I am 5'3 with big upper thighs how can you get them smaller?

[FitFossil]

desseray,

These women won't steer you wrong! I used to be a skinny pear - skeletal upper bod but fat thighs, even as an 80 pound anorexic. It's possible to eat TOO little and do too MUCH cardio and your body will hold on for dear life to the fat you hate the most, as it did with my thighs.

I read all the books and magazines that said women should train with light weights and high reps to "tone" and not "get big". Did that for years along with miles of running and stringent dieting. I got thin everywhere but my thighs STILL jiggled and looked like they belonged on a different body.

Finally I said "To hell with it!", if my thighs are going to be big, then they're going to be big and muscled rather than big and fat. So I started training legs hard and heavy, and I started doing interval sprints. Cleaned up my diet too, because I realized I wasn't eating enough to support my training (and boy did that ever make a difference).

Lo and behold, I have completely different legs now. They are hard and lean, and for the first time in 37 years, I actually like them. I even dropped a pant size!

 

[Texas Guns]

May I chime in with my vote?? Sprinting (interval) and hitting legs hard in the gym is the only way to go. The sprinting seems to target that quick energy and wakes your body up!!

 

[Dingo12]

Studies have also shown that for the 24hrs following interval training the metabolic rate is increased significantly, compared to low intensity cardio which only elevates metabolic rates for a few hours. The same is true of course for heavy weight training compared to circuits or cardio alone.

 

[OTCbooty]

I'm not going to rule out running. I've been running competitively since the age of 9. However, I was a sprinter. Sprinting is not as catabolic as distance running, and I attribute my massive legs and their strength to sprinting. I would definitely give sprint interval training a shot.

I also wouldn't recommend EITHER ONE without a clean diet AND weight training

Well said.

 

[ErgoGal]

For example look at the body of a sprinter...and then compare it to that of a cross country runner...not even a marathon runner...long distance running is CATABOLIC!!! Every sprinter you see is ripped w/ muscle tone..every long distance runner you see is skinny w/ no muscle tone at all!!! hiit training would be best...sprinting intervals...that will help get you lean and keep your muscle.

I am generally a proponent of the "Weights rool, cardios suck" school of thinking but I've tried to make the "compare a marathoner to a sprinter..." argument in the past and got shot down with: "Yes, but sprinters weight train, marathoners don't - marathoners just run so there's no comparison..." As far as I understand it this is generally true.

Also, it's interesting to note that research has suggested that while red muscle fibers (slow twitch - endurance oriented) can be recruited into white muscle fibers (fast twitch - explosive strength oriented), the opposite cannot occur. I don't remember where I read this (probably on Medline) and can't provide a reference, sorry. So a marathoner will only have as much red muscle fibers as they're born with while a weight lifter can recruit new white fibers through weight training and hence not only induce fiber volume/density type hypertrophy but also RECRUIT NEW MUSCLE FIBER which has many ramifications for strength/hypertrophy/subsequent kcal metabolism and weight loss.

OTOH, there is a girl at my gym who's in great shape year round (maybe around 5'6", 130-135#, and bf% less than 12%, maybe less than 10%) and she runs for a good 45 minutes to an hour 5 times a week and her legs ARE HYUUGE. Disproportionately large compared to the rest of her. Her genetics are just to have huge legs. So genetics and individual response to training is a major factor as with all things training/weightloss related.

To build some leg muscles without developing a huge sweep you may wanna forego back squats in favor of sissy squats and other leg movements. OTOH, back squats are such a great compound movement and so exhausting that one really burns through some kcal's and gets a huge metab boost doing them. Whatever you do I'd recommending taking measurements of your thighs weekly and journaling each and every workout (diet too!) to find out what really works out best FOR YOU. Good luck! HTH.

-K