I need Advice..

green_tea
green_tea Posts: 10
edited September 19 in Fitness and Exercise
Hello! I've been dieting and exercising 2 months now and had a question... how much lower body strength training will it take for me to make my legs look bigger? Because I want to avoid it.

The fact is, I want to lose an inch or two more from my thighs and butt and worry that too much strength training work outs will make them bigger. Please don't say it is impossible for women to bulk up because its not. And when I say bulk up, I mean just the tiniest bit of increase in size which I DO NOT WANT.
Example: The 30 day shred video has that natalie girl who has humongous muscle thighs and it worries me about doing that video. I also don't like how often they have to stick their butt out to do exercises. My butt sticks out enough as it is!

I'm thin and have no chest so it's not pretty how much my rear end sticks sticks out and my thighs are still too big. I want to avoid exercises at all costs that will make this worst and would like to know what I should do to lose those couple inches from my thighs and get my butt to not stick out so much. Is this possible if I continue dieting and do mostly cardio with a little strength training? (by strength training I mean just hand weights and using my own body weight for the rest)

Replies

  • green_tea
    green_tea Posts: 10
    Hello! I've been dieting and exercising 2 months now and had a question... how much lower body strength training will it take for me to make my legs look bigger? Because I want to avoid it.

    The fact is, I want to lose an inch or two more from my thighs and butt and worry that too much strength training work outs will make them bigger. Please don't say it is impossible for women to bulk up because its not. And when I say bulk up, I mean just the tiniest bit of increase in size which I DO NOT WANT.
    Example: The 30 day shred video has that natalie girl who has humongous muscle thighs and it worries me about doing that video. I also don't like how often they have to stick their butt out to do exercises. My butt sticks out enough as it is!

    I'm thin and have no chest so it's not pretty how much my rear end sticks sticks out and my thighs are still too big. I want to avoid exercises at all costs that will make this worst and would like to know what I should do to lose those couple inches from my thighs and get my butt to not stick out so much. Is this possible if I continue dieting and do mostly cardio with a little strength training? (by strength training I mean just hand weights and using my own body weight for the rest)
  • VballLeash
    VballLeash Posts: 2,456 Member
    If you are really worried about it then just do more reps and less weight. The girl in jillians video probably lifts weights a lot more besides what goes on in the video, the other girl is much smaller too! Just stay at low weights and you will be fine. I've actually got an example for you, my vball team (college) has to lift weights. We never really lifted as much as we were supposed to but this winter things changed, I was a senior so I didn't have to do this but the girls were tested at the beginning of the quarter and then tested again at the end and they had to go up a certain amount of weight. They were lifting really hard increasing their weight and not one of them got bigger, many actually got smaller. Hope this helped, good luck!

    ~Leash :heart:
  • hiddensecant
    hiddensecant Posts: 2,446 Member
    Elite gymnists and ballerinas keep their legs slim by stretching a lot. They're super strong and have muscle but stretching keeps them long and slender. So get a really good stretching video and do it every day.

    I use Classical Stretch which is really good. I think the instructor was a ballet dancer at one point. You might find some of her workouts on youtube because she's broadcasted on PBS. But her video for High Performance Atheletes will give you a very thorough and intense stretch, especially the legs.

    I've been doing yoga for strength training and while I am getting stronger, there is no bulk to be seen. I like the way my legs are slimming down, especially because I've been carrying a lot of my extra weight there.
  • mkklutts
    mkklutts Posts: 13
    I know just what you mean... I did a lot of lifting in high school and college with my sports involvement, and developed large thigh muscles. After college the best thing I found to give a lean look is winsor pilates. I like the advanced body slimming video because it works your core and flexibility too. Pilates doesn't lengthen your muscles but it helps tone them, making them appear longer. Strength training is really good for you though, don't cut it out. You still should do strengh training 3-4 times a week. Just do like Leash said and lower your weight, if it is too easy, increase your reps instead of increasing weight. The upper leg muscles are the number one muscle to keep strong as you age-prevents you from falling when you are old!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    First things first, women need some pretty serious weight training to bulk up in general. You gals just don't have the testosterone levels to do it easily. With that said, yes, lower weight, more reps will firm without bulk.

    Also, repetetive exercises with body weight help that too, like cardio, lunges with no weight ...etc.

    Put it this way, for a woman, you really have to make a concerted effort to put on muscle bulk, it won't happen for you by accident. But on the up side, you guys actually have an easier time with endurance and muscle fatigue then we men do. :happy:
  • rowerc2
    rowerc2 Posts: 158
    Running should also help.
  • green_tea
    green_tea Posts: 10
    Thank you for the input everybody! I feel much better about doing squats and lunges now. I shall keep up with what I am doing and hope for the best. :)
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