thighs are getting bulky.Advice pls?

BecciJG

Feeling a bit down at the fact that all my trousers and leggings are extremely tight on my thighs!! I've always had 'skinny' legs and since doing weights my thighs have bulked up!! So now I have loose waistband but can't go down a size as the thighs won't fit!!

I currently do 3 days in the gym doing weights, usually about 45-60 mins, mostly use the machines but do some free weights too. I do quite high weight on low rep and then i do a spinning class and another day in the gym but cardio only.

Ive always been petite as im only 5ft 2 and i love doing weights and love that its toning me up but ive never had a problem with big thighs and clothes being too tight just in that area. Any tips on what i should be doing or what i might be doing wrong? Thanks in advance

zoukeira

Ever noticed that bulky powerlifters train REALLY heavy but only a few reps? While lean sculpters train higher reps? My trainers used to always get me to train over 15 reps while sculpting, and under when I had to bulk up (say to even out a thigh!). Maybe try higher reps, even if it means going slightly lower in weight (but always lift as high as you can for the intended number of reps)

dad106

I highly doubt you are "getting bulky" as you describe... It's prob. just water retention as the muscles repair themselves.

If you are super worried about it, then stop weight training and let the muscle atrophy. Then you'll have skinny legs, but flabby ones instead of tight/toned ones.

HeidiHoMom

Get your pants tailored.

samblanken

Your legs kinda sound like mine. When I did lower body weights, I got these freakishly huge hulk like legs. I find that cardio workout alone is enough to sculpt my legs.

Capt_Apollo

Your legs kinda sound like mine. When I did lower body weights, I got these freakishly huge hulk like legs. I find that cardio workout alone is enough to sculpt my legs.

lol

darrensurrey

You could look at it from this angle: you're still on your weight loss journey (your ticker on your profile suggests this is correct) so building the thigh muscles will help you burn more fat when you're not doing exercise. Once you are close to your ideal weight, you can tone (pun intended) down your leg work, replacing that with more CV stuff.

BecciJG

Thanks for replies. I know that i could never do cardio only, i love liftiing too much and i like that its helping shape my body, just dont like my big thighs. I will try lowering the weight and upping the rep on lower body stuff though.

psuLemon

Ever noticed that bulky powerlifters train REALLY heavy but only a few reps? While lean sculpters train higher reps? My trainers used to always get me to train over 15 reps while sculpting, and under when I had to bulk up (say to even out a thigh!). Maybe try higher reps, even if it means going slightly lower in weight (but always lift as high as you can for the intended number of reps)

This is false.... heavy weight/low reps will NOT bulk you up, especially if you are on a calorie deficit. In fact, fat loss is the same whether you do 6 reps or 15 reps but here is the major difference, high weight/low rep is much better for strength gains. Also, high weight low rep will increase you explosive power where low weigh/high rep will increase endurance.

Muscle is what makes a body tight and lean and the more you have, the leaner your body will be. OP, as someone already stated, its probably water retention.

Hezzietiger1

Stop wasting time on machines and get in the squat rack.. lift heavy. You should be increasing weight nearly every workout. If you want to do 12-15 reps fine but if you can do 15, increase the weight. When you hit 15 again after 3 sets, increase the weight. While you are squating *kitten* the the ground do some barbell lunges also. Same thing, heavy. Free weights will do much much more for u than machines.

BecciJG

I Love using the squat rack! I do tend to do the highest weight i can possibly do and have been doing this for a while. Then i hear that i shouldnt be doing this and should lift lighter but more! But having read up alot and from what alot of you say, im on the right track doing what im already doing

Possibly is just water retention and i hope that as i carry on with the weights and the bit of cardio i do, i will see a difference and hopefully the thighs will lean out.

I just got this email from a personal trainer:-


Big thighs are a very sore spot for many women, but just what causes this? Many women shy away from weight training, thinking that any weight lifting will make their huge thighs even bigger. I'm a certified personal trainer, and women need to first figure out just why their thighs are too big for their liking.
If you have "thunder" or big thighs, ask yourself what makes them huge in the first place. I don't mean lifestyle habits. I mean composition: What is inside your thighs that makes them big? If you had Superman's X ray vision, what would you see inside your thighs if you examined them, that explains why they're huge?

Most women will answer "Fat." But some women will insist that it's muscle that makes their thighs huge.

