Squats and Big Booties

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Replies

  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Lol, I'm sorry, but you must not have seen some real black girl butts. You'd think they were fake lmfao. Like I don't have a HUGE *kitten*, but it was big when I was skinny & big when I was bigger lmfao. It wasn't budging, and I don't think there was huge amounts of fat. I think the muscle around my *kitten* was just bigger. And also I have a deep arch in the small of my back plus wide hips which may give my butt the appearance of being bigger than say someone whose back and butt are one plank.

    I've been around black girl butts all my life, and trust me, most of what you think of as a big butt is really a fat butt. Yes, there can be a greater amount of muscle on certain black people's body types, including my own, but until the OP, or you, or ME is carrying sub 20% bodyfat (sub 12% for me as a male) it's ridiculous to make claims about how much muscle is being carried back there. It's fat. It's faaaaaaaaaat. On every single one of us. And I don't care what the rap videos say

    ETA: But the main thing to keep in mind, is that no matter how much of a person's *kitten* is muscle vs how much is fat, if they are losing weight, their butt will get smaller. If a person is in the middle of losing 30-40 pounds like the OP is, I don't care if she squats 400 pounds her behind is going to be smaller. A LOT smaller. This is the fact that most of us have been trying to get across. Have you heard the phrase "a rising tide lifts all ships?" It's like that. All your bodyparts will generally move in the same direction as your weight gain or loss. "A smaller body shrinks all hips" would be the corollary, I guess.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Lol, I'm sorry, but you must not have seen some real black girl butts. You'd think they were fake lmfao. Like I don't have a HUGE *kitten*, but it was big when I was skinny & big when I was bigger lmfao. It wasn't budging, and I don't think there was huge amounts of fat. I think the muscle around my *kitten* was just bigger. And also I have a deep arch in the small of my back plus wide hips which may give my butt the appearance of being bigger than say someone whose back and butt are one plank.

    I grew up in a school system where it was predominantly black students, so I have seen plenty. Some had more muscle on average, and most had mostly fat unless they were in very good shape.
  • simplyciera
    simplyciera Posts: 168 Member
    Lol, I'm sorry, but you must not have seen some real black girl butts. You'd think they were fake lmfao. Like I don't have a HUGE *kitten*, but it was big when I was skinny & big when I was bigger lmfao. It wasn't budging, and I don't think there was huge amounts of fat. I think the muscle around my *kitten* was just bigger. And also I have a deep arch in the small of my back plus wide hips which may give my butt the appearance of being bigger than say someone whose back and butt are one plank.

    I've been around black girl butts all my life, and trust me, most of what you think of as a big butt is really a fat butt. Yes, there can be a greater amount of muscle on certain black people's body types, including my own, but until the OP, or you, or ME is carrying sub 20% bodyfat (sub 12% for me as a male) it's ridiculous to make claims about how much muscle is being carried back there. It's fat. It's faaaaaaaaaat. On every single one of us. And I don't care what the rap videos say

    ETA: But the main thing to keep in mind, is that no matter how much of a person's *kitten* is muscle vs how much is fat, if they are losing weight, their butt will get smaller. If a person is in the middle of losing 30-40 pounds like the OP is, I don't care if she squats 400 pounds her behind is going to be smaller. A LOT smaller. This is the fact that most of us have been trying to get across. Have you heard the phrase "a rising tide lifts all ships?" It's like that. All your bodyparts will generally move in the same direction as your weight gain or loss. "A smaller body shrinks all hips" would be the corollary, I guess.

    Meh. When I was dancing, I had a big butt and I was SKINNY. As did my sister &cousin. Not saying it wasn't made up of fat. Probably my fat deposited in my butt and skipped my stomach. But I do think I have more muscle down there than others, but that's probably because I developed it through working out (volleyball--which is constant squatting, dancing and just being active). Now, it's just straight up fat lmfao.

