Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below
napsgear
genezapharmateuticals
domestic-supply
puritysourcelabs
UGL OZ
UGFREAK
napsgeargenezapharmateuticals domestic-supplypuritysourcelabsUGL OZUGFREAK

Leaning out big legs?

G

GymGirl3

New member
Leaning out big legs? (Pic included)

hi everyone:D
I tried to do a search first and had no luck. Im 21 yrs old 5'5" 120lbs. I weight train, do cardio, and also diet. My upper & mid body are fine but I want to lean out my thighs, hamstrings and hips a little because I think they are too big for my upper body, even though they are solid. Currently I am working legs once a week heavy doing the following exercises (3 sets 8-12 reps):

Squats
leg press
stiff leg g dead lifts
leg curls
leg ext.
hip flexor machine

I eat pretty clean, w/ 1 cheat day a week. Im a vegetarian, eating high protein low carb meals and the only fat i really get is from natty PB.

Thanks I hope you can help :(
 
Last edited:
DO you mean sacrifice lean mass in the legs???

Lunges
Leg extensions
Leg curls OR stiff deads


....keep higher reps 15-25 and hit the stepper extra hard
 
what about cardio? Would running/walking help?
heres a pic...
ae6b3f9a8b4d7aca90a457bb1459c80f.jpg
 
wow....personally I think you are nuts - you look great to me....

but yeah - cardio will help overtrain - thats why I suggested the stepper

Why not maintain and hit upper even harder?
 
I agree with Corn! You have nice legs. If it was me, I'd tighten up my diet to bring out the shape of the muscles a little, maybe, or better still hit the upper body a little harder. IMHO tweaking balance and shape are going to do more than reducing lean mass--especially at 120 pounds 5'5".

Of course, it's your body and the important thing is how you feel...If you want skinny/stringy legs, though, I can enthusiastically recommend long-distance running. It worked wonders for me for many years! ;)

xoxo

Wyst
 
y thank u:)

I don't really want to my upper body to get that big, there is still some room for improvement however, which i am working on hard. I've been training for about a year now and I am still very young. What do you mean by cardio will overtrain; It's a good thing? So the stepper will be my best bet for making my legs thinner? How long and how many times a week? Should I switch my leg routine to twice a week light/high reps instead of once heavy?

Thankssss a million :kiss:
 
GymGirl, I think your legs look great, Of course I am a pro leg person.:D . I would say the same as Corn, overtrain them. My preferred method would be jogging a couple of miles a day I what I would do.

Of course You will also lose muscle other places not just your legs.

Just my .02


love
 
spatts said:
Have alot of you had success with this overtraining idea? :confused:
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing. Seems you'd lose muscle all over, not just in your lower body, which really doesn't solve the problem.

I agree with Wyst - build up the upper body a little more to balance the two, and tighten the diet to lower bodyfat. That's about all you can do.
 
I'm with Wyst too, but I know we don't all have the same goals.

JJ, if I run distance my legs don't atrophy at all. I can see this tactic working with my upper body, but my legs just don't give it up that easy. That's why I was wondering how many people have really tried this.
 
JJFigure said:


I was wondering the same thing. Seems you'd lose muscle all over, not just in your lower body, which really doesn't solve the problem.
Click to expand...

Well...I Did suggest trying to get the body to catch up....the next choice would be targeted overtraining.

There is systemic overtraining and bodypart specific overtraining....


Train arms everyday and you will have specific OT....not necessarily systemic OT......

Cardio specific OT is what I mentioned for her legs......
 
Heya Spatts: I have never really specifically tried to lose leg muscle. I used to distance run, and my legs were thinner, but I was thinner everywhere else, too.

I'd guess you would probably lose muscle all over, like you're suggesting. My comment about running to have stringy legs was really supposed to be a jokey thing. Who wants da stringy legs?

That said, I'd guess you'd lose muscle all over, but if you were doing upper body bodybuilder-style workouts and only using your legs for cardio, the net result might be that the proportion would change?

Of course, if you really wanted to lose leg mass, I'd say just don't work them for a while and they'd atrophy. But that seems kinda sad...

One thing about your legs, Spatts...did you ever do distance or were you exclusively a sprinter? Your legs looked more like a sprinter's to me.

xoxo

Wyst
 
imo - building her upper while tightening down on the diet for lower seems to be a contradiction.

I know that when I was bike riding I lost 2 inches on my quads.....I have had very good success with it as it seems that well over 50% have success with it
 
Wyst, I was almost exclusively a sprinter...but even sprinters run 3-5 milers in practice, and I used to do 5K and 10K charity runs alot on the weekends.

