H.I.T.T. bulks up legs?

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iseult

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This is my first post, so please be kind :p

Has anyone found HITT on the treadmill actually bulks up their legs? I ask this because I've been doing HITT for about a month now and my legs are increasing in inches, while the rest of my body is getting slimmer. Also, I was speaking to a sprinter the other day and she told me that sprints aren't really the thing for slimming legs, rather, long distance running is what's made a difference for her. She said that when she sprints during track season her legs are huge. HITT was reccomended by one of the trainers at my gym, but the last thing I want is bigger thighs!!! :eek:
 
beacause of its intensity it could add some muscle.
distance running will make your legs smaller but you may lose a little muscle,again not much.
 
cardio exercise stimulates your smaller type IA and type I muscle fibers. If you start off with very muscular (bulked) legs and you run, your leg muscles might actually think. If you start off with very little muscle mass in your legs, the new activity will stimulate growth. Technically high intensity interval training will not bulk up your legs, but like i said.. it can spark some initial growth. Dont expect legs like coleman or anything.. :)
 
Thanks for the help, guys.

I guess I'm wondering if HITT is the right approach for me. I'm 35 lbs. overweight (that's a modest estimate) and I've just started exercising again after a few years of being sedentary. I have a lot of extra weight on my legs and maybe there's another approach that would be better suited to slimming my legs? I rather liked HITT, but I really got a bit scared after talking to my sprinter friend, and gaining inches on my legs whilst losing inches everywhere else.

Thanks again :)
 
its HIIT. High intensity Interval Training. And you cannot chose where you burn fat from. Spot reduction does not exist. If you want leaner legs, you are going to have to lower your overall body fat
 
if you are going to do hiit it is good for burning fat,you should not really gain much muscle as niceone says but if you are new to training then gaining a little muscle is possible.
also it depends how you do your hiit,if you use cardio equipment and just do 1min fast 1min slow type training that should be OK,
but if you are upping the resistance or gradient for the intense part this could add some extra muscle(not much) because your basicly adding load.
 
Thanks, Buzz.

I am relatively new to training and I've gained 1.5" on each leg.

My 30 min treadmill routine consists of a 5 min warmup at 3.5, 1 min intervals of 3.7 walking, and alternate intervals of 5.2 to 6.0 sprinting, and then a 5 min cooldown. Also, I never elevate the gradient or resistance. I do this routine 3 xs a week and on alternate days I do 30 min on the eliptical trainer or ski-type trainer.

In response to niceone:

I understand that spot reduction isn't really possible...that's pretty obvious! :D , but I find it quite disturbing to gain that many inches on my legs. And for my sprinter friend it's been the same experience, only worse! I think I'll switch to long distance running and use HITT once I'm closer to my ideal weight and want to add a lot of muscle ;) .
 
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