First of all, do more than “just squat”
The “just squat” or “she squats” memes we see all over fitness Facebook pages promote the squat as the exercise to be doing to shape up your bottom half. The truth is if you want lean legs and firm glutes you’ve got to do more than squat. Leave the memes to male entertainment.
Don’t get me wrong, the squat is a useful exercise. The problem is that most training programs are built around the squat and, while this might work for men, women are missing out on some of the best exercises for shaping their legs and glutes.
Squats activate the quads more than hamstrings and glutes. So if you want to lift your glutes and get rid of cellulite from the back of your legs, you’ll need more than the squat.
Below I’ve set out some of the most common complains women have about their legs and how I’d address them. At the end of the article, I’ve given you a list of exercises you can do in addition to or possibly even instead of the squat depending on your body type.
Complaint #1: Flat, saggy bottoms
You may have a flat bottom or no bottom at all. This is common with women who are naturally leaner or women who choose endurance events or yoga as their main form of exercise instead of weight training. As you may well know, things also tend to sag as we get older.
If you have a hard time filling out a pair of jeans, some squats and direct quad training will probably look great on you. Adding muscle will give you the shape you are missing.
However, to pick up your bottom, you’ll need more than squats so be sure to include a variety of the glute building exercises listed at the end of this article. I recommend doing some form of glute training at least two but preferably three times a week.
Complaint #2: Thick, muscular legs
If “thunder thighs” comes to mind when you describe your legs, this might be you. No joke. I remember being teased about my thunder thighs as a teenager. My legs weren’t overly big but they were muscular because I lived on a pair of skates year round.
As an adult, I’ve realized I have a mesomorph’s tendency to put on muscle. If even walk by the squat rack I can feel my legs growing.
Not all women are going to get big and bulky from lifting weights, but some women do put on muscle more easily and need to be more careful with the exercises they choose.
If you are a women who puts on muscle easily or if you already have big quads and thighs from the sports you do, then squats may make your legs look even bigger.
Case in point. Check out my photos. Pardon the crappy photo quality – when I took these years ago I never planned to share them with anyone.
When I first started training, my trainer had me doing heavy squats, lunges and leg presses, as well as leg extensions for the quads. You can see how my legs looked in the first photo.
Around the time of taking the first photo I decided my legs were too thick and lacked shape, so I changed how I trained legs. I quit squatting and I pretty much quit training my legs with weights at all except for the glutes.
The second photo shows how my legs looked nine months later. You can see they have better shape and definition, especially around the knee area.
Complaint #3: Too much fat and cellulite
If you’ve got some weight to lose or a genetic predisposition to holding fat in the legs, then this is your biggest complaint. Your upper body might look okay but you tend to hold your extra weight in your legs.
First thing you need to do is clean up your diet and make a plan to start losing weight. Clean diets can go a long way to reducing the appearance of cellulite.
My client pictured below dramatically changed her legs in only six months by cleaning up her diet, reducingxenoestrogens, and incorporating leg circuits into her program.
How to get leaner legs
Remember, everyone is different and it’s up to you to assess your progress regularly and adjust your workout program. For some women, squats are perfectly fine and add beautiful shape to the legs.
I use squats with my clients but for most ladies, we stick to light weights and higher repetitions, often using them as part of a fat burning circuit. That’s because most of my clients come to me to lose weight. They don’t want to add size to their legs.
Personally, I rarely squat these days unless I do bodyweight squats or box jumps. I also stay away from the stationary bike, the elliptical and the stepper because all of these stimulate my quads too much.
If you are worried about making your legs bigger you may want to limit:
- Heavy squat and leg presses
- Weight lunges
- Weighted step ups
- Leg extensions
- Stationary bike
- Stepper
Regardless of your body type, you should do some form of glute training. All my clients work on progressing their weighted glute bridges each week.
To shape up your glutes and reduce the appearance of cellulite, incorporate these exercises into your training:
- Stiff leg dead lifts
- Glute Bridges or hip thrusts (weighted, single leg or any variation)
- Cable kickbacks or donkey kicks on a machine
- Reverse or curtsy lunges
- Band walks
- Hip abduction on a machine
For best results and to make a really visible change, I recommend incorporating glute training into your program three times a week. I like having one heavy glute day where I focus on progressing glute bridges and stiff leg deadlifts, and then I incorporate other exercises like kickbacks, band walks and plyometric exercises into two other workouts during the week.
In the end, the best way to train your legs depends on your body type and your goals. Stop to assess your legs from time to time. If they are looking too thick, you can pull back on quad dominant and/or weighted exercises. If they need some shape, they you can hit the weights more.
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