need help on legs and thighs

[angela]

i've been working out for years and year. i do pilates, yoga, running (3 days per week, hills, speed and a long run of 60 mins)....but my thighs (quads mostly) just dont get any definition! from the knee down, i have killer legs but my thighs are not toned and just look thick. i have tried wts in the past but just thought they made it look worse....MORE thick and not toned and not long and lean. i want the long and lean look (the rest of my body looks like that) but my thighs (outer and quads) look like crap. if i eat totally clean (ie, no sugar at all, no flour, no sweeteners) then it gets a bit better but as soon as i have anything, it's right back to where it was! i'm so aggravated and frustrated. can anyone give me some advice here? it's been years and years.......no change. like i said, have done squats, yoga, plyometrics, wts, pilates and the list goes ON and ON. pls help if you can!! i'm not overwt though, stats are 5'6" 130lbs size 6 pants usually.
thanks!

[fengalon]

I hear ya, angela. But jiggly thights are just part of being a woman. Even if we are careful with our diets, and exercise religiously, the rest of our body may look fit and toned, but our thunder thighs will stubbornly hold their fat. Take note, though, that this is perfectly normal. Even fit chicks have a little more fat in the thighs.

Fat distribution is almost wholly determined by genetics and sex hormones. Men tend to store fat in the abdomen area while women tend to store fat in the thighs and the back of the arms. If a skinny woman has a large belly or if a skinny man has thick thighs, it's usually because they have a little more of the opposite sex's hormones.

Thigh fat builds up slowly, but they empty slowly, too. It's very, very hard to get rid of -- every woman knows that. But there is a way. The fat depots in women's thighs (and buttocks) are activated only during specific female stress situations, such as pregnancy and lactation. The hormones in these situations cause the fat-depositing enzymes to be more active. This is really the only way. So, in the words or Covert Bailey, "If you want skinny legs, breast-feed!"

[HowHigh]

It sounds like you want to lower your bodyfat (adding muscle will help get them more defined, but they will get bigger as well).

Im sure there is some aspect of your diet that you could tweak. Do you eat 5+ times a day? Do you eat fewer calories than you burn in a day? Are you drinking craploads of water? Etc.

You could also try another day of cardio, or even two.

[lori501blu]

I just posted almost the same question last week, I think its very rare that woman doesn't have this problem. I FAITHFULLY workout 5-6'x a week, cardio, cardio, cardio, weight training, aerobics, spininng, pilates, same as you I have tried EVERYTHING!!! I am short, petite, so its even harder for me considering I don't have the hieght (4'11", 104 LBS). And I noticed the more I concentrated on my legs the more they got the "bulky look".

So I decided to train my legs only 1 a week, and even then I was extremly careful of what I did, leg presses - completely took out of my routine, I felt like this exercise really bulked my legs up. But I just started to do leg extensions, with a weight that I can do at least 20 reps. I would only do walking lunges every other week, and I would use the fitball for 99% of my leg workout, you get an awesome burn with no weights.

However, when I noticed the "bigest' change that my legs were finally starting to look lean was when I restricted my carbs past 12:00, which is incredibly hard for me, considering I really don't care for meat, I'd rather have my rice and veggies, and skip the meat. So obvisouly I couldn't keep that up, however, i still do try.

so after all this being said, I know exactly where you are coming from, and if you can try to limit your carbs past 12:00. Good luck. I hope this helps.

Lori

[Chiznarles]

maybe you're too hard on urself and your thighs are fine.. with 4'11" @ 104 lbs thats pretty small.. maybe a slight drop in bodyfat may help?

[lori501blu]

well if u have any suggestions on dropping my body fat please share.

And i am hard on myself but thats what keeps me striving to be better.

[ebon00]

I've recommended this before but here goes again. Women who feel they are a little too heavy in the thigh/hip region might benefit from some targeted overtraining of that area. To put it simply, do non-weighted cicuit-training for your thighs and hips on non workout days for 4-6 weeks (if you're not doing weight work you migt extend the cycle). This will cause a slight shift in muscle cell structure towards a smaller muscle cell (because of a more aerobic demand) which might help give the thigh a slimmer look.