    I kind of get it now in terms of as long as you're eating less, you won't bulk. But the OP was asking at what point do you get bulky. None of us read her question right. Not even me. She wanted to know what causes the bulk so she can avoid it<< maybe do everything up until that. Now answer that, because that, I'd like to know. I'm training to start gymnastics and god, some of the girls there are so built because they just don't stop training! What's the safe boundary? Is it like, stop increasing weight when you hit a certain fat percentage, or never go above a certain weight?
  • simplyciera
    simplyciera Posts: 168 Member
    Lol, I'm sorry, but you must not have seen some real black girl butts. You'd think they were fake lmfao. Like I don't have a HUGE *kitten*, but it was big when I was skinny & big when I was bigger lmfao. It wasn't budging, and I don't think there was huge amounts of fat. I think the muscle around my *kitten* was just bigger. And also I have a deep arch in the small of my back plus wide hips which may give my butt the appearance of being bigger than say someone whose back and butt are one plank.

    I've been around black girl butts all my life, and trust me, most of what you think of as a big butt is really a fat butt. Yes, there can be a greater amount of muscle on certain black people's body types, including my own, but until the OP, or you, or ME is carrying sub 20% bodyfat (sub 12% for me as a male) it's ridiculous to make claims about how much muscle is being carried back there. It's fat. It's faaaaaaaaaat. On every single one of us. And I don't care what the rap videos say

    ETA: But the main thing to keep in mind, is that no matter how much of a person's *kitten* is muscle vs how much is fat, if they are losing weight, their butt will get smaller. If a person is in the middle of losing 30-40 pounds like the OP is, I don't care if she squats 400 pounds her behind is going to be smaller. A LOT smaller. This is the fact that most of us have been trying to get across. Have you heard the phrase "a rising tide lifts all ships?" It's like that. All your bodyparts will generally move in the same direction as your weight gain or loss. "A smaller body shrinks all hips" would be the corollary, I guess.

    Meh. When I was dancing, I had a big butt and I was SKINNY. As did my sister &cousin. Not saying it wasn't made up of fat. Probably my fat deposited in my butt and skipped my stomach. But I do think I have more muscle down there than others, but that's probably because I developed it through working out (volleyball--which is constant squatting, dancing and just being active). Now, it's just straight up fat lmfao.

    I kind of get it now in terms of as long as you're eating less, you won't bulk. But the OP was asking at what point do you get bulky. None of us read her question right. Not even me. She wanted to know what causes the bulk so she can avoid it<< maybe do everything up until that. Now answer that, because that, I'd like to know. I'm training to start gymnastics and god, some of the girls there are so built because they just don't stop training! What's the safe boundary? Is it like, stop increasing weight when you hit a certain fat percentage, or never go above a certain weight?
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    In again just for the title on my feed. :D
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    Am I reading this wrong? If you want to cut fat and maintain muscle the best suggestion is to lift heavy and focus on macros. Why suggest any other way if that is the best/most efficient? (Again if I misread, which I do on occasion I apologize).

    And again, FTR, I am the same shape as the OP is. I have before and after pictures.

    The OP doesn't want to do it that way. She doesn't want to or enjoy it. I HATE Jillian Michaels even though so many people love her routines. They claim it's best for beginners, but it just bores me so I don't do it. Perhaps this is a similar situation the OP is in? Either way, it doesn't matter. If she doesn't want to lift, she doesn't have to. How about we throw out ideas of how she can get the same results but a different way since we already know she doesn't want to lift/lift heavy.

    I thought she had said that she lifted for years? I guess I am too far behind in the thread.

    Yeah, exactly.

    The "reason" she doesn't want to lift heavy is that it'll make her legs/hips bigger or otherwise less proportionate and aesthetically pleasing.

    But that "reason" is nonsense and she just refuses to accept it.

    Perhaps it made her bigger because there was still fat on top of her muscles? Or does lifting burn enough calories to also burn fat?
    Idk I'm genuinely asking because I'm eventually going to lift so I can do gymnastics to be a better dancer..

