DVD recommendations for thighs that can get too bulky.

massoia · April 2014

Hello all

I'd really like to hear your views on something. This is something that's always effected me and I've rarely seen a balanced discussion of the subject. Well, I thought MFP would be the ideal place to come for a balanced discussion. :-) Forgive me, this is going to be quite a long post...

I've always been reasonably strong, fit and healthy. When I was in my teens I liked to jog/run and of course participated in the usual sports classes at school In my 20s I did a lot of aerobics and danced a lot. Now I'm in my 30s my options (because of a permanent nerve injury in my leg) for exercise are more limited. Basically, I can barely move my left foot. Running isn't impossible, but is a little precarious. Dancing is out because my foot just doesn't move like that any more. I now use aerobics DVDs at home and am quite happy to do that as long as it keeps me moving.

Ever since I was in my late teens I have known that the muscles in my thighs can build up very easily. I read over and over and over that women can't bulk up, they can't get big muscles, unless they are taking hormones or steriods, etc. Every time I read this I wonder if people ever pause to consider that 'big' and 'bulky' are relative terms, highly subjective, particularly when one is describing one's own body! The simple fact is that whether anyone likes this or not, my thigh muscles DO look much bigger very, very quickly if I do squats/lunges etc. That's not because I'm taking aforementioned chemicals and supplements, it's not because I exercise for hours and hours every day, it's not because I'm squatting with heavy weights and it's not because I'm at the start of a fitness regime and need to lose the fat that is covering newly toned/shaped muscles. Even when my body fat percentage was comparatively low (about 22% when I was at my fittest, dancing and running a lot), if I started any exercise class or DVD that involved squats and lunges I would see a dramatic difference in my thighs in a very short space of time.

My upper body is slim, as are my calves, so when I'm not dealing with the fat that tends to settle on my thighs, I have been busy watching out for bulkier thigh muscles. It just looks out of proportion to the rest of my body, leaves me with a look I don’t like, even though I do strength training for my arms. I've never avoided strength training because I don't like muscle, I believe strength training is really important and have never aspired to have a super-duper slender frame because it simply isn't how I'm built. You know how some women naturally have teeny tiny slender frames, that model look? Well I don't and I have never wasted time trying to acheive something impossible! I'm slim, but not *that* slim.

Whenever I look for tips from other people who appear to have a similar body type, any questions they pose on a forum about preventing thighs from getting bulky are more or less immediately shot down by people who only reply with the battlecry "But women's muscles CAN'T get bulky!". What's bulky to one person may not qualify as bulky to another. Or perhaps it's simply that some people find it impossible to comprehend that something which they have not personally experienced does in fact happen to other people.

I've been a little unwell recently and need to get back on the fitness wagon. I'll mix cardio with some weights and Pilates-style work. I want to shift some of the body fat and replace it with a little muscle. I'm not terribly strong at the moment, in fact this is only the second time in my life I've been so out of shape, although again this is relative and I am still about 127lbs at 5' 7" tall. It's just that I've been VERY inactive for the last few months. I have quite a few Leslie Sanson DVDs which I've found pretty good in thepast. The moves are basic but it's really easy to ramp up the intensity just by making the moves really big, or adding light hand weights for large portions of the routines. I'd like to find some new ones to add to the mix and with the demise of Collage Video really need some help with my research please! As I mentioned above, routines that require very complex footwork are out. My legs are reasonably strong and my balance is fair, which is how I'm able to get through even the faster/more complex sections of Leslie Sansone, but what other DVDs might be suitable please? The Peak 10 videos are on my radar, do you have any views on those. Turbofire doesn’t really appeal (too many quick changes and FAST moves can trip me up, quite literally!). Lots of the really popular ones (Jillian Michaels for example) seem to use a lot of squats and those will bulk up my thighs in no time.

I’d really, really appreciate your help. It would be particularly helpful to hear from people who think they have similar issues with building too much muscle too easily. I’m new here!

3dogsrunning · April 2014

Hello all

I'd really like to hear your views on something. This is something that's always effected me and I've rarely seen a balanced discussion of the subject. Well, I thought MFP would be the ideal place to come for a balanced discussion. :-) Forgive me, this is going to be quite a long post...

I've always been reasonably strong, fit and healthy. When I was in my teens I liked to jog/run and of course participated in the usual sports classes at school In my 20s I did a lot of aerobics and danced a lot. Now I'm in my 30s my options (because of a permanent nerve injury in my leg) for exercise are more limited. Basically, I can barely move my left foot. Running isn't impossible, but is a little precarious. Dancing is out because my foot just doesn't move like that any more. I now use aerobics DVDs at home and am quite happy to do that as long as it keeps me moving.

