More about bulking - opinions about step workouts

F

futurefitnessdyanmo

Cathlete
Someone posted a great old thread about bulking in the legs, and I was wondering about the general feeling as to whether step bulks or slims the legs. Obviously this will differ from person to person, but I was wondering if most people limit Cathe step due to bulking? I've found with a HR monitor that hi/lo and step get my heart rate up the best, and with not many Cathe hi'lo options, step is what I choose (plus they are just so much fun!).

Perhaps I really should consider investing in a treadmilll for an alternative...

What have people found happens with legs due to different forms of cardio: step, kickbox, hi/lo, lots of power/plyo moves, etc...

For comparison: I am 5'5", around 150 (currently using Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle to lose 15 pounds or so) and tend to build muscle easily and need no more bulk in the lower body)...
 
Hello Future Fitness Dynamo,

I've found over many years of doing Step that for me, Step tends to build my Quads significantly. Like you, I LOVE STEP, TOO!! Kickboxing tends to slim my legs along with the Elliptical trainer and running. I did have a fellow personal trainer tell me to limit Step to once a week so as not to build my legs anymore. Like you said, genetics plays an integral part in this and for me...unfortunately...Step builds my legs:-(

I still do it at least once a week though and have just bought Size 4, relaxed fit jeans...:)

Have a great day!!!
 
I don't know if it is Step specifically, I suspect it is also weights, but when I don't work out at all with weights or step I am much smaller all around.

Yeah, doesn't make sense, but I weigh less and fit better into my clothes. I keep dropping sizes. I get lots of compliments on my "slim" legs. When I lift and do Cathe cardio and get huge and clothing becomes hard to fit into. The compliments cease and "girly" women see me as bulky and too big for their taste.

I like to work out hard, but when I am doing a Cathe weight tape I am only working hard enough to challenge myself. Some people say I work out too hard in the first place and that is why I get so bulky and muscle laden, but I am really only working to what I consider to be my level.

I think it is just a fact now. If you have a mesomorph body type and you do Cathe workouts everyday....and challenge yourself......you will get bigger!! Now, I do admit that I think that if your diet isn't clean you are dealing yourself a double whammy because your muscles are getting bigger but your fat is not shrinking!! I think the only reason I am smaller now is simply because my muscle has shrunk down and my fat has either stayed the same, gone down a bit, or gone UP a bit. It is just not noticeable because so much muscle has gone away. It actually looks like I am doing WELL when I haven't touched a weight or a Cathe workout in about six months!! We all know that it is better to lift and be strong and injury resistant than be skinny and out of shape though (message to be heard here, everyone):)


Honestly, the only way I would be comfortable telling you that step makes your thighs bulky is if you were to stop lifting and do ONLY step. You really can't say what is making you bulky until you cut out the lifting. Because you obviously are not going to do that, then I would say no more than 2 step tapes per week.

I was trying to make a point, it just took a while!! HA!!
 
Personally I don't find that any type of cardio leads to my muscles changing at all. Its the weights that make changes on my body. My legs are rather strong and although I am sure that initially the step made a difference, I don't think that it does much these days.
 
I've been stepping since Gin Miller first came up with the Step Reebok workouts in the 90's and I've never bulked up just stepping, even when I used 2 sets of risers. I do bulk up when I do weighted squats and lunges. I've experimented over the last year to see how much weight I can use without bulking up and at which point my legs start to bulk, which is at 45 lbs.

Yes, I have heard these things about step, and even about squats and lunges. That they make your butt even bigger. That they'll make your legs look like a man's. Such things never happened to me. Weighted leg work coupled with floor work is still the best thing for my legs. When my knees bother me, I just do floor work.

Due to knee problems, I use only a 4-inch step, and that's enough to work my legs and give me a good cardio workout. Kickboxing is a great way to work my legs without weights and it has done a good job of shaping my lower body and developing my balance and coordination. Workouts like the IMAXes with a lot of plyometrics and power moves are also a good way to strengthen the legs without weight. I believe that IMAX 2 helped me with that when I was first starting out, but I don't do power moves and jumps so often anymore because of my knees.

