Excess weight and joints: how to protect yourself from arthrosis

Causes of thin legs

Putting emotions aside, let's look at the problem directly. There are only two reasons for thin legs:

1. Genetics
2. Anatomical problems

With the first, everything is simple: the ratio of adipose tissue and muscle tissue, which form the volume of the legs and thighs, as well as the thickness of the bones, are determined genetically. Look at your parents, the appearance and structure of their legs. Don't catch the similarities? Even if now their legs look quite decent, with a high degree of probability you can hear exciting stories about how “I couldn’t afford short skirts and shorts because my legs were too thin.”

Just because of hereditary characteristics, even with good physical activity, it is not always possible to noticeably increase muscle volume. Moreover, if the shape and volume of the hips are more subject to change, then the shape of the lower leg is definitely inherited.

The second reason may hide many others: from lack of adipose tissue and underdevelopment of muscles to atrophy from past diseases. In some severe cases, a rare pathology such as lipodystrophy is diagnosed. This is a metabolic disorder in which the body completely wastes fats without maintaining their reserves.

It often happens that legs lose their volume and shape with time and age. This is understandable. If such a situation occurs within a short period of time, then medical consultation is simply necessary.

So what can you do to improve your legs? Considering that our legs are 50 percent muscles, it is necessary to make these muscles work. According to the general rules for muscle mass growth, we give progressive loads to the muscles of the thighs and legs, provide the body with an excess amount of protein and healthy carbohydrates, and get a good rest at night.

Yes, genetics in some cases limits the achievement of the desired result. But the sooner you pay attention to the volume of your legs, the more realistic it is to change their shape. Ideally, before the age of 15, you can “sculpt” beautifully shaped legs, even despite poor heredity. The rest are also not recommended to stop and clearly move towards the intended goal in the literal and figurative sense. And you can start with regular walking.

Sample menu for weight gain

What an approximate diet for one day might look like.

• Hearty breakfast. For example, porridge with fruits and nuts. You can complement your breakfast with toast with jam, a mug of coffee or black tea.
• First snack. Cottage cheese, yogurt or kefir.
• Dinner. You can eat whatever you want: meat, fish, vegetables, soups. It is worth giving preference to foods rich in vitamins, protein and “complex” carbohydrates.
• Second snack. Any fruits, nuts, vegetables are good.
• Dinner. You don’t need to overeat at night, but you don’t need to refuse food either. To satisfy your hunger, baked vegetables with meat or fish are suitable.

To achieve maximum results, you can supplement your workouts and proper nutrition with special foods that will help improve your metabolism. In addition to protein shakes that allow you to gain weight faster, you should pay attention to “Cell Activator” from Herbalife Nutrition - a product that can convert fatty acids into energy and help speed up metabolism.

Walking, cycling, dancing as ways to get better in your legs

Make your legs walk a lot, walk fast, and walk every day. Make walking part of your daily routine on the way to work, to the store, etc. Walk not only in a straight line, but also on stairs and over rough terrain. You need to walk in such a way that you feel noticeable muscle tension. It’s good to use weights, but not in your hands, but behind your back, so as not to spoil your posture.

Walk in comfortable shoes, shifting your body weight from heel to toe. When climbing a hill or stairs, keep your body slightly forward. Adjust your walking speed with your hand movements. Walk briskly for at least 30 minutes a day. As an alternative, you can try Nordic walking. Start walking 2-3 times a week in the nearest park, increasing the number of workouts to 4-5 weeks.

Intense cycling or exercise on an exercise bike is an excellent way to pump up your thigh muscles and give your calves more definition. Focus on three workouts a week for about 40 minutes, including a warm-up and stretching at the end. Vary your riding pace, even if you use a regular bicycle as a trainer.

Dancing is beautiful in itself and can make your legs no less beautiful. It is clear that this process is not quick. But if you dance with pleasure, you won’t even notice how your leg muscles will gain volume and elasticity. Choose dances to your liking: be it classical, modern or currently popular types of dance fitness (Zumba, jump fit, body ballet).