    If you lift while on a calorie deficit, you won't get bigger. Nothing gets larger. Everything shrinks.

    Just got this from livestrong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/101686-exercises-smaller-butt/

    It says that heavy weight/low reps increase muscle size.

    Got this from another site: http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/exercise-small-butt-10420.html

    Says to decrease resistance & increase repititions and also mentions more cardio.
    Now I'm confused. I was all for compromise until I did my own research.
    Perhaps yall are assuming that the OP's natural butt sizeis from fat and isn't from muscle?
    Terrible untrue reference. With that said if you would prefer to increase muscle instead of fat on a calorie surplus, then your statement would apply. Like I said, you cannot continuously grow larger with denser mass on a deficit. It makes no sense whatsoever. Tho the skinny guys who do not understand why they are not getting larger with all the weight lifting may wish it to be true... Because they do not realize they are not eating enough to grow
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  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    Unrelated question:
    is there a point to cardio as more than a warm-up? Or is it important to integrate into a weight loss regimine. I know some of you do like 'leg day' 'back day' blah blah blah. Is there a cardio day or no? Or is the burn that people use cardio forwhat the deficit does when doing high resistance/low rep? Does this make sense?

    ETA: cardio as in bike, treadmill, walking, running etc... Given that my goal is to become smaller, leaner, but still toned.
    Cardio is great for your heart and lungs. Given your goal, if you find it hard creating a calorie deficit, cardio is great at doing that. Some can get lean with cardio. I managed to get around 17%bf with hiking but I was a hair underweight and had no muscle at all. I was fat and bone. My butt perked compared to being sedentary. But not compared to lifting. For those trying to get really lean... They usually stay away from cardio as it hinders what they can lift and the more you can lift the leaner you can get. That being said I like my hiking so don't let that stop you if you enjoy cardio. It's good in other ways. Goals can still be accomplished but you will be leaner at a lighter weight instead of sooner with cardio.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    We still talking about this?

    Well then, let me get all serious face.

    I have a considerable amount of junk in my trunk (Nothing outrageous but your typical moderately sized 'black girl booty') and I've got thick thighs. How thick? Lets say the difference between my waist measurement and my thigh is less than 3 inches.

    I am squatting nearly everyday. 3 days a week I squat with 'heavy' weights. (Heavy for me. I'm at 95 pounds now.) and the other 3 days I'm squatting it out with Jillian or something of that manner (cardio squats!). I've lost ten pounds (just about) since May 7th, so about 1.4 pounds a week.

    My thighs are not 'bigger'. My booty is not 'bigger', though as I mentioned earlier it's getting perkier and shifting its way into a pleasing position. My thighs look a bit leaner and are touch less jiggly.

    For 'lean' 'toned' thighs do your squats. For a perky booty do your squats. Use heavy weights. You are not going to get big unless you are eating above your TDEE. If you eat at a deficit you will not get bigger, unless your body defies the laws of nature.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    Lol, I'm sorry, but you must not have seen some real black girl butts. You'd think they were fake lmfao. Like I don't have a HUGE *kitten*, but it was big when I was skinny & big when I was bigger lmfao. It wasn't budging, and I don't think there was huge amounts of fat. I think the muscle around my *kitten* was just bigger. And also I have a deep arch in the small of my back plus wide hips which may give my butt the appearance of being bigger than say someone whose back and butt are one plank.

    I've been around black girl butts all my life, and trust me, most of what you think of as a big butt is really a fat butt. Yes, there can be a greater amount of muscle on certain black people's body types, including my own, but until the OP, or you, or ME is carrying sub 20% bodyfat (sub 12% for me as a male) it's ridiculous to make claims about how much muscle is being carried back there. It's fat. It's faaaaaaaaaat. On every single one of us. And I don't care what the rap videos say

    ETA: But the main thing to keep in mind, is that no matter how much of a person's *kitten* is muscle vs how much is fat, if they are losing weight, their butt will get smaller. If a person is in the middle of losing 30-40 pounds like the OP is, I don't care if she squats 400 pounds her behind is going to be smaller. A LOT smaller. This is the fact that most of us have been trying to get across. Have you heard the phrase "a rising tide lifts all ships?" It's like that. All your bodyparts will generally move in the same direction as your weight gain or loss. "A smaller body shrinks all hips" would be the corollary, I guess.

