Leg thinning rotation

L

LizC7

Cathlete
Hello everyone,
I've been bulking a bit - mostly my butt and thighs. I'm in week three of the ice rotation and trying to plan something to thin out my legs a bit next while still keeping my upper body going. Any suggestions? More yoga? I have Travis so was thinking of putting him in a couple of days or should I do more horizontal conditioning? I've heard barre workouts but just have one that Cathe does so any suggestions would be great.

Thanks!
 
Wow, I am both impressed and surprised (and I do not mean that in a bad or judgey way AT all just in case that does not come across) :) that you have been gaining significant muscle like that from ICE. Are you someone who usually has 'thin'/willowy legs or do you build shapely muscle quite easily?
Are you doing the Lower Body Blast & To The Mat on the same week or one one week and the other the following week?

Here are some threads discussing this in detail 'till some Cathletes may have some smart direction for you.
http://cathe.com/forum/threads/leg-rotation-suggestions.229981/#post-1503251
http://cathe.com/forum/threads/leaning-out-legs.302871/

In terms of Barre, Linda Woolridge/Barlates (youtube freebies & downloads) has some challenging lower body work as does Leah Sarago. Leah's downloads are quite 'parts of the leg' focused. They will define muscle however. At least they do with me, although I am someone with somewhat thick legs anyway. Pilates side leg series is excellent as well. Many freebies on youtube with different instructors showing you this. The bonus with pilates is good hip stabilization besides your firm thighs! ;) Isaac's chair workouts on the youtube channel Qinetic Live are also excellent (& he is fun). There are many options available for unweighted leg work if that's the direction you plan on taking. Sometimes I do unweighted stuff like kickboxing and just add some low rep weighted hamstring focussed exercises for example, just cause that is a weak area for me & my lower back needs strong hamstrings for stabilization. I know a few Cathletes here who have been glad with their results with the DreamBody workouts. http://fusionfitness.com/online-videos
 
~Elsie said:
Wow, I am both impressed and surprised (and I do not mean that in a bad or judgey way AT all just in case that does not come across) :) that you have been gaining significant muscle like that from ICE. Are you someone who usually has 'thin'/willowy legs or do you build shapely muscle quite easily?
Click to expand...

I am afraid I have not got any magic-bullet for this constant "Bulking" affecting many women.
Just like Elsie, I am amazed! My apology if my post come across as offensive but I do not INTEND to mean it in any bad/malicious way:):)

That said Here below is one of your previous thread discussing the same issue:confused::confused::p:oops:.

http://cathe.com/forum/threads/de-bulking-my-legs.297263

All the very best in your quest:):)
 
~Elsie said:
Wow, I am both impressed and surprised (and I do not mean that in a bad or judgey way AT all just in case that does not come across) :) that you have been gaining significant muscle like that from ICE. Are you someone who usually has 'thin'/willowy legs or do you build shapely muscle quite easily?
Are you doing the Lower Body Blast & To The Mat on the same week or one one week and the other the following week?

Here are some threads discussing this in detail 'till some Cathletes may have some smart direction for you.
http://cathe.com/forum/threads/leg-rotation-suggestions.229981/#post-1503251
http://cathe.com/forum/threads/leaning-out-legs.302871/

In terms of Barre, Linda Woolridge/Barlates (youtube freebies & downloads) has some challenging lower body work as does Leah Sarago. Leah's downloads are quite 'parts of the leg' focused. They will define muscle however. At least they do with me, although I am someone with somewhat thick legs anyway. Pilates side leg series is excellent as well. Many freebies on youtube with different instructors showing you this. The bonus with pilates is good hip stabilization besides your firm thighs! ;) Isaac's chair workouts on the youtube channel Qinetic Live are also excellent (& he is fun). There are many options available for unweighted leg work if that's the direction you plan on taking. Sometimes I do unweighted stuff like kickboxing and just add some low rep weighted hamstring focussed exercises for example, just cause that is a weak area for me & my lower back needs strong hamstrings for stabilization. I know a few Cathletes here who have been glad with their results with the DreamBody workouts. http://fusionfitness.com/online-videos
Click to expand...


