CYCLING & chunky legs..

you don't have muscular legs, you need to lose all the bulky fat on your calves. Fat makes you look bulky not muscle, your legs are fat.

I am experienced at both being a male human being and as an athlete and gym enthusiast.

I have never... and I mean NEVER seen a woman who was not blown up on steroids with lean legs that were "too muscular" or "too bulky". I've known world-class athletes, including a woman who threw the discus in the Olympics.. yet none of them had "bulky" legs.

So the woman with "too muscular" legs continues to be, to me, as real as bigfoot.

Muscular legs on women is SO hot.. and it looks SO good in jeans or in a short skirt or form-fitting dress. Looks so much better than fat and so much better than skinnyfat. Muscle is also very metabolically active, so if you build leg muscles, they turn into calorie-burning factories.

I agree. I would add that I've certainly seen women with bulky legs that were otherwise HWP. However those legs were almost certainly a function of their genetics; the chances that they resulted from cycling, or weightlifting or any other athletic/fitness type activity is very, very small.

^^This!! I read this after posting my response!

I can tell you that cycling is the ONLY exercise that helped me to lean out and LOVE my chunky legs. Before that, at the age of 27, I had NEVER seen my ligaments/tendons around my knees but after taking up biking, my muscles became sleeker, my calves are fierce, my butt looks great (if I do say so myself,) and I can finally wear shorts, (part the way my legs have changed and part the boost in confidence,). I'm not going to lie and say that it made me have a "thigh gap" or that the cellulite vanished, but it really helped my muscles to "pop" versus the way that they always looked like stuffed sausages, (even when I was 125lbs in high school,)

Plus, it's just so dang fun to bike. Don't let old myths scare you away from it!

Bump! I have the same issue. I swear my legs are more than half of my body weight, they build muscle like crazy. I have man calves and can't wear 90% of knee-high boots

Me too! I weigh 194lbs, I'm 5'7" and I have a 32" waist! I look at other people who weigh the same as me and they usually have quite a few extra inches on their waist and I'm like 'why do I weigh so friggin much??' until I look down lol. And then when I work out they get firmer and more toned - but not smaller!

And yeah knee high boots...I look for that little elastic strip that some of them have , if they don't have it there's pretty much no point in trying them on!

Me, too. I actually was able to fit into my first pair of knee high boots this summer and posted on fb that I was so surprised/excited that I felt I should buy my spin instructor dinner to celebrate and thank him!

I've always had large legs (mostly big quads) but I have noticed my legs have gotten much more shapely and defined thanks to Spinning for almost a year now. Even with lifting a little, there's no bulking going on.

I don't know if anyone has suggested it yet but if you're planning on being in the seat for a while invest in some GOOD padded bike shorts/capris/pants whatever until your bajingo gets used to it. Also the make sure your bike shorts are long enough to protect your inner thighs too.

Cycling has been really good to me, I hope it's good to you too! :happy:

Yes! ****'s Sporting Goods has a nice Canari liner short that you can put under almost any pant. However, when I use the upright and recumbent stationary bikes at my gym, I don't need the biking shorts. Maybe I'm used to it, though? I *never* got used to a "real" or spin bike's seat, no matter how often I did it!

P.S. If you are looking to "shape" your legs even more, in addition to weighted squats/leg presses, I do calf raises and leg curls---strong hamstrings and calves (hypertrophied by weight bearing exercises,) will really transform (in a good way) the look of naturally thick legs.

all of you come to grips with reality, you have big fat calves. (sorry for being blunt) exercise and a caloric deficit is the only way, bulking is IMPOSSIBLE with out a caloric surplus FACT!!

all of you come to grips with reality, you have big fat calves. (sorry for being blunt) exercise and a caloric deficit is the only way, bulking is IMPOSSIBLE with out a caloric surplus FACT!!

LOL! What a guy thing to say---true or not I guess you can kiss my big, fat calves (and any other big fat part of me that "bulked" unnecessarily).

I don't think any of us were saying that we grew "super calf muscles" that defy science. However, it is indisputable that genetics play into how fat accumulates on the body and, obviously if a person (especially a woman's) body tends to hold fat on the legs, developing or making gains with the muscle underneath fat will add extra "bulk" (even if it isn't the technical kind,). Like a previous poster stated, even with excess fat on the legs, (or calves,) if you are working/training muscles that previously were underused, then it will look better/more toned than before. I think that's what the previously posting ladies are striving for since obviously our legs are the part we have to work on the most.

Otherwise, why would many of us (who are eating at a deficit,) lose inches everywhere (even hips/thighs) except for our calves, some even gaining a half inch or so despite cycling and lifting? Is the fat sliding down to pool at our big, fat calves?

But still, your comment made me laugh, shake my head and be glad that I am (and have been) out of the dating pool.