    Meh. When I was dancing, I had a big butt and I was SKINNY. As did my sister &cousin. Not saying it wasn't made up of fat. Probably my fat deposited in my butt and skipped my stomach. But I do think I have more muscle down there than others, but that's probably because I developed it through working out (volleyball--which is constant squatting, dancing and just being active). Now, it's just straight up fat lmfao.

    I kind of get it now in terms of as long as you're eating less, you won't bulk. But the OP was asking at what point do you get bulky. None of us read her question right. Not even me. She wanted to know what causes the bulk so she can avoid it<< maybe do everything up until that. Now answer that, because that, I'd like to know. I'm training to start gymnastics and god, some of the girls there are so built because they just don't stop training! What's the safe boundary? Is it like, stop increasing weight when you hit a certain fat percentage, or never go above a certain weight?
    Stop thinking that heavy lifting well make you bulk :p many people views on this are very wrong. You can get very very tiny and not get larger lifting as heavy as you possibly can. After a point your progress will stall. If after all your dedicated time and effort if you get to defined, sit on the couch more and stop working out so much and eat more. It takes a lot of freakin effort to get that lean tho. Haven't managed to get there yet. So goodluck!
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    We still talking about this?

    Well then, let me get all serious face.

    I have a considerable amount of junk in my trunk (Nothing outrageous but your typical moderately sized 'black girl booty') and I've got thick thighs. How thick? Lets say the difference between my waist measurement and my thigh is less than 3 inches.

    I am squatting nearly everyday. 3 days a week I squat with 'heavy' weights. (Heavy for me. I'm at 95 pounds now.) and the other 3 days I'm squatting it out with Jillian or something of that manner (cardio squats!). I've lost ten pounds (just about) since May 7th, so about 1.4 pounds a week.

    My thighs are not 'bigger'. My booty is not 'bigger', though as I mentioned earlier it's getting perkier and shifting its way into a pleasing position. My thighs look a bit leaner and are touch less jiggly.

    For 'lean' 'toned' thighs do your squats. For a perky booty do your squats. Use heavy weights. You are not going to get big unless you are eating above your TDEE. If you eat at a deficit you will not get bigger, unless your body defies the laws of nature.
    <3:flowerforyou: </endthread>
  • rickyll
    rickyll Posts: 188 Member
    I like big boooty b!tche$!
    But in all seriousness, doing low squats (ya gotta get lowww) will give you a nice, toned derriere for girls and guys.
    I got a nice man-butt thanks to squats, deadlifts and years of soccer.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Is it too late to invoke Sir Mix-a-Lot?
  • R2Vee2
    R2Vee2 Posts: 13
    You're still asking the same question as if the answer will change. You want an effective leg exercise? That means squats. And heavy squats. Bodyweight squats are a waste of time and needlessly hard on your knees. If you're in a calorie deficit you're not going to gain muscle mass and if you're not on a hypertrophy program it's really not a concern anyway. Plus it's not like women easily put on tons of muscle.

    If you continue to lose weight (read: calorie deficit) I promise you that your thighs will get smaller. There's plenty of fat to lose in those areas without worrying about how much muscle you're going to build

    Question for everyone out there, I have a similar body type, small on top, thick legs & butt. Never a problem until a knee injury two years ago. I can squat but with absolutely no weights. I do use the leg press machines and squat/lunge, but I'm not getting the results I used to.

    Right now I'm using two 45 lbs weights on the incline leg press and so 4-6 sets of 12. Should I go lower weight/higher reps?

