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Bulky body from doing the pole??
Hiya iv got a bit of a problem with my arms in particular. Iv noticed that iv developed rather heafty,bulky upper arms. Iv been poling for years but iv started to do more this past year and thats when i noticed it. At first my arms got nice and toned with a hint of muscle..now they look big and fat. They are still musclular and toned but in photos and from a distance i just look like i have massive fat upper arms!!! Im beginning to hate photos of me or trying to cover em up or put my hands on my hips alot to make em look more slimmer. Im fine everywere else im not overweight and im a UK size 10 (us size 6) which is good for me. But how the hell do i get them looking more slender without losing tone or stop doing pole? How the hell do brill professional competitive polers look slender but toned at the same time?? Someone told me iv layed down the muscle over existing fat in my arms which is why im looking bulky. Is this true? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_surprised.gif
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34 Replies
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Well, It is true that if you have existing fat you wont see really defined muscle (you wont look cut..as they say). This is why some very thin people will look all muscly, but they don’t have a ton of strength, they just have low body fat. I would love to have more fat on my body, its not comfortable being bony, (I know most people don’t believe me) I liked my post baby body better than at the moment…after I loose all the baby fat. I say celebrate your FIT and SEXY self!! You can totally tell when someone has muscle as opposed to only fat and a strong woman is a sexy one. Now flex for us babe! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rambo.gif
If you do want to loose body fat, (you sound perfectly sexy to me) try adding some more cardio in addition to your poling. A well rounded healthy diet is key too. Non of those fad diets, just a balanced one, and cardio, cardio, cardio.
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im not an expert by any means but it looks to me like it would just depend a lot on your natural body type. compare Nastia Liukin and Kim Zmeskal:
https://www.studioveena.comhttp:://everydayfacts.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/nastia-max-azria-ss09.jpg?w=361&h=526
https://www.studioveena.comhttp:://www.olywa.net/radu/valerie/Kzmes_7.jpg -
Good point amyxshi, here are some basic body types
Endomorph
* Soft Body
* Underdeveloped Muscles
* Round Physique
* Weight Loss is Difficult
* Gains Muscle Easily Like the Mesomorph.Ectomorph this is ME…..somewhat…I gain muscle pretty fast.
* Delicate Built Body
* Flat Chest
* Fragile
* Lean
* Lightly Muscled
* Small Shouldered
* Takes Longer to Gain Muscle
* ThinMesomorph
* Hard Body
* Hourglass Shaped (Female)
* Mature Muscle Mass
* Muscular Body
* Excellent Posture
* Gains Muscle Easily
* Gains Fat More Easily Than Ectomorphs
* Thick Skin
Most people are a mix of these…everyone is different.. I love Pantera’s strong body type, but I know I will never have her shape. -
Someone told me iv layed down the muscle over existing fat in my arms which is why im looking bulky. Is this true? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_surprised.gif
No, this is not true.Veena is spot on. The lower the body fat the more cut you will look. Also, fat is layered over muscle, not the other way around.
I would love to be as long ans lean as Veena but I also know that will never happen (nor will I ever have an hourglass figure). The difference in shapes is what makes each and every one of us unique and beautiful!
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I would say that if you’ve increased your poling..especially doing perhaps more inverts or other techniques which rely upon upper body strength..that you are simply adding more muscle. Try incorporating more cardio to balance out the strength training to lower your body fat, and remember that good diet and LOTS of water (to prevent bloating) to keep the body running clean and smooth will also help.
Morgan -
This happened to me as well lol…I call it the popeye syndrom…I have found pilates has helped to legthen my muscles somewhat.
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Thanks everyone,yeh I think my bodytype is close to a mesomorph. I’m tall and hourglass shaped but I can gain fat easy. I’m almost always on perminant diet so I don’t think I could cut back any more than I already do,unless I stopped eating all together! Yeh I prob need 2 do more cardio but most of my spare time is taken up with the pole just now. I take it things like going on the treadmill might help??? I haven’t a clue about cardio to be honest lol. Just hope I don’t get any more muscular in the arms! Or ill end up looking like a man!
