My legs!

Do not use weights, at least heavy weights, more repetitions is better to loose weight, because you are making muscle. I have the same problem on my thighs, I walk and go on my bike, and it is working.

I think this is a universal frustration. I see definition everywhere except my thighs, I guess they are the last thing to catch up.

irmita0 wrote: »

Do not use weights, at least heavy weights, more repetitions is better to loose weight, because you are making muscle. I have the same problem on my thighs, I walk and go on my bike, and it is working.

This is so incredibly wrong.

My thighs have shrunk with heavy lifting.
In high school, I starved myself to 128# and a size 5. Im 150# now and a size 2/4. Because of lifting heavy weights for a few reps, I'm smaller now.


How long have you been doing the cross trainer?
Some of it is probably water retention in your muscles, though you are not building any, so thats why they're bigger. Also if your period is soon, thatll cause water retention. A higher sodium meal. And a very likely cause that I'm guilty of as well, you are not measuring the exact same spot.

To gain appreciable muscle size you're going to have to hit hypertrophy rep ranges at light to moderate weight. Light and moderate is obviously relative to your own level of strength and the hypertrophy rep range is about 15 or 15+ reps per set. Then you're generally looking at maintaining sufficient mechanical load and frequency (20 -25 sets per 1 - 1.5 hour session). The maximum rate of muscle mass increase for a non-doping athlete is somewhere between 18 - 23 lbs a year. If you're not following a program like that geared towards hypertrophy, you're unlikely to make significant gains in muscle mass or volume.

lishie_rebooted wrote: »

irmita0 wrote: »

Do not use weights, at least heavy weights, more repetitions is better to loose weight, because you are making muscle. I have the same problem on my thighs, I walk and go on my bike, and it is working.

This is so incredibly wrong.

My thighs have shrunk with heavy lifting.
In high school, I starved myself to 128# and a size 5. Im 150# now and a size 2/4. Because of lifting heavy weights for a few reps, I'm smaller now.


How long have you been doing the cross trainer?
Some of it is probably water retention in your muscles, though you are not building any, so thats why they're bigger. Also if your period is soon, thatll cause water retention. A higher sodium meal. And a very likely cause that I'm guilty of as well, you are not measuring the exact same spot.

This is essentially true when training is geared towards improving strength. Heavy weight and low rep ranges of 3 or 3-5 will increase muscle strength (up to a point, determined by the size of the muscles) while keeping the muscles pretty lean.
Adding a bit of strength training to your workouts (like low rep heavy squats and deadlifts) would do great in burning calories and increasing strength. Just don't jump straight into heavy lifting. Start off with relatively low weight and master the form of the exercise first to prevent serious injury.

It is more than likely that you are maybe measuring inconsistently with regard to the exact point where you measure each time. (I struggle with this as well, so the best solution I've found so far is measure 3-5 times and take the average) What is also very likely as mentioned by the quoted poster is water retention in the muscles. I read something somewhere, where they mentioned increased mass may be due to a combination of water retention and increased muscle glycogen stores, although I'm not sure what the volumetric effect of the increase in glycogen would be and whether it would be that pronounced.

If you up the cardio and intensity of your cardio workouts it should help. But weight loss happens all over, so it takes time (which I hate) to see the results.

Beckyferg90 wrote: »

Hello everyone!
I'm a large woman size 18/20 and my legs are big anyway and struggle with boots and trousers! I've been using the cross trainer every day 30 minutes on level 3 and I'm hoping to build it up in time! But I measured my calves and thighs and they are getting bigger I want some help guys!!! Xxx

They're bigger due to the fact that any new exercise uptaking will increase water retention and glycogen storage in the muscle cells. Normal and will subside with continued exercise.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

angelgreathouse9 wrote: »

Beckyferg90 wrote: »

Hello everyone!
I'm a large woman size 18/20 and my legs are big anyway and struggle with boots and trousers! I've been using the cross trainer every day 30 minutes on level 3 and I'm hoping to build it up in time! But I measured my calves and thighs and they are getting bigger I want some help guys!!! Xxx

I had a problem with boots when I was around that size but as I kept track of my calories in/out and did cardio to lose the weight now that the weight is off boots are actually loose I did it using a manual elliptical... so maybe loosen the resistance...