    Thanks in advance for your input.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Is it too late to invoke Sir Mix-a-Lot?

    I cannot lie.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Is it too late to invoke Sir Mix-a-Lot?

    never

    q7A6vlq.gif
  • Spresto2
    Spresto2 Posts: 53 Member
    you're talking about exercise when what you should be talking about is calorie deficit.




    and where are the damn photos?

    I am currently doing Weight Watchers for food. But still like to come here for the boards. I had tracked with MFP for more than a year and I just didn't get any results. I had trouble staying consistent with tracking, but in spite of trying various ranges of calorie deficits, I just kept losing and gaining the same five pounds over the course of a year +. Now since I have been doing WW and running, the weight is coming off, I am losing inches and feeling great. But I don't want to add something to my routine that will go against my goals.



    Mrs...
    May I ask.......at risk of sounding super novice...what do you believe the difference is in Your eating and exercise habits with weight watchers compared to the MFP habits you had? I always felt like I ate too much on weight watchers due to unlimited veg and fruit...love that stuff :love:

    Is it just that you track better and more consistently with WW than with MFP or is it in the amount and quality of both your eating and fitness??? In other words...what is causing the newfound success in weight loss in your opinion???? Please share! I have a big bootie and thighs tooooooooo compared with up top
  • bethanytowell
    bethanytowell Posts: 256 Member
    You're still asking the same question as if the answer will change. You want an effective leg exercise? That means squats. And heavy squats. Bodyweight squats are a waste of time and needlessly hard on your knees. If you're in a calorie deficit you're not going to gain muscle mass and if you're not on a hypertrophy program it's really not a concern anyway. Plus it's not like women easily put on tons of muscle.

    If you continue to lose weight (read: calorie deficit) I promise you that your thighs will get smaller. There's plenty of fat to lose in those areas without worrying about how much muscle you're going to build

    Question for everyone out there, I have a similar body type, small on top, thick legs & butt. Never a problem until a knee injury two years ago. I can squat but with absolutely no weights. I do use the leg press machines and squat/lunge, but I'm not getting the results I used to.

    Right now I'm using two 45 lbs weights on the incline leg press and so 4-6 sets of 12. Should I go lower weight/higher reps?

    Thanks in advance for your input.

    Check out Bret Contreras - The Glute Guy. Low impact on your knees and he is AMAZING! Hip Thrusts and BB GLute Bridges.
  • R2Vee2
    R2Vee2 Posts: 13
    Thank you!
  • TyFit08
    TyFit08 Posts: 799 Member
    you're talking about exercise when what you should be talking about is calorie deficit.




    and where are the damn photos?

    I am currently doing Weight Watchers for food. But still like to come here for the boards. I had tracked with MFP for more than a year and I just didn't get any results. I had trouble staying consistent with tracking, but in spite of trying various ranges of calorie deficits, I just kept losing and gaining the same five pounds over the course of a year +. Now since I have been doing WW and running, the weight is coming off, I am losing inches and feeling great. But I don't want to add something to my routine that will go against my goals.



    Mrs...
    May I ask.......at risk of sounding super novice...what do you believe the difference is in Your eating and exercise habits with weight watchers compared to the MFP habits you had? I always felt like I ate too much on weight watchers due to unlimited veg and fruit...love that stuff :love:

    Is it just that you track better and more consistently with WW than with MFP or is it in the amount and quality of both your eating and fitness??? In other words...what is causing the newfound success in weight loss in your opinion???? Please share! I have a big bootie and thighs tooooooooo compared with up top

    With MFP I struggled trying to figure out how many calories I should be eating. You always hear terms like BMR and TDEE and it sounds like this is so easy. But online BMR calcualators are just generalizations. I've seen a number of posts here on MFP and other sites where people went and got there RMR checked professionally and found the online calculators to be off by hundreds of calories. I tried 1200, 1400, 1600, 1800 calories, I tried eating my exercise calories back, not eating my exercise calories back or eating some of them back and still not results. I found it incredibly discouraging and that made it difficult for me to stay tracking.