How to pump up leg muscles at home

What to do with your legs if you decide to exercise at home? Just don't let them lie on the couch all day! Create a workout program lasting 40-45 minutes, including warm-up and stretching. Exercise 3 times a week, doing the following exercises:

• Calf raises;
• Walking on toes, as options with weights, in a half-squat;
• Lunges with a strong push when returning: forward, right, left, back;
• Squats at a slow pace: to a right angle between the thigh and lower leg;
• Leg raises lying on your side, swings on your side;
• Bridge with elevation of the pelvis and hips.

Do each exercise 20 times for 2-3 sets, resting about 1 minute between sets. Work at the threshold of effort, gradually increasing the load so that the leg muscles are stressed during training. Only in this way, together with proper nutrition, will the body launch mechanisms for building muscle mass.

Thin legs - how to make them thicker?

This may surprise many, but a sufficient number of women suffer from the thinness of their legs, which to many resemble matchsticks. This problem can be dealt with, the main thing is to increase muscle volume. We will have to work harder and in several directions.

Thin legs - how to make them beautiful?

It is important to note that every woman has her own concepts of thick and thin, so there is no specific standard. In addition, the shape of the legs is genetically determined and a person can only correct deficiencies that appear during life. There are several tips on how to get better if you have thin legs:

1. It is important to exercise regularly, and not only the muscles of the legs, but also other parts of the body should receive stress. It is forbidden to train every day because muscles grow when they rest.
2. You need to monitor your diet so that your body receives the required amount of healthy fats, proteins and carbohydrates, as well as vitamins and minerals.
3. In many cases, thin legs are the result of a curvature of the spine. Therefore, you should definitely go to the doctor. It is recommended to check the gastrointestinal tract.

There are also some women's secrets that will visually increase the volume of your legs.

How to make thin legs look full - exercises

To get good results, it is recommended to use the following regimen: a day of intense training and a day of rest. You should start with a warm-up to warm up your muscles, which will reduce the risk of injury. Another important tip is to train at a slow pace.

What to do to improve your legs - effective exercises:

1. Squats
   . Place your feet wider than your shoulders so that your toes point to the sides. Place the bar on your shoulders. As you go down, you need to move your pelvis back, while keeping your back straight. The end point is the level when a right angle is formed at the knees. You need to do 10-15 repetitions.
2. Lunges with dumbbells
   . You need to take a weight in your hands, 3-5 kg. Take a step forward and lower yourself down so that your thigh is parallel to the floor, while the knee of the other leg should lower to the floor. You also need to repeat this on the other leg. Do 15 lunges.

You can also increase the volume of your legs by cycling, but you need to take regular walks and ride for at least half an hour.

Women's secrets on how to make thin legs thicker

There are several recommendations that will visually correct the problem. You need to give up short skirts and shorts. It is better to give preference to maxi. Clothing should be voluminous, for example, skirts with pleats or ruffles. For business ladies, classic trousers are suitable. Experts advise choosing clothes with large prints and asymmetrical patterns.

We pump our legs in the gym

Exercises in the gym also require a systematic approach and frequency. 3 classes per week will give good results. Moreover, basic leg exercises that involve more than one muscle group are best done at the beginning of the week, when you are full of strength after the weekend. It’s good to work out individual muscles at the end of the week.

Try not to focus on one program for more than 4 months, change the exercises and their intensity to give the body a new impetus. In the gym there is usually no problem using weights. Therefore, choose a weight that will allow you to do no more than 12 repetitions of each exercise. You don't want to lose weight, do you? And strength exercises are important for gaining mass. The following exercises can be included in the training complex:

1. Squats
2. Forward lunges with dumbbells
3. Leg press in the simulator
4. Deadlift on straight legs
5. Lifting onto a bench with dumbbells
6. Leg abduction and abduction in the simulator
7. Leg bending while lying down in a machine
8. Leg swings with dumbbells

Some, especially girls, are afraid of strength exercises, because there is no particular desire to become a “jock”. But you won’t be able to get better in your legs if your muscles don’t have good reasons for this. Muscles grow when they are forced to do so in response to significant stress. Therefore, no one forces you to immediately grab heavy weights; add it gradually and also gradually increase the pace of your training. And don't forget about a balanced diet.

