two questions in one

[t.t]

should women do flat bench press??? and if so how heavy? and what if there is implant? also i train very heavy on my legs but i DO NOT WANT them bigger. will training heavy make them bigger. I didnt think it would just becase my diet is low caloric intake. but i thought i would ask. i only want my legs lean and defined not bulky! any girls recommend certain exercises to achieve this???

 

[supergirl]

Hey girl.. I hear ya on the legs... mine grow like weeds lol..

ok.. flat bench... you are probably gonna get a bunch of different answers...

IMO and from what i have seen in my clients, i do NOT recommend a flat bench for women desiring a "fitness" physique. In my experience with women a flat bench will widen the breasts and really doesn't do much for the "look" of the pecs.. An incline press is great to keep the breasts "lifted" and a more sculpted cleavage line... I usually do an incline dumbbell press, dips and light flys.. The breast implant should not be affected by an incline press.. a flat press or decline will do more damage and possible movement.
For a female bodybuilder, i would say it might be necessary for ample muscle development.

as per your legs question... this really is a tough one. Women respond differently with leg training... You really need to look at your body and its personal past. How do your legs usually develop? were you an athlete? do they grow easily? are they bulky now? I need a little bit more info to see how your body will respond to training.

The status quo is usually bigger exercises are for mass building (ie: squat) and lighter exercised for defining (ie: leg extension) HOWEVER, i know many women that use a squat with great success for definition and toning without bulk.. so again other factors play a part here... YOUR DIET will also affect your training and muscle development. If you are not eating to grow, it is more likely that your heavy training will just cause a shitload of fat burning!
That is my particular method of choice...

i train heavy as hell with calorie restriction and my body responds really really well... i get ripped that way. When i train moderately or higher reps then i keep toned and stay in shape, but i do not see dramatic changes.. to me heavy training is the only way to see changes in my body. DIET is truly key here because if i eat to grow then i become bulky with heavy training...

got it? make sense?

and on a side note... if you have a higher bodyfat percentage... high teens/20s etc... you MUST realize that you may build muscle prior to burning off layers of fat, so this may cause you to look bulkier at first while the fat is sitting on the muscle which is increasing, but in time and with consistency the more muscle will basically burn up the overlaying fat and you will get lean... so patience is a virtue in this case. Overnight results are close to impossible.

luv super

 

[t.t]

i hate my legs, im currently 18-19% bf so its probably like you said that fat making them look thicker. so far im up to six 45 plates each side on angled leg press. they dont get bigger by training heavier they just get tighter. and less fat. i measure them just now for you, in the middle between knee and top of thigh i am 23 in around. is that big?? or am i trippin. my leg work out consist of leg extension, squats, angled leg press, stiff legs for hammys, leg curl for hammy's and those hip ab/aducuters? all is sets of 10 8 6 4 . as heavy as possible. whatcha think

 

[tombraidergirl]

i dont know i train squats do my butt good but i want a booty so im not sure there like she said everyone is different i dont get nothing if i do light nothing but training hard gets me toned as well the diet yeah i agree with yu on that one i have ran and not ran , trained and juiced i would say that heavy has gave me great lower body overall.... i think its all on the person and there body type.... but running takes my ass and legs off right away....

 

[supergirl]

tt.. damn girl you are strong!!! and 23" is no laughing matter!!! eh, i'd still wrestle ya lol... j/k

ok.. so you are getting tighter! That is great! In all honesty, IMO, your bodyfat is still too high to see "ripped" legs... diet is key here... we gotta lower your bodyfat for you to be happy with your legs because you're not lovin your big legs and i totally feel ya! When i was at 20% i felt like my legs were huge, but they were tight as hell... now they are lean finally and i am hanging at around 13% right now... when i was in contest i was at about 10%
For me the key was the heavy training but with calorie restriction... DIET does make a world of difference.

I think you may want to shock your legs a bit.. switch up your training... plyometrics helped lean out and shape up my legs a bit.. ie; sprinting, walking lunges, jump rope, hop-scotch type explosive movements.
I trained legs twice a week last summer to get them lean.. the first leg day heavy big exercises the second leg day, explosive fatiquing exercises. walking lunges are great and i would free squat til the burn was too much. Seemed to work well for me and alot of women get good results from plyometrics... the fast twitch muscles respond to plyo and our "brown" fat cells are where the fast twitch are, so activate the fast twitch and burn the brown that is the best way for me to explain it

those ab/aducter machines IMO and this is strictly MY opinion don't do shit... i like doing Plie squats or kicks with ankle weights.
Plies are my first choice because you hit everything in one exercise and you don't want to build your inner thighs but define and tighten the hell out of them, so i go with a moderate to heavy weight, not super heavy but try and get as many reps out til it burns like crazy.. Kicking is cool because it gets your heart rate up and you really get a great workout, so if you have a heavy bag around, try out some kicks (roundhouses, front side etc) or you can take the universal machine with the ankle straps and lock them in to do side leg raises with moderate weight as well as back leg raises...

hope this all helps a bit
luv supes