Actually, I don't think it was ICE. I had been focusing on heavier weighted workouts to build my legs because I had no butt at all at one point so I'm thrilled that I now do - just have to tone it down a bit :) I had been doing Hammer and Chisel before ICE and my legs were sore on a daily basis! Thank you for all of the suggestions!
 
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I've done alot of reading on this topic. What I've come up with is figuring out what percentage of your thighs is fat vs muscle. For fat loss it really is all diet which is not a new concept which is lower calorie and for some, less starchy carbs. For debulking muscle it is allowing some muscle atrophy to occur by lowering the intensity, the frequency and/or the amount of weight used. Finding that special combination is tricky. To rebuild some shape, ie. I'm assuming you don't want shapeless "skinny fat" thighs, my reading leads me to the conclusion that doing 1. plyometric cardio to more or less replace straight lower body strength training paired with 2. more floor work type of exercises will help achieve this goal Also adding in more endurance cardio such as walking or slow jogging can be the icing on the cake. For alot of women, this may take time so giving yourself a good 6 months to start seeing results as oftentimes legs are the hardest to reshape, is more realistic. Oftentimes I found myself trying something for a few weeks and then hopping to something else b/c the method at the time "wasn't working" To still maintain some semblance of strength, other articles I have read says to work in (maybe even once every few weeks) some heavier more traditional strength training but limit this to 2-3 sets of only 4-6 reps.
 
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LizC7 said:
Actually, I don't think it was ICE. I had been focusing on heavier weighted workouts to build my legs because I had no butt at all at one point so I'm thrilled that I now do - just have to tone it down a bit :) I had been doing Hammer and Chisel before ICE and my legs were sore on a daily basis! Thank you for all of the suggestions!
Click to expand...
Sounds great that you were successful in building up your lower body - no easy task! Hope I didn't bombard with those suggestions ....I definitely need variety in my lower body work, so I assume others might too. lol. and sorry one of those links from the forum isn't working now. Whoops! ;)
Anyway, have fun! Barre can be fun with a good instructor who likes it.
I definitely agree with Stacy that
Stacy said:
Finding that special combination is tricky.
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When my body gets used to something, I just try and change it up again. Although the one thing that helps to keep my upper legs strong has always been walking, with incline walking included. I've been trying to find more time recently to include it in my routines. When I neglect this, it shows.
 
~Elsie said:
When my body gets used to something, I just try and change it up again. Although the one thing that helps to keep my upper legs strong has always been walking, with incline walking included. I've been trying to find more time recently to include it in my routines. When I neglect this, it shows.
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Do you power walk to just walk at a normal pace? I'm trying to get in more physical activity but not necessarily cardio. I just need to move around more often. I know walking is great, but I don't want to always walk for cardio. Does that make sense? My husband thinks every time I workout or walk, I should be dripping with sweat or I'm just wasting my time. I do enjoy cardio, but during parts of the day when I'm not doing anything, I just want to move around more instead of sitting. So I don't think I should have to get a good sweat on for that to be effective. It's better than sitting around.
 
firemedic said:
Do you power walk to just walk at a normal pace? I'm trying to get in more physical activity but not necessarily cardio. I just need to move around more often. I know walking is great, but I don't want to always walk for cardio. Does that make sense? My husband thinks every time I workout or walk, I should be dripping with sweat or I'm just wasting my time. I do enjoy cardio, but during parts of the day when I'm not doing anything, I just want to move around more instead of sitting. So I don't think I should have to get a good sweat on for that to be effective. It's better than sitting around.
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I do both, although most of my walks are moderately paced. During my last 11-12 minutes when I come up the hill, I try to really give her & that makes me sweat! ;) I do at least 5 moderate walks each week. It just does great things for me. Keeps my waist trim (I notice when I am not doing it that I gain on my sides), keeps my digestion going, helps me sleep, helps when I am having chronic pain in my back, as mentioned before it keeps my thick thighs from getting out of hand and feeling nice & strong. I am really a big fan of it obviously. lol. My brother in-law a few years ago had very poor cholesterol readings. He started walking once or twice a day (barely changed eating habits) & had it back to normal ranges in 4 months time. When I can't get outside, I try to do Jessica Smith ones.
You are so right too! Better than sitting around right?!
 
