leg exercises help??

[poker kitten]

I need some advice on slimming down my thighs. About 6 years ago I lost about 50 lbs and have stayed at a pretty steady weight of 135-145lbs since then and I slimmed down everywhere except my thighs it seems. It doesnt help that I'm only 5'3" either. Anyway my sister does squats/lunges on the smith machine which she urges me to do when we go to the gym, and even though her thighs started out much slimmer it seems she has only bulked them up to look much bigger. I do a lot of cardio basicly, and Im wondering if anyone has any strength training exercise suggestions? Thanks a bunch.

 

[Steve]

Resistance training either add's muscle or it doesn't. There are no exercises out there that are going to lead to "smaller" legs. If your legs still carry a good amount of fat on them, your focus should be nutrition. We all store fat differently, and the first place it goes on you, is normally the last place it will come off.

Also, you are not going to build muscle unless you are in a caloric surplus, so I would not worry too much about this.

Squats and lunges are great exercises. I recommend not doing them on the smith machine though. Deadlifts are also very good for your posterior chain.

 

[poker kitten]

If you cant build muslce unless you are in a caloric surplus, then is are any strength training exercises really necessary? I do A TON of ab exercises on the stability ball and my stomach has gotten pretty flat and actually somewhat toned, or is this just from all the cardio I do?
Also Im interested in why you dont recommend using the smith machine because my sis swears by it. Thanks

 

[Steve]

If you cant build muslce unless you are in a caloric surplus, then is are any strength training exercises really necessary? I do A TON of ab exercises on the stability ball and my stomach has gotten pretty flat and actually somewhat toned, or is this just from all the cardio I do?
Also Im interested in why you dont recommend using the smith machine because my sis swears by it. Thanks

First, if you are a new-comer to resistance training, it is possible to add muscle and lose fat simultaneously. However, this is not the norm, and if it is happening, it will not last long.

Why are you doing so many abdominal exercises? Your stomach has probably leaned out for other reasons, most likely, the caloric deficit you have created due to the amount of exercise you are doing and/or your nutrition plan. You can't spot reduce, meaning, you can't focus on an exercise like crunches and expect it to magically rid you of the fat in your belly area. Physiology does not work like that. Fat loss is mainly a function of thermodynamics, meaning energy in vs. energy out.

Regarding the smith machine, machines are never superior to free weights, period.

Many machines, including the smith, locks you into a fixed plane of motion. This leads to what is known as Pattern Overload Syndrome. By continuously and repetitively loading the muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments in a locked plane and range of motion, it is highly likely that you will cause micro-traumas that will lead to over-use injuries. I am not saying it will hurt you now, but over time, I have seen it far too often, where it causes chronic over-use injuries. Many strength coaches will repeat my same words.

Using machines also takes your stabilizer muscles out of the equation. So certain aspects of your body get stronger, while others don't, or maybe even become weaker. Now, if you ever move back to free weight lifting, or start doing something that is difficult in every day life that involves your stabilizers, this can lead to injury too.

It is better to train your body in ways that mimic everyday life. i.e., squat down with a free weight on your back opposed to being locked into a pathway, like the Smith.

 

[poker kitten]

Well I actually am a newcomer, all through high school and my first year of college I've basicly kept in shape through cheerleading which is more intense then some might think. But since this is my first semester I had to pass it up, I decided to start working out at the gym with my sister.

I understand that you can't "spot train" an area, but I do so many ab exercises because it feels like it works. My abs have gotten so much flatter and defined, but ok so basicly this could just be a natural result from so much cardio.

I guess I will try lunges and squats for my legs and see how that goes.

Thanks so much for your advice

 

[Steve]

Well I actually am a newcomer, all through high school and my first year of college I've basicly kept in shape through cheerleading which is more intense then some might think. But since this is my first semester I had to pass it up, I decided to start working out at the gym with my sister.

I understand that you can't "spot train" an area, but I do so many ab exercises because it feels like it works. My abs have gotten so much flatter and defined, but ok so basicly this could just be a natural result from so much cardio.

I guess I will try lunges and squats for my legs and see how that goes.