    I also hated stressing over every single calorie. Since hitting my calorie goal, sometimes meant I didn't hit my nutrition goal. So on Weight Watchers we don't count calories. Points are based on carbs/fiber/fat/protein so foods that are lower in calories but have less nutritional value have a higher point value than those that might be more nutritious but have more calories. 100 calories of chips and a 100 calorie apple doesn't offer the same nutritional value. I know some people get stuck on the "free" fruits and veggies, but you really only get 5 free servings of fruits and veggies and are suppose to count anything above that. The veggies aren't the issue, but some people overdo it on fruit and don't recognize what a true serving size is. A large banana is two servings, not one. I watch my fruit intake and I like that when I am at my point limit I still have the option of having a fruit guilt free. I have been going to meetings which I also think has been a great support and a good lesson in accountability. I like the recipe builder and the app as a whole for tracking.

    Different things work for different people. Some people can just eat at their BMR or create a 500 calorie deficit and get results. I say it can take some trial and error to find what clicks and I am glad that I finally found what clicks for me.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Is it too late to invoke Sir Mix-a-Lot?

    never

    q7A6vlq.gif

    And as directed by that wise old scholar, Sir Mix-a-Lot...

    ...even *I* have to shout.
  • F1TCH1K
    F1TCH1K Posts: 72 Member
    patience + persistence = progress

    Love this!

    I squat & dead lift heavy weights (well, for me anyway - I weigh 128lbs, squat 195 & dead lift 205). I have improved my *kitten* significantly with those two exercises w/out "bulking". Lately, I eat about 1500 a day.
  • maundrelle
    maundrelle Posts: 39 Member
    I am pretty similar to you. I also have thick thighs, even though I have never lifted heavy in my life.
    When I started working out, I lost inches, but gained weight. I think I gained something like 10 pounds of muscle, even though I became smaller. And now, the fat is starting to come off my thighs too.

    Have you ever tried BodyRock/Zuzana Light's HIIT workouts?

    They are amazing. I did them when Body Rock had Zuzana and now I do ZWOWs as well as regular HIIT cardio on the elliptical and stationary bike. I also do Pilates and Power Yoga for strength training and Dance workouts for steady state cardio.

    My legs have become slimmer and I have started to see some muscle definition in my thighs.

    I would advise you to track what you're eating, do a lot of different types of Cardio, and start Pilates. :happy: I am not kidding. :happy:

    There is this awesome website called Blogilates.com, the instructor has her own free Youtube Pilates workouts that are insanely effective. Again, I am not kidding. Try it out, it will be the best thing you've ever done for your thighs!

    That, and track what you're eating. The eating is the easiest part, for sure. :laugh:
    Good luck! Here's to Skinny thighs! :drinker:
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    I am pretty similar to you. I also have thick thighs, even though I have never lifted heavy in my life.
    When I started working out, I lost inches, but gained weight. I think I gained something like 10 pounds of muscle, even though I became smaller. And now, the fat is starting to come off my thighs too.

    Have you ever tried BodyRock/Zuzana Light's HIIT workouts?

    They are amazing. I did them when Body Rock had Zuzana and now I do ZWOWs as well as regular HIIT cardio on the elliptical and stationary bike. I also do Pilates and Power Yoga for strength training and Dance workouts for steady state cardio.

    My legs have become slimmer and I have started to see some muscle definition in my thighs.

    I would advise you to track what you're eating, do a lot of different types of Cardio, and start Pilates. :happy: I am not kidding. :happy:

    There is this awesome website called Blogilates.com, the instructor has her own free Youtube Pilates workouts that are insanely effective. Again, I am not kidding. Try it out, it will be the best thing you've ever done for your thighs!

