Need To Beef Up My Legs & Butt

[ouroborous 519]

If you can't do free weight squats, the leg press is probably the next best thing, just be careful and watch out for spinal compression. Also, like "Blackberryjuice" stated, those front squats are really nice, and you can probably do those with a smith machine as well, though I haven't tried them that way. Unfortunetly, muscles will only grow (add mass) and get stronger when we push them to failure. Which especially with legs, are not all that fun.

Here's a good article that hits a bit on this and motivates me to TRY and push out that last rep.

http://www.musclehac...y-training-tht/

Thanks for the good advice. I think that there's only one thing that I wanted to comment on: "muscles will only grow ... when we push them to failure." That's absolutely true, but I wanted to point out that there are different kinds of "failure," especially with the legs. There's the "okay, three sets of eight reps with near-max weight" kind of failure, which produces a very short-term wobbly-leg feeling, but almost no "burn" or "pump," and then there's the "two or three sets of twenty five reps with sixty percent of max" kind of failure, which produces not just the wobbly legs, but also a good burn (well, a hell-on-earth feeling burn, but you know what I mean with "good" ) and a good pump. And I haven't been focused on it long enough to be certain, but I'd be willing to bet that -- for my legs at least, the latter, higher-reps, lower weight, types of sets are doing more long-term good with regards to adding mass and strength and endurance. I definitely know the difference in feeling between an anaerobic and an aerobic workout, and it's still an anaerobic workout, but the lower-weight-higher-reps sets seem to produce more anabolic side effects for me. I'd bet it varies for different people, and I'm not skimping on the max weight stuff (my low weight, high rep stuff is lunges and cycling and so on, but I still do leg presses on the machine with 250 pounds or more), but I really have to focus on what seems to produce the best effects for me.

That's one of the weirdest things about bodybuilding; it seems like you just can't find a one-size-fits-all solution, since everyone's body and muscles react differently.

[Dooter 1,457]

I read the title of this post and just had to laugh to myself....I have NEVER and WILL never, ever even come close to thinking that thought!! hahaha....I can see how a guy might say that though... Just had to share my amusement Good luck with that Ouroborous! Go get em!

[ouroborous 519]

I read the title of this post and just had to laugh to myself....I have NEVER and WILL never, ever even come close to thinking that thought!! hahaha....I can see how a guy might say that though... Just had to share my amusement Good luck with that Ouroborous! Go get em!

Oh no doubt, a lot of women seem to carry weight in their hips and thighs and caboose. But here's the unpleasant little secret; once we drop that fat, we're all in danger of becoming 'saggy butts' or 'no butts' (more common for men, but still). For men, working on your butt and legs gives you that powerful lower body look, with thick, strong legs and a tight, firm butt (jeez, I sound like a porno advertisement here, but you know what I mean!) For women, y'all just don't bulk up as much (sorry, ladies who claim you do, but you don't -- unless you have abnormally high testosterone, you're simply NOT at risk of "bulking up") -- instead, muscular butt and thighs produces that classic "hourglass" shape, but instead of being based upon fat deposits, it's based upon strong, lean muscle. And it looks amazing

[Dooter 1,457]

Oh no doubt, a lot of women seem to carry weight in their hips and thighs and caboose. But here's the unpleasant little secret; once we drop that fat, we're all in danger of becoming 'saggy butts' or 'no butts' (more common for men, but still). For men, working on your butt and legs gives you that powerful lower body look, with thick, strong legs and a tight, firm butt (jeez, I sound like a porno advertisement here, but you know what I mean!) For women, y'all just don't bulk up as much (sorry, ladies who claim you do, but you don't -- unless you have abnormally high testosterone, you're simply NOT at risk of "bulking up") -- instead, muscular butt and thighs produces that classic "hourglass" shape, but instead of being based upon fat deposits, it's based upon strong, lean muscle. And it looks amazing

That's funny you mention "saggy butt." I told my husband the other day "hey honey...grab my butt with both hands and give it a good shake! IT'S LOOSER!! And emptier!" We had a good laugh, but I can see the need for getting the toning up started as soon as i'm clear for full activity. OYE! This is going to be a looooong road!!

[SouthernSleever 236]

Actually I need to beef up my thighs butt and arms badly. Once you lose all your weight all you have left is skin, empty skin.

[ouroborous 519]

Indeed! And even though I've lost a humongous amount of fat, I want to look GOOD, not just like a deflated balloon! Some of that loose skin isn't going to go away without yet ANOTHER visit to the good doctor (sigh... tummy tuck) but with work you can "fill out" most of the other problem areas.

[ouroborous 519]

Just another note on this topic: the combination of lunges every morning plus leg-intensive cardio every morning is already making a noticeable difference. I still do leg work at the gym (although I've switched from smith machine squats to the leg press machine).

I'm discovering that for me, high rep count is arguably more important than big weights; I just don't get that wobbly-legged burn with low rep, high weights exercises, and I don't bulk up/tone up without the burn.

I'm starting to think that a lot of the "accepted gospel" of weightlifting (go heavy or go home, etc.) is just a fairy tale. I think I'll look for some sports medicine research instead of relying upon what "everybody knows" (which is almost always wrong).

[bubbly78 1]

Maybe Pilates will help cuz it kicked my but..Soar but love being soar..boot camp also helped...

[bubbly78 1]

I know some of this skin isn't going away I'm on month 7..and feel like I'm never loosing this skin around waste...Have u priced tummy tucks...