There are many ways of working the legs, and I rotate power stepping, kickboxing, standing leg work and floor work. I'd like to try spinning but those bikes are too expensive and I don't have any more room in the house. Our bodies also respond to exercise differently so it pays to try something for a while and see what happens.

Pinky
 
Great replies, thank you so much ladies. It is hard for me to know exactly, I've been working out for so many years now. I don't remember what I looked like before! I think what I am going to do it cut out heavy weight work for the legs and do tapes with higher reps and alternative moves like floorwork and jumping moves. I'll try this for a month and see what I think of the results.

Also, my diet needs to be cleaner, this I know!!!
 
I'm working on a hypothesis here. Does your body makeup make the deciding factor here?

I wonder if those of us who tend to be pear shaped not only put on fat easier on the lower part but also put on muscle easier down there? And a layer of fat + bulging muscles = way bigger than we want!!! In the opposite way, I can use really heavy weights for my upper body and I get a very lean, defined athletic look - not bulky, just beautiful.

Do 'apple' shaped women have the opposite problem of developing bulky shoulders and arms when using heavy weights but at the same time heavy weights only improve their already nice lean legs - not bulky just beautiful?

Still working on a headcold here - if this doesn't make sense let me know!

Trish a.k.a Packhorse Pat

Edited to add - started step in fall and in my enthusiasm to learn the moves was doing it 4-6 x's/week...and gained an inch in my thighs...now I also started lifting then too - as heavy as I could, so the jury is still out as to which bulked me more. I've lost it now since Jan. I lowered my weights and started running again now that the snow is gone BUT I still don't have those elusive slim thighs. :-(
 
My legs don't bulk no matter what I do. They just get nice and firm. I wouldn't mind a little more bulk to them, though.
 
I'm squatting 130 lbs, trying to bulk up my legs, LOL. It's a slow process for me...something step workouts could never do. But I'm an ectomorph.
 
CalorieAssasin (I like that).

I've never seen this website before. Can you tell me a little about it? I notice she has several e-books. I just bought Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto about a month ago and was just wondering about hers. I like BFFM a lot, and am guessing what she says will be fairly similar, but it is written by a woman, so thought she might have a few additional tips...
 
Ummmmm Trish has a point ,I'm thinking I fit in her concept. I'm Pear Shaped !!!!I was noticing my jeans are getting tighter in the thighs .... So I measured 2" bigger then When I started Hardcore !!! 2"smaller in waist,and 2"smaller bust! And 1.5"smaller arms !!!! And defined!!!! Ummm I decided not to measure my butt... LOL..... Kidding it stayed the same ... So I've been stepping /Tae Bo /Gliding None of which increased my Thighs Til Now !!! So for me I'm going lighter Then Cathe My next few GS Legs. I'm gonna try 20 pounds .I'm really guessing its Those Squats with 40 pounds !!!! Bulking me up ....I really dont want to stop Stepping ,So crossing my fingers I have it figured out LOL ...I still want to try running ...waiting for nicer weather .ummmm maybe with running I could do the heavier weights ..any help here or ideas would be great . I have to say I'm getting results with Cathe :) :)
 
>CalorieAssasin (I like that).
>
>I've never seen this website before. Can you tell me a little
>about it? I notice she has several e-books. I just bought Burn
>the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto about a month ago and
>was just wondering about hers. I like BFFM a lot, and am
>guessing what she says will be fairly similar, but it is
>written by a woman, so thought she might have a few additional
>tips...
>
>
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you! I've been very busy at work. BFFM is very similar, if I remember correctly. She goes into calorie rotation and carb rotation as plateau busters. Her weight lifting book is AWESOME.

The site itself is a free forum, very much like this one, but with much more nutrition info. She says diet is 80% of it, and will openly discuss proper nutrition for building muscle and shedding fat. Love the site!

Hope this helps!
 
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