Eventually the argument always seems to come back to genetics...I have pics from before my running days when my legs were still disproportionately large.

Of course, everytime I've thought my legs were TOO big, they were also TOO fat. Even a thin layer of fat over a substantial amount of muscle can make the whole thing look like lard.
 
...her problem could be estrogen related as I didnt see "large thighs" when I saw the pic
 
Estrogen related as in she's a chic therefore she thinks she's fat? Or estrogen related as in estrogenic fat? :D
 
spatts said:
Estrogen related as in she's a chic therefore she thinks she's fat? Or estrogen related as in estrogenic fat? :D
Click to expand...

Puhlease......sticky fat
 
Cornholio said:
imo - building her upper while tightening down on the diet for lower seems to be a contradiction.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I didn't mean at the same time necessarily...

Spatts: re: the 10K runs. Got it. I never realized sprinters ran that much distance! None of my running was on a track team or anything like that, so I never actually saw that kind of training.

xoxo

Wyst
 
10k??


Screw that...anything over a mile....that's why I have a car.
 
Cornholio said:
...her problem could be estrogen related as I didnt see "large thighs" when I saw the pic
Click to expand...

what do you mean :confused:

would someone please post a leg work out that you would think would be good for me if it's not too much :confused: Should I be doing all of those exercises still but just lighten up the weight and more reps?

Thanks to everyone for your help so far:angel:
 
Corn - I think you answered my question. I've been told intense biking specifically may help atrophy the lower body, but I've never met anyone who actually attempted. Did your upper body atrophy at all? Or did you just lose inches off your quads? Were you doing steady state cardio or HIIT? Or were you biking at a high voltage/rpm level for the entire season?
 
JJFigure said:
Corn - I think you answered my question. I've been told intense biking specifically may help atrophy the lower body, but I've never met anyone who actually attempted. Did your upper body atrophy at all? Or did you just lose inches off your quads? Were you doing steady state cardio or HIIT? Or were you biking at a high voltage/rpm level for the entire season?
Click to expand...

My upper body was totally unaffected as was my strength level.

Biking was my only cardio as I prepped for a stage performance....lost 2 inches off the legs....and it was my only cardio...I was averaging 14-18 miles per day mountain bike for 3-4 days per week.
 
Purposely overtraining my legs by distance running/walking has never made them leaner, only smaller. (Dramatically smaller, at that - I am astounded at how quickly I can shrink with a few miles of jogging 5 days a week.) Good for fitting into pants, not good for looking better naked. Look at your diet.
 
Ceebs said:
Purposely overtraining my legs by distance running/walking has never made them leaner, only smaller. (Dramatically smaller, at that - I am astounded at how quickly I can shrink with a few miles of jogging 5 days a week.) Good for fitting into pants, not good for looking better naked. Look at your diet.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I was thinking Ceebs, you read my mind.

When i was training for a marathon years ago, my legs were dramatically smaller, but no more leaner. I have naturally muscular legs, and even when running well over 25 miles a week with one long run of 15 miles, my legs were not lean, defined and muscular. They were smaller though, but not shapely. Lean legs came with weights (and diet).

Oh, and I still have the hamstring tear that came with the marathon training......
 
Get a pair of rollerblades and and carbon tip cross country ski poles.

..and get movin'

May not be the prefered way but it worked for me. My upper legs had always been over-developed in comparision to the rest of my body from figure skating and I couldn't (still can't) run long distance to save me life.




BTW - I think you're way over critical of yourself but how you feel about yourself is how you feel.
:)


HAPPY BLADING!
 
MsBeverlyHills said:
I think your lower bod looks great.. if your looking for better symmetry-- work your delts... and get a boob job-- Just kidding :)
Click to expand...

i used to have boobies. They disappeared:mad: :bawling:


Thanks again everyone for all your help:kiss:
 
spatts said:
Of course, everytime I've thought my legs were TOO big, they were also TOO fat. Even a thin layer of fat over a substantial amount of muscle can make the whole thing look like lard.
Click to expand...
Good point. Unfortunately, in order to get that last 'thin layer of fat' off the legs, a lady probably has to be 12% bf, maybe? Is it possible to get the thin layer of fat off the legs at a %bf that is *maintainable*?

GG - I agree the legs look great! Are you having trouble fitting into clothes?

The problem with the over training is that, even if it *might* be effective:
1. Many of us don't have the time for all the extra cardio
2. Overtraining in terms of whole body (elevated resting HR, fatigue, lack of drive & motivation)
3. JOINT PROBLEMS from overtraining.

