How to Lose inches from thighs?

End6ame

Any woman who is gaining size from lifting heavy weights is either taking steroids, is eating way too many calories, or has a hormonal imbalance. I used to be skeptical about this myself because I've always had very muscular legs, but it wasn't until I started eating a very clean diet that I realized it was an excess of calories that had caused me to build so much muscle in the past. I've been lifting heavy weights 4 days a week since January, combined with the clean diet and cardio, and I have only gotten smaller.

Look, I am one of the biggest supporters of women lifting heavy without the fear of getting bigger, but that doesn’t mean that women can’t get ANY increase in muscle size naturally. Most female body builders juice and eat upwards of 4000 kcals a day and could not look like they do without those contributing factors, however the average women on a high volume routine WILL gain an increase in muscle size, just not as much as men and juicing body builders.

inncipit

My gym instructor recommended me squat with dumbells. I do it almost everyday 15X3 sets. But as many people said, reducing calorie intake (especially bad calories) and doing cardio would be the best way.
Best luck!

Mommyof3texans

I've been at this for a little over 3 months and most of the weight came off the top half first and it wasn't until these last few weeks that the thighs and tummy are starting to shrink. It just takes time and consistent healthy eating combined with some exercise to get the results you want!

registers

Strengthen training your thigh muscles can make them bigger, making the problem worse.

Completely NOT true....!

I've just completed 4 weeks of ChaLean Extreme (lots of squats & lunges with heavy weights - 15 lbs+), and I have already lost 1 inch of each thigh....

I've also been doing cardio as well (Turbo Jam), so I would suggest you do both....

Bigger muscles = wider diameter.

dsak

I'm that way as well, doing Jillian Micheals 30 day shred helped a ton!! In 30 days I lost 3 inches off of both thighs!! I lost inches from everywhere else along with it but that was a the biggest difference!

Wow... 3 inches off both thighs in a month!!! I'm even more motivated to keep up with 30ds!!!!!

Calif_Girl67

I have been on a Diet/Exercise routine since March and I had really big inner thighs and all I have been doing is Cardio
and Walking along with workout dvds and mine haveshrunk alot to the point were they are almost gone.

registers

"we don't want to build that muscle, we want to make it long and lean" :-)

She seriously said that? And that many people still buy her dvd's? wow.

And I agree with Sara.

you don't agree with my "rubbing carrot juice on them?" haha i was kidding about that. Some girls just don't want big legs. I agree with you from a metabolic stand point the more muscle the better.

ItsCasey

the average women on a high volume routine WILL gain an increase in muscle size.

Not enough to claim she is "bulking up." The "average" woman (i.e. one who isn't juicing or overeating and isn't overproducing testosterone) simply doesn't have the physiology to do that, regardless of how much she is lifting. Her muscles may be more noticeable because she's losing the fat on top of them, but they are not significantly bigger than they were before.

End6ame

the average women on a high volume routine WILL gain an increase in muscle size.

Not enough to claim she is "bulking up." The "average" woman (i.e. one who isn't juicing or overeating and isn't overproducing testosterone) simply doesn't have the physiology to do that, regardless of how much she is lifting. Her muscles may be more noticeable because she's losing the fat on top of them, but they are not significantly bigger than they were before.

And if you include the rest of what I said in your quote, I said “just not as much as men and juicing body builders.”

Muscle size has little to do with muscle strength and muscle mass, but rather the sarcoplasmic fluid build-up (the sarcoplasm/cytoplasm of the muscle cells) caused by high volume routines. There can be measurable size changes in female muscle under natural conditions. Also keep in mind that a 1 in change in circumference to the thigh will only translate to a fraction of an inch in diameter. Add that to the fact that most women think that any change in muscle size is “bulky” and you will have women that feel that their legs or whatever got too bulky, when in reality it was a minimal yet still measurable change.

I agree, women should not be worried about bulky muscles because they will never get large muscle under natural conditions, but they can still get measurable changes in muscle size.

ivyjbres

Seriously, women cannot build bigger muscles (without supplemental assistance)..... we do not have enough testosterone in our bodies.

I wish people would quit repeating this, it not true.

Women and men have roughly the same amount of testosterone, just different types of testosterone (chemical isomers if you want to be technical). They are different enough that if you injected a man with enough female testosterone, he'd die (and vice versa).