How to gain weight for a skinny girl at home and in the gym

Today we will talk about how to gain weight for a girl quickly at home.
Skinny girls usually worry about their appearance. Some girls dream of losing weight, while others who are thin want to gain weight.

We love all girls and therefore we will try to solve the problem.

There is practically nothing difficult about gaining weight for girls. In addition to the question of how to quickly gain weight for a girl, we will consider questions about how girls can correct their figure, what kind of physical and strength exercises they need to do, whether they need to go to the gym, how to eat properly to gain weight, how to gain weight for a girl, how to gain weight for skinny people .

Proper nutrition for weight gain for thin girls

Dear girls, with the help of nutrition you can quickly gain weight, but you don’t have to sacrifice your health for this and start eating fatty, high-calorie and unhealthy foods in immeasurable quantities. In this case, you will only add cellulite to yourself, and in many thin girls it appears quite actively and at the same time looks very noticeable.

There is no need to try to gain weight using fat – it looks ugly and does not give the desired result. Weight will begin to gain not where you want it, but in the abdominal area, which can ruin any waistline.

The basic rule, both when losing weight and when gaining weight, is to eat small meals frequently. Only the foods included in the diet will differ.

You cannot eat high-calorie foods only to cover the need for carbohydrates, fats and proteins. You can’t eat plant foods rich in microelements and expect weight gain.

Remember that every nutrient is important, but none of them alone produces results.

Protein is the basis of muscle mass

Eating right means giving your body everything it needs to recover after training. You can't gain muscle by simply increasing your protein intake. It is necessary for the repair and synthesis of new muscle fibers.

Fats – an element for balance and health

Dietary fat is essential for hormonal balance, healthy skin, hair, the menstrual cycle, transport of vitamins and minerals into cells, and as a long-term source of energy. In certain situations, the body can convert fats and proteins into glucose for energy needs.

Carbohydrates - Metabolism Support

Although carbohydrates are a regulated parameter in nutrition, limiting them forces the body to build muscle from protein and fat, spending even more resources

What to eat for breakfast

How can a girl gain weight by eating right in the morning? For breakfast, it is best to eat oatmeal or pearl barley porridge, whichever you like the most. The main thing is that the porridge is satisfying, nutritious and contains all the necessary substances for gaining weight. The approximate volume of porridge is 200 g. (keep in mind that after cooking the weight of the dry porridge taken will double).

You need to cook porridge not in water, but in milk with 3% fat content, this way we will increase the calorie content. It will be useful to add nuts or dried fruits. Drink tea, but without sugar.

Lunch

The second breakfast should be no later than 2 hours after the first. At this meal you can eat curd mass or cottage cheese, tea, compote or juice to taste. Cottage cheese is one of the most protein-rich foods that all bodybuilders and athletes love.

Snack

Two hours after taking the curd products, we eat a banana and any fruit, and be sure to drink a lot of water throughout the day, since without this it is impossible to feel light and cheerful.

Drink plenty of water. You just need to try not to overuse mineral and medicinal water, but buy table water or simply boil filtered water.

What to eat for lunch

Now, after two hours, you can start having lunch. First you need to eat borscht or soup (borscht is more nutritious), 200 gr.

For the second course there should be mashed potatoes with a cutlet or another side dish with meat. Vegetarians can also choose something nutritious for the main course. We make sure to eat a lot of vegetables.

For tea you can take dried fruits, nuts or grapes.

Afternoon snack

Two hours after lunch, it’s time for fruit again; you can eat a banana, pear, peach or apple.

If two hours after the fruit there is enough time left before dinner, then another meal can be a vegetable salad with bread and tea.

What to eat for dinner

And again, two hours later, for dinner, if you are not vegetarians, we eat baked meat. Stewed vegetables are ideal for a side dish.

Second dinner

An excellent end to the day would be a glass of kefir without anything.

If you can’t eat so many times a day, then you can eat a little less, but then you need to increase the portions.

Problem areas for women

As I said earlier, the figures of men and women are formed differently. Female and male physiology are significantly different. Therefore, their problem areas are also different.

