Spinning bulking me

Are you losing weight? Have you actually taken measurements of the areas you mentioned? It is possible that you built muscle in your lower body by doing high resistance spinning, especially if it was a new exercise for you. However, if you are losing weight you will lean out and most likely lose size in most if not all areas. If not losing, then it is quite possible to put mass on your bottom half.

janineisaacs wrote: »

Hi. I have been doing spinning now at the gym for about 6 months now, 3 - 4 times a week. I'm concerned because as a female I thought its cardio and supposed to slim me. My thigh size as well as glutes have increased, waist is smaller.I enjoy the hill climbing. Has anybody else experienced this? What should I do to slim down my thighs and glutes?

Biking uses glutes and quads primarily, and if you are spinning at higher resistances and climbing, you are going to probably build muscle in those areas. That and water retention to give those muscles the glycogen they need is going to be visible.

Assuming you are eating at maintenance or in a deficit (you did say your waist was smaller) then you can't do much other than to lessen intensity and/or time spinning. But appearance will vary person to person based on where you store fat more, how much muscle you build, water retention, etc.

I agree with the comments from @DancingMoosie about taking measurements. It could be that your slimming waist just makes you feel like your glutes and thighs are bigger, and also possible that if you keep losing weight they will somewhat "catch up" as you keep slimming.

And I think @jenncornelsen has it right as well. Being strong is a good thing, but for some women it takes some getting used to seeing real muscle.

I found that, when I started cycling, and especially when I had to put real effort in for the hills, my leg muscles increased in size but they matched my frame. The fat vanished off them as well, so they looked quite muscular. However, my muscles did not keep getting bigger and once they reached a certain size, that was it, despite daily rides that were longer and more challenging.

mph323 wrote: »

Madwife2009 wrote: »

I found that, when I started cycling, and especially when I had to put real effort in for the hills, my leg muscles increased in size but they matched my frame. The fat vanished off them as well, so they looked quite muscular. However, my muscles did not keep getting bigger and once they reached a certain size, that was it, despite daily rides that were longer and more challenging.

This is my experience as well. During the season I do 4 - 5 hour rides at least once a week. My glutes, quads and calves are well-defined but dont get any bigger no matter how much stronger I get. I think after a certain point, unless you are doing weight training to build muscle, your leg muscles will look more defined but wont get larger.

I found this true for me too. A one legged guy told me that I have great looking legs. Lol

I have also experienced this over the last few years. I do a couple of spin classes each week and cycle to and from work most days (I also do some strength work too). My legs are a little bigger and whilst that's not my aim, I am pretty proud of the strength I've built. As per above suggestions, if you don't want them to grow at all you may need to switch to running or something else (sad I know!).

I think your lifting the upper body is great for balancing. Completely agree with others. Beyond a certain point, when your legs likely look very pretty and athletic, you won't grow more muscle.