I personally simply can not run too much & even too much aerobics irritates my knees.

RE: Biking. I've started taking cycling classes to get back into my jeans even though I HATE to bike. Since classes are HIIT Cardio with standing climbs in addition to low-slong distance & sprints, I wondered if it might lead to further hypertrophy. So far, so good -but I posted the Q on the cycling board at my aerobics instructor board. Several cycling instructors said they experienced hypertrophy from teaching cycling (of course, it's possible they never lifted before too).
 
I was wondering if HIIT biking would add to hypertrophy too. It sounds like Corn's biking was done outdoors (hills/mountains maybe?), which wouldn't necessarily be HIIT but probably intense for the full ride. Can you confirm/deny Corn?

If you were to use biking for atrophy, I think you'd want to keep pedaling at a high intensity without break, or slow down periods like you would use with HIIT.
 
Gladiola said:
RE: Biking. I've started taking cycling classes to get back into my jeans even though I HATE to bike. Since classes are HIIT Cardio with standing climbs in addition to low-slong distance & sprints, I wondered if it might lead to further hypertrophy. So far, so good -but I posted the Q on the cycling board at my aerobics instructor board. Several cycling instructors said they experienced hypertrophy from teaching cycling (of course, it's possible they never lifted before too).
Click to expand...

I used to teach indoor cycling classes (aka spinning) 3 times a week - total of almost 3 hours a week. I never experienced ANY hypertrophy in my legs, or any other body part due to spinning. And, as I have mentioned before, I tend to gain muscle in my lower body easily.

Granted, the other couple days of cardio I did was running (usually 3-5 miles 2-3x/wk) so maybe that helped keep hypertrophy down. :)
 
Spatts, In answer to your question, I did do the overtrain thing and it worked to make my legs smaller, But I also lost everwhere else which I mentioned. I noticed a difference in the amount of fat on my legs but I found that I was still unproportional. When I was doing this I was also following a very clean diet and strength training.

I have just started back jogging but only because I enjoy it and only two or three times a week but shorter distances.



love
 
JJFigure said:
I was wondering if HIIT biking would add to hypertrophy too. It sounds like Corn's biking was done outdoors (hills/mountains maybe?), which wouldn't necessarily be HIIT but probably intense for the full ride. Can you confirm/deny Corn?

If you were to use biking for atrophy, I think you'd want to keep pedaling at a high intensity without break, or slow down periods like you would use with HIIT.
Click to expand...

Yep....periods of tough peddling followed by downhill or flat riding...very intense though...my legs literally felt like balloons when I was finished
 
Cornholio said:


Yep....periods of tough peddling followed by downhill or flat riding...very intense though...my legs literally felt like balloons when I was finished
Click to expand...

I should also add that most of the entirely flat riding was on the highway but with a mountain bike which is about 10x harder than with a touring road bike
 
Hmmm - I just might have to buy a mountain bike.

Anyway, it looks like you could potentially atrophy your lower body muscle with steady, intense biking. However, if you're just trying to lose the fat off the top of the muscle (like I'm trying to do), you're probably better off sticking with HIIT cardio - either sprints or HIIT on the bike/elliptical, building overall muscle to increase your resting metabolism, and keeping a clean diet.

The question you need to answer is do you really want to atrophy your lower body muscle or do you just want to lose the fat off the top of the muscle?
 
JJFigure said:
However, if you're just trying to lose the fat off the top of the muscle (like I'm trying to do), you're probably better off sticking with HIIT cardio -
Click to expand...

Totally agree
 
HAHAH she thinks her lower body is to big...lol


Whats wrong with girls like this?

Honestly I think you need some mental help. Your body is better then 90 % of the girls on the planet....


Thats why you didn't find it when you did a search.
 
i also wanted to reduce the size of my quads..and a trainer told me to train hamstrings harder/heavier and lighter on quads..would this make sense for gymgirl?
 
rez said:
i also wanted to reduce the size of my quads..and a trainer told me to train hamstrings harder/heavier and lighter on quads..would this make sense for gymgirl?
Click to expand...
I don't see how that could possibly lead to smaller legs. Actually if you purposefully overtrain one muscle group & under-train the opposing group, you could end up with a muscle imbalance that can lead to joint problems. It might not turn into a problem, but then again it might.
 
MrStamina said:
HAHAH she thinks her lower body is to big...lol


Whats wrong with girls like this?

Honestly I think you need some mental help. Your body is better then 90 % of the girls on the planet....