Problem areas for women include the back of the arm (triceps), thighs and buttocks. It is difficult to influence an increase in breast size, so we do not discuss this issue.

Problem area one

Triceps in women are most often flabby and covered with a layer of fat, which is why they shake like jellied meat. You can solve this problem by burning excess fat and training your triceps.

Second problem area

The appearance of the hips bothers all women. There are two diametrically opposed situations here: either there is a lot of fat on the thighs and cellulite has appeared, or the thighs are too thin and not fleshy.

The problem can be solved in the first case by burning excess fat, and in the second case by building muscle mass through strength exercises and proper nutrition. We will tell you more about this.

Third problem area

Buttocks. Again, two opposite situations: either the butt is too big and flabby, or small and flat. You can solve problems with the buttocks: if your butt is large and flabby, then you just need to burn excess fat, if it is small and flat, then read the articles: “Exercises for beautiful buttocks at home”, “How to pump up your buttocks at home” and “Strength training for girls".

We have sorted out the main problem areas for girls, and now we will find out how to gain weight for a skinny girl by working out in the gym and at home.

How to eat to get better legs

It is clear that in order to get better in your legs, you need to eat a lot and often. But with this approach, there is a risk of growing a belly and plump sides, rather than beautiful legs. Therefore, we remove from the diet everything that leads to the formation of fat. These are primarily fast carbohydrates: cakes, pastries, sweets, sweet sodas, fast food.

Food should be predominantly protein: lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products. Combine proteins with vegetables and fruits. This way they are better absorbed. In addition, active training, which you will make part of your life, requires a sufficient supply of vitamins and microelements. It won't hurt to add a multivitamin complex, especially in autumn and winter.

In order to provide yourself with enough energy, eat foods containing slow carbohydrates. This is primarily porridge. Prefer vegetable fats to animal fats. Be sure to eat fish 2 times a week. For a snack, enjoy dried fruits and nuts, especially after exercise.

In proper nutrition, the method of preparing food also matters. Stewing, steaming, and baking should become your main helpers. Eat most vegetables raw. Plan 3 main large meals and two snacks throughout the day. Before bed, treat yourself to kefir or yogurt. These nutritional principles will provide your body with enough necessary elements for muscle growth and energy to work on them.

Training Recommendations

It will be easier to gain weight in your legs if you follow the main rules:

1. Priority in the selection of exercises is given to basic movements with free weights - dumbbells, barbells or kettlebells
2. Basic exercises performed in simulators are allowed, but as auxiliary exercises

The effectiveness of such movements in terms of gaining muscle mass is lower than from exercises with free weights.

1. Frequency of leg training – 1-2 times a week

Don't forget that muscles grow during the rest period after strength training. By training your legs too often, you can slow down muscle growth due to insufficient recovery.

1. The average number of leg exercises per workout is 4-5

2-3 movements are for the development of quadriceps (squats, lunges), 2 exercises for the hamstrings (types of deadlifts or bends).

If there is a need to further develop the calf muscles, the program includes 1-2 exercises for this muscle group - calf raises while standing or sitting.

1. The number of working approaches in one exercise is 2-4
2. Rep range – 10-15
3. Rest pauses between sets – 2-3 minutes
4. Load progression

A constant increase in load volume is a prerequisite for progress.

Strive from training to training to systematically increase the intensity of the session due to the number of approaches, increasing the working weight and other parameters.

Surgical correction of thin legs

For those who cannot or do not want to cope with the problem on their own, medicine offers its own operational methods. For example, thin lower legs can be corrected with cruroplasty. In this case, special silicone endoprostheses are placed in the shins so that the legs acquire the volume where you want.

Another operation that is more popular for hip enlargement is femoroplasty. Before surgery, a complete medical examination is required to exclude the slightest contraindications for the installation of implants. This is the only way to be sure that the prosthesis will take root well.

Perhaps one of the skinny people will say: “How complicated everything is!” In any business, the most difficult thing is to start. Start moving, start eating right, start tracking results. In fact, gaining even one centimeter in your legs is much easier than losing the same centimeter from your waist. And all because we have two legs. Half a centimeter on each leg is a completely achievable result to make you want to move on!