Tonique Premier and massive thighs!

[Lucky Star]

Originally Posted by koolio

Right well I just managed to conquer Tonique Premier. Finished it in one go.
......
Ok don't get me wrong it's wonderful for runners and endurance, but I just checked my thighs in the mirror and there is serious hypertrophy going on, the kind I remember when I did weighted squats when I was younger (which is why I stopped this as it made me too big for gymnastics).
......
I'm going to finish up on this thread and go back to my searching for a lower leg work out one!

Couldn't the fact that you're a man who's a former gymnast (so I'm assuming you have very strong leg muscles already) have something to do with the way your muscles responded to this super high rep workout?

[casey]

Ohhhh Lucky Star somehow I forgot Koolio is a man. Well when my dh was doing a lot of high rep stuff, like snow skiing all day, he would come back from his trip and he couldn't fit his thighs into his jeans. His waist was the same size but his thighs were huge. The same thing when we would offroad bike for several hours. It doesnt happen to me but I'm not sure if it's a guy thing or just a slow twitch-fast twitch muscle fiber thing. I do know that I am great at endurance distance stuff and my dh is great at sprint stuff.

[koolio]

Originally Posted by Lucky Star

Couldn't the fact that you're a man who's a former gymnast (so I'm assuming you have very strong leg muscles already) have something to do with the way your muscles responded to this super high rep workout?

I think Casey may have a point, there maybe a genetic predisposition

I've always put on fat on my arse and thighs as well (like a lady does rather than on my belly) and after the Premier run I had difficulty getting into my jeans as well!

However endurance is known to bulk much like heavy weights are.

It's not the high reps per say that is the issue, it's repeated high reps on the same muscle group in series without that group resting. This causes hypertrophy much like heavy weights do, except for it becomes sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.

(so I'm assuming you have very strong leg muscles already)

I've been ill for years so am not really even a shadow of my former self, that was a decade ago now.

So actually no they were fairly weak 3 months or so ago, I just hammered it out in the last month.

It should be noted that in the hey day of my amateur gymnastic days I had really lean but explosive muscular power in my thighs. I do doubt however that I could at the time complete Tonique Premier, in fact I'm pretty sure I couldn't.

What is sure is Tonique Premier is wonderful for runners, no doubt about that, in fact I went for a run and could feel a huge difference, but this is not what I'm after!

[Scorpio6]

koolio -- thank you so much for the info!

BTW I also use a lot of nutritional supplements that are backed by research for restoring cartilage, and when I had to be off them before and after an out patient surgery last fall, I really noticed the difference.

Hope you get better soon yourself and begin to recover your strength.

[koolio]

Originally Posted by Scorpio6

koolio -- thank you so much for the info!

BTW I also use a lot of nutritional supplements that are backed by research for restoring cartilage, and when I had to be off them before and after an out patient surgery last fall, I really noticed the difference.

Hope you get better soon yourself and begin to recover your strength.

It must be noted that cartilage takes a very long time to heal.. in the case of even bad osteoarthritis, inflammation etc. open leg exercises will actually be faster recovering than if your cartilage is severely worn or degenerated.

Cartilage does not contain blood vessels. The chondrocytes are supplied by diffusion. The compression of the articular cartilage or flexion of the elastic cartilage generates the pumping action, which assists the diffusion of the chondrocytes. Thus, compared to other connective tissues, cartilage grows and repairs more slowly.

This is from wikipedia, but also backs my statement:

The idea is you want the joint moving as much as possible so high reps and not too fast either, but you want as little stress, impact, wear or weight on the joint itself as possible. Your surrounding muscles etc. do the work and the joint just gets massaged so to speak.

So yea you want to pump the joint and getting it moving as much as possible to assist with the diffusion but with as little impact as possible, this includes walking etc. I suppose you want to be on your back and sides as much as possible!

Do the exercises regularly at set times even 3 times a day or two 30 minute sessions a day, these are some initial exercises for labrum tear but it'll be the same for worn cartilage.


http://www.physioadvisor.com.au/10037350/labral-tear-hip-labral-tear-physioadvisor.htm

It's difficult to explain but you will know intuitively whether or not you are pushing through pain too hard or working at the right level and frequency.

I would get some proper physio advice on which exercises to do and then would make it my intention to recover my hips despite what anyone would tell me (inclding many physio's, osteo's etc. who will just advise a transplant or hip op etc. (in which case they will give you the same exercises anyway I know because my aunt just had her hip replaced))

I know there is plenty of bunk, snake oil and salesmanship with regards to health but have a look at this article, it's about knees but the same applies to any other joint, I know that it's quite correct for the most part:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richar..._b_876946.html

I had a lot of knee issues as a teenager also a shoulder and wrist issue, I got out of all of them but particularly the knee issue without requiring surgery by strengthening exercises and pumping/massaging the joints so to speak!

I will be thinking of you when I do sidelying hip abductions!

[Tugger31]

I've had discussions about genetics and how ones body responds many times with friends. We've talked about how does one pick and become good at a certain sport because your body is genetically better at doing that sport OR does doing that sport for many years shape your body into what it is?

I have twin nieces, not identical. They are both athletes and have been since high school (they are now almost 30). One did hurdles and sprints in high school, the other ran cross country. Fast forward to now, the sprinter has much bigger thighs and the distance runner has thin thighs, ran the Boston Marathon last year. (They are both runners, and have both done marathons).

The sprinter looks much stronger, the marathon runner, looks skinny fat.

[koolio]

Originally Posted by Tugger31

I've had discussions about genetics and how ones body responds many times with friends. We've talked about how does one pick and become good at a certain sport because your body is genetically better at doing that sport OR does doing that sport for many years shape your body into what it is?

I have twin nieces, not identical. They are both athletes and have been since high school (they are now almost 30). One did hurdles and sprints in high school, the other ran cross country. Fast forward to now, the sprinter has much bigger thighs and the distance runner has thin thighs, ran the Boston Marathon last year. (They are both runners, and have both done marathons).

The sprinter looks much stronger, the marathon runner, looks skinny fat.

This is indeed the case...

However I'd go onto to add that someone who solely did 100m sprints with intervals would have muscular but lean/thin thighs, over someone who did let's say 400m, 800m or 1600m track runs.

He'd come in thigh size between the long distance runner and athletics guy in thigh size (and closer to the long distance runner I'd say) and would certainly have the most explosive power of the two. (Think artistic ice skating vs speed skating for example).

It's to do with endurance and hitting the point of muscular exhaustion and hence hypertrophy. Long distance running is pure cardio with little muscular endurance (unless you run up hills only) and exhaustion to the point of hypertrophy (this doesn't mean you aren't exhausted by running! I mean specifically the muscle group), you mainly only work the slow twitch red muscle fibers.

I realise that what we were doing in amateur gymnastics when I was younger (we were the substitute not pro team who trained all the time) was something like interval or HIIT training (which I just discoverd). It was cardio running around 60-70% effort with varying, leg, stomach, back and arm etc. exercises in between, you would shed loads of sweat and fat and really firm up muscles without too much hypertrophy, never been so lean in my life!

I'm going to be looking for such a program without the endurance.

Like I said before Gymabstics 3 does just this, but doesn't have enough leg stuff, so I may just add something at the end of it to compensate if I don't find anything else.

I looked at a side profile of my ass in the mirror , and could only laugh because it is has turned into a massive bubble after tonique and my jeans are now tight! Will wait for it to subside!