How to lose mass in my lower body

[jazzyfizzle]

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice on losing weight in my legs. I have very musclar legs, but they are not very defined so I know I also have quite a bit of body fat in my legs too. I used to do rigorous lower body weight workouts, however, cardio seems to be the only way to thin my lower body out. Should I stay away from weights when it comes to my lower body? I just do not want to gain any more muscle in my legs! If anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it!

[anandagirl]

Don't stay away from the weights - but you will need to lose fat, so the first step is your diet.

[Brently]

Run a marathon.

[imperfectly_lou]

Originally Posted by anandagirl

Don't stay away from the weights - but you will need to lose fat, so the first step is your diet.

Agreed. If you stop training your legs, you will lose muscle and once you lose any fat off your legs, they will still look flabby. I would train less frequently and with lower volume but most importantly, look at your diet.

[jazzyfizzle]

Thanks for the posts, there was a couple of mentions about my diet, and I do stick to the cleanest diet I can. I struggle because I feel I eat really well, every three hours, mostly tuna, veggies, oatmeal, protein shakes, egg whites, brown rice etc, but I still have a large lower body. I also believe I retain alot of water in my lower body. I have run marathons in the past and really have not seen a significant improvement in the mass in my legs. I know alot of it is genetics, but it still really really fustrating because I work out really hard and sometimes I feel like I will ever have the body I want. I know I gain weight quickly and that is mostly from a recovering metabolism from past eds, but I have been working really hard with no results and I am a little discouraged right now. I was shopping with my boyfriend this weekend for new clothes for a job I am starting soon and I started crying in the dressing room because I am so unhappy with myself. It is not like I am fat or anything I am about a size 6 (my boyfriend thought I was ridulous and neurotic but he is very supportive and knows diet and working out are extremely important to me) I have a very thin upper body, I used to be a dancer, but my lower body just really fustrates me. I am sorry I am just ranting a little bit right now. I just do not know what to do sometimes and I guess I am just a little down.

[Mango]

At 5'8, 137 lbs is NOT fat, Jesus wept, dude.

Diet, weights, cardio. There must be something in there you aren't doing properly, if you aren't seeing results, with dedicated effort.

*p.s.* Change rooms were designed to put women through ringers. Goddamn, I hated change rooms when I wasn't seeing results!!

[terracotta]

What are you doing for workouts and cardio?

[hurdlegirl]

Downsizing my lower body has been my goal for almost a year now based on the comments i recieved from several judges in my first figure competition. Even though I'm not where I think I can be, I have made some progress. What has apparently worked for me is a combination of things. On most days I do between 45-90min of cardio. I mix my cardio by doing a variety of things...running, sprints, stairs, elliptical etc. I still ldo lower body weights 3xper week but I do high reps/sets at moderate to low weights. Lunges/lunge walks are a regular part of my routine as well as single leg exercises and bodyweight exercises. Good luck!

[Phill456]

Originally Posted by hurdlegirl

Downsizing my lower body has been my goal for almost a year now based on the comments i recieved from several judges in my first figure competition. Even though I'm not where I think I can be, I have made some progress. What has apparently worked for me is a combination of things. On most days I do between 45-90min of cardio. I mix my cardio by doing a variety of things...running, sprints, stairs, elliptical etc. I still ldo lower body weights 3xper week but I do high reps/sets at moderate to low weights. Lunges/lunge walks are a regular part of my routine as well as single leg exercises and bodyweight exercises. Good luck!

I have to agree with most of this and Really agree with adding in sprint wotrk etc as a main stay for your legs and generally getting that metabolism on FIRE!@!!! heres a good article on a sprint program

http://www.musclewithattitude.com/re....do?id=1509385

As far as weights though. Cant say I agree 100% on the lower loads etc. Id rather make the work HEAVY and MONEY lower the volume. This will do a TON to holding onto the muscle you have and strenght, making the muscle not so much larger as DENSE mature and hard. Even moreso needed while upping the cardio work which in and of itself is catabolic and will try and eat away muscle as well as fat.

Think Oly Lifters some of those gals are TINY and are lifting loads well over 3 times BW. they are very dense, neurally proficient, High levels of type two muscle activation. The thing is keeping the loads HIGH but total volume low

Hit the legs HARD on target but brief if you aim to get stronger week to week, keep the volume down, along with diet and cardio it will go a long ways

[Sunshineslynn]

Originally Posted by Phill456

I have to agree with most of this and Really agree with adding in sprint wotrk etc as a main stay for your legs and generally getting that metabolism on FIRE!@!!! heres a good article on a sprint program

http://www.musclewithattitude.com/re....do?id=1509385

As far as weights though. Cant say I agree 100% on the lower loads etc. Id rather make the work HEAVY and MONEY lower the volume. This will do a TON to holding onto the muscle you have and strenght, making the muscle not so much larger as DENSE mature and hard. Even moreso needed while upping the cardio work which in and of itself is catabolic and will try and eat away muscle as well as fat.

Think Oly Lifters some of those gals are TINY and are lifting loads well over 3 times BW. they are very dense, neurally proficient, High levels of type two muscle activation. The thing is keeping the loads HIGH but total volume low

Hit the legs HARD on target but brief if you aim to get stronger week to week, keep the volume down, along with diet and cardio it will go a long ways

I have to agree 100%

[jazzyfizzle]

Wow, thanks for all the great responses!!! My workouts usually included about 45 - 60 minutes of cardio and recently I have had some extra time so I have been taking a spinning class almost everyday for the past three weeks. I have learned through this website the importance of HIIT training and I do do alot of sprints. This also helps with the bordom on the treadmill. Along with sprints I also mess with the inclines! I guess I am just cursed to constantly having to do alot of cardio to get any results, but it is such a hard place to get results, like my upper body is completely different and I see quick results there.

I am still a little confused on the weight training. I do lower body about once a week and try and hit every thing, hamstrings, calves, quadriceps, inner thigh (because I hold alot of weight there) and alot of butt work. I usually do 12 - 15 reps of each exercise and usually work moderate to heavy weight. I do a few plyometric exercies and mat and ball work for my lower body as well. When you say low volume does that mean low reps? I am just a little confused by what is meant by low volume. yeah I am definitely trying to make my muscles more dense and elimate mass! Well thanks again for all the great advice I really appreciate it!

[terracotta]

Great post by Phill!

I think you should check out the 10x3 for fat loss program. It would be suited to your goal - http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=795366