16 Apr, 2012

Can Spinning Give You Big Thighs? Yes!

Posted by Stacy

I did some personal research the other day about spinning and the effects it can have on a woman’s legs. I was a bit irritated by what I found. Most, if not all of the articles, written by “professionals” claimed that spinning does not create bulky legs, but toned and strong legs. That might be true for those lucky few who have an *Ectomorph body type, but for the rest of us, high resistance, fast paced intensity and long duration will indeed create bigger muscles. I know this for sure…not just because of past experiences with my clients, but with my own bouts of spin junkie-ness. I started teaching spinning back in the days when spinning had just arrived. I ate it up! It was so exciting and I knew I was getting a kick ass workout. Within 10 minutes in the workout I was sweating and I loved it. In the beginning, my legs were starting to look really great. They were toned, long and lean. After about 2 months of spinning, I could no longer wear my jeans. My thighs were bigger and bulkier…I was pissed! I will say that I had less body fat, but the leg thing bugged me. At some point I stopped teaching spinning and my legs chilled out. All of that bulk disappeared…thank god. Hey, some women love having big, strong limbs, great! I am not one of them. Let me add that the same thing happened with road and mountain biking and running hilly trails and back-to-back ballet bar classes.

So, what I am sharing here is that there has to be a balance. If you want long and lean muscles, you need to interrupt that desire to workout hard every day. I know the addiction to endorphins is a tricky thing, but you can still have that natural high with moderate exercise. It is not true that the harder and the longer you work out the leaner and thinner you will become. It is simply NOT TRUE! Most of the time, you will end up starving all of the time. You body will become a calorie burning machine craving more and more calories, eating foods that you tell yourself is okay because you are working your ass off (big bean and cheese burrito is a popular example). Again, there needs to be a balance. When you work out 4 times a week and mix up the exercises, you are giving your body the recovery it needs. You will no longer be starving every waking hour. More is not better. Less is not better. It’s about balance.

Facts about body types that influence how a body responds to exercise:

An Endomorph Body Type is characterized by big bones, round face, large trunk and thighs, as well as a naturally high degree of body fat, especially around the midsection. Endomorphs usually struggle to control their weight due to a slower metabolic rate over other body types. For this reason, an endomorph should be careful with their food choices. They should also choose low-calorie foods that the body can use quickly. Weight loss may be easier if a large proportion of the diet comes from simple carb fruits and plenty of vegetables. Complex carbohydrates can be included, although in smaller portions to keep calories down. Proteins in the diet should come from foods such as lean chicken, turkey, fish and aminos supplements.

Mesomorph Body Types are characterized by broad shoulders, narrow waist, naturally large muscles, and fast metabolism due to the amount of lean muscle. For men a mesomorph looks like a natural muscle man with a heavy, hard and athletic physique.

*An Ectomorph Body Type is characterized by thin, linear appearance. They often possess narrow waist, hips and shoulders. The ectomorph also has a low body fat percentage.

An Ectomorph body type may be considered lucky to some people because their linear appearance and ultra-fast metabolism enables the ectomorph to stay slim, even if they eat well, however the downfall is ectomorphs lack shape due to their low muscle weight. Lean muscle weight is what gives us that shapely figure.

Thanks to Ricka B for this guest post.

Ricka B…..Ricka has been a trainer for over 15 years. It is an ever changing dynamic journey that she loves to share with her clients.

She started in Mill Valley, Ca in a small exclusive gym. Most of her work was one on one personal training. After being at the gym, the owner decided to open another type of studio. This studio would be a new concept to the exercise world. It was called Spinning. Spinning took off like lightening. She loved teaching it…the music the energy..awesome!!! Ricka started to take her clients outside to mix things up. She taught them how to use nature as a gym. She also taught them how to run the trails and mountains. Ricka realized that working out in a gym was just a small element of the bigger picture. Each day was a new experience for her and her clients. One day would be a spin class and mat work, the next day could be running on the mountain using tree trunks to do pushups. The picture of what she did expanded all of the time…ideas were endless.

Email Ricka at pinkhalo@mac.com.

She is so excited to get started here!

One On One -Personal training-at my home or yours.

“B bar” classes-A combination of high intensity bar work, bursts of cardio intervals and intense core work, private or small group classes **Classes will start in May

Outdoor Workouts – She will take you to local trails and parks. Ricka will show you the way to get a hardcore workout in our gorgeous surroundings.

Group Workouts – Bring a workout partner with you. It is a great way to keep motivated and stay with the program. The support is so important.

At Home Gym Set Up – Ricka will come to your home and help you create a private training space. At the end of your session, you will get a personalized program