Losing mass in my already thin legs?

saverte

So, I am kind of thin to begin with (5'9", 144lbs currently) and am just trying to lose the few pounds that I put on after starting grad school (Not gonna lie, it's pretty much all beer weight). Since I started on the site in early/mid-January, I've lost about 4 pounds, but the inches have most noticeably shed in my legs. Strange, right?... So I started doing more specific muscle-toning and strengthening exercises to re-bulk my already chicken-y stalks starting about 18 days ago, and I just keep losing thigh/calf circumference. I've tried to increase my protein to facilitate muscle growth, but over the past two weeks, my legs have continue to thin out, and I'd kind of rather that happen elsewhere.

For the record, I do 6 sets of 15 reps of squats, lunges, dead lifts, and leg-specific yoga in a pick-two fashion 6 or 7 days a week. Am I just not giving these exercises enough time to start showing results? Am I not doing enough (Damn it, Jim, I'm an anthropologist, not a personal trainer!)? Or does anyone have any suggestions for adding some mass back to my legs? I'd like my jeans to not look like Parachute pants anymore.

thefuzz1290

You're actually doing too much, in a sense. You're doing the right exercises, but too many reps. If you want to build mass, pick a weight you can only do 3-5 times. That combined with an upped protein intake (and you might have to increase your caloric intake a slight bit) should increase your mass.

careyharv

I agree with the other poster that you are doing too much. I would add weight to you exercises - squat with dumbbells or the smith machine, etc. Aim for 6-10 reps instead of 15. The other thing is working legs 6 or 7 days a week is not good. You need to rest your muscles to help them grow. I always give my muscles atleast 48 hours between each strength training workout.

You can research more about this but I provided one link below:

http://www.criticalbench.com/rest_workout_muscle_growth.htm