Ever since I was in my late teens I have known that the muscles in my thighs can build up very easily. I read over and over and over that women can't bulk up, they can't get big muscles, unless they are taking hormones or steriods, etc. Every time I read this I wonder if people ever pause to consider that 'big' and 'bulky' are relative terms, highly subjective, particularly when one is describing one's own body! The simple fact is that whether anyone likes this or not, my thigh muscles DO look much bigger very, very quickly if I do squats/lunges etc. That's not because I'm taking aforementioned chemicals and supplements, it's not because I exercise for hours and hours every day, it's not because I'm squatting with heavy weights and it's not because I'm at the start of a fitness regime and need to lose the fat that is covering newly toned/shaped muscles. Even when my body fat percentage was comparatively low (about 22% when I was at my fittest, dancing and running a lot), if I started any exercise class or DVD that involved squats and lunges I would see a dramatic difference in my thighs in a very short space of time.

My upper body is slim, as are my calves, so when I'm not dealing with the fat that tends to settle on my thighs, I have been busy watching out for bulkier thigh muscles. It just looks out of proportion to the rest of my body, leaves me with a look I don’t like, even though I do strength training for my arms. I've never avoided strength training because I don't like muscle, I believe strength training is really important and have never aspired to have a super-duper slender frame because it simply isn't how I'm built. You know how some women naturally have teeny tiny slender frames, that model look? Well I don't and I have never wasted time trying to acheive something impossible! I'm slim, but not *that* slim.

Whenever I look for tips from other people who appear to have a similar body type, any questions they pose on a forum about preventing thighs from getting bulky are more or less immediately shot down by people who only reply with the battlecry "But women's muscles CAN'T get bulky!". What's bulky to one person may not qualify as bulky to another. Or perhaps it's simply that some people find it impossible to comprehend that something which they have not personally experienced does in fact happen to other people.

I've been a little unwell recently and need to get back on the fitness wagon. I'll mix cardio with some weights and Pilates-style work. I want to shift some of the body fat and replace it with a little muscle. I'm not terribly strong at the moment, in fact this is only the second time in my life I've been so out of shape, although again this is relative and I am still about 127lbs at 5' 7" tall. It's just that I've been VERY inactive for the last few months. I have quite a few Leslie Sanson DVDs which I've found pretty good in thepast. The moves are basic but it's really easy to ramp up the intensity just by making the moves really big, or adding light hand weights for large portions of the routines. I'd like to find some new ones to add to the mix and with the demise of Collage Video really need some help with my research please! As I mentioned above, routines that require very complex footwork are out. My legs are reasonably strong and my balance is fair, which is how I'm able to get through even the faster/more complex sections of Leslie Sansone, but what other DVDs might be suitable please? The Peak 10 videos are on my radar, do you have any views on those. Turbofire doesn’t really appeal (too many quick changes and FAST moves can trip me up, quite literally!). Lots of the really popular ones (Jillian Michaels for example) seem to use a lot of squats and those will bulk up my thighs in no time.

I’d really, really appreciate your help. It would be particularly helpful to hear from people who think they have similar issues with building too much muscle too easily. I’m new here!

In other words you rarely hear what you want to be told so you are hoping we will tell you?

I have big thighs, muscular legs. I carry a decent amount of muscle. When I start working out, or running, my pants often get a little tighter due to glycogen storage in the muscles, then it evens out and I start to see my legs getting smaller.
Eating at a calorie deficit and exercising - running, walking, elliptical, cycling, squatting heavy, light exercises - all have the same effect, my legs get smaller. I often start losing weight on the top of my body first but eventually I start to lose in my legs.

JoRocka · April 2014

sigh- yes there is some relativity- but the reality is BULK_ means size.

So "women can't get bulky" isn't correct- you can put on some solid size and real definition naturally- but it takes YEARS of comitted work.
Saying women can't get as bulky as professional body builders with out some extra's is pretty correct.

You still aren't going to be putting on appreciable bulk without stead progressive loading- that's REALLY hard to do.

I'm a bottom heavy girl- and doing squats and lunges and dead lifts- haven't made my legs significantly smaller- but they look a heck of a lot better- I have some great squat definition and some real lift on the butt. I've always been well built downstairs- but all that heavy lifting- even with an actual planned bulk to gain significant size only yielded an 1-1.5 inches.

you're perception of your body isn't the same as the reality of thighs that get bulky easily. Because women don't bulk easily. That's just a fact.

