Please hang in there with me, I am going to be as concise as possible! Thanks you for any input!
I am new to the forum and thoroughly confused! I read the book "Exercise For Your Bodytype" by Edward ...Jac. and he promotes that a pear or hourglass should not do any lower body resistance training (or stairmill/stepper/spinning) b/c it will just increase the size of the lower body. So, needless to say I have stayed away from any lower body wt training for years and I do my upper body (heavy) 2-3 days a week, however, I have a very flat butt and my legs are so so...Yet, when I start to wt train them, I swell like crazy and it is very noticable for 3 days to a week, I know this is not in my head b.c even my pants and skirts will be tight. My question is, why doesnt' this happen to my in my upper body, I only swell during my workout and for a short time after, is it because my legs are not used to the wt training and if so, is this swelling just temporary and then will my legs start to shrink? I am so sorry if I sound stupid! I am just so confused and I am trying to figure out how to slim and tone my lower body without increasing size and I would like to decrease the size and lift my butt! Is it true that this can only be done with high reps and low to no resistance or should i be working in the 10-12 rep range and will this swelling go away?
Thanks again for insight! I would love to hear any personal experiences!
Evi
I haven't read that book, but I've trained plently of women with hourglass figures, pancake butts, heavy thighs, etc. I don't think you are doing yourself a favor by ignoring lower body workouts or weight. In my experience, most women get smaller with heavy weight training. Heavy squats, lunges and deadlifts will turn "so so legs" and a flat butt into well shaped legs and a firm high butt. I'd stay in the 10-12 rep range except for lunges, which I do until exhaustion.
As for the swelling, you are probably retaining water after your workout and because these are the largest areas of your body, you are noticing it more than any where else.
When I weighed 257 pounds, I wasn't an hourglass. Heck no, I was a bowling pin -- size 18 on top and size 22 on the bottom.
While I was losing weight, I trained legs often, heavy, and hard and ended up in size 4 pants. I've often told people that the heavier I went on legs (and I can leg press 500#), the smaller I got. Good thing I've never heard of that book!
I completely agree with Mel's advice. Squats and lunges will be your best friends if you want to reshape your lower body. I can't imagine putting all the effort into losing weight and getting in shape while neglecting half of your body.
Oh, typically my weight goes up a pound or two after Leg Day due to water retention in sore muscles. No big deal.
Thanks for the prompt response ladies! I just have to share I bought the "glutes" issue of Oxygen magazine and they contradict themselves in the same issue! One of the articles on lower body training says that women shouldn't train heavy for the lower body because it will make them wider, stockier and increase their size. Then, the following article says you should lift heavy in the 6-10 rep range to get optimal results and gives a program to boot! You have to love that! And I wonder why I'm so confused in regards to strength training! I can't believe they missed this! I guess it goes for everything though, especially in the areas of fitness and nutrition. I am going to get back into the lower body weight training and just be patient. Will the post workout swelling go down after I have trained for a few weeks? I knew there was something wrong with this guys theory considering I train very heavy for my upper body and it has done nothing but give me definition. Thanks again ladies!
Evi
Evi - I read the same magazine... My thought on that was to go heavy for some time and then lighter other times for variety, KWIM? I always thought my legs were heavy too but I didn't care I still trained my lower body hard. It's when I started losing the fat on top of the muscle that I noticed the BIG difference in my legs. AND in order to lose the fat on top of the muscle I had to start and continue eating a squeaky clean diet...
Just thought I'd put my two cents in....I have been working with a trainer and I am definatley a pear shape. As far as lower body, he has me lifting to failure or at least very fatigued (depending on the exercise) and I have lost four inches on my hips. I do lots of squats and lunges with weight added with extentions and curls thrown in. I need to loose many more inches in my hip area but so far so good.
I was always worried about my "thunder thighs" and big hips/butt getting worse too. Especially since I used to use the stair-master all the time. But the more weight I lost, the smaller they got. Basically, I'd suggest doing some cardio and train your lower body like your upper body, and your body will all even out. I wouldn't go by the pear/apple/hourglass model until you're close to your ideal weight range.
Cardio uses more "slow-twitch" (endurance) muscles in your legs as opposed to "fast-twitch" muscles (like when you lift weights and "bulk up"). So, I would definitely not shy away from cardio, at the very least. I really wouldn't worry about bulking up any part at this point. If you've got any weight to lose, worry about that first and foremost, no matter what exercise you have to do to do it. Remember muscle-toning/training isn't really going to matter much until you can see it anyway. Worry about the details when you're in a position to worry about them.
According to one web site: '"Pear" and "apple" are terms to describe the shape of a person's body with regard to where they store fat.' So if you work on those lower portions and get rid of the fat, how can you go wrong? http://www.dietandfitnessresources.c...b0049shape.jpg
If you're this fit and a pear, do you really notice her hips? Or do you notice her rockin' bod?
lower body weight training, please help!
Congrats on the inches lost!! 