Let's assume it's fat that makes your thighs big. The next question to ask yourself is why would weight training increase the size of your thighs? After all, their size is from excess fat. Lifting weights does not increase the size of fat cells, nor do weight workouts increase the number of fat cells. Thus, why would lifting weights make thunder thighs with too much fat, even larger? Hmmm...that's certainly one to reflect upon.

Now, let's suppose a woman's thighs are big due to lots of muscle. The next question is, how do you know it's muscle? Is there a way to verify this theory? There are several ways to check out this theory.

No. 1: Have a personal trainer give you a body fat reading with calipers. One of the skin fold sites for women is the middle of the front thigh. The result of the skin fold sample will be very telling, regarding the composition of your thigh: muscle vs. fat.

No. 2: If a woman's thighs are huge due to large amounts of muscle, then it stands to reason that these legs are very strong. Well, are they strong? Can you leg press 500 pounds for repetitions? Can you squat 400 pounds? Can you deadlift 400 pounds? I'm serious. Enough muscle to create a lot of size is enough muscle to mean a lot of brute strength.

If you're convinced it's just a lot of muscle, test your theory with the squat rack or leg press equipment. I've had clients who were convinced their huge thighs were full of muscle, but then were no stronger at squatting, leg pressing or leg extensions than women with thinner legs. Hmmm...

No. 3. Compare your legs to those of competitive female bodybuilders. Female bodybuilders who don't use steroids actually don't have very large upper legs, as far as girth. This is why female bodybuilders, at the time of competition when they have whittled their body fat percentage down to the single digits, can easily slip into size 4 and size 6 jeans, even size 2.

Their thighs aren't huge at all. Remember, they are flexing their muscles on stage, but in a relaxed position, their legs are not "big." However, their legs do, indeed, have impressive amounts of muscle, and well-sculpted muscle. But as far as the circumference, their legs are not big at all, and often even on the small side, as far as circumference.

But due to single-digit body fat percentage, plus flexing the muscles, their legs appear "big." Now, look at your own thighs in a mirror. Do they resemble those of a female bodybuilder? No, absolutely not. There will be no resemblance.

So why do women mistake fat for muscle in their big thighs? Because it's not heartening to realize you have excess fat. Secondly, if the gams don't jiggle, a woman might assume it's "all muscle." Another point to consider: Just because a woman is convinced she has thunder thighs, doesn't actually mean her legs are massive. Though many women do have huge legs, I've known women who referred to slightly larger-than-average legs as "huge."

Conclusion: If a woman has big thighs, and she's not happy about them, it's fat. Often, there's excess fat throughout her entire body as well. In other cases, excess fat is concentrated most in the thighs and hip area; this is partially related to hormones, but proper diet and exercise can work wonders for these "trouble spots."

I rarely witness women with big thunder thighs working heavy with the weight equipment. However, women who lift heavy with their legs almost always have lean, shapely, firm legs. The few women I do see lifting heavy, who actually have big thighs, are big all over: overall excess body fat. My recommendation: To trim big thighs, hit the weights hard - and heavy. Heavy weight workouts in a woman will incinerate fat, resulting in smaller, firmer gams!

yo_andi

Ever noticed that bulky powerlifters train REALLY heavy but only a few reps? While lean sculpters train higher reps? My trainers used to always get me to train over 15 reps while sculpting, and under when I had to bulk up (say to even out a thigh!). Maybe try higher reps, even if it means going slightly lower in weight (but always lift as high as you can for the intended number of reps)

Nonsense.

"Bulk" on women happen because there's a layer of fat over the muscles you're working on.

Sarauk2sf

The email from the personal trainer was pretty spot on.

Assuming you are eating at a deficit, it will not be you getting 'bulky'. Women eating at a deficit, who are new to training, can only gain approx 1 - 2lb of muscle (newbie gains) and that is all over your body. This is not enough to make your thighs huge. If your pants are snug it will be water retention in the muscles. I know that when I do legs at the gym my jeans are a little more snug around the thighs due to this. It is temporary (to a degree as if you keep working them the retention will stay to a degree) and is not muscle.

Cranktastic

The email from the personal trainer was pretty spot on.

