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The thighs have it; too much of itDate: 19.02.2007
Posted by: Anabolic Info Team United States
Q:I AM an active tennis player and in good shape. The gym I belong to doesn't have a thigh machine. Is the Thighmaster worth buying? Are there other thigh firming exercises I could do instead?
— Catherine C., Orinda
A: It is hard to accept, but the fat cells in our body are genetically distributed. How much we store into those cells is usually a lifestyle issue, but the larger point is there is no such thing as spot reducing. If we are not eating properly — and performing some sort of regular exercise for the heart, lungs and muscles — it will not matter how many crunches, thigh-squeezes or leg lifts we do for a specific area. Fat will not be magically eliminated and replaced with sleek, firm muscles.
Spot reducing was researched in the early'70s on tennis players. They postulated that if spot reduction were really possible, the more sedentary arm should have more fat than the active arm. In fact, while the dominant arm had substantially more muscle, there were absolutely no differences between them when it came to percentage fat measured in a skinfold test. Thighs are no different.
The primary muscles targeted by devices such as the "Thighmaster" and "Buttmaster" are the adductors (bring the legs together) and abductors (take the legs apart), respectively. The "magic" purported by the use of this equipment is that these pieces will somehow reduce the fat and transform the legs into Grecian things of beauty. In fact, to lose fat in any part of the body, the whole body must be involved in the endeavor.
That being said, these pieces of equipment are inexpensive and easy to store or transport. They can be used for mild strength exercises for the arms and chest as well as the legs. As long as the limitations of this equipment are kept firmly in your mind, without any delusions that they will actually change your body composition, have at it.
"Exercise builds muscle, diet exposes it," said Colorado bodybuilding champion, Steve Smith. Along with a healthy diet in proper daily caloric proportions for your activity level, the best way to change the appearance of the legs is to cross train the entire muscle group for function rather than by isolating one area. When we engage in activities like hiking, tennis, walking, and so forth our gluteus, quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, abductors and calves all participate. Some of the best routines for you are known as multi-joint exercises (in this case they all involve the hip, knee and ankle joints) and include, but are not limited to, exercises such as squats and lunges.
Squats are performed while either holding or supporting weight with feet either under the shoulders, wider than the shoulders, or while standing on one leg (with the other leg behind you on a bench).
Lunges usually involve either stepping forward or stepping behind, often while holding a weight in the hands or across the shoulders.
Another popular technique is to lunge as you walk across the room while holding weights, cleverly called a "walking lunge."
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