I'm currently a 110lbs 5'4" 21 year old girl who's planning on going back into competitive figure skating (after a nearly 4 year hiatus). Before I quit skating I was 18, 5'3 at 117 lbs and with these muscular/bulky legs that had guys commenting "Man, I wish I had calves like that" etc… as well as the fact that I had to wear pants 2 sizes larger than my waist/hip size. Not exactly the body type I wanted!

This time around I'm hoping to achieve and maintain something closer to a "dancer's" body or a rhythm gymnast's. (Especially since we have to look the pretty princess part but still have the strength to launch ourselves a few feet into the air with one foot and land on one foot.)

So again, Thank you! For giving me the information on how to achieve my goals. (In a healthy way, not the anorexic/bulimic route I know so many girls in my sport take.)

Calorie intake shouldnt be too low for longer periods of time.

I am a 21 yr old male, 5'11", and weigh 145lbs. If you can believe it I want to slim down. I am already thin, and LOVE having people tell me that I should gain weight instead of lose. I would like to lose every ounce of body fat that I have, even though it is not much, and I really look to Madonna for her fantastic arms. I feel that my arms are to muscular in proportion to the rest of my body, and want them to be "stick-like". Basically I want to look like a walking hanger, but not be quite as miserable as one. HAHA. Someone told me that for smaller arms I need to lose muscle, but where I work I do lots of lifting. So should I give up on weights at the gym and just stick to cardio? I love the treadmill but don't want to kill my knees. I have been doing the tradmill, stairmaster, elliptical, and all-body trainer. I feel that the latter three work my legs too much and are keeping my thighs the same, if not making them a little bigger. Any advice at this point will help, because no one seems to really know what to tell me, because they feel that I am thin enough. And they are not the greatest physiques to look at either.

Thanks So Much

I am a 31 yo female, going into my first figure competition and was looking for a solution for legs that are strong, but carry all my stored fat in them. i can do 10 reps of squats with 2 plates, but lately i have been doing one plate rock bottom for 12 to 16. I also run morning and night.

I am 5'7, 133 lbs, 13" bicept, so i feel i need big enough legs to balance this out. i also feel i need to lose the fat and tighten them up, while maintaining size cause all my fat is stored there, and the rest of me is getting veiny. they are not nearly as cut as the rest of me. what would you do in this situation, keep the weights at the one plate and still exaust them, and keep running, or just shift to the running? i love doing legs really hard, but don't wanna get freakish. I also do not wanna lose my arms that i am working so hard to maintain, or even grow another half inch.

Lastly, can you grow one part of your body and lean another at the same time?

I too have given up direct leg work. I have Tom Platz genetics in my legs. High reps, low reps, it doesn't matter. I've gained size on singles.

The body adapts to do what you demand of it. You want lean legs, walk or run. You just don't see people that run or walk alot with giant thighs. Any movement in which your legs need to swing by one another, done enough is going to make the body recreate itself in a more efficient design.

Standing flat footed and going up and down in a piston like motion with resistance on your back does not require smaller thighs, but is made easier with bigger thighs, and so that is what the body creates.

As for lifters running down anyone that doesn't squat, well that's the way it is. The squat is touted as the king of all exercises. Some people go so far as to say if you want bigger arms, squat more.

Squats are good if you need the strength in your sport and can stand the increased muscle mass, otherwise, they're great if you want thighs that only fit in MC Hammer pants.

BTW, I did squats from 1983 – 2008. It's as I enter my fourth decade on this planet I've come to realize bigger is not better. Even excess muscle mass exacts a toll on the body, it's not just fat that's bad.

Signed – Wearing normal pants in Minnesota again.

I'm doing marathon runs 3 times a week. The thing is, in order to maintain my weight, I have to do some kind of cardio 4 times a week, but my knees don't like it when I run two days in a row. So I need to do something other than running once a week–what do you recommend? Will 60 min. on the elliptical once a week have the effect of maintaining muscle in my calves? Thanks!

please advise. love the site too.

i really need to take some muscle off my legs.