Assuming you are eating at a deficit, it will not be you getting 'bulky'. Women eating at a deficit, who are new to training, can only gain approx 1 - 2lb of muscle (newbie gains) and that is all over your body. This is not enough to make your thighs huge. If your pants are snug it will be water retention in the muscles. I know that when I do legs at the gym my jeans are a little more snug around the thighs due to this. It is temporary (to a degree as if you keep working them the retention will stay to a degree) and is not muscle.

loved that email...think i will save it.

geekyjock76

Same here in regards to the email. If that is your trainer, it seems you have an intelligent one who is worth keeping and gaining knowledge from.

Cranktastic

In fact OP, i think it would be GREAT if you started a topic with that email!!!!!!!

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

I will say from experience that it has also happened to me--I'm not a been at lifting nor am I uninformed about weight loss, hormones, or physiological changes due to weight lifting. I can tell you that without a doubt my butt and thighs got bigger as I started lifting heavier--that's not to say that it looks bad but it is inconsistent with my personal goals. I have since stopped squatting so heavy--just my per sonal choice. I'm sorry but although most people here are well intentioned I don't think that saying "it's water retention" is necessarily accurate.

I'd say just continue lifting--since you love it and buy new pants if possible. That's what I did --I intend on slimming them down again via diet and less taxing weight lifting. For now I'm just not wearing those pants.

skrakalaka

Thanks for posting this topic, it's a sore point for me as well. I've always had fat thighs, even at my skinniest. Every time I've taken up weight training my thighs have temporarily grown even bigger and more solid, making me go up a pant size. This caused me to stop working out in the past for fear that they would continue to bulk up. Not very encouraging. However, by finally sticking with it, strength training and eating properly my legs eventually started to shrink. I'm not where I want to be yet but I am making progress.
Another thing I noticed is that the more muscle I build in my legs the easier it is to distinguish the muscle form the fat. not very pretty, but motivation to keep going. My advice is to keep strength training and not less this discourage you.

toomuchbootyindapants

Show me yours, and I'll show you mine. I am squatting 160# - lower reps. But my legs are strong like bull. hahah That upper inner thigh chub isn't going away as fast as I'd like and I guess I'm just gonna have to get used to it...but my quads are like WUT so I'm okay with the thickness because I know they are strong. And to be honest - I've received wayyy more compliments on my legs from the men on this site than any other part of my body (okay, maybe that's not true, I did get a lot of *kitten* compliments too).

californiagirl2012

Feeling a bit down at the fact that all my trousers and leggings are extremely tight on my thighs!! I've always had 'skinny' legs and since doing weights my thighs have bulked up!! So now I have loose waistband but can't go down a size as the thighs won't fit!!

I currently do 3 days in the gym doing weights, usually about 45-60 mins, mostly use the machines but do some free weights too. I do quite high weight on low rep and then i do a spinning class and another day in the gym but cardio only.

Ive always been petite as im only 5ft 2 and i love doing weights and love that its toning me up but ive never had a problem with big thighs and clothes being too tight just in that area. Any tips on what i should be doing or what i might be doing wrong? Thanks in advance

I'm 5'1" and I lift heavy, light, always changing it up. But I have developed muscles in my legs, but when my legs feel "bulky" it's fat and water. If I lose more fat they slim down. Even 1-2% body fat seems to make the difference for me and determines whether I fit into my skinny jeans or not. Not that I care, if those jeans don't fit I have another pair that does. It's just something I've noticed. People laugh at me when I say I feel "fat" LOL, I'm not fat, but I know my body and I notice that extra 1-2% bf and that's when I "feel fat" (not in a bad way, it's just noticing the difference). Your fat and water do fluctuate a bit. You don't eat exactly the same every day, water fluctuations happen. Even at maintenance you fluctuate. It's not like you reach a certain weight and just stay exactly there all the time.

Girls really don't develop much muscle. I seem to be genetically able to build more muscle than most girls and the DXA scan shows that I really didn't gain much lean body mass. I've been lifting heavy for over 30 years and it really has not caused me to bulk up. It just not happen that way for females (unless they take something to overcome their genetics and hormones).

If you are sore it could be because of retaining water from DOMS. Otherwise it's water and fat, only a DXA scan would prove it.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I say keep the muscle and buy different jeans. I have large thighs, unfortunately mine is mostly fat. I buy curvy cut jeans; I like Lees 515. They have a smaller waist and more relaxed thighs. It took me years to stop trying to fit into jeans that just weren't the right shape, so it may take trying on a lot of pairs, but I think it's worth it to keep your muscle.

julesboots

Get your pants tailored.

