Reddit mentions: The best hip & thigh workouts books

Good question. There is a lot of “bro science” out there and a lot of people end up wasting loads of time on ineffective workouts.

A good one-stop-shop place to get started is the book Thinner Leaner Stronger by Mike Matthews. It isn’t exhaustive but if you read it and put it into practice you will be ahead of at least 75% of people in the gym in terms of knowing how to lift effectively. He also has a free podcast, “Muscle For Life”, that is really helpful too.

In a nutshell lifting can be put in two categories depending on your goals: cutting (losing a lot of fat while retaining as much muscle as possible) and bulking (gaining muscle while gaining as little fat as possible).

Your actual scale weight is more or less irrelevant, it’s really all about body composition (amount of fat relative to muscle, or body fat percentage).

Most women look best between 17-25% depending on their body.

Moderate to advance lifters basically have to either cut or bulk, so most bulk for awhile then cut, bulk then cut, etc. until they reach their goal. Think of it like 3 steps forward 1 step back.

Beginners who are just starting to train can do both at the same time until their body adapts to the lifting. This is an over simplification, but essentially your body is so under developed that you can gain muscle and shed fat until you reach a “normal” healthy body comp. This phenomenon is known as “newbie gains”.

There are three key components to building a great physique: lifting, recovery, and diet.

Lifting heavy weights puts unusually high stress on your muscles to the point where they are slightly damaged (catabolic). To adapt to the new level of work your muscles are being asked to do, during your recovery your body will build them back up, only stronger (anabolic). In order to recover well, your body needs a lot of protein and energy from your diet. Not only that, it needs a lot of sleep. This process is known as hypertrophy, which is a fundamental part of building a great body.

Energy balance is a very important thing to this entire process. As you go about your day doing normal activity you burn a certain amount of calories on average. This is known as your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). Most women probably burn around 1,800+- 200 calories a day (this number goes up as activity increases, so people who exercise regularly typically have a higher TDEE than people who don’t).

Someone with perfect energy balance (2,000 calories consumed, 2,000 calories burned) will not gain or lose weight. If they consume 1,800 and burn 2,000 the body will take the remaining 200 from fat stores. If they consume 2,200 calories and burn 2,000, the 200 excess calories are stored as fat for later consumption. Or, and this is the key, if the body has damage it will use these extra calories to repair the damage. Thus, to gain muscle one has to slightly injure the muscle, then eat a caloric surplus in order for the body to have enough energy and material to repair and strengthen the muscle.

This is a big over simplification but for functional purposes it is close enough.

As far as the actual lifting goes, heavy compound (uses multiple major muscle groups) are a great place to start. The squat, deadlift, and bench press are the “big three” primary lifts most strength programs are built around. Even if your goals are purely aesthetic, you’d still benefit from learning these movements and gaining a solid strength baseline.

There is a lot more but this should be plenty to get started. Believe it or not, the entire thing becomes a lot of fun and it is extremely motivating when you see your body start to change for the better!

Happy to help :)

I think there is FAR too much division between male and female strategies. 95% of the time, the same rules apply. With reverse dieting, it absolutely applies. The longer you diet, the longer you have to reverse. So I hate to say it but with dieting for 16 months, it could easily take that long to get your calories back up without gaining weight. For many people, this means only adding in 20-40 calories per day each week. It is definitely a long process.

I'm very glad to hear that you aren't going to go back on a crazy diet just to drop weight for the wedding. That would be one of the worst things to do at this point. If you're enjoying your workouts and your quality of life is improving, that is FAR more important.

I would recommend Mike Matthews as another resource. Like Layne, he is very scientifically-minded. Here's his female-targeted book:

https://www.amazon.com/Thinner-Leaner-Stronger-Building-Ultimate/dp/1938895290/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480806635&sr=8-1&keywords=mike+matthews+thinner+leaner+stronger

I haven't read that one, but I've read his book for men, Bigger, Leaner, Stronger, and it is a great resource, so I would check that out. Here is his website too, lots of good articles.

https://www.muscleforlife.com/

By the way, I totally can relate on the calculators that give a TDEE and your like, ummm I wish! Stings a bit, I know. But, if you are patient then it will come back!

> Cardio is awesome, but not for weight loss.

