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newby needs advice

cara2011

By cara2011
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cara2011 Junior member

cara2011

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Hello, I am very very new to the body sculpting world and have been kind of winging it on my own. I am not out to be a body builder but I'm kind of on a mission to see whether I can actually change my body shape. i have been told by many people that genetically I have a difficult body shape to change and that if I drop weight I'll just be a smaller version of myself. Ya see, I carry most of my junk in my legs... yep I may be strong climbing hills and stuff, but I would love to balance things out a bit. I have no confidence wearing jeans ( i never really do) and I feel really out of proportion. Every personal trainer I have spoken to has told me that I can not change my leg shape or slim my legs down and I fear that if I do squats, leg press etc that my legs will only continue to grow! they are already beasty lol. Any advice would be totally appreciated.

Thanks heaps

oh and stats:

height 180cm

weight 64.5kg

haven't the faintest clue what BF percentage is

Goal: 63 kg, slim down legs lol

c

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cara2011 Junior member

cara2011

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Thank you for being so supportive...

I guess just got crap self esteem.. used to get teased a lot for having tank legs- just not exactly feminine lol

Ah well, least I'm keeping fit and least these trunks can take me high into the hills to look at beautiful scenery and get fresh air!

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samuelNZ Member

samuelNZ

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So this isn't a joke?

Cause from what I gathered in those pictures, you've got a body most women would kill for?

Like jimjim said, anymore weight loss at 180cms and you'll start to look a little sickly. No offense intended!

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tomsammce Veteran member

tomsammce

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no offence but..

theres always room for improvement... these guys are just pussy starved so they always talk smack... seriously im not hating or anything and this aint directed at you and yap yap yap for sure females have more sensitive feelings and all that shit but whenever a female puts up pics and have a mediocre body why does she get congratulated like her body is actually mint material, its fucking mind boggling! its not gonna get you laid guys... and whilst forum history would suggest that it probably would... we needa get a little bit serious here. ur body is definitly good but its not one women would die for. u can definitly make improvements, should never settle for what you got. you are on the right track. well done.

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trainlikeafreak Senior member

trainlikeafreak

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Hello, I am very very new to the body sculpting world and have been kind of winging it on my own. I am not out to be a body builder but I'm kind of on a mission to see whether I can actually change my body shape. i have been told by many people that genetically I have a difficult body shape to change and that if I drop weight I'll just be a smaller version of myself. Ya see, I carry most of my junk in my legs... yep I may be strong climbing hills and stuff, but I would love to balance things out a bit. I have no confidence wearing jeans ( i never really do) and I feel really out of proportion. Every personal trainer I have spoken to has told me that I can not change my leg shape or slim my legs down and I fear that if I do squats, leg press etc that my legs will only continue to grow! they are already beasty lol. Any advice would be totally appreciated.

Thanks heaps

oh and stats:

height 180cm

weight 64.5kg

haven't the faintest clue what BF percentage is

Goal: 63 kg, slim down legs lol

c

If you are a beginner then you are doing extremely well. train legs. do plenty of deep squats. DEEP. high reps, nothing under 15. also plenty of stiff legged deadlifts, good mornings, lower abdominal work. your body looks great and your legs are fine, don't stress.

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cara2011 Junior member

cara2011

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Hi again guys.

This is not a joke post. I am really serious. But thanks for being kind.

Trainlikeafreak- Wicked! Thanks so much for your advice. I really appreciate it and am gonna have a crack over the next 4 weeks and reassess from there.

Cheers all :)

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Pseudonym Veteran member

Pseudonym

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Every personal trainer I have spoken to has told me that I can not change my leg shape or slim my legs down

If they mean that you can't spot-reduce fat on your legs alone, they're right. You need to reduce fat all over to reduce fat on your legs.

As the others have said, you've already got a good physique. However if, like the rest of us, your goal is perfection, then yes, I'd agree your upper body is slightly overtaken by your lower. So here's what I'd do:

- Start a gentle cut to lower your body fat (which will automatically decrease your leg size). Actually, think of it more as a gradual "body recomposition" rather than a cut.

- Work your upper body hard. You want to build this up more so you don't look scrawny when you cut.

- Don't neglect your lower body, but perhaps don't push this quite so hard. Keep the reps high, maybe don't go to failure... that sort of thing.

That's what I'd do. Let's see if anyone agrees with me. :D

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trainlikeafreak Senior member

trainlikeafreak

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Every personal trainer I have spoken to has told me that I can not change my leg shape or slim my legs down

If they mean that you can't spot-reduce fat on your legs alone, they're right. You need to reduce fat all over to reduce fat on your legs.

