Squats and lunges made my thighs huge. Help?

ObsessedMonster
ObsessedMonster Posts: 150 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I did my "research" a while ago and found out that squats and lunges are good for pear shaped women if they want slimmer/toned legs. I started incorporating squats in my exercise plan 2 years ago and increased the my weights by 10kg in the past 2 months. I noticed when I took recent pictures of myself that while I'm at a healthy weight, my thighs have gotten huge. I haven't been drinking protein shakes either, yet this still happened. The rest of me is thin, but my thighs look disproportionately larger than the rest of me. Should I stop doing squats/lunges? I wasn't expecting this to happen and I'm definitely not happy with the results.
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Replies

  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    Pics of your huge thighs/skinny body so that we may give truly informed advice.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    I did my "research" a while ago and found out that squats and lunges are good for pear shaped women if they want slimmer/toned legs. I started incorporating squats in my exercise plan 2 years ago and increased the my weights by 10kg in the past 2 months. I noticed when I took recent pictures of myself that while I'm at a healthy weight, my thighs have gotten huge. I haven't been drinking protein shakes either, yet this still happened. The rest of me is thin, but my thighs look disproportionately larger than the rest of me. Should I stop doing squats/lunges? I wasn't expecting this to happen and I'm definitely not happy with the results.

    Have you gained or lost weight in the past 2 years?

    Also, do you have any measurements of your thighs before and after?
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
    Before and after thigh measurement, including body weight pls. thx.
  • LishieFruit89
    LishieFruit89 Posts: 1,956 Member
    Before and after thigh measurement, including body weight pls. thx.


    Yeah, this.

    I doubt your thighs have gotten "huge" with a 20# increase in what youre lifting in two months. Unless you're eating too much and taking roids
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
    :ohwell:

    Pics or it didn't happen.
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
    rightttt
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
    Just thinking outside the box (as in your statement sounds doubtful) but you do realize spot reduction is not possible so maybe just maybe you have dropped weight from other areas of your body thus creating the illusion of larger thighs eg thinner waist.
  • ashleyisgreat
    ashleyisgreat Posts: 586 Member
    In for gargantuan thighs.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    You say that you are pear shaped, which means that your thighs and butt are the last to lose fat. If the rest of you is losing fat and your legs aren't it could look a bit disproportioned. Highly unlikely that your muscles are getting huge. The only way to know for sure would be to take measurements. I'm actually trying to build muscle and focus a lot on my legs. Even at a calorie surplus with lots of protein I might be lucky to gain 1/4 of an inch in 8 weeks and most of that is fat.
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
    You say that you are pear shaped, which means that your thighs and butt are the last to lose fat. If the rest of you is losing fat and your legs aren't it could look a bit disproportioned. Highly unlikely that your muscles are getting huge. The only way to know for sure would be to take measurements. I'm actually trying to build muscle and focus a lot on my legs. Even at a calorie surplus with lots of protein I might be lucky to gain 1/4 of an inch in 8 weeks and most of that is fat.
    yep yep yep!

    Most of us have to fight tooth and nail for significant gains in muscle and mass...even at a significant surplus with highly monitored macro intake.

    OP if you have found a way of building muscle mass quickly you shall indeed be very rich if you patent the technique.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    I get this a lot from clients that are pear shaped. Lower body doesn't lose as much fat as the upper. It's genetics. The right thing to do is keep doing it. Eventually you will proportion out.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    Huv they........aye? (Scottish accent required)
  • Dewymorning
    Dewymorning Posts: 762 Member
    I feel like my thighs are bigger compared to the rest of my body.

    Measurements show I have lost 1 cm off my thighs, and 7 cms off my waist.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    I must have overlooked the empirical data from measurements.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Still waiting for said "big" thighs. :yawn:
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
    Still waiting for said "big" thighs. :yawn:
    JmmjhyF.jpg
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    Dear Diary,

    Today the OP did NOT deliver.

    Sucks,

    Achrya
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
    You say that you are pear shaped, which means that your thighs and butt are the last to lose fat. If the rest of you is losing fat and your legs aren't it could look a bit disproportioned. Highly unlikely that your muscles are getting huge. The only way to know for sure would be to take measurements. I'm actually trying to build muscle and focus a lot on my legs. Even at a calorie surplus with lots of protein I might be lucky to gain 1/4 of an inch in 8 weeks and most of that is fat.

    All of this.
  • MizMiami305
    MizMiami305 Posts: 188 Member
    You lie!
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Hyoooooooge.

