Get the Legs you REALLY Want

01 October 2015

I hear it all the time! So many women want to change the shape of their legs. Some want muscular, toned legs and a bigger booty, others want long lean, svelte like legs. And in order to achieve this, just about every stream of information out there suggests exactly the same thing: lots of resistance training, weight-lifting, squats, and HITT training.The other famous phrase for great legs is that “women don’t have enough testosterone to get bulky, so weight training is ideal” Hmmmm…not quite!

Firstly, -and I preach this one all the time - everyone is built differently! Depending on your body type, you may either have a naturally more muscular physique and therefore are more likely to build muscle really quickly, or you have a lower muscle tone, and have to work really hard to build up muscle.

Secondly, everyone is a different height– some women are short and petite, with small legs, others are short and stocky with a tendency to gain muscle easily, and then there are those who are tall with very long limb muscles, and so bulking is unlikely. Of course there are many other variations within these common types of bodies, the point is, is that we need to understand exactly what type of body we have, and what kind of results we want to achieve before we embark on a training regime aimed at reshaping our legs. Squats and lunges are NOT always the answer! You cannot apply a 1 size fits all approach to this!

Lastly, you have to ensure that your eating habits are super clean and consistent. The best way to lower body fat is by opting for lean proteins, nuts, legumes, seeds, small occasional portions of fruit and wholegrains, loads of veggies and lots of water. No amount of training can compensate for bad eating, so you need to be consistent with both to see results.

So how can you REALLY sculpt your dream legs?

If you are naturally muscular and want to build even more muscle – Because here you actually want to build the size of your muscles further, it makes sense to do lots of squats, lunges, cross-training, HITT training, boxing, jumping, skipping, weight and resistance training,  

If you are already muscular and want to slim down your legs – opt for low resistance, long-duration cardio such as long distance running, low resistance cycling and walking. Pair this with Pilates and yoga to lengthen your muscles for a longer leaner look.

If you are tall and long and want to tone up our legs – squats and lunges are ideal for you; along with HITT training and resistance based cardio

If you are skinny and want bigger legs and bum – lots of HITT Training, weight lifting, squats, lunges, skipping, box jumps, kick-boxing and resistance training is ideal.

If you are short and stocky and would like to lean your legs out – do not go near any kind of resistance or explosive training. Long duration low intensity cardio, yoga, Pilates, stretching and low resistance functional training is best.

So remember to:

1. Determine your body type and muscle gains propensity

2. Decide what results you want to achieve

3. Select a workout routine that will give you the results you actually want

Yours in Health Always,

Cara-Lisa

@caralishious