Avoid squats and lunges

myfightforfitness
myfightforfitness Posts: 136 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all I was reading a blog online which advised not to do squats and lunges as well as other leg exercises.

Let me explain I have very VERY large thighs.
And wanted to know if I should do leg muscle exercises to slim them down?

But the blog I reading said that cardio is the way to go as exercises such as squats make you legs bigger?
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Replies

  • pcpop7
    pcpop7 Posts: 161 Member
    If you are in a deficit nothing will make your legs bigger. You also cannot spot reduce. To reduce fat on your body you must be in a calorie deficit. If cardio help you achieve that deficit then great use it as a tool to manage your energy expenditure.

    Body builders work for years to get big legs so do not be afraid that you are suddenly going to wake up covered in muscle. If only it was that easy.
  • myfightforfitness
    myfightforfitness Posts: 136 Member
    Okay thanks a lot everyone I was just abit worried about my leg muscles bulking up and getting bigger. The blog I read was "how to slim thighs" on superskinnyme.com if you want to have a read :)
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    myfightforfitness wrote: »
    Okay thanks a lot everyone I was just abit worried about my leg muscles bulking up and getting bigger. The blog I read was "how to slim thighs" on superskinnyme.com if you want to have a read :)

    superskinnyme. Sounds legit. <eye rolly>
  • mmclure317
    mmclure317 Posts: 11 Member
    Don't believe everything you see on the net. I love squats:) and my legs arent huge.
  • OfficialDSXIII
    OfficialDSXIII Posts: 91 Member
    I think if you're working out your legs they will get bigger regardless if it's cardio or weight training. My gf played soccer throughout school and has big thighs without squats.

    Either way though what's wrong with big strong thighs?
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    That particular website is basically crap, but the question is legitimate. Fitness professionals can sometimes be dismissive about this topic, but it can be a real concern for some body types.

    However, if you are overweight and want to look smaller, the first action is to decrease body fat. For most people that will be best accomplished by maintaining a calorie deficit and following a mixed program of cardio and resistance training with heavy(er) weights. In the weight-loss stage, adding muscle will likely not occur to a great degree. If someone is at a lower, or goal body fat percentage and still has more muscle than desired, then you have to change the way you train.

    As usual, Bret Contreras has a good article on the subject if you want to read more:

    https://bretcontreras.com/how-to-attain-a-slender-look-like-jessica-alba-zoe-saldana/
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    Lolz.
  • Lynnmi07
    Lynnmi07 Posts: 131 Member
    I'm going to go against the grain here. I have a couple friends who are "bottom heavy" and have very muscular thighs and large calves and if they do a lot of lower body exercise they get larger. I think it is truly in their genetics. So I think genetics plays a large part in how squats/lunges will affect you.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    synacious wrote: »
    PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »
    I know it's a "broad strokes" type of thing, but I avoid reading, and rarely take seriously anything with the word "skinny" in the title. It reeks of obsessive vanity, voodoo dieting and neuroticisim.

    Agreed. I love trying different protein/snack bars and the other day at Target I saw a Dark Chocolate Coconut Almond bar that caught my eye. I love that combo together, but when I saw the brand name for the bar "Skinnygirl" I decided to pass on it. The name is very offputting.

    I'm pretty sure I can guess what's on the site without actually visiting.
    • The suggestion to eat vegan and/or raw vegan. Lots of mentions about antioxidants and the benefits of stuff like chia seeds and power greens.
    • Cardio, cardio, cardio with only a few mentions of resistance training and most likely with light weights.
    • How to exercise/eat for your "body type".
    • Lots of quizzes.
    • Possibly the color pink and lots of it.
    That being said, I'll be avoiding that superskinnyme website like the plague, so thanks in advance OP!


    What's wrong with the color pink?
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    edited May 2016
    It was a joke. I'm wearing a pink shirt now.

    eta: I'm with you. Just having a little fun. Or trying to. Not successfully, I guess.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    TR0berts wrote: »
    It was a joke. I'm wearing a pink shirt now.

    eta: I'm with you. Just having a little fun. Or trying to. Not successfully, I guess.

    I'm sorry! It's hard to assess tone on the internet. I've been told I'm a bit too brash at times with my wording, so I'm working extra hard on clarity and choosing my words carefully. I thought I may have legitimately offended someone with my initial post and tried to clarify my intent. :D
  • RosieRose7673
    RosieRose7673 Posts: 438 Member
    edited May 2016
    synacious wrote: »
    TR0berts wrote: »
    synacious wrote: »
    PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »
    I know it's a "broad strokes" type of thing, but I avoid reading, and rarely take seriously anything with the word "skinny" in the title. It reeks of obsessive vanity, voodoo dieting and neuroticisim.