This. Or buy some nice belts. Loose pant waist is a problem for me, too- but I think it's a fairly small problem to have.

topshopperwantabe

bump

cailinlowe

lower weights, more reps

RobynLB

I also find that cardio is enough to sculpt my legs. I run hills. I also do plenty of squats, burpees, and squat jumps in boxing class. I hate, hate, hate squat jumps and burpees, but I think that my thighs have actually gottena a hair smaller doing them. For people who put on muscle easily, lifting may be overkill. It's all about what works for your body. Anyways thick thighs are hot as heck, just get new pants.

Capt_Apollo

i really like that email

rebeccap13

I've always had larger thighs, I blame the constant squatting from volleyball and then the excess fat I carried on top of it. They are starting to lean out though... NOT to be read as getting skinny, they're getting solid. The squish is going away and I'm getting stronger. The pants thing has always been an issue for me, my butt and thighs aren't a big fan of most cuts of jeans.

Lifting isn't making you bulky, I promise that. Your trainer's email was AWESOME, btw. I would say if you want to get leaner, you're going to have to work on a little more of a deficit. Cardio isn't sculpting either, if you're adding it into a lifting routine and keeping your caloric intake constant its merely creating a higher caloric deficit which is probably just putting you into a "cut".

HeidiMightyRawr

It's probably water retention, or a little extra muscle AS WELL AS extra fat, which can make legs appear bulky. Not the muscle alone. On a deficit, the amount of muscle you are going to gain from lifting heavy is very minimal. Lifting heavy (low reps) only made me smaller / less bulky when combined with a calorie deficit.

I now have the same "problem" as you now, but except I love it. I'm aiming for that and eating 3000+ calories alongside training to get the extra muscle. Basically, it comes down to food / fat levels (and water retention).

There is no reason to go lighter and higher reps, lifting heavy for low reps is not what bulks you up! Bulky powerlifters are that way because they eat to get that way. There are tons of small, have-not-much-muscle powerlifting girls out there that lift a ton. Why? Because they train and eat for strength, not size, and training for strength means more weight, less reps.

Hope that helps somewhat

kuger4119

The comments about water retention are probably spot on. I typically lose 2-3 lbs of water weight if I don't lift for 3-4 days. Also, you may be gaining muscle in your thighs but not losing much fat there yet (stupid genetics!). In time, if you continue to increase lean muscle mass and reduce fat, you'll see the thighs disappear.

For me as a man, I retain fat around my mid-section. I've got minimal fat on most of my body, but the gut is still well rounded. I've made progress as time as gone on though.

BondBomb

lower weights, more reps

Bad advice.

Aviendha_RJ

I have a couple of questions regarding the email from the personal trainer:

I rarely witness women with big thunder thighs working heavy with the weight equipment. However, women who lift heavy with their legs almost always have lean, shapely, firm legs. The few women I do see lifting heavy, who actually have big thighs, are big all over: overall excess body fat. My recommendation: To trim big thighs, hit the weights hard - and heavy. Heavy weight workouts in a woman will incinerate fat, resulting in smaller, firmer gams!

So... like the OP, I'm ALL legs. Each of my legs is nearly the same number of inches around as my WAIST. I'm really QUITE bottom-heavy. I've been walking on a HARD incline at the gym for an hour for the past few weeks. By walking, I mean like... 12-15, speed 3.5-4.0 depending on how active I'm feeling that day. I was told by a bodybuilder at the gym this works WONDERS for burning fat & toning legs, & trust me, there is BURN when I'm doing this.

But... what about my cellulite? I know that cellulite is just little pockets of fat between the muscle/skin fibres that cause the skin to look dimpled. How do you make it go away? From burning high calories on the treadmill, I've managed to ditch the cellulite on my lower legs, but not the upper. Is this something that will just come with time as I get closer to my goal weight? Please bear in mind, that I'm realistic, & realize at age 30 I'm not going to be the 120lbs I was in high school. My goal is actually to be around 140-145, so I'm within 10lbs of that now.

You mention "lean, toned legs", but are these on people who've always had them? What about the rest of us? Will the cellulite EVER leave, or is this just something I'll have to deal with for the rest of my life?