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Hello!!
A lot of the girls I pole with have larger upper arms and slightly manly looking arms and shoulders – and I’m on my way as well! At the moment I’m still pretty psyched to have muscles, it makes me feel emotionally stronger and tougher for some reason https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif
The girls I pole with complain about it too, but at the end of the day I think that perhaps this is just a small sacrifice. In return we get the ability to do jaw-dropping tricks, express our sexiness through dance, feel fit, and, when we hit our 70+ years we will have a significantly decreased risk of osteoperosis.
So count the bulky arms as a blessing, its so worth it!! Also I think many of the girls in national/world comps are often just as muscly and ‘manly’, its just that they look so damn good on the pole you don’t ever think about it!
At the end of the day your body will thank you, and personally I love the look of a girl with some muscle bulk!! We’re STRONG and I LOVE IT!!!
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Thanks everyone,yeh I think my bodytype is close to a mesomorph. I’m tall and hourglass shaped but I can gain fat easy. I’m almost always on perminant diet so I don’t think I could cut back any more than I already do,unless I stopped eating all together! Yeh I prob need 2 do more cardio but most of my spare time is taken up with the pole just now. I take it things like going on the treadmill might help??? I haven’t a clue about cardio to be honest lol. Just hope I don’t get any more muscular in the arms! Or ill end up looking like a man!
Ok wait, I never said to cut back on food or go on a diet……I said to eat a well BALANCED diet. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_thumright.gif Out bodies need food. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif If you eating as little as you say you are that can be a problem too. If you starve your body it will hold on to any fat you give it, (to put it simply) not eating enough can play a big part in weight gain too or not loosing weight. I just wanna make sure you don’t go starving yourself…..well balanced meals, 3 times a day, with 2 small healthy snacks. Cardio is anything that raises your heart rate for a significant period of time. Swim, walk, DANCE, https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif those are all great for cardio. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif -
Don’t worry veena I won’t go starving myself,I don’t think I could if I wanted to anyways! Lol yeh I know a balanced diet is very important as is plenty of the right excerise and I do try to do that as much as I can (I do have my off days were I eat junk but who doesn’t). Yeh ill need 2 get back to the gym and make time for cardioit will prob make a big difference.and if not then ill just have to accept that’s the way things are. I’m not giving up the pole for anything! No way on the plus side I can do cool tricks,I’m strong and more toned than iv ever been so mayb I shud just be proud of that
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You most certainly should be proud!! You had me worried there when you said if you cut back you would starve. LOL
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When I first started my weight loss expedition I started eating more and I still eat every few hours. It keeps my metabolism revving and keeps me from feeling hungry and over eating https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif
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and here’s another thing i always forget (and i bet i’m not alone) :
STRETCHING after you pole !!!! stretching does help lengthen the muscles. Maybe make sure you do opposing stretches for your biceps/triceps, etc. hold each stretch for at least 20 seconds, if not more. also make sure you keep breathing while you stretch.
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I’ve been speculating on the bulky arm issue for a while. What do you think about this theory? https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_scratch.gif
There are many different ways to accomplish a pole move. So, one person does the move by pure arm strength, while another person uses other muscular systems (core, back, etc). Also, it seems that many moves are dependent on body position –> the twist in your body is doing most of the work. But, these same moves can be "muscled" into working. Therefore, folks that depend more heavily on their arm strength for moves get more arm bulk.
Anyone have an opinion on this theory? Its been rolling around in my head every since I met Jenyne Butterfly. You would never guess she’s a world class athlete by just looking at her. She’s incredibly strong, but doesn’t look bulky at all.
Mindy
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I guess to each, her own. I love the look of bulky well define upper arm. My arm is just well tone looking. I’m hoping to bulk it up more. There is a woman in my pole class who has really bulky upper arms and I just can’t keep my envious eyes off her arm. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_eek.gif
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