Does Genetics Prevent This From Happening?!

Does Genetics Prevent This From Happening?

I have really skinny legs, they are unshapely, extremely skinny, and i am really slacking in that department. I would say that I have chicken legs and I have skinny ankles on top of that. I want the legs of an athlete without having to do all that. I want shapely, large, nice looking legs, not to muscular and not to fat. Just perfect. How do I go about doing this?

I too have naturally skinny legs and after years of running, they never got bigger. What you have to do is stimulate growth of the fast twitch muscle fibers in order to see some bulk. Some people are genetically predisposed to certain things, but that does not ever mean it's impossible to change, they just have to work a little harder at it.

Squats, stiff legged deadlifts, and leg presses should be your primary exercises. Lunges are ok, but you can't go very heavy on these which is why they're best left to supplementing the primary lifts. Go relatively low on reps, 4-8 reps for 3-4 sets at most to failure. For calves, go very heavy - since calves are made up primarily of slow twitch muscle fibers, you have to work them especially hard; this is one muscle group that I actually do believe in "no pain, no gain" For legs, this will reap max gains in the shortest amount of time. Don't work out legs more than twice a week. Keep cardio to a minimum during gaining phases or else you'll reduce the amount of mass gains you see.

Another aspect is diet, and diet is ultimately what determines the size of the muscle. A good rule of thumb is 40% lean proteins, 40% carbs and 20% fats over 5-6+ meals per day. If you're a hardgainer, then you should have even more carbs than this. You should get at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day, 1.5-2 grams of carbs per day, mostly complex carbs. Good fats are also extremely important. If you still aren't seeing gains after 5-6 weeks of consistent working out with this diet, increase the caloric intake weekly by 10% until you start seeing gains.

So, when you achieve the desired leg size, scale back your diet a bit and work on reducing bodyfat - this is called the cutting phase in bodybuilding circles and can apply to anyone looking for a more "defined" physique. Keep the protein levels the same, reduce carbs and keep fats the same or increase them a bit, and increase cardio. You have to be careful not to lose muscle tissue along with fat during this time so watch your strength levels and if they start falling, then adjust diet/exercising accordingly.