Love this and agree. My cardio is stress relief more than anything.

> increase the INTENSITY of your exercise.

This too. I'm glad I'm doing something right. So many women (myself included) fall into that "I don't want to get buff" trap. I read Thinner Leaner Stronger by Michael Matthews which is the woman's version of his Bigger Leaner Stronger for men and it really helped me understand the science better. My biggest obstacle is always time.

And I can totally relate that when I get to a higher lift, I feel so badass!

I'm fortunate not to have a libido mismatch with my spouse who is a marathon runner/triathlete, and my lovers are at varied levels of fitness. I haven't struggled to find partners, but that's likely due to a stunning personality. ;)

> I read an article about some famous “fat acceptance” blogger dying from a heart attack while running on a treadmill

This person either had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, some other congenital arrhythmia, or else severe coronary artery disease that was already underlying. At 20 years of age, you do not have coronary artery disease, which is the process of cholesterol build up in coronary arteries that leads to heart attack. Every primary care doctor should be screening for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and you can ask about it if you're concerned. It is easy to rule out.

Do not be concerned that exercise will be hard on your heart. Quite the contrary, raising your heart rate through physical activity is the best thing for your heart, hence why we call it "cardio."

> Should I keep losing best as I can tracking calories, or should I try some light exercise

Diet and exercise are synergistic. Do both.

> Any exercises y’all could recommend that are easy on my heart? Should I even be this nervous?

There are plenty of forms of cardio and resistance training that are great for you. It can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Try jogging or biking if you just want to dip your toes in. There is no reason to be nervous about your health deteriorating from exercise. The opposite is true -- developing an exercise habit now will add years to your life, both quantitatively and in terms of the quality of those years.

A good all-inclusive book I'd recommend is this one. It has a lot of good info not just on exercise, but also on diet and the mental game. Give it a read.

PM me if you have any questions, I'm more than happy to discuss.

I like the book Thinner Leaner Stronger because it not only offers some good lifting/workout advice, but some good nutritional advice as well (all backed by science and studies). Not sure exactly what you're wanting. /r/xxfitness is much more active :)

If you start venturing out into reddit, you will probably find this book.

It's called "Thinner Leaner Stronger" and it changed my life. It talks about strength-based weight loss and goes into great detail about why you should be lifting more than you think. It also has a bunch of great info about diet and supplements. If anything, pick it up just to learn about general nutrition and exercise. It also has a handy 1 year breakdown of exercises for 3-5 days a week that helps you get into a good rhythm without you having to do the work.

I have figured out that knowledge really is power and once I read that book I felt so much better about the choices I made. I was more confident that the food I was eating and the exercises I was doing were correct. No more guessing! I recommend this book to every beginner trying to lose weight or get in shape.

Where have you been all my life, Chris?

I'd probably say the Thinner, Leaner, Stronger book

Hail, Queen Lily! We give thanks for your kindness and generosity, your beauty and your appetite for fries

Hey buddy: TLS is $8.00on kindle... is that too much for you?

His training program is broken up into 5,4 and 3 day splits. I prefer the 5 day split because 1) the total workout time is shorter 2) I can focus on individual muscle groups (doing multiple groups causes me to short change the latter groups) 3) His 5 day split has more volume for individual muscle groups

You can spend $0 and get a great 6, 5, 4, or 3 day routines. Check out bodybuilding.com or google 5 day splits. There's lots of free published info.

I like TLS' programming for novices, but he doesn't tell you anything in his book or bonus report (which contains his 1 year of progressive exercises) that you can't learn through internet research. It's helpful because his program does the thinking for you and grows as you do (feeling like shoulders are lagging- well in the very next phase he's thought about that and added more shoulder stuff).

The book is Thinner Leaner Stronger by Mike Matthews. My wife and some of her friends have followed the advise there to great effect; the example transformation pictures are definitely achievable. As for the “thinner” in the title, don’t worry about it. In the book he talks about bulking, which is what you need to be focused on.

Also, when you go to lift weights and want to know what proper form looks like check out Jeff Nippard’s videos on YouTube. He breaks it down extremely well with high quality video.

If your goal is truly to gain muscle then I'll recommend you try a proven program for that like [Thinner Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1938895312/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_AMg-Ab58M256B).


