Thigh help!

[suhollyberry]

My thighs have always been my problem spot. I thought that when I started biking it would help to slim them down a bit and make them more proportional with the rest of my body. Unfortunately this is not the case. My thighs have defenitely started to firm up, but I haven't noticed any fat loss or slimming.

Anyone else have this problem? Any recommendations on other exercises to do to help slim my thighs while biking? Thanks!

[Bikingmomof3]

I am interested in hearing responses. My thighs are fairly well toned and the more muscle I build the larger my thighs become. I would prefer to slim my thighs down so I am hoping to learn a thing or two from this thread.

[Veronica]

I think it all depends on how you're made. We have large thighs in my family. I've managed through biking to lose a lot of the fat on them (not all!) and they are still large and still shaped just like my sisters' (who each weigh 60-80 pounds more than me). I know they are slimmer and quite muscular, but I will never have what I consider to be good-looking legs, just because of genetics.

But I don't care. I kow I've made the best out of what I got from the gene pool and these legs spin me up some steep climbs.

V.

[Grog]

I wouldn't call my thighs or hips a "problem" but they definitely are bigger, proportionally, than, say, my arms (I have matchstick arms - really).

However, they have changed in the last two years of cycling. They did tone up and I obviously have lost inches down there because now I can pull down my jeans (which fit a bit tightly in the legs area when I bought them exactly a year ago, at the end of my first intense summer of cycling) without undoing the button and zipper. This happened without me losing a single pound on the scale. This is probably not very surprising considering that I have cycled 5000 km in between, but I find it annoyingly expensive to have to buy a few new pairs of pants again.

I haven't done any special exercises besides pedalling, save for 8 sessions of core-training that did have quite an impact on my core, but not really on my thighs.

So the bottom line is: it takes time and mileage.

[suhollyberry]

Veronica - I'm with you. I'll never have "nice" legs (although my calves are looking pretty defined lately), but I just want slimmer thighs.

I'm losing weight very disproportionately right now and it's getting hard to find jeans to fit me. I tried on jeans this past weekend and they were all tight in the thighs but loose in the waste. It's frustrating!

[tulip]

You might want to focus on spinning at high cadence. Mashing big gears will build big muscles (right? Experts correct me on this if I'm wrong!). Spinning is a better way to go, unless you are a sprint specialist.

Also, it takes a WHILE! And we are stuck with what we are given, so we might as well learn to appreciate what we can't change (and change what we can!)

[Bikingmomof3]

I'm losing weight very disproportionately right now and it's getting hard to find jeans to fit me. I tried on jeans this past weekend and they were all tight in the thighs but loose in the waste. It's frustrating!

I am doing the same thing. I am now back into 6's and the thighs are tight and the waist too big. *sigh*

[Veronica]

OH GOD ! I'll never be a 6!

LL Bean relaxed fit jeans fit me well. They have a no questions asked return policy too! They also have some other jeans that are more "in" now with a lower waist. I can't wear most of those... too big of a difference between my waist and my thighs. That style always seems to come with a more fitted thigh. I suppose you can't make a lower waist and a relaxed thigh.

V.

[Bikingmomof3]

I cannot wear the low rise at all. The waist is to big and slides right down to a very embarassing and uncomfortable position. Mid-rise, I can occassionally find. Gap Long and Lean (this always cracks me up, since I am short) work okay if I buy mid-rise, 100% cotton. If there is any "stretch" in them, they slide down the bum again. I have the most difficult time with jeans. I guess I am an hour glass shape.

[velogirl]

You can't pick and choose the body part or location to lose fat. It's kinda like saying that when you do crunches you lose belly fat or if you lift weights for your upper body you lose fat on your arms. That's the myth of spot toning.

When you lose fat, you lose it proportionally all over your body. Women's thighs (and hips, and butt, and belly) tend to pack on more adipose than other parts of our bodies. The good news, however, is we tend to see fat loss in these areas first.

The second part of the equation is what others have mentioned -- when you cycle, you gain muscle mass in your legs/thighs. So, for many women, their thighs actually get larger when they begin riding, and since fat tissue is between the skin and the muscles, your legs might look worse than before you began riding.

If you keep riding and also keep your nutrition in check, you will eventually lose some fat in your thighs.

I always tell clients to remember that we didn't get this way overnight (overweight and out of shape). For most of us, it took years to get where we are today and it will take time to see a positive change.

[KnottedYet]

I've always had trouble finding jeans. Usually if the waist is good, the butt/thighs are too tight. Or if the butt/thighs are good, the waist is gapping HUGELY.

And finding a waist that sits a bit lower (below my bellybutton) seems also to be impossible.

Then... the miracle of MEN'S Levi 560's! Yes, folks, me the Rubenesque curvy girl fits best in men's Levis! I wear 32 w 32 L which seems to be similar to women's 12 or maybe 13. Each inch on the men's sizes seems about approximate to one size in women's.

Another nice thing about men's is that you can get the length you want. And as they "age" any little loose areas tend to shrink (good ol' shrink-to-fit effect)

Knot Loves Her Levis

Edit: I was at a Levi outlet, complaining to a salesgirl about how I used to be able to wear 501's when I was a teen, and how I couldn't find anything to fit these days, whine whine whine. She suggested the men's 560's. How cool that the salesgirl knew the Levi products so well! Kudos to that chickie!

[Bikingmomof3]

I never thought to try Levis. Thanks for the tip.

[tulip]

It also might be worth the $10 to get jeans altered (taken in for the waist). That way, you have custum-fit jeans!

The only jeans that fit me are Ann Taylor. Fortunately, they have great sales from time-to-time (because I don't pay that much for jeans!)

[mimitabby]

One of the women I ride with has ridden AROUND THE WORLD on an incredibly paced tour (close to 100 miles a day!) She has big thighs. They are incredibly strong, she does all sorts of things I will never have the strength endurance or interest in doing. I saw pictures of her during that tour, where she became quite slender!! She did not have skinny thighs there either.
Like the other gals said, you can't make your thighs slim down. What will probably happen is that they will firm up and ADD MORE MUSCLE but if they are already disproportionately large, bicycling will not change them into slim hips and thighs sorry.

[GLC1968]

The good news, however, is we tend to see fat loss in these areas first.

Ha! I wish!

I'm a large legged girl...and I can NEVER find jeans. I find that ones with stretch are better than without...but I've never found a jean that actually fits my waist and my legs and still looks fashionable. To give you an idea, the old Reverse Fit at Gap fit me like a glove. Yuck.

Anyway, I have found that the best way to slim my legs is through sound nutrition, heavy weight training and cardio. Biking obviously covers the cardio, so if I could just reign in my eating and get back into the gym, I'd be golden! When I lost a bunch of weight a couple of years ago, the weight came off my middle first, so pants got even harder to find for awhile. The longer I stuck to my plan, the better it got because eventually, my legs started to lean out too. When I was at my lowest, I still had bigger legs (compared to waist) but it wasn't as drastic as it is when I'm overweight. Now...if I could only duplicate that dedication!