Thats why you didn't find it when you did a search.
Click to expand...


thanks, and i do not have mental issues...lol. In general, I love my body, I just want to better it, don't we all. I guess being Italian plays a lil part w/ the "bigger "legs. My goals are to look a lilttle leaner and more defined by SUMMER time. :dance2:
I think my main prob was my diet, I started eating VERY clean and decreasing my carb intake. Also, I''ve been switching up my cardio, 30 min 5x a week alt on the. bike, eliptical and the stepper. I also have ligtened up on my leg work out, and doing more reps. Lastly, I decided that I do want my upper body more muscular so I am working hard at that. Thanks for all of your help:kiss:
 
May I suggest weighted lunges? I do about 400 every day (no rest days to let the muscle heal) and I've noticed a bit of a difference... I've been upping the amount of lunges I do too. I do them while watching tv. :rolleyes:

And then so they don't bulk up, I've been stretching and doing yoga (I'm an instructor).

I'd kill to have your legs. Mine are a GROSS 23" and I wish I could get lyposuction to get that layer of fat out of there... I'd like them to be around the 17" mark. It's slow going...
 
buffedmama said:
May I suggest weighted lunges? I do about 400 every day (no rest days to let the muscle heal) and I've noticed a bit of a difference... I've been upping the amount of lunges I do too. I do them while watching tv. :rolleyes:

And then so they don't bulk up, I've been stretching and doing yoga (I'm an instructor).

I'd kill to have your legs. Mine are a GROSS 23" and I wish I could get lyposuction to get that layer of fat out of there... I'd like them to be around the 17" mark. It's slow going...
Click to expand...

No offense - but 17???

Can you say Q-tip??


I love lunges personally and attribute most of my leg development to them
 
I agree with Corn - 17" is very small. Lowest I'd ever go is 20". Of course, I'm not into the stick thin super model look.
 
You think 17 is small??!!

WOW.

I would love 17 that are just pure muscle. Not the flabby 23 I've got... I hate that they touch. :(
 
well.....that is a smaller than my arms - so yeah - lol



thats small
 
17" could be way small depending on your body size. 23" would be damn hot if they were lean and ripped. A flabby 17" would still look just as bad as a flabby 23". It would just look like smaller flab.

Sexy women come in all different shapes and sizes. Sometimes, I fear my sex gets fixated on size and not how they look overall. Train hard, eat clean, stay focussed!
 
do you think there is any possiblity of ever getting 'runners' lean legs - if
a) u dont run
b) u can't go crazy-heavy with leg weights..

sounds stupidly obvious - but because i have lower back problems, I cant go that heavy w my lungs or quats - though do try to go as heavy as possible without hurting my back.

i even had a dream the other night i had runners legs! then i woke up...:(
 
I've come to the realization that I will never have "skinny" legs...

I've always had muscular legs, probably due to catching in softball--all those squats over the years prevented me from having the kind of legs you see on fashion magazines...which is what I wanted of course.

Okay, so the majority of women are dillusional and want what the opposite of what they have. If you've got straight hair, you want the sexy curly hair...if you've got curly hair, you want the sexy straight hair...if you've got fair skin, you want to be tan...if you've got a dark complexion, you want to be lighter!! The list goes on and on. I am one of those girls who always wanted what the other girl has, but never could. So now I'm just trying to be the best me that I can be.

Guys, quit complaining about how neurotic us chicks are!!! Get over it--we know how crazy we are! Yes we nag, yes we get bitchy at least one week out of the month, and yes we make you crazy...but you know you love us anyway!! Blame it on raging hormones, tv, broken families...whatever. Women have been this way forever! But hey, at least most of us here on the boards are aware and working on it...working on ourselves--that is at least the first step to accepting yourself, "just as you are."

give me more chocolate dammit!
 
I really think it would be a shame if your legs lost any mass...maybe just tone them up some.. how skinny do you want to be?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Z
what to start with on leg day?
Replies
8
Views
686
Sergen
S
K
legs need to be improved
Replies
9
Views
987
sector_
S
ConAir
Approved Log Amatuer Bodybuilding Contest Prep - Testosterone Equipoise HGH Cycle Log
Replies
13
Views
690
Noah Wixx
Noah Wixx
Meeksy
Approved Log Testosterone Masteron HGH cycle journal prep
2
Replies
128
Views
12K
liftedlivingwithlegacy
liftedlivingwithlegacy
CL1
Approved Log Testosterone Clenbuterol Wedding Prep Log
2 3 4
Replies
394
Views
38K
RoySimpson
RoySimpson
Top Bottom