    Agreed. I love trying different protein/snack bars and the other day at Target I saw a Dark Chocolate Coconut Almond bar that caught my eye. I love that combo together, but when I saw the brand name for the bar "Skinnygirl" I decided to pass on it. The name is very offputting.

    I'm pretty sure I can guess what's on the site without actually visiting.
    • The suggestion to eat vegan and/or raw vegan. Lots of mentions about antioxidants and the benefits of stuff like chia seeds and power greens.
    • Cardio, cardio, cardio with only a few mentions of resistance training and most likely with light weights.
    • How to exercise/eat for your "body type".
    • Lots of quizzes.
    • Possibly the color pink and lots of it.
    That being said, I'll be avoiding that superskinnyme website like the plague, so thanks in advance OP!


    What's wrong with the color pink?

    Absolutely nothing is wrong with the color pink itself. However, when it comes to marketing things toward women, companies tend to slap the color pink on items, charge more, and claim it's made "for women" even though there are no alterations to the products themselves. Examples include BiC "For Her" pens and protein powders/supplements "for women" which give less product for more money in a pink container and it is no different from the ingredients in standard protein powders/supplements.

    Certain companies make exercise equipment/gear almost exclusively in pink hues because they assume it appeals to all women. It's not even just women, it starts from childhood; Nerf's Rebelle guns, anyone? There is nothing wrong with women who like the color pink; I have a pink 3DS and a pink bookbag so I definitely like pink myself. However there is something wrong with the assumption that if something is supposed to be for women that the go-to color should be pink everything. It gets trite after a while. A website that assumes women are aspiring to be super skinny seems to be the type to adopt this same notion when it comes to color schemes.

    Pink 3 lb dumb bells come to mind. :neutral:
  • myfightforfitness
    myfightforfitness Posts: 136 Member
    Ahh it's so frustrating because as I'm losing weight it's coming off the top half of my body (which is great) but not the bottom!! I just really want slim legs
  • duckforceone
    duckforceone Posts: 121 Member
    some people are pre-disposed for strong legs... maybe that is you...

    i also get huge thighs from doing almost nothing... where my upper body i have to work like a maniac to see any gains.

    you could accept that what makes you you, is among others your big legs. Learn to like them instead of focusing on being something else... :smile:
  • catsdogsh
    catsdogsh Posts: 130 Member
    duckforceone wrote: »
    some people are pre-disposed for strong legs... maybe that is you...

    i also get huge thighs from doing almost nothing... where my upper body i have to work like a maniac to see any gains.

    you could accept that what makes you you, is among others your big legs. Learn to like them instead of focusing on being something else... :smile:

    I thought my trainer was making my thighs bigger with the constant lunges and squats. I kept feeling them get hard and tight. And the first two weeks the inches stayed the same. He kept saying trust me, trust me. 6 weeks and 3 inches off each!! Better yet 5.5 off my waist. The muscle on my legs is bigger but the skin pulled tight, fat gone, muscle added. Looks like a younger more trim leg.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    myfightforfitness wrote: »
    Ahh it's so frustrating because as I'm losing weight it's coming off the top half of my body (which is great) but not the bottom!! I just really want slim legs

    So there is a video by Lyle McDonald that talks about how women tend to lose fat. In this video, he mentions how women tend to lose fat from their upper bodies easily and can normally see their abs before men. He says lower body fat is a different story and is usually much harder to get rid of. He says that as a woman gets leaner, this will be one of the struggles. I'm 5'3" and 112 pounds and I'm dealing with this right now, actually. It's a long video, but very interesting with regard to the experiences women have with weight loss, especially as they get leaner.

    https://youtu.be/6846ZTBu08k
  • rawley69
    rawley69 Posts: 49 Member
    Jeez, squats are one of the best exercises you can ever do. If some mischievous deity showed up and said you could only do one exercise ever again, you should choose the squat.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    rawley69 wrote: »
    Jeez, squats are one of the best exercises you can ever do. If some mischievous deity showed up and said you could only do one exercise ever again, you should choose the squat.

    and deadlifts. Can't forget the deadlifts
  • Tweaking_Time
    Tweaking_Time Posts: 733 Member
    RUN_LIFT_EAT wrote: »
    What these people said ^... and stop reading blogs.

    haha - exactly!
  • rawley69
    rawley69 Posts: 49 Member
    singingflutelady wrote: »
    rawley69 wrote: »
    Jeez, squats are one of the best exercises you can ever do. If some mischievous deity showed up and said you could only do one exercise ever again, you should choose the squat.

    and deadlifts. Can't forget the deadlifts

    True dat.

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