodybuilder / fitness expert) When I stopped ballroom dancing and started

The women you cite have a point though (while misusing the word "bulky" in front of a bodybuilder / fitness expert) When I stopped ballroom dancing and started working out more, I did not get bulky in any way, however it surely felt that way! Gone was my coordination, my elegance, my posture! Isolated, limited movement with weight is the exact opposite of rhytmic dance movement with lots of body tension. It annoyed me, but I can imagine that this matters a lot more to women. In dancing I've seen women who might have been a little overweight, moving around gracefully. Just wanted to point that out, because I have noticed several comments like yours around the 'net recently - maybe people getting a little touchy that the work they put into their body is not appreciated sufficiently?

graeme 13y ago
What kind of exercises were you doing? After I started barbells, I noticed I got MUCH better at yoga and any activity that requires balance. You cannot lift 250 pounds safely without some measure of balance and grace. When I look around the gym, I see a lot of people bouncing around when lifting lighter dumbbell weights or using weight machines. It's very possible to lift weights unbalanced, to a point. However, the most efficient weight training will also train balance. I'm guessing two things happened in your case: 1. Your form was off, and you unbalanced yourself 2. Your elegance stopped because you had stopped training elegance. It was lack of dance, rather than weight lifting. Proper weight training does not destroy grace, it augments it.
- UweSchmidt 13y ago
  fully agree with you and the other reply: Lifting requires form and balance and all that, and is beautiful in itself, and for elegance you gotta keep training elegance. I do maintain that people look bulky and uncoordinated if they are only lift weights and doing nothing else (i.e. excluded people who do other sports, or women in the acrobatic bodybuilding categories etc.). This can be normal/cool for men, but is noticable in women in my opinion. While we're in a general fitness/workout thread, I want to recommend activities that require coordination and skill. If you are looking for an activity, see if you can find a broader challenge than just a weight - learning a skill in martial arts, experiencing progress more vividly in climbing, swimming and learning all 4 styles etc. The attitude of articles like this (7 minutes) often feels like "how little do I have to do this dreaded activity for my health conscience". Meh.
Darmani 13y ago
Are you using weight machines? Those are usually isolation exercises that neglect the stabilizer muscles. Most beginning lifting programs such as Starting Strength recommend the major, compound lifts. There's something quite beautiful in watching a skilled lifter. Lifting a 200 pound bar without the slightest wobble takes no small amount of coordination, as does merely doing a powerclean at all.
deleted 13y ago
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jacques_chester 13y ago
I think you're unfairly blaming weight training for the effect of cessation of skill training. When, due to injury, I became unable last year to perform either the snatch or the clean and jerk, I was relegated to being able to do whatever it is I could. Lots of less complicated exercises that don't share any patterns in common with either of those two lifts. At a recent experimental trial of my technique after 15 months away from the two lifts, it came as no surprise that I came kinda bad at them now. Do I blame the other weight training? No: I realise that these two lifts require constant practice to remain smooth, precise and efficient. It's the same for other inter-muscular coordination tasks. If you stop doing them, you get worse at them.
vidarh 13y ago
"Isolated, limited movement" is a horrible way to exercise. My flexibility, coordination and posture has all improved substantially through lifting - I needed a lot of work to get flexible enough to carry out e.g. deep squats and correct deadlifts without hurting myself. Do primarily isolation exercises, and yes, you will not spend time maintaining and improving your flexibility and coordination. Do exercises with large range of motion and complex movements, like deep squats, clean and jerk or power clean (power cleans are "easy" compared to clean and jerk), or kettlebell exercises, and add in some dynamic stretches for mobility (separate by time from the lifting), and most people will get far more flexible and coordinated. Personally I'm annoyed at people worrying about getting bulky for two reasons: Yes, it is annoying seeing beginners be all presumptuous about how easy it'll be, but I also find well trained but non-bulky women more attractive. And I happen to know that most of them will never, ever get into bulky territory without a combination of cutting their body fat to unhealthy levels and steroid use, so I would love more women to lift weights..

graeme 13y ago

What kind of exercises were you doing? After I started barbells, I noticed I got MUCH better at yoga and any activity that requires balance. You cannot lift 250 pounds safely without some measure of balance and grace. When I look around the gym, I see a lot of people bouncing around when lifting lighter dumbbell weights or using weight machines. It's very possible to lift weights unbalanced, to a point. However, the most efficient weight training will also train balance. I'm guessing two things happened in your case: 1. Your form was off, and you unbalanced yourself 2. Your elegance stopped because you had stopped training elegance. It was lack of dance, rather than weight lifting. Proper weight training does not destroy grace, it augments it.

UweSchmidt 13y ago
fully agree with you and the other reply: Lifting requires form and balance and all that, and is beautiful in itself, and for elegance you gotta keep training elegance. I do maintain that people look bulky and uncoordinated if they are only lift weights and doing nothing else (i.e. excluded people who do other sports, or women in the acrobatic bodybuilding categories etc.). This can be normal/cool for men, but is noticable in women in my opinion. While we're in a general fitness/workout thread, I want to recommend activities that require coordination and skill. If you are looking for an activity, see if you can find a broader challenge than just a weight - learning a skill in martial arts, experiencing progress more vividly in climbing, swimming and learning all 4 styles etc. The attitude of articles like this (7 minutes) often feels like "how little do I have to do this dreaded activity for my health conscience". Meh.

Darmani 13y ago

Are you using weight machines? Those are usually isolation exercises that neglect the stabilizer muscles. Most beginning lifting programs such as Starting Strength recommend the major, compound lifts. There's something quite beautiful in watching a skilled lifter. Lifting a 200 pound bar without the slightest wobble takes no small amount of coordination, as does merely doing a powerclean at all.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

jacques_chester 13y ago

I think you're unfairly blaming weight training for the effect of cessation of skill training. When, due to injury, I became unable last year to perform either the snatch or the clean and jerk, I was relegated to being able to do whatever it is I could. Lots of less complicated exercises that don't share any patterns in common with either of those two lifts. At a recent experimental trial of my technique after 15 months away from the two lifts, it came as no surprise that I came kinda bad at them now. Do I blame the other weight training? No: I realise that these two lifts require constant practice to remain smooth, precise and efficient. It's the same for other inter-muscular coordination tasks. If you stop doing them, you get worse at them.

vidarh 13y ago

"Isolated, limited movement" is a horrible way to exercise. My flexibility, coordination and posture has all improved substantially through lifting - I needed a lot of work to get flexible enough to carry out e.g. deep squats and correct deadlifts without hurting myself. Do primarily isolation exercises, and yes, you will not spend time maintaining and improving your flexibility and coordination. Do exercises with large range of motion and complex movements, like deep squats, clean and jerk or power clean (power cleans are "easy" compared to clean and jerk), or kettlebell exercises, and add in some dynamic stretches for mobility (separate by time from the lifting), and most people will get far more flexible and coordinated. Personally I'm annoyed at people worrying about getting bulky for two reasons: Yes, it is annoying seeing beginners be all presumptuous about how easy it'll be, but I also find well trained but non-bulky women more attractive. And I happen to know that most of them will never, ever get into bulky territory without a combination of cutting their body fat to unhealthy levels and steroid use, so I would love more women to lift weights..