Smaller thighs, not bigger

guava · Mon, February 16th, 2004, 07:07 AM

I was reading in a magazine, an article called "J-Lo's exercise regime"

It says "If you, like J-Lo, are pear shaped, avoid step classes, high resistance spinning and machines that work your lower body." But in the same article, it also mentions how she does lunges with weights to keep sharp definition between her bottom and thighs.

I have some flab in the thighs and bottom that I'd like to tone, but it's important to me that I not get any bigger in those areas. Are there certain exercises that I should avoid? I hate squats, but they seem to be the best thing to do for that area. Should I use weights while I do the squats, or do without?

Danielle · Mon, February 16th, 2004, 07:42 AM

Hi there Guava!

I had the same concern when I started lifting too. Basically, women who weight train and seriously WANT large thighs work out for hours on end in a gym and normally with some ingested assistance as well. We are not made to bulk up, so even if you try, working out 3X a week, just isn't going to happen.

One thing I know for sure, I'd much rather have lean, muscular legs (even if they are slightly larger) than the fat, jello ones I started with! They were just gross! I've been doing this for a while now and still have quite a lot of fat on my legs yet ... I can't wait for the lean muscle to show through.

Remember, the best way to loose fat on your legs is to LOOSE the fat with lots of cardio, while firming up the muscle with weight training. You don't want to increase the muscle without losing the fat because they will seem bigger.

Good luck!
Danielle

LadyGadiva · Mon, February 16th, 2004, 06:50 PM

Using weights is a must!!!

Use light weights and high reps. As a general rule, heavy weights w/low repetitions will add size and smaller weights w/high repetitions will give you the lean look.

Squats are a so-called "core exercise" and should be a part of every women's routine. The best part of this, is that there are so many variations of this. The pliay squat (sp) is terrific. Take a 15 or so pound weight and stand with legs spread like a dancer would to do a pliay but with both of your hands holding the weight between your legs. Simply squat until the weight nearly touches the ground then come back up to the standing position. Kind of hard to describe. Do at least 15 repetitions X 3 up to 6 sets if you can stand it. This will give you a super pretty rear view.

Lisa Stone · Mon, February 16th, 2004, 07:38 PM

I wouldn't worry about doing heavy weights- you aren't going to bulk up. I Always start light and move to heavy weights and my thighs just lost fat and gained muscle, while staying very lean.
I agree that using weights is a must- you'll just become thinner without any muscle definition otherwise.

guava · Wed, February 18th, 2004, 04:49 AM

Thanks for the great advice. Good point LadyGadiva about the different kind of squats. I have problems with the regular squat because my instructor keeps telling us "Don't lean forward". I can't stay upright without falling over! I don't have that problem with the plie, so I'll stick with that one for a while, and maybe throw in some lunges too.

The way my aerobics instructed does it is to put feet about four feet apart, squat down and hold, then do bicep curls in that position. Is this a good way, or is the static up/down squatting movement better than the isometric? I don't like the way the up/down feels for my knees.

I have dumbbells that are 2kg each, and a set that's 3.5 kg each. Which one would you consider "light weights"?

I've been getting my cardio workouts lately from my exercise bike. That's not something I should be avoiding, is it?

BlackBeauty · Thu, February 19th, 2004, 04:48 AM

Hi guava

I do only static/isometric squats as the movement of squatting is bad for my knees (I have CMP in both knees and I'm 26 years old), so either is good since other than this, I only do very light-weighted knee extensions to help my knee cap with tracking. Doing static squats, I'll try and lower a few inches every 45-60 seconds and hold it for a minimum of 4-5 minutes.

As for your dumbbells, it will depend on your own leg strength and muscular ability however to me, both of those weights sound very light for me (I use quite heavy weights) but they may be perfect for you.