Horse Rider Thighs!

nicolafrench18

Don't know if anyone else finds this as well, but I have ridden horses for years (since I was 7, I am now 19), and I ride Dressage competitively, so that's about 40-50 mins a day, quite intense sessions 5-6 times a week.

I have gotten quite big thighs and a bigger butt from all this riding (I also used to do gymnastics for 6ish years), and I find that losing weight is harder as I have quite rounded thighs and strength training only seems to make them bigger! Although they are muscly, I also have a lot of fat around my legs/butt that I am trying to get rid of and tone up. What exercises/fitness plans do you do to have slimmer, leaner thighs, or just overall fat burn?

CW is 65 kg (143lbs) and my goal weight is around 57kg (125lbs). I am 5"2.

I was originally doing lunges/squats and other exercises such as glute bridges, donkey kicks a couple of times a week along with high intensity cardio. But am now going to focus on just cardio as well as some ab exercises as I think riding is enough to tone up my legs. I am also following a cleaner diet with MFP which I am enjoying.

If anyone has any further discussion on this or tips and ideas please share!

Beeps2011

I minimized my saddlebags/hips with heavy-lifting and LESS cardio:

nicolafrench18

Wow great job That's a great change!

I have found that mine are quite muscly already and it's trying to get them to tone up without creating more muscle and size to them that is the trouble.

Beeps2011

You might want to see what Bret C. ("the Glute Guy") has to say....here was his article on "building glutes, not legs" earlier:

http://bretcontreras.com/growing-glutes-without-growing-the-legs/?utm_source=getresponse&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=bretcontreras&utm_content=Growing+Glutes+without+Growing+Legs,+Free+Get+Glutes+Test-Drive,+and+Random+Thoughts

llkilgore

Wow great job That's a great change!

I have found that mine are quite muscly already and it's trying to get them to tone up without creating more muscle and size to them that is the trouble.

I doubt targeted exercise would help, considering how much exercise your thigh and butt muscles are already getting. You can't spot reduce fat, which is really your issue right now. All you can do is eat at a deficit to get your BF% down, and in the meantime try to balance out your total exercise regimen to give more attention to muscle groups that aren't currently being as well challenged.