reducing bulk

[seachele]

Hi Cathe,
I have been using MIS for two years and alternating your PS series. I am 5'2 and
tend to build muscle fairly quickly. I am
concerned that my short legs are starting
to look a bit bulky. I am happy with the
results I have achieved from your videos,
but am wondering if it is possible to cut
back on the amount of weight I have been using
to try and make them appear leaner. Will this
set me back from the gains I progressed to?
I eat a balanced diet and my body fat is 16%.
Any suggestions would be excellent. Thanks!

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi! You sound like you are in excellent physical condition.

Whenever you become discouraged with the results you are currently achieving, you have to re-evaluate your plan and make some adjustments. This will require some experimenting to see exactly what the right formula is for you specifically. To help eliminate some guess work, I can offer some suggestions but they are truly suggestions. Your genetics may or may not respond to them. Also remember when making changes, you have to give your body an adjustment period of say 6 wks per change to see if it makes a difference.

First, you can try cutting back to lighter weights on your workouts.

Second, you can try leaving the weights the same as now but take a two week break from lifting and then when you return to lifting, cut back on how often you do it.

Third, you can cut back on both the frequency AND the amount of weight you lift.

Fourth, you can add in high intensity cardio. For instance...Although this may or may not work for you, running four miles two times per week plus one indoor cycle class per week usually kept the bulk out of my legs(but I have not had the time to do either in quite a while

).

I hope one of these options works for you---even though you sound very fit.

 

[Jane P]

I have heard that if you do your cardio workouts after doing weights that you will not bulk as much, but I haven't personally tried this. Perhaps you could split up PS legs, doing each half with a shorter cardio workout instead of doing the whole thing at once.