Australian personal trainer and nutritionist Rachael Attard is successfully tackling a point of frustration for a lot of active women: how to achieve toned, lean legs.
The trusted fitness expert shares her opinion on the six common mistakes that contribute to why legs don’t slim down despite regular exercise and a healthy diet, and how to avoid them.
“I hear from so many people that they’re training hard, eating well and focused on their fitness goals, but their legs aren’t getting slimmer,” says Rachel. “Legs are the hardest area to slim down for most women. It’s easy to go down the wrong path when trying to achieve leaner legs, but a series of mistakes – including doing the wrong types of workouts or not eating enough – are likely to blame.”
Mistake #1: Doing the wrong workouts
“I see a lot of women solely focusing on doing heavy squats and lunges,” Rachel says. “While those exercises are great for overall fitness, they won’t necessarily help slim down your legs if that is your main goal. I recommend switching it up and focusing on a mixture of cardio and resistance workouts, along with walking.”
Cardio will help you drop body fat faster and resistance workouts will help you build muscle and burn more calories.
Mistake #2: Overtraining your legs
Many of us assume that focusing on leg training is the smart choice. The fact is, you can’t spot-reduce fat from specific areas of your body. You’ll see more noticeable results by adopting total body movements that work every area of your body equally, such as burpees and mountain climbers.
Mistake #3: Not enough cardio
Not getting enough cardio is also on Rachael’s list. Cardio is a key element of achieving slim, toned legs. “Cardio is definitely not dead”, she says, when it comes to slimming down your legs effectively.
At least 30 minutes of cardio daily is recommended for the best results, which Rachel says can consist of simply walking.
Rachel is a big proponent of walking and advises starting each day with a 5K walk. Incorporating as many steps into your day is at the top of her list of ways to achieve slimmer legs.
“A lot of people don’t consider walking an exercise, but it’s one of the most effective exercises for lean legs, as it rids the body of overall excess fat, including fat on your inner thighs,” she says.
Mistake #4: Overeating
Not tracking your daily calories and and actually eating more than you realise is also on her list. She recommends calculating your ideal daily amount of calories online, and eating approximately 200/250 calories less than that number without going below 1,200 calories per day.
Mistake #5: Not eating enough
Conversely, not eating enough is also a mistake. In the same way you sabotage your fitness goals by overeating, under-eating can actually result in bigger legs. This is attributed to the fact that calorie restriction reduces your metabolism, making it harder to burn extra calories.
Mistake #6: Lack of awareness of broader health issues
Finally, mistake No. 6 on Rachel’s list, is a lack of awareness of overall health and of broader health issues that could be restricting your fitness success. This could include hormonal imbalances that cause weight gain and make weight loss harder to achieve. This can be helped by consulting a doctor or naturopath.
Additional details about Rachel Attard’s 3 Steps to Lean Legs Program can be found online, at www.rachaelattard.com. The website includes access to the program, a free body type quiz, insightful blog posts and more.[/vc_column_text]
About Rachel Attard
Rachael Attard is a certified personal trainer and nutritionist. She is the creator of the 3 Steps to Lean Legs Program – which is designed to help women get a slim and toned body, without getting bulky.
Rachel has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Queensland, a Cert III and IV from the Australian Institute of Fitness, and a Certificate in Sports Nutrition from the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
Her mission is to empower women, help them feel good in their skin, and fall in love with exercise and their bodies!
