I've been steadily losing weight over the last few months by making changes to my diet and going for 30-45 minute walks everyday. I recently bought an exercise bike, and although I enjoy cycling, I was told yesterday that it would bulk my legs up, which is not what I'm aiming to do. Can anyone confirm or deny this? If it helps, I use little resistance and usually cycle about 5kms at a speed of 20km an hour once a day. I'm pretty new to all of this, so noob-slaps are totally welcome.
Fitness Noob
- Thread starter RoseTinted
- Start date
theleip
2
False. I swear a dime for every woman who gets told/is afraid of bulking up (myself included in the past) First off most woman think they are getting bulky when they start working out because they are lucky enough to add a little muscle to their body without taking away much body fat. The result is a strong thick woman and then they turn and say "that just made me bulky, or that turned my fat into muscle"...no you just didn't lose fat and fat can't turn into muscle, two sperate things. The other fear is to not look "cute" and become to bodybuilder. Its not going happen. These women make a career and life goal out of fitness and the larger sized women take hormone drugs. Riding a stationry bike for cardio isn't going to do that. Infact cardio can even eat into muscle not add it. I personally use a bike in my routine on a lower resitance and i am still losing fat.
What you want to do is ignore that bad advice.
You also want to get a healthy balanced diet of 5-6 meals a day with protein and carbs. If you want to lose fat you need to do both cardio AND strength training. If you want more specfic advice then list your stats (age, height, weight, goals) and we will be happy to give you some pointers. Here is a great article about debunking the bulky and use of the term "toning".
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/goulet5.htm
What you want to do is ignore that bad advice.
You also want to get a healthy balanced diet of 5-6 meals a day with protein and carbs. If you want to lose fat you need to do both cardio AND strength training. If you want more specfic advice then list your stats (age, height, weight, goals) and we will be happy to give you some pointers. Here is a great article about debunking the bulky and use of the term "toning".
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/goulet5.htm
Thank you, thank you, thank you! 
I really appreciate your help.
I really appreciate your help.Just want to say that I agree. When women think their thigh got bigger from doing a workout... it's mostly because they added a little muscle under the fat. So in the end... the ultimate goal is an overall body fat reduction.
Here are 5 tips that may help you...
1) Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. Each meal should be 2-3 hours apart. Each meal should contain one protein and one carb. The first meal should be eaten within an hour after waking.
2) Drink a cup of water at each meal.
3) Rest properly. This means taking at least 48 hours between strength training the same muscles, and it also means getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Lastly, it means taking 1-2 days off from exercising per week.
4) Cardio. This should be done at different intensity levels and different session lengths. Consider doing a low intensity/long session, a high intensity/short session and a few medium intensity/medium length sessions.
5) Strength Training. Strength train each muscle 1-3 times per week. You should lift a proper weight and perform the proper amount of sets/reps for your strength training method. If you need more guidance or exercise ideas you can head over
All of the above things combined will result in fat loss.
Here are 5 tips that may help you...
1) Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. Each meal should be 2-3 hours apart. Each meal should contain one protein and one carb. The first meal should be eaten within an hour after waking.
2) Drink a cup of water at each meal.
3) Rest properly. This means taking at least 48 hours between strength training the same muscles, and it also means getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Lastly, it means taking 1-2 days off from exercising per week.
4) Cardio. This should be done at different intensity levels and different session lengths. Consider doing a low intensity/long session, a high intensity/short session and a few medium intensity/medium length sessions.
5) Strength Training. Strength train each muscle 1-3 times per week. You should lift a proper weight and perform the proper amount of sets/reps for your strength training method. If you need more guidance or exercise ideas you can head over
All of the above things combined will result in fat loss.