Level 3 is low already. It's just going to take time for the OP to lose the weight.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

The most likely issue here is genetics. Body fat will go last where one usually gains it first. Understand that the body also reacts and adapts to stresses put on it. Carrying around a lot of extra weight for a period of time made your legs grow. So you may never have smaller calves and may still have big thighs due to muscle.
However reducing the fat around them will reduce their overall circumference. Just give it time.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

irmita0 wrote: »

Do not use weights, at least heavy weights, more repetitions is better to loose weight, because you are making muscle. I have the same problem on my thighs, I walk and go on my bike, and it is working.

Do not listen to this advice. It is wrong! It's likely water retention. Keep up the moderate deficit (with enough protein, 1g per pound of lean body mass) and progressive resistance training. I am the same weight as I was when I got married, but I'm down 2 dress sizes. A month is not long enough to see enough progress. Patience is key.

You'll find as you lose weight that those legs will go down!

Taking measurements, though incredibly valuable, can be inaccurate, both due to inconsistency in when you measure, and user error. Try measuring again in a few weeks, as your measurements will change depending on your water retention and other factors. Had you worked out strenuously the day before measuring? Muscles will retain water after a workout, especially if you were exercising in a way that is new to your body or if you really ramped up the effort. Measuring in women can be especially inaccurate, given that our bodies tend to retain water depending on where we are in our menstrual cycle; if you're worried, try to measure at the same point in your cycle. If your diet was high in sodium the day or so beforehand, you will also retain water.

If you feel that your legs are getting bigger, it's more likely to be from water retention or inaccurate measuring than actual growth (though see below for some caveats). This is all assuming that you are actually eating at a deficit.

irmita0 wrote: »

Do not use weights, at least heavy weights, more repetitions is better to loose weight, because you are making muscle. I have the same problem on my thighs, I walk and go on my bike, and it is working.

This is not sound advice. Weight lifting, or another type of program that will progressively overload your muscles, such as a progressive bodyweight resistance program (a la http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle ) is an important component in retaining your muscle mass while eating at a deficit. Eating sufficient protein will also help you retain muscle. Typically lifting in the 3-5 (ish) rep range will help you build strength, while lifting in the 8-12(ish) rep range will help you build muscle mass.

Because you are (I assume) eating at a deficit, it will be very difficult for you to build new muscle. In most cases, muscle tends not to be built while eating at a deficit. There are some potential exceptions to this, the one most relevant to you (it appears from your OP, anyway) being people who are new to strength training and who are significantly overweight. People in this category are more likely to gain muscle while eating at a deficit. This is termed "newbie gains."

I would encourage you to take advantage of this as much as possible, because building muscle, especially for women, is NOT easy.

Unless you are engaging in an exercise program that progressively overloads your muscles, it is unlikely that you are gaining muscle. And even if you do start working out in this way, the amount of muscle that you will put on from newbie gains, if any, will not be a lot. So don't be afraid of resistance training because you feel it will make you bulky or some such. Many women appear to be worried about looking "ripped," but this is so not going to happen unless you are working (really, really, really) hard for it. Looking muscular is largely a factor of your body fat percentage. If you don't want to look "ripped," then you stop losing weight a bit sooner so as to retain a slightly higher body fat percentage to give a padding of fat over your muscles.

The most important factor in losing weight is going to be your caloric intake, rather than your exercise. That being said, exercise has a score of health benefits, and as I said, resistance training will help you retain your muscle mass.

I know I touched on a lot of points that you didn't really bring up in your OP, but I would encourage you to do some reading to help you learn more about the weight loss process, especially in terms of caloric intake, resistance training, etc. I have found these threads to be extremely helpful when I was starting out:

The basics: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

Calorie intake/the importance of accurate logging: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/872212

Building muscle & losing fat (the article referenced in the thread touches on newbie gains): http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818594

Strength training (why do it, how to start): http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/850719/strength-training-the-basics/p1