I’ve been lifting fairly regularly for about 18 months, with the primary goal of getting healthier and stronger, but obviously I want to look good too. My physique goal is to look strong and have relatively noticeable muscle definition, while retaining feminine curves. I’m not aiming to get stage-ready lean. Asking for honest opinions- do I even look like I’m athletic and lift, or do I just look “thick”?
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I’d say for sure. But I’m a sucker for musclular legs and glutes. Keep doing what ever you’re doing! It’s working
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You have legs and your back is developing nicely! So to answer your question, YES! You look like you lift and workout! Your not just a cardio queen! Keep going, and don’t forget to change it up, as your body is a machine that adapts quickly!!
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As the others have said, your butt and legs look great and have some nice definition in those areas. I would begin to target your shoulder caps and back to achieve the taper look we all desire.
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You’re going to get approval from 100% of the men on here.
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But judging by the second pic, if I saw her on the street, the answer would be no. I would think, she is in decent shape, but that’s it.
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Yep. Really great lower body, but I second studhammer on more focus on shoulders and back.
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Thanks everyone! I’ve been using a push/pull/legs split, but I’ll try to focus extra hard on my shoulders and back. I totally agree that my shoulders are lacking. My back is a bit more developed than shows in that picture, I’m just terrible at posing.
Guess I’m going to have to step up my efforts!
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For an accurate assessment, don’t pose. Bodybuilders spend weeks, if not months, learning how to pose properly because it’s easy to do wrong and doing it wrong means you end up hiding parts of your physique.
Another reason not to pose is because, I believe, the “look like you lift” refers to how you’re seen when walking around the majority of the time. As in, wearing your regular daily outfit. That first pic you posted… dude, c’mon.
I think your lower body in jeans says probably a lifter (weird angle, hard to assess the thighs). Your upper body isn’t fat, but no real way to assess development of the shoulders/arms (which is a big indicator of women who lift) or back (again, due to weird pose in the second pic).
Any more specifics on these targets?
And where are you now?
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First respect for working out and having body goals. Second I’d like to ask diet-wise where you at at the moment. Are you above your maintenance calories, at maintenance or in a deficit? If you are on a mission to get strong I suppose you are above your maintenance? Diet is the most important element for me thus why I’ve asked you:)
Regards,
Bel.
It takes time and consistency. Find a program on here you enjoy and just keep at it! It will happen!
So, over the last year or so I’ve lost about 20 lbs, and I’ve gotten significantly stronger across the board- I’m religiously logging everything I do and I always push myself to achieve progressive overload. I got into lifting primarily because I was sick and tired of being overweight, and I’m not a big fan of cardio. I definitely fell in love with the feeling of pushing myself and surprising myself with my gains. Love feeling muscle soreness the next day too.
I don’t have any specific goal weight or lifting PRs that I’m going for, I’m just enjoying the process mostly, with the aim of getting down to around 20% body fat while retaining as much lean mass as possible.
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Thank you- as far as diet, I’ve been in a deficit for quite some time. I’ve been overweight most of my adult life, so getting lean was my biggest motivation to lift consistently. Despite the deficit, I am continuing to increase reps and weight slowly but consistently over time- must be the newbie gains. So, in order of importance, my goals are:
- Get leaner for health reasons
- Look awesome
- Get strong AF
I’ve been hesitant to manage my diet tightly (tracking every calorie and macro) because it makes me feel obsessive about food, and it takes a lot of effort. That said, the approach I’ve taken is to eat lots of high quality lean protein and vegetables, and being very restrictive with processed carbohydrates. It’s generally worked to get leaner, and I feel good eating like that. I do realize that if I want to kick my progress into high gear, I should be managing my nutrition more carefully. Might be time to bite the bullet and get serious about nailing those macros each day.
You’re welcome. The best advice I could possible give is hell yeah, go all in on the diet and learn nutrition and your body. The best gains will follow, been there, done that. Also focus not only on nailing the macros on the daily basis but also nailing the micros. To lose body fat you don’t need to eat zero carb, you just need to find your base (maintenance) and manage either deficit or surplus from there manipulating your macros. I’ve always been a high carb guy so I’m biased but to build a great physique they are required and damn who don’t like carbs? For example I’ve finished my cut (~8-7%bf)more then a month ago eating 300-400g carbs daily allowing myself bread (french toasts) for breakfast, pancakes on the daily basis etc, and not fearing of sugar, like its the devil. Food variety is key and digestion is the priority. But ofc I’ve been doing this a long time but the sooner you start the sooner you will start seeing tremendous results. Most people I meet in the gym look the same year after year after year or just get fatter because they neglect the most important part being the nutrition. Best gains started coming when I took full control on programming my nutrition and workouts. Made progress in a year better then previous 2-3 years combined. So thats a bit of motivation for you to get the ball rolling and start really reaping the benefits of your hard work 
p.s. and yes its hard fucking work, else everyone would be jacked af and the better the shape the more “expensive” it is to keep it.
Best regards,
Bel.
athletic
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First of all Respect for the strong lady… yes u do look like u lift definitely. Ur lower body is much stronger than the upper and even in upper body u need to work more on ur and u rocks. Can give complex to any female lifter. … All the best for ur journey. keep up the good work.
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Thank you! I’m working hard and enjoying the process, but it’s hard for me to objectively gauge my appearance. Very much appreciate the feedback.
In my first response I was supposed to wrote that in upper body also u need to work more on ur back and u rocks. Sorry for the mis printing. I mentioned u need to work more on ur back…
Regards and keep up the good work .
Stay blessed.
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