Whether or not a woman bulks up, and how much she does, depends on genetics and her weight routine.

I've never had chicken legs just cause I'm a girl, and I never will. I have what has become known in my family as "Graham thighs," as everyone in the family has the exact same- full, rounded, and thickly muscled thighs. In Jr. High, when I flexed, my quad stood up a full 4 inches above my knee cap, and it did that because I was in basketball- specifically a post player, and my coaches set a weight training routine for us meant to strengthen our legs and butt. At one point I had a 24 inch waist and a 40 inch hip; and it was not fat- you do not get a fat *kitten* from squatting 275 and running 6 miles a day, you get muscle- depending on your genetics, you may get nice long lean muscle like Chandra, you may get something in the middle like Hope, or you may get ridiculously built like I did; being female has next to nothing to do with the equation. You could take 3 guys from the same families, give them the same workout, and see the same results.

In general, men are capable of lifting more than women because of their differing bone structure after puberty- their muscles have a better mechanical advantage, thus they can lift more with the same muscles (and the lifting more builds more, so in most cases they build muscle faster). Women are not incapable of building bulk muscle, if we were, you wouldn't see some of the figure-competition-off-the-rails types who, well, could wear a little extra makeup to make the gender distinction more clear. (And I'm not saying that to be mean, I had a mohawk as a 17 year old, and my bro and I look nearly identical without hair. That's when I started wearing glam earrings and more makeup, it was necessary.)

Point being, yes women can build bulk muscle if they're doing 8-10 reps of heavy weights, not just to the point of fatigue, but to the point of failure, ie when your (2) spotters have to grab the bar on your last rep (or 3). Also, doing stair climbers, or elepticals on high resistance, or the treadmill with the incline all the way up, or just plain running hills all the time, yes, you're butt will get bigger. Muscles, when used regularly, with increased resistance, get bigger, its what they're designed to do. Buying into sexist crap you've heard isn't going to change biology.

registers

Seriously, women cannot build bigger muscles (without supplemental assistance)..... we do not have enough testosterone in our bodies.

I wish people would quit repeating this, it not true.

Women and men have roughly the same amount of testosterone, just different types of testosterone (chemical isomers if you want to be technical). They are different enough that if you injected a man with enough female testosterone, he'd die (and vice versa).

Whether or not a woman bulks up, and how much she does, depends on genetics and her weight routine.

I've never had chicken legs just cause I'm a girl, and I never will. I have what has become known in my family as "Graham thighs," as everyone in the family has the exact same- full, rounded, and thickly muscled thighs. In Jr. High, when I flexed, my quad stood up a full 4 inches above my knee cap, and it did that because I was in basketball- specifically a post player, and my coaches set a weight training routine for us meant to strengthen our legs and butt. At one point I had a 24 inch waist and a 40 inch hip; and it was not fat- you do not get a fat *kitten* from squatting 275 and running 6 miles a day, you get muscle- depending on your genetics, you may get nice long lean muscle like Chandra, you may get something in the middle like Hope, or you may get ridiculously built like I did; being female has next to nothing to do with the equation. You could take 3 guys from the same families, give them the same workout, and see the same results.

In general, men are capable of lifting more than women because of their differing bone structure after puberty- their muscles have a better mechanical advantage, thus they can lift more with the same muscles (and the lifting more builds more, so in most cases they build muscle faster). Women are not incapable of building bulk muscle, if we were, you wouldn't see some of the figure-competition-off-the-rails types who, well, could wear a little extra makeup to make the gender distinction more clear. (And I'm not saying that to be mean, I had a mohawk as a 17 year old, and my bro and I look nearly identical without hair. That's when I started wearing glam earrings and more makeup, it was necessary.)

Point being, yes women can build bulk muscle if they're doing 8-10 reps of heavy weights, not just to the point of fatigue, but to the point of failure, ie when your (2) spotters have to grab the bar on your last rep (or 3). Also, doing stair climbers, or elepticals on high resistance, or the treadmill with the incline all the way up, or just plain running hills all the time, yes, you're butt will get bigger. Muscles, when used regularly, with increased resistance, get bigger, its what they're designed to do. Buying into sexist crap you've heard isn't going to change biology.