    It was the squats, not the intake.
  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
    If only gaining huge amounts of muscle was as easy as the OP described...
  • janesmith1
    janesmith1 Posts: 1,511 Member
    I did my "research" a while ago and found out that squats and lunges are good for pear shaped women if they want slimmer/toned legs. I started incorporating squats in my exercise plan 2 years ago and increased the my weights by 10kg in the past 2 months. I noticed when I took recent pictures of myself that while I'm at a healthy weight, my thighs have gotten huge. I haven't been drinking protein shakes either, yet this still happened. The rest of me is thin, but my thighs look disproportionately larger than the rest of me. Should I stop doing squats/lunges? I wasn't expecting this to happen and I'm definitely not happy with the results.

    I can't tell you what to do, but I also have HUGE buns & HUGE thighs. I am doing the Brazil Butt Lift and I'm finding that things are looser in that area, you know what I mean? I bought mine off of ebay for less than $44. All I can say is trust Leandro Carvalho (the BBL guy), he trains supermodels.

    I was reading the reviews of ChaLean (another Beach Body program) & some people said the same thing you did, lifting heavy with ChaLean made their thighs get big. So, it's a gamble it seems. Not everyone is the same. Probably, for most women, lifting heavy reduces fat & makes them lean. I've seen those pix on MFP, but for some, it seems that lifting heavy gives them the big thighs they don't want.

    I would stop lifting so heavily, get Leandro's Brazil Butt Lift program. You can friend me if you like. TGC.
  • erialcelyob
    erialcelyob Posts: 341 Member
    I'm more pear shaped and I put on muscle very easily, but I love it! If I can't have much up top I'm making the most of my legs and my butt
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    I am guessing because most of your fat is on your thighs, doing leg work has built up muscle under the fat, pushing the thigh shape outwards. Same goes for anyone who says it made their thighs bigger whilst others got slimmer.

    If you keep going and eat the right amount of calories for a deficit, in the long run, I'd imagine you'd achieve what you want - ie the fat will eventually lower in the thigh area.

    When I started training legs, my thighs got notably bigger but there was no muscle shape (I guess the thigh muscles responded very quickly to the exercise). Nowadays, I'm lifting much heavier (obviously, I've been training for 2 years) and there's little fat on my thighs so I have more shape to my legs. From the front, I can see 3 main clumps of muscle - above the knee, front of thigh, inner thigh.

    I think the issue is down to people wanting results immediately. The muscle can respond more immediately if it's underused - but the fat doesn't disappear as quickly.
  • Jennilyn79
    Jennilyn79 Posts: 30 Member
    Absolutely don't stop squats, worst advice ever. Keep lifting heavy, continue to eat a cleaner diet and you will lose that body fat over your legs that's making them appear bulky in comparison to the rest of your body :)
  • janesmith1
    janesmith1 Posts: 1,511 Member
    OP, I looked this up and possibly this answer will help you as well. This personal trainer says to do more cardio.

    http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080217102929AADsBuA

    Also, I want to re-iterate what I said above, get the BBL, it's actually pretty miraculous what it's doing for mer.
  • Jennilyn79
    Jennilyn79 Posts: 30 Member
    OP, in the above link the personal trainer also says that more muscle burns more fat and that you need a cleaner diet ;)
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  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    Well for a start, "pear shaped" means you're genetically prone to store more fat in your lower body. Squats and lunges won't spot reduce fat, nothing will. You just have to lose overall body fat and this will come off your thighs in time. Chances are you will always have proportionally larger thighs than your upper body though (unless you build up your upper body with muscle)

    Squats and lunges will however, allow you to maintain or build muscle in that area. Building or maintaining depends on how much you're eating. If you're in a surplus, you'll gain fat and muscle. If you're in a deficit, you'll lose fat and maintain muscle.

    Take measurements for a good representation of whether you're actually gaining size. If you are, take a look at your diary and how much you're eating. The culprit is usually that you're eating too much, but also when you're new to an exercise regime, your body may hold onto extra water for a while. Give it time and this will go back down to normal.

    You may find you're not even gaining any size, but sometimes it just seems like it when you lose fat, and gain more definition (revealing muscles underneath)

    ETA: Have the changes taken place in 2 years or 2 months? If you've been squatting for 2 years and have only recently been unhappy with results, chances are something else has changed here. I wouldn't stop the squats.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    Please supply before and after thigh and waist measurements.

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