Tracy Anderson "Spinning bulks your thighs"

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newbeginningsbob
newbeginningsbob Posts: 25 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I was wondering what you all your opinions are on this article?

http://www.redbookmag.com/health-wellness/advice/benefits-of-spinning

I took a spin class for the first time before Christmas and really enjoyed it. I had planned to take it up 2 or 3 times a week to vary my cardio. Seeing this article puts me off a bit because I'm a pear shaped woman. Most weight I gain goes to the bottom part of my body. So do you think there isn't much truth to this or have you've spinned regularly and seen your thighs bulk up too much?

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  • allen_ac
    allen_ac Posts: 64 Member
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    Because of female genetics and hormones, women will generally gain weight predominantly on their legs and hips (i.e, thighs, love handles etc.)

    Again, female hormones, you do not produce enough testosterone that allows you to 'bulk up'

    Women do not look bulky when building muscle, they get that look that is labelled as 'toned', that being said there is no 'shaping or toning muscle' it's just the effects of muscle building

    Secondly, if you're not constantly in caloric surplus, you will not really build all that much muscle anyway
    Not to mention, spin classes is more cardiovascular based and is not anything close to strength/weight training, so you are only going to build only so much muscle (not much at all TBH)

    So forget about those dumb myths that are spread, if you work out your legs, you will have legs like a female sports athlete

    The exceptions of the women who look 'bulky' are people who have been training for more than 5+ years consistently (still very difficult, you'd have to have pretty good genetics on top of it) the other scenario is that a lot of them take steroids / PED's
  • newbeginningsbob
    newbeginningsbob Posts: 25 Member
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    Ya you are probably right... just another dumb myth! :smile:
  • lukeosb
    lukeosb Posts: 10
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    Believe me, unless your training for 1k sprints on the bike, spinning/ cycling are not going to bulk your legs up. this is especially true for women, a lot of women are afraid of 'bulking' or turning into a she hulk but they dont understand how difficult it is to gain muscle even for men. Without the higher testosterone muscle gains are going to be minimal.

    Spinning is a great way to get fit and i wholly recommend it
  • Leadfoot_Lewis
    Leadfoot_Lewis Posts: 1,623 Member
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    OP - The best advice I can give you is to ignore ANYTHING that Tracy Anderson says.
  • obrientp
    obrientp Posts: 546 Member
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    I've been taking spin classes twice a week for years, and I've experience the benefits, but not bulky thighs at all.
  • LeanButNotMean44
    LeanButNotMean44 Posts: 852 Member
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    OP - The best advice I can give you is to ignore ANYTHING that Tracy Anderson says.

    THIS. I read an article about this as well, and it sounds like Tracy Anderson has a vendetta against Soul Cycle (the Spin studio mentioned numerous times in the article I read). So there's that......
  • Binky_Muffin
    Binky_Muffin Posts: 191 Member
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    I have very toned legs and don't do much weight training. I attribute this to cycling. I ride a hilly route during the summer and cycle with a high resistance indoors. Can that cause muscle gain? I'm not at all bulky or anything. Not that it would bother me anyways.

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