Thicker legs due to leg press anyone?

K

Kathee

Member
Hello,

Does anyone have the same problem that I have? After doing the FIRM1, FIRM 2 and leg presses with the fanny lifter or the high step that you noticed that your legs are getting thicker?

I am really concerned because my pants are getting tight in the thigh area. Should I discontinue with the leg presses?

I need some suggestions...

Thanks,
Kathee:*
 
Hi,
I have had that problem and realized that leg presses are not good for my body type. Step is great and really slims my legs but when I start doing step ups, especially on the FIRM 14 inch "fanny lifter" box, my thighs grow instead of shrink!

I'm unfortunately one of those rare women that bulk up easily and I do very limited weight work. My workouts are about 90% cardio, cardio, cardio and that keeps my legs/buts slim the best. For my, cardio is also enough to get good muscle tone in my lower body without weight workouts. I also have to be really careful to avoid shoulder work too much and I don't do trap work or I will bulk up.

If your pants are growing tighter in the thighs and your diet is the same, but the step ups are the only difference than that is probably the problem.
 
Hi,

Thanks, I thought I was the only one who is experiencing this problem.
I would probably decrease the use of my fanny lifter box and to replace it, I will concentrate on kickboxing for the lower body.

For your cardio, do you run at all? Do you think it is a good replacement?


Thanks again your for input.
:)
 
I, too, started to bulk up in the thigh area when I was using too much weight and doing step-ups on 14" step. I immediately dropped the amount of weight I was using on my lower body and have not done any step-up work since. Now I primarily focus on cardio 5 days a week(a combination of running/step aerobics/hi-lo/interval) and do lower body weight work 3 times a week using low weight following my cardio. This has worked very well for me keeping my hips and thighs slimmer. I don't believe people who insist women don't bulk from lifting heavy weights and using a tall box. I know my body best and I definately know that my lower body bulks from heavy weight and step-ups. It took me almost a year of experimenting to figure out what was best for my body type.
 
Hi Lundquist,

Would you mind sharing what type of low-weight work you are doing for lower body? Do you mean the weight range that Cathe uses in Legs and Glutes? I have been using that workout lately and I really like it. However, I am still struggling with my pants being tighter in the hips and butt area. It is really frustrating, because all my pants are the same or even more loose in the waist area. I know that part of it is a clean eating problem, but I really try to vary my workouts between heavy and more endurance type workouts for lower body.

Thanks for anything you could share

Sandra
 
Hi Sandra,
I understand exactly what you are going through. I was really frustrated about a year ago when this happened to me. My pants were getting tighter in the thigh and looser in the waist. You are right though, clean eating has a lot to do with it. I am finding now that I'm in my thirty's that where I used to gain weight first in my waist, now I gain first in my butt/thighs. I have found that with clean eating and the exercise routine I mentioned in my earlier post, it keeps my thighs and butt the slimmest.
I use nothing heavier than 8 pound dumbbells when doing lower body work. I use Cathe a lot, but for the last few months I've been combining Cathe along with Slim Series and right now I'm using Power Half hour. I break up the Slim Series workouts into upper and lower body work and aim to do about 30 minutes of lower body work 3 days a week after a good hard cardio. And as I mentioned earlier, I NEVER do step-ups.
You will really have to experiment and find what works best for your body. Hope this helps a little.
 
I do not want my legs to bulk and I also get muscle very easily. For the leg work in the Cathe videos, I either use no weight (leg press/lunges) and I typically cut my weight to half of what Cathe uses. It seems to work for me. Also, for lunges and squats, I bought a balance disk to incorporate instead of using weights.

Another idea is to do those basic "80's" callastenics. Leg lifts, pilates, etc. Just a thought.
 
Hi Lundquist,

Thanks so much for the suggestions. It is so hard for me to imagine only using 8 pound dumbells for lower body work. I usually use what Cathe uses in most workouts.

I did notice good results from using Power hour previously, and I may have to give that a try again. It's been a while since I have done a more endurance oriented rotation. I think I would be glad to give up step-ups, just from the "ugh!" factor. I am always glad that they come first in Legs and Glutes, so that I can get them over with.

Again, thanks for the suggestions. It will be easier to work on clean eating now that Easter is over.
 
Hello all,

I guess I have to really experiment what would work for me. I do love the Lower Pyramid Tape because it really targets your legs and glutes, but use it without weights or 5-8 pound dumbbells. OR find a substitute exercise..
 
Hello......can I ask what your body type is? A few years back when I was doing the Firm, when I first started doing the tall box climbs, my legs did get thicker, but only for a short time, and then, which seemed like overnight, they got smaller (I have big legs anyhow). I am an hourglass.

Kim
 
Hi Kim,

I think I am a ruler/spoon. I have been doing the Firm 1 and Firm 2 since January 2003. Since then after doing the step-ups, I did noticed that my legs were muscular(which is good) but thicker. Even my buttocks area was transformed. That part I am not complaining.
:7

And I have incorporated Cathe since Jan 2004.

Kathee
 
I had the same thing happen to me from using the Firm 1 and 2 systems. I got to where I could barely fit into my pants and had a couple of pair of shorts that I couldn't wear at all. What helped me was the pyramid lower body workout and Kick Punch & Crunch. On Sunday I'm starting a new rotation encorporating those workouts back into my schedule. I lift as heavy as Cathe in the pyramids and I think I'm an hour glass also as I tend to gain and lose weight all over my body, but I definitely have to wear relaxed fit jeans. My goal is to wear regular jeans. I like the size I wear, but I'm tire of wearing relaxed fit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top