Thunder Thighs!

[WipsGlitter]

I am doing couch to 5k and enjoying it! My main problem area is my thighs, my waist is ok but to get trousers over my thighs I need to go up a size but then they are all baggy over the bum.

Are there any good thigh slimming exercises that really work. Inner and outer thigh.

Not original but effective
Squats with feet parallel.
Squats with feet wide and turned out.
Front lunges, side lunges.
All with hand weights.

Do individual ones. Then go into squat/lunge and lift and lower (like a pulse iyswim) a half squat or lunge on the spot.
Do gazillions.

Killer Buns and Thighs!
Jillian Michaels DVD
Or any of her stuff actually, full of lovely squats

Squats, but some people have big thighs, IMO best to lose weight as thigh exercises can increase the muscle and make them look even bigger. I lose from thighs last so have to be quite slim before thighs in proportion.

I think the OP (like me) is not big of thigh because of big muscles.
The idea of exercise building and bulking up muscle is a bit of a myth unless you are going very heavy weights.

If you just diet and don't exercise then weight loss will slim you down according to your current proportions and if (god forbid) you put weight back on it will increase problem areas even further.
Excercise will increase metabolism so the op should naturally be losing weight any way.
Weight loss / dieting alone is always a bad idea.

I have lost a stone through excercise and sensible eating.
By exercising, in particular squats and lunges with weights, most of it has been from my thighs and arse.

I do a lot of running and cycling so not just weights to add bulk to thighs. But two different things extra fat on thighs which can only be dealt with by fat loss ie dieting and definition on thighs from exercise. Doing squats and other thigh exercises will not make thighs thinner.

I have read that your body fat needs to be down around 18% to tackle problem areas like thighs. They suggested exercises like running on flat surfaces to burn energy - hills increase muscle bulk. Stay away from exercises like squatting as again you'll increase muscle bulk.

I am now down to a BMI of 20 and my thighs still rub together, they are smaller but I'd have to be positively skeletal to reduce them down to somewhere I'd be happy with but then the rest of my body would look awful. It's a bit of a balancing act, losing weight doesn't change body shape but it does make problem areas look less obvious.

Ok. Well somehow by doing it all wrong my thighs are slimmer than they have ever been.
My top half was a 10 and my bottom half a 14. I am now a 10 in both.
I will stick with my personal trainer. It's working even if apparently it shouldn't.

Lucky you Pag None of this weightloss stuff seems to work the same on everyone. I don't gain muscle easily - so I bet even after a million squats my legs would be flabby and the same size.

Yes I agree with Body fat of 18% my thighs finally don't rub together. I have been weightlifting on upper body to try and balance out as top half v skinny now. I have had big thighs my whole life, done every exercise etc but just added muscle. The only thing that worked was reducing body fat mainly through a Dukan inspired diet.

BettyBathroom

Yy, we are different. I probably would have said the same as you a year ago. I am fifty and, although I have never been particularly overweight, I had given up on ever being even vaguely in proportion. Buying dresses was a nightmare because I was two different sizes.

Now I eat sensibly with a view to weight loss and good nutrition and I have two sessions with a PT a week - no excuses. And it has worked. Even if apparently it shouldn't. Shockingly

What works for one may not work for another but I post what works for me not to try and be a smartarse but because I would hate others to feel it is hopeless.

Hey pagwatch - am interested in your fabulous success as we are very similar in size and age (well I am like your before...)

So would you tell me what you did - I am guessing you did a standard diet and then did you do 2 hours a week with a PT just doing the squat and lunge stuff - anything else? How long did it take for you to see results? Thanks - you give me hope of not being a pear for ever!

Hi zzz

Happy to share

I started in the run up to my 50th (last november) because I was getting progressively bigger and depressed.
I cut right down on processed food/carbs. I stopped drinking during the week, only drinking moderately at the weekend. I drink lots of water. I eat five times a day - three meals and two snacks. But I eat what I want and have lost onky about 1lb a week but pretty much every week.

My PT sessions are based around interval training - bursts of cardio to get my heart rate up and then excercises with weights.

That's it really. Dull but it works for me.

I think the thing that worked was figuring out that it was better to live a normal life losing weight slowly and steadily rather than losing lots but eating in a way I couldn't keep up forever. I also tried to focus on things that would give me more energy and stamina so that I now find I am more active day to day than I was before.
I also break what I am doing into 10 week chunks which helps me focus. So right now I am working on increasing my stamina, adding daily stretches to help my back and i am only aiming to lose another 5 lbs. Small achievable targets.
My next aim is to find something I can do weekly that isn't a work out like having swimming or tennis lessons. So it is something I can do independently iyswim

Hths. I hated feeling like I would always be so pear shaped. We can't fight our genes but I felt like just dieting all these years had made it so much worse.

Good luck zzzzzz

Thanks Pag! so this makes sense to me - and I guess is similar to what I am doing now - low carb and no crap - plus no drinking during week.

I do have a PT but not seeing much progress so I guess I need to focus more and up the ante a bit but as you say I do not want to give up a normal life - 1lb a week sounds fine - need to lose 20 lb so even that is not such a long time if the result is a better line..

Do you do much upper body stuff with weights or is it all lunges and squats with weights to kill the pear? How much weight do you use to lunge?

Sorry to ask so many questions, you are first person I know to have lost the pear so am seeing you as my role model!!

Thanks again and well done!

I do lots of squats and lunges whilst doing curl presses, it's true. But also press ups, planks, ab crunches, tricep dips and presses and loads of other stuff. Lots of core work and stuff for my knackered back
We are doing core work with me balancing on the bosu and doing weights on there just now. My PT is really good at mixing it up and keeping it interesting.
I use 3 or 4 kg hand weights, depending on the exercise