I felt like that after STS followed by CLX. Barre. It really worked. Plus I learned to love it and have incorporated it into my rotations. Physique57, BarreAmped with SuzAnne Bowen, Barre3 with Sadie Lncoln, Barlates with Linda Wooldridge. Linda has lots of free stuff on youtube. Of course Cathes TurboBarre.
Walking.
 
I'm another fan of walking. I walk for between 90 mins and 2 hours every day, with occasional day-long hikes. I walk across country, rather than on hard surfaces, with my dogs (off lead).
As well as all the benefits Elsie has mentioned, I find that the off-road walking strengthens my calves, ankles, and is great for balance.
 
Justine, I'm so jealous! I'd love to have the time, nice weather and daylight to walk that long everyday! Walking is such great mental exercise too and fresh air does wonders! Hmm, maybe I need to retire and move sooner rather than later ;)
 
I tend to bulk easily in the thighs. I'm starting week three of a rotation consisting of 2 days UB strength, 2 days spinning, 1 day plyo legs, 1 day yoga and a rest day. I'm noticing some results, so I plan to stick with this rotation for a good 6 weeks.

Lisa
 
I don't mean to step on any toes (or quads or hamstrings) here, but are you sure that the issue is too much muscle mass in your legs? I tend to carry my weight in my legs, so even when I have very defined abs, I'll still have a little 'fluff' on my legs. If you desire to lean out a bit, as others have noted, I think the main 'answer' lies in the kitchen. If you're displeased with too much mass in your quads, maybe focus on plyo/contrast training and barre, etc. for lower body with some heavy hip thrusts, etc., to focus on the glutes in your heavier lifting?
 
~Elsie said:
I do both, although most of my walks are moderately paced. During my last 11-12 minutes when I come up the hill, I try to really give her & that makes me sweat! ;) I do at least 5 moderate walks each week. It just does great things for me. Keeps my waist trim (I notice when I am not doing it that I gain on my sides), keeps my digestion going, helps me sleep, helps when I am having chronic pain in my back, as mentioned before it keeps my thick thighs from getting out of hand and feeling nice & strong. I am really a big fan of it obviously. lol. My brother in-law a few years ago had very poor cholesterol readings. He started walking once or twice a day (barely changed eating habits) & had it back to normal ranges in 4 months time. When I can't get outside, I try to do Jessica Smith ones.
You are so right too! Better than sitting around right?!
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Thanks. I just found Jessica Smith the other day. She has lots of free stuff on youtube and love that you don't need a lot of room to do them. Leslie Sansome has some free stuff on youtube as well, but for me, she's a little hard to listen to. I find Jessica very easy to listen to and doesn't get annoying at all.
 
ChelePA said:
The only thing that helped me was a change in my diet. I don't do bread, pastas, sweets, etc. I am lower carb these days. Most of my carbs are from veggies, nuts, seeds, cheese and fruit.
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Second vote for NUTRITION:)
Envisioning a realistic body image kept me grounded:):)
 
Some really great responses here!

I noticed several brought up articles from Metabolic Effect, which is an awesome resource. I didn't see if it was stated that the bulk was too much muscle or is there fat there you are looking to lean out? Women in general have more weight gain in the lower body due to Estrogen and we have more alpha receptors in our lower body then men, which means we store fat, not burn it. A few things mentioned in the ME lower body fat loss programs state that short intense exercise followed by low intensity walking (preferably 60-90 minutes) or as long as feasible after, will help burn off the fat. This with lower carbs of around 75-125g/day. If the lower carb is not possible, try doing the workouts in the AM with an empty stomach or with BCAA's.
 
Dawn can i ask what the BCAA's do in this instance? I happen to be one who works out in the AM on an empty stomach but never considered adding BCAA's to my intake,
tx,
jamie
 
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