Pear-Shape Advice from Personal TRAINER.
AmandasJourney2012
Posts: 50
Found this on a personal trainers blog.. Is this true?? Pear-shape women should NOT be using weights when losing fat at first or incline??
The pear shape - How to change this look?
Hi again,
since some people asked me about how to get rid of their pear shape, I’m happy to tell more about it in detail.
First of all> What is a pear shape?
Girls with a pear shape tend to have fat storage on their hips and legs but close to none at their chest, arm and stomach area. Do not mix them up with the hour glass shape…as those lucky ones have fat storage around their hips AND chest/arm area.
So what happens is that the more body fat a girl with a pear shape has the more the hips and legs expand. The upper body normally stays nearly the same.
The other thing is that women with a pear shape not only have most of their fat storage around their hips and legs BUT even their bone structure is normally slightly more wider around the hip area then average. So even when girls with a pear shape loose a lot of weight they will still have a round looking hip.
The other interesting thing to mention is that even the muscles around the hip and leg area tend to hypertrophy (growing bigger muscles from exercising) more then on any other part of the body.
So this looks like we really can’t win here
Just getting skinny and making lots of starvation diets doesn’t help as all of your muscles would disappear around your upper body (as the muscles at the upper body of pear shaped girls tend to hypotrophy…means they tend to get small easy and it’s hard to train them on volume) to make your hips even more prominent and the wide hip bones and thick muscles around the legs would still be around the lower body.
SO the more we actually starve the more we come out of balance with our look and even more pear shaped. And if we put on weight again> Guess where it will be all going to;)…but now it would be even worse as the upper body is even smaller after all of this starving and the hips bigger then ever.
But what can we actually do?
Well…there is something
Hooray!
It is called “body shaping”.
What does this mean?
Well, I train my clients after their body shapes. Means: When a girl comes into our studio with bigger hips and legs then I decide to NEVER EVER do ANY leg exercise with ANY WEIGHT at all. NEVER! Not even 3kg! And if she has to do 200 lunges and squats> I don’t care but NEVER do them with weights as your muscles around your legs tend to hypertrophy quite a lot if you are a pear shape… means> The legs will definitely getting bigger from exercising.
To still get the legs strong, lean and toned we have to do body fat reduction (lots of cardio), leg exercises without weight (any), leg exercises in a stretched position (pilates/ callanetics) and good stretching after each session to not get the muscles to big and bulky looking.
Even if this sounds weird but I noticed that pear shaped women tend to have most of their strength in their legs and it is like an absolute power house down there. Muscles there grow fast!
But the most important thing a pear shaped girl needs to do is strength training for her upper body. And no: Here we have to go up! Train like a guy, train with big weights, as hard as you can and don’t be afraid of any challenge. ANY weight is welcome, any chin up, any press up and preferably anything involved in strengthening the shoulders from any direction since muscles are the only source we have up there to get some volume. We have no bones, no fat, no natural muscles there as a pear shaped person, so we need to get some “selfmade” muscles up there. We gotta train our upper body like a man!!!
And of course: We need to lose fat! A woman with a pear shaped body who doesn’t want this to be seen needs to go low in body fat to avoid any dis balance in her looks.
Body fat reduction works well with cardio (best interval) training and a low (GI) carb diet.
The only thing to be aware of>
Since even your bone structure around the hips is wider then average you must know that you will have a gap between your legs once you are down to low body fat. Women with more narrow hips will not have this since their legs aren’t as far apart from each other.
The pear shape - How to change this look?
Hi again,
since some people asked me about how to get rid of their pear shape, I’m happy to tell more about it in detail.
First of all> What is a pear shape?
Girls with a pear shape tend to have fat storage on their hips and legs but close to none at their chest, arm and stomach area. Do not mix them up with the hour glass shape…as those lucky ones have fat storage around their hips AND chest/arm area.
So what happens is that the more body fat a girl with a pear shape has the more the hips and legs expand. The upper body normally stays nearly the same.
The other thing is that women with a pear shape not only have most of their fat storage around their hips and legs BUT even their bone structure is normally slightly more wider around the hip area then average. So even when girls with a pear shape loose a lot of weight they will still have a round looking hip.
The other interesting thing to mention is that even the muscles around the hip and leg area tend to hypertrophy (growing bigger muscles from exercising) more then on any other part of the body.
So this looks like we really can’t win here
Just getting skinny and making lots of starvation diets doesn’t help as all of your muscles would disappear around your upper body (as the muscles at the upper body of pear shaped girls tend to hypotrophy…means they tend to get small easy and it’s hard to train them on volume) to make your hips even more prominent and the wide hip bones and thick muscles around the legs would still be around the lower body.SO the more we actually starve the more we come out of balance with our look and even more pear shaped. And if we put on weight again> Guess where it will be all going to;)…but now it would be even worse as the upper body is even smaller after all of this starving and the hips bigger then ever.
But what can we actually do?