    That, and track what you're eating. The eating is the easiest part, for sure. :laugh:
    Good luck! Here's to Skinny thighs! :drinker:

    The programs you are recommending are in line with what I usually see recommended for women who are extreme pears who don't want to increase in size: HIIT, cardio, no heavy weights directly on the lower-body. They also usually recommend heavy or heavier weights on the upper body to create more balance by building up your shoulders, arms and chest.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    The programs you are recommending are in line with what I usually see recommended for women who are extreme pears who don't want to increase in size: HIIT, cardio, no heavy weights directly on the lower-body. They also usually recommend heavy or heavier weights on the upper body to create more balance by building up your shoulders, arms and chest.

    Yeah, except that what you "see recommended" doesn't fly in the face of what I've "seen happen" to my body and those of my friends.

    Strength training has allowed me, and many others, to maintain or even in some cases increase muscle mass, while losing body fat. I understand that you've never had excess body fat, so building muscle could possibly make you bigger. But the majority of the women on this site aren't ~100 pounds. They have excess fat, and they want it gone. They need to lose weight to do that, and when most of that weight lost is fat, the leaner they're going to look. To lose mostly fat, you need to make a concerted effort to KEEP the muscle. That's where strength training comes in and why it's so important.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    I am pretty similar to you. I also have thick thighs, even though I have never lifted heavy in my life.
    When I started working out, I lost inches, but gained weight. I think I gained something like 10 pounds of muscle, even though I became smaller. And now, the fat is starting to come off my thighs too.

    Have you ever tried BodyRock/Zuzana Light's HIIT workouts?

    They are amazing. I did them when Body Rock had Zuzana and now I do ZWOWs as well as regular HIIT cardio on the elliptical and stationary bike. I also do Pilates and Power Yoga for strength training and Dance workouts for steady state cardio.

    My legs have become slimmer and I have started to see some muscle definition in my thighs.

    I would advise you to track what you're eating, do a lot of different types of Cardio, and start Pilates. :happy: I am not kidding. :happy:

    There is this awesome website called Blogilates.com, the instructor has her own free Youtube Pilates workouts that are insanely effective. Again, I am not kidding. Try it out, it will be the best thing you've ever done for your thighs!

    That, and track what you're eating. The eating is the easiest part, for sure. :laugh:
    Good luck! Here's to Skinny thighs! :drinker:

    The programs you are recommending are in line with what I usually see recommended for women by people that have no clue about what they're talking about

    Fixed it for you
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Repeated for emphasis

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1032054-from-pear-to-hourglass-with-heavy-lifting-for-women
    I am 44 years old - and dedicated my fitness to heavy-lifting (free weights) for the last 18 months. Before that, it was 25+ years of cardio, cardio, cardio.

    I can say that the improvements that have been made over the last 18 months are, to me, UNBELIEVABLE. A true "pear", I aimed to become as close to an hourglass as I could, recognizing that I have zero boobs and I am unwilling to seek surgery.

    I am 5'8.5" tall. I weighed in at 146 lbs, today.

    I started taking "photos" and "measurements" on January 1, 2012 - 18 months ago. It's now June 29, 2013 - here are my photos and measurements:

    Endof18Monthsslide1_zps5050e312.jpg

    Endof18Monthsslide2_zpsf0391ef9.jpg

    I still have 2" to shave off my hips and 0.5" to shave off my natural waist....I'm still not that "happy" with my lower body - but I do like my upper body.

    EndofJune20139monthsposing_zps01c3e5e6.jpg

    Remember, all things are possible! I have a full-time job. I have severe asthma. I have a husband and a family to take care of. But, above all else, I believe that I owe it to myself to take care of myself. First.

    Here's to the next 18 months!!
  • hide_yo_cats
    hide_yo_cats Posts: 83 Member
    Heavy lifting and maintaining a caloric deficit made my thighs and butt smaller. As much as it "doesn't jiggle" trust me, there's plenty of fat there to get rid of.

    Respectfully,
    Beachpls
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    bumping with a crossfit gif. just cuz

    f4l5hxP.gif