You might also find /r/xxfitness better for your questions.

If I could GIVE you this book right now, I would! I wish I could hand it to you straight through the internet! Read the reviews for yourself. http://www.amazon.com/Thinner-Leaner-Stronger-Building-Ultimate-ebook/dp/B0098PYV7Q

There's also a great transformation post a 20-something lady did a couple months ago showing her progress from following this book ... I'll try and find it for you!

This or This is a great book that covers all the basics very well. I would suggest giving it a read.

Also, ask one of the trainers at your gym for form advice if you ever feel like you need help on something specific.

Born To Run by Christopher McDougal is all about the virtues of running barefoot and some great storytelling too.

Bigger Leaner Stronger and Thinner Leaner Stronger by Michael Matthews are good books that cover a lot of basics thoroughly. I would recommend only getting one of Matthews books as I've heard they are basically copies with pronouns swapped to be geared toward a different audience.

As other people have mentioned, you can't buy the hard work needed to execute these programs effectively. In my opinion, if you want to purchase a pre-set plan, I'd recommend Thinner, Leaner Stronger as a place to start and save instagram interactions as the motivation for following the program. The book not only provides a workout plan, but goes more in depth about diet, which is crucial to seeing those muscles you're working hard to get. It's a great beginner's program and goes throughout the first year. After a year, if you want to "graduate" to something else, then you might consider a trainer (instagram or otherwise) or move to a different program.

I just started weightlifting too! It's kind of overwhelming as a female, but luckily it's no longer intimidating- the big guys don't look at me strange when i walk in the weight area and they've been helpful when i ask about machines or form advice :) I did find this book and I also enjoy the author's podcast- check it out, lots of great beginning information! Tons of science and thus far it doesn't seem to be complete bullshit- https://www.amazon.com/Thinner-Leaner-Stronger-Building-Ultimate-ebook/dp/B0098PYV7Q/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Basically this guy says lift heavy, few reps, and eat with common sense. If you want to do cardio, do HIIT for short amounts of time.

Buy this book-

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0098PYV7Q/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

I've used the male version with very good results.

Okay so you know that diet is 80% of losing weight. Try intermittent fasting. Keto can also work well. Look at the keto sub Reddit. My friend using intermittent fasting + keto lost 40lbs in 2 months.

Also you sure you aren't in starvation mode? Calculate your tdee eat 3-400 less than it. Plan your meals. If you try to cut too much your body gets really efficient at using calories. So every 4-6 weeks eat at your tdee. Assures your body you aren't stuck in a famine.

I liked From the Hips for an easy primer on pregnancy. It's sort of magazine style so you can pick it up and put it down as you like, and it's very easy to read and non-judgemental.

https://legionathletics.com › tdee-cal...
Web results
This Is the Best TDEE Calculator on the Web (2019) - Legion Athletics

Thinner Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body (Muscle for Life Book 2) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0098PYV7Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_5Z4wDbBR09H90

I'd have a look at your TDEE on this website and the linked book which is a good intro to cutting/maintenance/bulking and macros with a specific focus on women.

Yes, I think 1400kcal is too low to bulk. Had a quick look at your calculated TDEE based on your weight and activity level (you'll be able to calculate it more accurately by using correct BF% and age, height etc...) and I think you'd need to be quite a bit higher.

I'd give the book a read and see what you think. It's cheap enough.

Honestly, you just have to be ready personally to put in the work. I recently started working out and I found the book Thinner, Leaner, Stronger and the accompanying workbook The Year One Challenge for Women to be very motivating.

Oh hon, I feel you. This gets me because I felt the same way. I still do. I have a 19 month old toddler.

Start here: Parenting from the Inside Out.

This book will really help you decipher your family, and really give you hope and tools for not reproducing their problems onto your little beauty of a tiny awesome person.

It's pretty straightforward and incredibly useful.

Then read this and this. Yes read them while you're pregnant because again they will give you hope and insight.

Buy this book and start reading it now too. We call it the Baby Bible in our house.

It's a survival manual for the first year of their life. It has everything. I don't know how many times we've pulled it down and flipped to the index at 2:00 am. It's better than Google. It's fantastic. (That said, it has an angle like all parenting books, even though it tries not to. They are attachment parenting writers. Nothing wrong with attachment parenting per se, just an awareness all parenting books have angles, even the impartial ones.)