Cranquistador · April 2014

pics of thighs please

BusyRaeNOTBusty · April 2014

pics of thighs please

And measurements.

Mine are 24" by they way.

firstsip · April 2014

I appreciate that you've taken the time to write out some answers for questions many of us had, however you left out some key pieces of information.

You kept saying "look." Did your clothes fit differently? Did they fit differently for longer than a month or two (which could simply be glycogen leading to "bloat," which eventually goes away)? Do you have pictures of your legs, and better yet, a before and after of your legs before and after your periods of activity? What are your leg measurements, and you have before and afters of those?

Self-perception is very rarely a thing to be trusted, so perhaps that's why the "balanced discussion" you seek looks so unbalanced. I have people tell me I look thin or fit all the time. I don't see it. I get self-conscious and even upset sometimes at how big the discrepancy seems to be.

So I take very anal measurements and monitor how my clothing fits (even after washing/drying, when clothing is not stretched as much), to determine if my perception really matches what I'm seeing.

JoRocka · April 2014

pics of thighs please

And measurements.

Mine are 24" by they way.

top or bottom?

I only measure quad 4" above the knee

massoia · April 2014

In other words you rarely hear what you want to be told so you are hoping we will tell you?

Please don't make assumptions. That's really offputting to people who are new to forum boards. If that's all I wanted, I'd talk to myself in the bathroom mirror rather than post on an internet forum, don't you think?

You kept saying "look." Did your clothes fit differently? Did they fit differently for longer than a month or two (which could simply be glycogen leading to "bloat," which eventually goes away)?

I honestly couldn't tell you if the problem with fit (and there was a definite difference, none of my trousers or jeans fit my thighs even though my waist etc. were getting smaller) lasted for more than a couple of months. I did used to take measurements if I was trying to lose an inch or two, but I can't remember details now. I'll have to start over again of course. I do remember that it wasn't something that only lasted a couple of weeks, it was stretching into months, but I can't be more precise than that in hindsight, sorry.

I take on board the very good points people have made about perception not always being reliable. I do tend to go by the way clothes fit and by measurements rather than just how I look, because I know that even the position of the mirror can alter the image I see!

I will dig out a tape measure and post some measurements later, but bear in mind that the measurements now will reflect the extra body fat I'm carrying and is not goingt to illustrate the point I made about my thighs in my original post. Not only am I not as fit as I'd like to be, my body composition is very different to what it was when I was exercising a lot and having to deal with the muscle development in my thighs. I suppose I'm pretty much starting from scratch!

I'l take measurements and, in case you think it's relevant, I'll post my weight stats too. We have some scales that measure body fat percentage. I don't know how reliable such things are considered to be, but it can't hurt. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that I'm up at around 28%. Since the injury I've been far less active (only to be expected really!) but now that I'm so much stronger I want to step up my efforts a little. I was doing really well but then I was ill last autumn and in bed for almost a month, and was quite weak and tired for a couple of months afterwards. I can really feel the difference in my hip flexors! It's set me back a bit so I want to get back on track.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply.

roxylola · April 2014

I was a horse rider from being about 11 onwards - had my own, riding daily type thing - and walked everywhere as a child as we had no car. Consequence is I have some pretty strong looking legs and especially my thighs - my quads are squared off at the bottom before I even start to think of lifting, my hamstrings stick out at the back. Skinny jeans are a no no - they literally won't go over my thighs, and a pair of "light control" leggings (I liked the style of them I did not buy them for the control properties) I have are hilarious as they can't squish my legs in as my legs are muscle so trying to get them on is a riot and they quietly work their way down my legs the whole time I have them on - not tight enough at the wiast to keep them up!

I used to hate my legs, they are absolutely solid though so not a thing to be done, other than keep the fat covering them down to a minimum (working on that) and be proud. One thing that has helped is a bit of fitspo on my facebook with some likes for girls lifting pages, as a result I get pictures on there of some seriously stunning ripped women who lift and have muscle and have thighs to be proud of. Like you I know I can never aspire to the teeny tiny look - I see women some days with less muscle on their legs than I have on my arms.

What I have been doing mostly now is working compound lifts and making sure I work my upperbody plenty too. I have, without gaining weight gone up a band size in my bra because my back has developed muscle it did not have before. I have not avoided working my legs as I want what I have to stay strong but I don't focus on it. Mainly my "cardio" is walking my dogs but if I do some I do only a bit as a warm up for lifting - no matter what cardio I do my legs seem to get most of the work and I don't like cardio so...