Those fitness models that are bulked up are juiced up on steroids. Yes women can build some muscle but not as much as a man. You say part of it is due to equal levels of testosterone, which might be true... but women have more estrogen which results in more fatty tissue in specific areas. I hesitate to say it will impair muscle growth. I know testosterone is the opposite of estrogen. I know that testosterone builds muscle, this can also imply that estrogen impairs muscle growth. You also mentioned we have different bone structures. I don't get this... most of us have arms and legs, and center mass.. We're pretty much in the same proportion, meaning I don't think men have longer legs and longer arms. If you're talking about pelvic bone, i don't see how that is relevant. Like i said I do agree women can build "some" muscle, but not much.

doughnutwretch

Every person has trouble spots on their bodies, and those are the first places we gain weight and the last places we lose weight. Drink lots of water and combine cardio exercises with strength training. If you don't see improvements right away, don't get discouraged. It takes time to lose fat and tone.

kimmerroze

Do lots of lunges and squats... and if you are afraid that your muscle is bulking up... as most women do you can always run your muscle away...

or low resistance cardio for hours....

Cardio burns muscle along with fat. Weight lifting burns fat...

If you have tons of fat on your thighs, do cardio and weight lifting. once your fat is gone and you start noticing your thighs getting bigger... Which will take a LONG TIME, then incorporate lots of cardio.

I run 15 + miles a week and lift 3 times a week..

It is thinning out my thighs quite nicely.

chrisdavey

Point being, yes women can build bulk muscle if they're doing 8-10 reps of heavy weights, not just to the point of fatigue, but to the point of failure, ie when your (2) spotters have to grab the bar on your last rep

Failure is not required. Going heavy and leaving 1 or 2 reps in the tank is fine. Going to failure repeatedly will stress the CNS and can eventually lead to stalling. You need to be able to recover from the workouts and having an overstressed CNS will not help this.

Some people use Max OT training which does involve going to failure (and beyond with negatives) but they then have much larger breaks from the gym for additional recovery time.

Kimmeroze: Not sure exactly where you got your info from but it isn't as simple as that.

Create calorific deficit (via diet or exercise but preferrably both) and you will lose weight.
To lose fat, do the same and incorporate resistance training and keeping protein intake relatively high (while at an overall deficit) and you will lose fat. (You will still lose a certain portion of muscle but the above measures are there to minimise that)

SiltyPigeon

Wow you were all soo helpful. :huh:

My opinion? Diet and exercise will reduce the problem you are experiencing with fatty thighs. Diet will reduce the size and exercise will tighten them so they are less giggly. If you end up with thunder He-man thighs from too much exercising, then exercise less. I'm sure that won't develop over night (if at all) so you'll have plenty of time to correct your routine.

Wii Active makes my thighs sore so I figure it's working for that area.

Schwiggity

It's funny how the sex that genetically is supposed to have some more fat around the thighs is the one that always wants to get rid of it.

yellowpear

It's funny how the sex that genetically is supposed to have some more fat around the thighs is the one that always wants to get rid of it.

ha.. ha.. i totally agree..

yellowpear

Thanks everyone for the replies.

ivyjbres

Those fitness models that are bulked up are juiced up on steroids. Yes women can build some muscle but not as much as a man. You say part of it is due to equal levels of testosterone, which might be true... but women have more estrogen which results in more fatty tissue in specific areas. I hesitate to say it will impair muscle growth. I know testosterone is the opposite of estrogen. I know that testosterone builds muscle, this can also imply that estrogen impairs muscle growth. You also mentioned we have different bone structures. I don't get this... most of us have arms and legs, and center mass.. We're pretty much in the same proportion, meaning I don't think men have longer legs and longer arms. If you're talking about pelvic bone, i don't see how that is relevant. Like i said I do agree women can build "some" muscle, but not much.

Different bone structures, meaning women's broader hips and men's broader shoulders cause muscles to attach at slightly different angles, (that's why anthropologists are able to determine sex from skeletal remains) and that causes a difference in the amount of muscle you can build and utilize.

But the attitude that women can't build muscle has more to do with their lack of muscles than their workouts.

jmula

I have been doing 8-10 reps and have been getting great results from it for building muscle. I do low reps in the 6-8 range and get a lot stronger from it. I never do more then 10 reps. To me, it's a waste of time. If your going to lift weights to get your muscles toned, why not do 8-10 and get there quicker. jmo.