Also, if you're anything like me, avoid all the happy, glowing, blowing-stardust-and-glitter-up-your-ass, pregnancy books out there. These did nothing but enrage me. I'm talking about What to Expect and similar. Unless you like stardust and bullshit, avoid avoid avoid.

Basically if you go to a thrift store and there's 8 copies of the damn pregnancy or parenting book on the shelf, don't buy it.

Instead check out books like this and this and this.

Now I haven't read those exact books, unlike all my other recommendations above, all of which I've personally read as a scared, overwhelmed pregnant lady or new mom. But as long as you stay in the 'brutally honest' lane and away from the 'syrupy sweet, guilt laden, shame' lane, then you'll be fine.

Even in 2019 there's a mountain of mommy advice bullshit books out there. Keep your instincts and your wits about you, don't forget who you are. Stay strong. And work on yourself with books like Parenting from the Inside Out and the How to Talk books.

Yeah, a bit. Pick up strength training. This book is a great tool to help you lose the 'skinny fat' look.

Traditional bodybuilding workout with a cut will lean you out and keep you strong. When you lean out you won't be bulky and you probably already have gorgeous muscles.

Check out Thinner, Leaner, Stronger. I highly recommend it.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


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On mobile so no fancy links lol book :Thinner Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body https://www.amazon.com/dp/1938895290/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glQ7ybSCQG9K6

And workout notebook: The Year One Challenge for Women: Thinner, Leaner, and Stronger Than Ever in 12 Months https://www.amazon.com/dp/1938895320/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AmQ7ybMSZGW7Z

I started by seeing a trainer a few times, but this book is really good at explaining form if you want to do it on your own. Also, youtube videos!

https://www.amazon.com/Thinner-Leaner-Stronger-Building-Ultimate/dp/1938895312

I highly recommend getting the workout log/journal that goes with the lifting program if you decide to try it. It makes everything crystal clear re: what to do what day. https://www.amazon.com/Year-One-Challenge-Women-Stronger/dp/1938895320/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

A couple that are fairly popular among the crowd at r/xxfitness are Thinner, Leaner, Stronger, or Strong Curves.

They have a list of beginner lifting programs here as well.

I can't recommend the book Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body enough. I have a couple of friends that compete in body building/physique competitions and started with advice from them. They all stand by the information in this book. Unfortunately, if you're a beginner, the internet is full of bro science and nonsense about expensive supplements that do nothing and ridiculous workouts. It's truly the only topic I've ever found difficult to research online. There's simply too much money to be made misleading people that the commercial interests have fully buried the simple facts.

I read through this book in about three days and went from 185 skinny-fat to 165 11% body-fat and actually looking/feeling great, in about four months. Didn't spend a dime on supplements beyond whey protein and a small bottle of creatine that lasts for 4-5 months per bottle. I have no association with the author and that isn't some type of referral link. It just worked really well for me and answered every question I had about diet and exercise with cited research. I hate woo-woo online advice about 'toxins', 'muscle confusion', or any of the abundant obvious pseudo-science blog posts and supplement forums. Check out the book.

If you're a female: there's a female version, too.

From the Hips was my favorite. Honest and much less fear mongering than many I've read.

Thinner Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body

I follow this program:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0098PYV7Q/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's a full YEAR of routines with options to lift 3,4, or 5 days a week (awesome for people who travel for work like i do)

Hi all - Sorry if this is a really stupid question. Searching for a new lifting program (Starting Strength didn't have enough variety to keep me interested). I read about Thinner Leaner Stronger on the sidebar of beginner programs. Does the book actually include the lifting routine...?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0098PYV7Q/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

This one. I've been in r/xxfitness for a while and was looking for something similar to strong curves but a little simpler.

Thinner, Leaner, Stronger and
Girls Gone Strong

These are two I am curious about, both were recommended but I have found little reference to them in the community.

Has anyone done the Year One Challenge? It looks interesting, but these year long things are hard to keep up.

Buy this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thinner-Leaner-Stronger-Building-Ultimate/dp/1938895312

Thank me later