I have been doing a whole body workout, one day a week there are weighted squats but I am also doing lunges for legs and butt and doing lots of hip thrusts. You are going to struggle to find stuff that does not work legs but works the rest but Strong Curves as a routine has been working well for me.

* Edit to add it's a book not a dvd

massoia · April 2014

I was a horse rider from being about 11 onwards - had my own, riding daily type thing - and walked everywhere as a child as we had no car. Consequence is I have some pretty strong looking legs and especially my thighs - my quads are squared off at the bottom before I even start to think of lifting, my hamstrings stick out at the back. Skinny jeans are a no no - they literally won't go over my thighs, and a pair of "light control" leggings (I liked the style of them I did not buy them for the control properties) I have are hilarious as they can't squish my legs in as my legs are muscle so trying to get them on is a riot and they quietly work their way down my legs the whole time I have them on - not tight enough at the wiast to keep them up!

^ That! I used to ride too, between the ages of 9 and 12 I think. Sooooo with you on the skinny jeans issue. In fact, stretch denim of any style is a no-no with me. Thank you for your suggestions!

Have come to the conclusion that those body fat bathroom scales are a joke. I tried them just now and got the readings 20%, 18.9% and 18% body fat. Hmmmmm.... Unless I have a *severe* BDD (and my OH and family would have told me by now!) those figures all seem highly unlikely. Still can't find my tape measure (there are three of the things somewhere), I might have to buy a new one. I can't remember my last hip and thigh measurements, but I seem to remember something like 29" for my waist. Maybe 36" bust.

tigersword · April 2014

I think this is all in your head. You're already at a rather low weight for your height (BMI of 19.8.) As for the "bulking" thing, impossible if you were eating in a calorie deficit. Literally, impossible. It sounds like body dysmorphia to me.

roxylola · April 2014

Ah, when I say was a rider I am talking about most of the last 20 years in fact not just a few years. Riding competitvely and for a living at one stage infact. With a BMI that low your body fat is possibly right. I would work on eating a bit more and doing some weights so your top becomes a bit stronger and balances out your bottom - sounds like you are just a bit pear shaped really.

massoia · April 2014

I think this is all in your head. You're already at a rather low weight for your height (BMI of 19.8.) As for the "bulking" thing, impossible if you were eating in a calorie deficit. Literally, impossible. It sounds like body dysmorphia to me.

Okay, I think where you're coming from. I know I'm not heavy for my height, but I am concerned mainly with staying strong and toned rather than getting lighter. I hope that a little more muscle, especially toned muscle, will give me a more streamlined look. I think I'm going to have to overcome my hatred of online photos and post a picture of at least my lower half to show how things are at present. My backside and legs really do need tightening up.

Could it be that the problem I had before with my leg muscles developing quickly was partly because I wasn't trying to eat a calorie deficit? I wasn't exercising to lose weight, I was just very active and enjoyed physical activity, so I wasn't watching my calories or weighing myself. I personally have never owned a set of scales, the only reason they're in my home now is that I live with my OH and he watches his weight carefully because he was very overweight up until the age of about 35.

I mentioned in another post that I have bipolar depression. Because of this, I see my doctor every few weeks so that he can keep tabs on things. I have to have full blood tests twice a year because of the meds I take and they check things like my weight on a regular basis. If I genuinely had a body image disorder they would have picked up on it. I'm genuinely grateful to you for your post. Don't forget that the muscle development I'm talking about was happening a few years ago, it's not an issue at this precise moment and at this precise weight - I've been recovering from the nerve injury for the last few years and am just about to start a new fitness kick now that I have the physical strength to do it!

massoia · April 2014

Ah, when I say was a rider I am talking about most of the last 20 years in fact not just a few years. Riding competitvely and for a living at one stage infact. With a BMI that low your body fat is possibly right. I would work on eating a bit more and doing some weights so your top becomes a bit stronger and balances out your bottom - sounds like you are just a bit pear shaped really.

Okay, thanks for that. It had occurred to me this morning that it might be a good idea for me to spend a little while watching my calories to make sure I do eat enough, if only because I have absolutely no idea how many I consume in a day. I've never calorie-counted as part of a weight-loss plan because I never felt the need to lose weight or diet, so it's totally new territory to me! Although I don't think I do eat too little, there's definitely a chance that I don't eat enough. After all, if I have never counted calories I'd have no idea if I'm eating too little. I just figured that because I'm eating my meals, with snacks if I feel like it and never making myself go hungry that I eating enough. I shall investigate!

DVD recommendations for thighs that can get too bulky.

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