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Help for muscular thighs
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!
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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