She's Got Legs and She Knows How to Use Them.
Hi girls! You're in the right place today! I’m excited to share some information with you that I know you'll want to have. Imagine if there was a simple solution to having leaner legs, a solution that could naturally reduce cellulite and excess fat. I am sure you would want to know all about it, am I right? Every woman that comes to me for help says they want to have tighter thighs… seriously, every single one. So, I’m going to share some of the secrets I use to help my women clients, especially those over the age of 40, go from frumpy to super lean. Ready?
You might be thinking, “Cody, I’ve tried everything to get leaner legs!” I know! Trust me, I’m with you. I have too. You’re probably like many of the women who come to me for help who are always second guessing themselves, wondering if they're doing the right exercises and workouts, or if they're getting in enough exercise for their body type and goals. This is a challenge we all face. There is a ton of misinformation out there and its all confusing to everyone.
But, the solution is simple. We just need to do the right female specific workouts using the correct training techniques.
There are two types of workouts you should be doing:
Lower body HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) that helps with muscle toning and increases fat burning.
Female Specific Leg Toning Exercises
By doing these types of workouts with the right training techniques, you’ll:
get leaner legs
won’t gain size
balance your lower and upper body symmetry.
To understand why this works, let me share a little science behind it.
What are the elements of a lean physique?
First, we need to step back and look at the big picture of our female body fat distribution, female body symmetry and muscle strength vs. muscle size.
1. Female body fat distribution.
As women, we tend to carry more fat in our lower body, hips, butt and thighs. Often our shoulders are narrower than our hips and the ratio of our limb length in relation to our height means our legs look thicker and shorter. So, its not surprising they often feel disproportionately big.
2. Female body symmetry.
Good nutrition is vital, but if you're like most women, you've probably experienced the frustration of losing weight only to see your upper body get smaller and your lower body stay the same or heaven forbid, look bigger in comparison. Very frustrating! No matter what you do, you cant lose that layer of fat on your legs or achieve the definition you dream of. I get emails, or Facebook messages, and comments about these problems all the time, thats why I’m writing this blog.
3. Muscle strength vs. muscle size.
Strong, firm muscles are the secret to toning your legs from the inside out. They will shape your thighs, smooth the surface of your skin to get rid of cellulite and create beautiful definition.
BUT, there’s a massive difference between creating hard, dense, strong, lean muscles and building big, bulky ones.
Lean, tight thighs are created through improving muscle strength and tone (muscle fiber density) - not through building muscle size (muscle cell volume).
Think about it. Muscle size and muscle strength are not the same thing. I’ve arm wrestled men with double the muscle size of me - and won! Have you seen how big my arms are lol?
So put aside your preconceived workout notions and fears about getting “bigger legs” from exercising and please keep an open mind.
Why what you've been doing isn't working & what you need to do
There are two very different ways muscle can be conditioned:
Myofibrillar hypertrophy: creates more muscle fibers, increasing muscle hardness and strength. We want this.
Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy: creates more fluid within the muscle cells increasing muscle size. Most women don’t want this.
Focus on creating stronger, harder, firmer muscles that will tighten and define your legs without gaining size. This is called building muscle density.
There is a very specific way to train for muscle density.
Here’s what works and doesn't work for women.
What doesn’t work:
Running or steady state cardio (same slow pace): utilizes the slow muscle twitch fibers. These take twice as much effort to build the same amount of muscle density as exercise that recruit the fast twitch muscle fibers. In other words, you can run and run but still have cellulite, sponginess and sagging.
Old school weight training: builds muscle size and places strain on joints, ligaments and tendons.
What does work -The Training Techniques-
Exercises that:
use full range of motion
challenge our balance (stabilizing muscles)
include static muscle contraction (isometrics)
are done at the right speed
performed in the correct sequence
2. Mind-to-Muscle Connection
Research shows we only use 20-30% of our total muscle strength when trying our hardest. We need to:
*consciously recruit and activate the target muscles in our quads, inner and outer thigh, hamstrings and butt to create firmer muscles without gaining size whatsoever.
*not zone out during our favorite workout DVD or mindlessly go through our routine or gym class.
*consciously feel our muscles stretch and flex in all the right places as we go through the moves.
3. Training Effort:
*optimize our effort expended during the allocated workout time.
*reduce rest time between exercises,
*shorter, more intense routines.
-The Workouts-
I recommend two types of specialized workouts:
Lower body HIIT
Female Specific Leg Toning Exercises
Combining the correct training techniques with the right workout gets results like:
*Reduced body fat
*build stronger, harder muscles to firm, tone and define our thighs.
*increase our resting metabolic rate, making it easier to maintain our weight.
If you've struggled to get leaner legs and tried everything, try my example workout, and if you live near me come and join one of my All Women Training Groups, or work with me one on one and I can help you achieve the body you desire and deserve.
We are all unique, with our own body type and challenges. Whether we are skinny fat wanting to tone up, or fit but with cellulite, or wanting to lose 10-15lbs - these are the types of workouts that work. I’ve seen it first hand with me and with my female clients.
Remember, it’s not about losing weight, but about changing our body composition. Even small changes can make a big difference to our appearance and how we feel about ourselves no matter what our weight, size or body shape.
Have a Fit & Fabulous Day!
Cody