Thanks so much for your advice

No, if you lost fat in your mid-region, please understand that it WAS a result of other things, not the huge list of abdominal exercises you are doing. I am not guessing that it was, I am stating that it was. Fat loss is a function of calories, not targeted exercises. I want to stress the importance so that you stop wasting your time where you could have been doing much more efficient and effective exercises.

If you understand that you can't spot reduce, then I hope you stop trying.

Also, loads and loads of cardio is not always the answer. Fat loss, as I said before, is primarily a function of calories (nutrition). Cardio and resistance training are a distant second.

The only time I think loads of cardio are called for is when you are training for a specific goal such as a triathlon or something of that nature.

If fat loss is your primary goal at the moment, a couple of bouts of High Intensity Interval Training per week would better suit you than loads of steady state cardio.

I hope you understood the stuff regarding pattern overload and machines, and relay that to your sis.

 

[poker kitten]

The reason she uses the smith machine is for some stability with the heavy weights she squats. She's been doing it for along time so sometimes she lifts pretty heavy and I guess if you get off course the machine works like a spotter and stops the weight from falling on you.

Obviously Ive lost some fat from my stomach but I do most of my ab exercise on the stability ball with a weighted ball, Im sure you know all the ones Im talking about and so its really something I shouldnt do? I seriously see much more defination in my abs and I thought it was a result of that, did I just have this muscle before and since I lost some fat I can recognize it better?
Sorry if that sounds stupid, but Im really confused to tell you the truth.. remember im kind of new to this.

Thanks for the advice on the cardio, I do so much because it just feels good to have so much endurance and to just go forever, but I will try your suggestion.

 

[Steve]

The reason she uses the smith machine is for some stability with the heavy weights she squats. She's been doing it for along time so sometimes she lifts pretty heavy and I guess if you get off course the machine works like a spotter and stops the weight from falling on you.

Obviously Ive lost some fat from my stomach but I do most of my ab exercise on the stability ball with a weighted ball, Im sure you know all the ones Im talking about and so its really something I shouldnt do? I seriously see much more defination in my abs and I thought it was a result of that, did I just have this muscle before and since I lost some fat I can recognize it better?
Sorry if that sounds stupid, but Im really confused to tell you the truth.. remember im kind of new to this.

Thanks for the advice on the cardio, I do so much because it just feels good to have so much endurance and to just go forever, but I will try your suggestion.

If your sis were my client, she would not be doing her squats on the smith, end of story. Any good strength coach who knows anything about proper biomechanics would most likely agree as well. If she likes to go heavy, which is a good thing IMO, tell her to use a squat rack or cage. This way, in the rare case that she fails midway through the lift, the weight does not crash on her, it would be stopped by the rack or cage.

I would also tell her that it is better to reduce the weight and perfect her form on free weight squat variations opposed to keeping the high weight just so she has to use the Smith.

If you have been doing weighted crunches, especially in the beginning, you may have build up some of your abdominal muscles. However, if you have been in a caloric deficit, I would be willing to put money on it that your abs were there. Remember, we all have abdominal muscles, most are just covered up by subcutanous fat. If we create the caloric deficit, fat will be lost, exposing what muscles we have under it. It is that simple.

I will repeat, in my opinion, you are wasting your time spending so much time doing crunches. If you focused on compound exercises like squats and deadlifts, your core would be activated plenty.

Don't get me wrong about the steady state cardio. There are many benefits to steady state cardio, most importantly cardiovascular fitness. That said though, prioritize your goals accordingly. If fat loss is your primary goal at the moment, HIIT would better suit you.

 

[poker kitten]

well my favorite cardio exercise is the elliptical trainer which really works my leg muscles. Like this morning I just did 60 minutes on it at a moderate intensity, enough to tire me out. But I basicly go to the same pace just alternating forward and backward motion. What kind of intervals do you suggest?
The machine said close to 700 calories this morning after an hour, which I think is way too high, Ive heard these machines can be very off. So how many do you think it actually burns?

 

[Steve]

well my favorite cardio exercise is the elliptical trainer which really works my leg muscles. Like this morning I just did 60 minutes on it at a moderate intensity, enough to tire me out. But I basicly go to the same pace just alternating forward and backward motion. What kind of intervals do you suggest?
The machine said close to 700 calories this morning after an hour, which I think is way too high, Ive heard these machines can be very off. So how many do you think it actually burns?