Well…there is something
Hooray!It is called “body shaping”.
What does this mean?
Well, I train my clients after their body shapes. Means: When a girl comes into our studio with bigger hips and legs then I decide to NEVER EVER do ANY leg exercise with ANY WEIGHT at all. NEVER! Not even 3kg! And if she has to do 200 lunges and squats> I don’t care but NEVER do them with weights as your muscles around your legs tend to hypertrophy quite a lot if you are a pear shape… means> The legs will definitely getting bigger from exercising.
To still get the legs strong, lean and toned we have to do body fat reduction (lots of cardio), leg exercises without weight (any), leg exercises in a stretched position (pilates/ callanetics) and good stretching after each session to not get the muscles to big and bulky looking.
Even if this sounds weird but I noticed that pear shaped women tend to have most of their strength in their legs and it is like an absolute power house down there. Muscles there grow fast!
But the most important thing a pear shaped girl needs to do is strength training for her upper body. And no: Here we have to go up! Train like a guy, train with big weights, as hard as you can and don’t be afraid of any challenge. ANY weight is welcome, any chin up, any press up and preferably anything involved in strengthening the shoulders from any direction since muscles are the only source we have up there to get some volume. We have no bones, no fat, no natural muscles there as a pear shaped person, so we need to get some “selfmade” muscles up there. We gotta train our upper body like a man!!!
And of course: We need to lose fat! A woman with a pear shaped body who doesn’t want this to be seen needs to go low in body fat to avoid any dis balance in her looks.
Body fat reduction works well with cardio (best interval) training and a low (GI) carb diet.
The only thing to be aware of>
Since even your bone structure around the hips is wider then average you must know that you will have a gap between your legs once you are down to low body fat. Women with more narrow hips will not have this since their legs aren’t as far apart from each other.
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Replies
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i dont know if this is true, but i am pear shaped and this was very interesting and informative
xx0 -
This is interesting.... and seems to make sense intellectually. I wonder if it is actually true. This idea is what is keeping me from lifting heavy weights. The LAST thing I need is bigger thighs...... Hopefully someone with some knowledge will pipe up.0
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bump, would defo like to know more and it seems consistent with things that I am struggling with.0
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who's personal trainer ??? :happy:0
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bump0
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who's personal trainer ??? :happy:
this is my best friends personal trainers blog0 -
Yup, my thighs are definitely my "power house" grrr. This really interesting and has given me a bit more hope and inspiration! Thanks for the info:)0
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I am a hourglass/pear shape I beg to differ actually. I run, do squats, leg presses and deadlifts quite heavy I might add since June 2009 I have lost 115 pounds and I have the last 47 pounds to go which I have lost 9 of those pounds. Nonetheless, cardio is best but having some weights and lunges, or core exercises tone up the legs/hips/derriere. I have lost many inches on my hips.
Oh, yes one last thing my hips are now less wide than my shoulders.
However, everyone is different even if we are all pear shaped.
Best of luck on your journey !0 -
Sorry - but this sounds like absolute "............." to me .......no it does not make sense - and personally I would NOT follow this advice....0
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This makes a lot of sense! It's basically fuelling the small fire and letting the big fire die down so that they're even0
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If you actually read the whole thing all the pt says is not to do leg exercises with weights but then goes on to say that you should train your upper body like a man with heavy weights and such. The pt does not say no weight training at all. As far as the actual validity of this claim. I honestly have no clue it true or not.0
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Interesting..0
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how about embracing the pear shape as something that is beautiful? Of course we all want to lose weight but I would so much rather have the body of a J-Lo than a Kalista Flockhart. Don't know about you all, but pear is feminine and I just want to be a not fat pear shape personally 0
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God that is a load of crock.
I'm a pear(got a big ol butt and hips) and all my personal trainers have had me do heavy weights on the lower half, and the only thing my lower half did is shrink.. def. did not get bigger. My legs are a power house(once did 238 pounds a leg press) and my current trainer says they are def. the strongest part of my body.. and he only wants to make them stronger.
I also do a bit of cardio(either running on the treadmill, walking at an incline on the treadmill or walking around the local lake).. combine that with the heavy weights on top/bottom and I have the best body I've ever had.0 -
Sorry - but this sounds like absolute "............." to me .......no it does not make sense - and personally I would NOT follow this advice....
THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^0 -
I'm not pear-shaped but I kind of understand where he's coming from but I don't really agree with it. I would rather have strong legs than weaker toned legs. You can build strength and not necessarily muscle mass. For me, my arms bulk super fast. I avoid doing heavy hypertrophy techniques on a regular basis, but I still lift and just do longer reps just so I'm not a weakling.0
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Interesting perspective. It makes some sense but I'm not sure I totally believe it just yet.0
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Terrible advice IMO wow...
No full body compound lifts with a moderate calorie deficit to lose body fat all over.
