I have been working out for seven months at least four times a week doing a 30-minute warm-up on the stepper and one and a half kilometres (about one mile) walk on the treadmill at a speed of seven kilometres per hour (4.3 miles per hour) at a slight incline. I'm five feet three and weigh seven and a half stone. The problem is that most of that weight is in my thighs because my quads are so developed. I want sexy legs not muscular ones. Help!

answer

Most of the people submitting questions to this column are probably dead jealous of you. While everyone else is trying to firm up their thighs and make their legs less flabby, you complain that you have too much muscle. You don’t realise how lucky you are!

Nevertheless, if you don't want those quads, you can get rid of them. We can tell from your warm-up alone that you do a lot of quad-intensive exercise. Using a stepmaster or walking on a treadmill set at an incline will give your glutes and quads an intense workout.

Try the following tricks instead:

Walk on the treadmill without the incline. You'll probably be able to go faster, although it sounds like you’re already moving at a quick pace. If you don’t have any knee or back problems, why not jog?

Exercise bikes, although they do work out your quads, can be set at a low level of intensity. This will give you a good cardiovascular warm-up and workout and won't bulk up your leg muscles as much as the stairmaster.

Try using a cross-country ski machine or go swimming. Neither of these aerobic activities will build up your quads.

Lower the resistance of your weight-training workouts. Don’t stop doing your usual leg extensions, leg curls and leg presses, just modify your routine so it becomes a maintenance workout. If you normally do 15 repetitions, increase them to 20 with lighter weights and do fewer sets. And don’t forget to do upper-body weight-training exercises so your physique looks balanced overall.

Why not chat to other iVillagers about exercise on the Love Your Body message board. Take a look at some of the LIVE discussions happening now on the board:

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Help for muscular thighs