I can't really guess on how many calories you burned without seeing you actually do it. However, the machine is probably wrong. When I say HIIT, I mean real high intensity bouts of exercise lasting 12-15 minutes.

Here is an article I wrote about HIIT:

Popular training methods come around in cycles of popularity every few years. Lately, everyone and their mother's will tell you that weight training with 8-12 reps, HIIT, and a balanced diet will help anyone and everyone.

First, let me say these guidelines are a good starting point for most beginners and intermediate lifters. However, we all know that each of us are metabolically and physiologically unique. A host of variables plays a role as to what methods will work best for you, such as somatotype, training age, etc. Where 8-12 reps may be ideal for most individuals, realize that this ideal rep range will decrease as training age increases for instance. By training age, I simply mean, how many years you have been CONSISTENTLY training.

I am not posting this to point fingers at what is right or wrong in my opinion currently. I am posting this to say that I think HIIT is here to stay. We all throw the recommendation out there to anyone who is looking to lose fat to implement HIIT, but why? What is HIIT and why is it better then steady state cardio?

Steady state cardio (running at the same intensity for prolonged periods of time) uses primarily fat stores as its energy source. Back in the day, this fact led many to believe that SS cardio was the preferred method of exercise for shedding the pounds.

How does HIIT differ from this? Actually, first let's discuss what HIIT is for those who may not know. HIIT is simply the alteration between high intensity and low intensity training intervals. This can be done with any form of exercise, such as running, cycling, swimming, elliptical training, etc. For instance, you may set up a 1:2 protocol. You will set a total training duration, in this case assume 20 minutes. You can split these 20 minutes up however you would like. For simplicity's sake, let's assume we do 10, 2-minute intervals totaling the 20 minutes. Each of these 10 intervals is then broken up into the high/low intensity intervals. Going back to the 1:2 ratio we set up, we would exercise at high intensity for 40 seconds and immediately follow this with a low intensity bout lasting 80 seconds totalling a single 2-minute interval. Follow this principle for each of the 10 intervals. That, in a nutshell is HIIT.

So, back to how HIIT differs from SS cardio. HIIT uses primarily carbohydrates as its fuel source. This may not seem logical to you; it may seem better to burn fat then carbohydrates if fat loss is the goal. Stick with me though!

Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) plays a much larger role in fat loss, and HIIT drastically increases your TDEE. So now we are talking energy (calorie) balances instead of fat burning. After a bout of HIIT, something known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) is increased.

While you may burn more calories and fat during SS cardio, when you factor EPOC into the equation, you actually end up burning more energy performing HIIT rather then SS cardio.

The beauty of HIIT lies in the fact that you do not have to, nor should you be able to, train as long as you would with SS cardio. In a nutshell, HIIT is more effective due to the increase EPOC and energy utilization and more efficient due to the time consumption issue.

There are many other benefits of HIIT. It tends to keep your Type IIa muscle fibers on the fast twitch side of the spectrum. Type II muscle fibers are those used for quick utilization, explosion, and power for activities such as sprints or weight training. Type IIb are for pure power. Type IIa are your middle of the road fibers. They can take on qualities of both fast twitch or slow twitch. SS cardio tends to keep these Type IIa fibers on the slow (type I) fiber side and HIIT tends to keep these on the fast (type II) fiber side.

Although HIIT is considered to be an anaerobic exercise, it has been proven to also improve aerobic capacity.

It has been shown that HIIT elevates the level of growth hormone (GH) in the bloodstream, which is never a bad thing for those of you looking to add lean muscle. (This should be all of you!)

Some studies show that your resting metabolic rate remains elevated for over a 24-hour period after a bout of HIIT.

There is more to be said, but I hope at this point, for those of you who did not understand why HIIT is so popular right now, you now see the importance of utilizing this type of training. For those of you looking to shed some fat or for those of you looking to maintain muscle while improving your cardiovascular systems, this is for you.

And as always, what works best for one, may not work best for another. With this said, don't be afraid to mix up your routines such as 2 days of HIIT per week and 1 day of SS cardio.

Thanks for listening!