Unless you want to break down the muscle in your legs and have them look flabby even when you are at a low weight0 -
Sounds like a crock of ***t to me. Lose fat overall, and your legs will look smaller. Period. Is she assuming that your muscles will get larger and the same amount of fat will be there resulting in "larger" legs? As far as I know we all have similar skeletal structure, organs, and our "body shape" is simply where we store fat.0
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who's personal trainer ??? :happy:
this is my best friends personal trainers blog
what are this trainers qualifications and certifications?0 -
i dont agree with any of this. im a pear shaped person.
i dont think you can get bulky legs from weight training...if anything that endless `leg cardio` will burn more muscle instead of fat and make the legs look flubbery, am i right? strength training TIGHTENS up the muscles/builds more where there isnt any (more muscle mass burns more calories, cmon fitness 101). i really like my legs and get a lot of compliments on them, and i chisel them with lunges, squats, and leg machines at the gym. i could run/do zumba alllllll day and it wouldnt give me the definition that weights do.
id rather have sexy toned legs from strength training AND cardio than skinny fat legs with JUST cardio IMO~ :bigsmile:0 -
Was this originally written in a language other than English? If not, they give PT's a bad name. I'd say this blogger is 50% correct.
Being a pear shape has to do with bone structure (somewhat) and adipose storage (mostly). Being a pear shape is healthy because you're not suffocating your organs with excessive fat, e.g.: the apple shape.
To change your shape you'll need to lose fat and possible gain muscle.
To lose fat: burn calories. Eat less and/or exercise more. Weight training WILL be beneficial, it still burns calories. In my experience pear-shapes tend to be incredibly strong in their lower bodies, why not take advantage of that? Don't train like a girl because you're afraid of "getting big", that's truly a misnomer. If you're gaining muscle you've either:
a) never lifted weights before and you're experiencing "newbie gains", which will stop after a month
b) eating in a surplus, thus gaining weight and building muscle
c) genetically gifted and likely not a pear after all
Regarding "body shaping": that's simply losing weight and gaining muscle. Lose weight? Ta-da, you're a new shape!
I'm a little annoyed. There's no such thing as lengthening your muscles (http://www.youronlinefitness.com/fitness-articles/pilates_myths.php). Your muscles will grow into whatever shape they're destined to grow into.
"Body fat reduction works well with cardio (best interval) training and a low (GI) carb diet." - to quote the Dude, "that's just your opinion, man"
My opinion:
Correct:They're spot-on regarding upper body advice.
Incorrect:
- Don't be afraid to lift heavy
- Don't be afraid to work your legs
- Pilates is great if you enjoy it but it won't elongate your muscles
- Interval training has had mixed results in studies (try it and see if it works for you, if you can do it safely)
- Low carb is only necessary for certain people, some people handle carbs just fine and NEED them for training.
Edited to re-format & add I'm a NSCA-CPT.0 -
i dont agree with any of this. im a pear shaped person.
i dont think you can get bulky legs from weight training...if anything that endless `leg cardio` will burn more muscle instead of fat and make the legs look flubbery, am i right? strength training TIGHTENS up the muscles/builds more where there isnt any (more muscle mass burns more calories, cmon fitness 101). i really like my legs and get a lot of compliments on them, and i chisel them with lunges, squats, and leg machines at the gym. i could run/do zumba alllllll day and it wouldnt give me the definition that weights do.
id rather have sexy toned legs from strength training AND cardio than skinny fat legs with JUST cardio IMO~ :bigsmile:
^^^ This0 -
Awful.0
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Wow. I am actually shocked by how bad this advice is.
Strong, healthy body >>> purposefully letting muscles atrophy just for a slightly lower circumferance.
I've been maintaining and working on building muscle for awhile now. Know how much my thigh measurement has increased since I started doing heavy lower-body exercises? 0.5". In exchange, my legs look athletic and powerful instead of looking like top-heavy carrots like they did before. I'll take the slight size increase in exchange for shape, thanks.
I can't imagine why I'd want to purposefully let a part of my body get weak.0 -
So exercise to have a smooth, toned upper body and flabby legs from losing weight? - no thanks
I believe in using weights for all body parts - I want the muscles in my legs to use the fat around them - women do not build as much muscle as men anyway.
If my legs are y powerhouse I want the world to see their true shape and power!0 -
Wow. This is dumb. I've been lifting heavy, both upper and lower for a good 6 months now. I even ate 3000 calories a day in an effort to make my muscles (everywhere) bigger. My legs look better with muscles under the little bit of fat that is still stored there. The muscles have gotten a little bigger, and are a better shape and the fat has decreased slightly. Overall they've only increased in size by an inch. My strong muscular arms and shoulders balance me out, like he mentions but the idea of not doing legs is just stupid.0
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bump to read later.0
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Nonsense. Trainer advocating no leg exercises with weights... hilarious.0
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Also, we should learn to love our pear shapes! I know I've learned to love mine! In fact, I'm kinda worried with all this exercising that it might go away!0
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