thighs appears to be getting larger from Insanity workout

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Ok, so I noticed that my thighs appear to be rubbing together more than usual. I am now three weeks into working out with insanity, I am not bored with it as yet, but I certainly don't want my thighs bulking up on me. Has anyone gone through this experience?

Replies

  • BOGmama2010
    BOGmama2010 Posts: 599 Member
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    How is your eating? How many calories, etc.? Are you losing weight? I wouldn't think that you would bulk up in 3 weeks and with such intense cardio, I would be surprised if you would bulk up at all.
  • Becka77
    Becka77 Posts: 284 Member
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    I did a bootcamp where they made us do P90X and I got huge. It was really gross. I kept telling them I wanted to get smaller, not bigger, but they just didn't get it. I lost 20 lbs but I actually got bigger. My pants that were loose by several inches around the legs when I started got so tight that I could barely pull them up. Also, my delts and shoulders got really big which gave me the neck of a body builder. It was horrible. I had to quit working out for 4 months to shrink my muscles back down to normal and start over.

    Personally I think those type of workouts are for people who are already at an average weight who just want to tone up. I DO NOT recommend them to anyone who is overweight (or in my case majorly overweight) because you are using your own weight as resistance and it is too much weight to be lifting if you are trying to lose.
  • auttyfrmca
    auttyfrmca Posts: 125 Member
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    I did a bootcamp where they made us do P90X and I got huge. It was really gross. I kept telling them I wanted to get smaller, not bigger, but they just didn't get it. I lost 20 lbs but I actually got bigger. My pants that were loose by several inches around the legs when I started got so tight that I could barely pull them up. Also, my delts and shoulders got really big which gave me the neck of a body builder. It was horrible. I had to quit working out for 4 months to shrink my muscles back down to normal and start over.

    Personally I think those type of workouts are for people who are already at an average weight who just want to tone up. I DO NOT recommend them to anyone who is overweight (or in my case majorly overweight) because you are using your own weight as resistance and it is too much weight to be lifting if you are trying to lose.

    P90X and insanity are very different. I "bulked" you could say with p90X but I agree if you aren't wanting to get big muscles that show it's probably easier to wati until you get more weight off. Insanity is very high intensity cardio BUT if you are prone to get big muscles in your legs I can see it happening. My friend grew an inch around her calves!
    you wouldn't think you'd get bigger but do. I have instructors who swear that if you continue the fat will break down from the muscles doing their job so keep it up! (that's not really said medically but I'm kind of paraphrasing what they told me)
  • sharonsylvester
    sharonsylvester Posts: 52 Member
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    ok, I did do p90X for three weeks before insanity, but I got bored; but the funny thing is I was not bulking up on my legs when I did p90X.
  • SuzanneRogers
    SuzanneRogers Posts: 250 Member
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    The more cardio I do the bigger my legs gets from muscle gain my calves and thighs are bigger. You may need to add in running or jogging to slim them down. Maybe you don't need the type of workout your getting. Try TurboFire you will burn more than Insanity and instead of muscle confusion you get cardio confusion.
  • Alure
    Alure Posts: 30
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    From what I understand if you gain muscle faster than you are losing fat, then technically the measurement around your thigh could go up. However, if you continue eating well and exercising the assumption is that the fat will decrease and the muscle will remain, leaving you with smaller legs in the end....Good luck though. Every body is different and you know yourself.
  • dharmachic
    dharmachic Posts: 21
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    I also have the tendency to have muscular thighs and calves, and my measurements did show them to actually get bigger doing Insanity, especially with all the plyo, squats and jumping. Same thing with my arms with the pushups. So I started doing Tracy Anderson's Mat Workout every other day - her method is to tighten and tone like a dancer's body - and I have to say, her arm and leg workouts are challenging and they work! Since then, my thighs, calves and arms have all slimmed down noticeably.

    Just my 2 cents...
  • ranhound
    ranhound Posts: 59 Member
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    Remember ladies, only women want or think they should have skinny legs. Guys (at least me anyway) love a curvy, shapely leg. An athletic leg will always look good. Just don't go squatting or leg pressing with heavy poundages like a weightlifter or body builder. Swim or walk or jog for your legs. Nothing wrong with a little meat on the calf muscle either. I vote for shape and leaness over size.:flowerforyou:
  • sharonsylvester
    sharonsylvester Posts: 52 Member
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    I have always have curves, I was never a thin straight girl so no worries on that end for me.:happy:
  • cutmd
    cutmd Posts: 1,168 Member
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    From what I understand if you gain muscle faster than you are losing fat, then technically the measurement around your thigh could go up. However, if you continue eating well and exercising the assumption is that the fat will decrease and the muscle will remain, leaving you with smaller legs in the end....Good luck though. Every body is different and you know yourself.

    This is what happened to me during insanity. I also think I was retaining water from all the muscle strain. I even started a threadt on the beachbody forum called, "why are my thighs rubbing together?" :embarassed: But by the end of insanity, my lower body looked much better and my thighs looked and felt slim! So I think it was water retention in the muscle > muscle gain.

    In any case, it was temporary. Keep it up!
  • Barneystinson
    Barneystinson Posts: 1,357 Member
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    It's temporary water retention - may take a few weeks to bust through it. I'm going through the same thing right now as I've added running into my weekly workout schedule. Just stick with it and you'll begin to see more slim definition in your legs!
  • rero
    rero Posts: 24
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    OP are you bottom heavy? because even when my legs have a low amount of fat they can get huge because they bulk incredibly fast. are you just trying to lose weight or gain a certain figure?
  • sharonsylvester
    sharonsylvester Posts: 52 Member
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    OP are you bottom heavy? because even when my legs have a low amount of fat they can get huge because they bulk incredibly fast. are you just trying to lose weight or gain a certain figure?


    I am trying to lose weight, and slim down on my stomach area. I am not pear shaped.
  • kmurph235
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    Hey...i was wondering if insanity will make you less curvy in the spots you want to be. I just want to lost a few inches around my waist and thighs. i know im bound to lose some in my chest and butt but will it be alot? thanks!!!
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
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    old threads!!
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
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    Oh good lord... *necro thread* :noway:

    /leaves slowly
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    These old threads are all over the place now...

    I still like the "I got a bodybuilder neck from P90X and I had to stop working out to make my muscles smaller" line. I legit LOL'd.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
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    Ok, glad I realized this was started 3 years ago. Half these people have probably given up on MFP by now because they accidentally got to bulky.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Oops old thread, should have checked before responding