As the others have said, you've already got a good physique. However if, like the rest of us, your goal is perfection, then yes, I'd agree your upper body is slightly overtaken by your lower. So here's what I'd do:

- Start a gentle cut to lower your body fat (which will automatically decrease your leg size). Actually, think of it more as a gradual "body recomposition" rather than a cut.

- Work your upper body hard. You want to build this up more so you don't look scrawny when you cut.

- Don't neglect your lower body, but perhaps don't push this quite so hard. Keep the reps high, maybe don't go to failure... that sort of thing.

That's what I'd do. Let's see if anyone agrees with me. :D

I would say 'cut' - no need to risk muscle loss. I think a clean diet and cardio is enough. She is probably doing this already though judging by her physique. No need to anything drastic - Good things take time.

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teamfatboy Veteran member

teamfatboy

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Yep, first thing, shoot the PT who said that.

Second thing - a diet that promotes conserving lean muscle mass while burning bodyfat all over.

Third thing - some emphasis on upper-body training. Like the others, I reckon there's nothing wrong with those legs, or indeed with your shoulders-arms...but if you want, lower rep-range/ heavier weight work on your shoulders and lats would promote growth, and thus visually change the relative proportions.

Fourth - again, like the others have said, keep training legs, they'll be a great way of expending energy as part of burning overall bodyfat, but keep the weight light and reps high (15-20 rep sets) and work on full range-of-motion.

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nate225 Veteran member

nate225

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Have to laugh at all the boys running out & telling you how great you look..... in the hope they'd get their balls licked! :pfft: :grin: (Tom your deleted post sums it up nicely).

That said Cara, you have a good base and most the guys are right in that for the average population you look good (actually very good given our obesity epidemic).

However it depends if thats the target group you wanna look good in. If we threw you on stage NOW with Bodybuilders (be it Physique, Figure or Bikini class) you would be way out of your depth, which is to be expected (so no slur on you).

Let us know what your goals are and hopefully people can give more constructive advice rather than blowing sugar up your ass and catering to your ego.

You've got a good starting point, set some lofty goals and go hard. But equally important don't sweat that you're not perfect yet.....we're all aspiring to that!!!

Nate

PS - Welcome to the land of body image disorders! :grin:

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Optimass Veteran member

Optimass

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many will say cut back slightly .... build yor upper and slow down on your lower a bit ... IMO I'd do the complete opposite.

Most women overestimate how fast they put on muscle - Your body fat and size are consistant with a pretty healthy, somewhat athletic female. However, if you were to cut back from where you are, I suspect you wouldn't be holding a significant amount of muscle. (just keeping it real).

Your legs are not big at all - I recommend heavy squats and deep lunges and more heavy weights all over. You are better off if you are serious about getting into the competitive sport adding a bit of muscle now than cutting back calories and trying to make lean gains along the way. It's different for women .... your test levels are significantly lower ... you have up to 30% less muscle fibre than the average male ... better to focus on growth and let the body decide what it wants to do about body fat under those conditions and then worry about cutting when you need to.

Not being negative just being honest :)

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cara2011 Junior member

cara2011

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I wish I could cherry pick through all the advice. I see merit in many things you guys say, but being inexperienced I think it's best i stick with one plan and if after 4-6 weeks, i'm not seeing any improvement, then I'll change my game plan. It;s a trial and error process for me and because at this stage, I don't have competition in mind, I look forward to having a completely new challenge as I don;t know what results ( if any lol ) I am capable of...and maybe, i'll be bitten by the bug.

My goals:

Well, as a typical lass, I would like to trim up a bit ( not too much though ) maybe a couple of kgs, but I would like to build up my upper half to balance the bottom half out a little.

I have been running 40mins-hr cross country for the last 6 months so have gained a bit of strength in the legs. I also do yoga and lift free weights. Nothing fancy. I have never really been a gym goer but I have access to a friends gym studio when ever i want it.

I agree with a large majority of you who say that i should eat a clean diet.

I am unsure of what this means exactly, but I can tell you that i don't eat crap. I eat a heaps of lean proteins, vegetables, fruit ( in moderation) and get the main bulk of my carbs in round breaky and lunch ( oats, four bean mix, chickpeas, brown rice).

I plan to continue running ( maybe longer, flat runs cardio)

Go hard on building the top half

Bit of deep squat work etc

Clean diet... and we'll re-evaluate atfter some time.

Thank you all for chipping in,

Best,

c

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