muscle muscle and more muscle

i am 5'6 145 at my lowest and 150 right now.....

i am very muscular.... i lift no weights and have defined muscles.

my legs are SUPER MUSCULAR. i have some fat on the inner and outer but they are solid muscle... I do cardio 3 or 4 times a week... step class w the lowest step.... running, soccer etc.... I also do yoga once or twice a week...

My legs have bulked up in the last month substantially. I dont know what to do. I want slender muscle. I can't do pilates bc I had back surgery....

thoughts? ideas? I eat anywhere from 1200-1600 on an average day.... I dont eat a lot of sugar- I do drink lots of water... I am just at a loss!

I mean how bulky are they? Nothing you're doing would cause bulk, so I'm not sure. I will say I'm very jealous and if I were you, I'd be doing some kick ass weight routine and be all buff and scary and hide in dark alleys and growl at people. I would die for muscles to come so easily!!

sigh. i know people think that but im telling you its not such a grand ol thing. Put it this way. I have those Rebok legs... the one in the ads.... strong as crap... (Even my BF admits I am very strong).

I wear a size 10 pant and take in the waist to about a 6 bc of my legs... just wondering if anyone could share a kick butt leg slimmer routine ;)

I do live in NYC so the dark alley/growling could prove useful. thanks for the nice post. made me laugh. Today my pants are just tight and its depressing. i think I need to run more.... like lengthen more, ya know?

I know you didn't say you ride a bike, but that's the only way I know of to give you a suggestion. 

Years ago, a friend of mine compained to her doctor about the same thing you are - she had bulky muscles and wanted more elongated muscles.  She rode her bike a lot.  The doctor's response was that it had to do with how she exercised.  Her problem was that she would have her gears set so that each rotation of her leg had a lot of resistance, but she didn't have to pedal as fast.  He advised her to keep the resistance light so that she has to pedal faster, but easier.  And it worked for her.  So to translate to non-biking, I guess do easier exercise, but more of it.  Don't jog on any hills.  Don't add any resistance to an elyptical machine (not that you said you did that).  I'm not familiar with cardio/step classes, so I have no suggestions there.  I'm sure the yoga is helping you though, so don't change that.  If anything, increase yoga since that makes you long and lean.

I have nothing to add from personal experience because every time a new area of my body gets hard, I love it.  I don't think women's muscles can get too big (unless they're on steroids) - at least "too big" meaning what I would think is ugly.  You probably look great and are the envy of many.

Actually I'd say don't run, maybe try something that people mistakenly do in order to lose muscle: lots of low resistence cardio like was just suggested. Eliptical machine type of stuff at the lowest setting.

I still seriously wish I could build muscle like that. I'd be on the cover of Muscle and Fitness with bad make up and a little bikini every single month with a big ear to ear grin

stop doing the step classes that is like doing a ton of lunges and that will add size, try working you legs three times a week to over train them, over training them will make the muscles shrink, keep the reps in the 12-15 range for about 6-8 sets, and cardio 45 minutes per day should do the trick do that 5-6 times a week, you legs will be so overtrained that will shrink pretty quickly

I just have to say that given the naute of this thread, bodyscience's picture is pretty funny.

catabolize that muscle!  some long (30+ minutes), slow, regular runs should do the trick -- releases cortisol.  (It will not take muscle just from legs, though, be forewarned.)  Don't eat an hour or so b4 you go either.  I don't know what you are doing now but eat lower protein levels 25-30% and a slight calorie deficit should help.  Stop your step class.

Avoid: heavy, fast, intense leg workouts go for the slow burn.

BTW: I'm with spirochete and am jealous

Ok, I am almost the same person as you here. I am 5 ft. 6 and my weight has always stayed between 145 and 150. My target has always been my big legs (THIGHS and BUTT). I have been weight training for about 5 years, and only this year have I seen results in my legs that I can be proud of. I know it sounds crazy, but I overtrain my lower body just like bodyscience suggested. I do 20 minutes 5 days a week on the stairmaster set on the interval program. I weight train my lower body 4 days a week with Wed. being the rest day. I do two lower body sets a day along with one upper body muscle. For example, Monday's I do squats, lunges, and shoulders. Since January, I am now a weighing in at 137-139 consistently. My leg muscles are long and lean and I'm proud to sport that summer time bikini. I don't know if this will help you, but is sounds like we are two of a kind.

Good luck! Everyone is different and requires a different program that will work for them. Remember that when you weight train you are still burning calories. That's why I don't do an over abundance of cardio. I also used to run, but now I swear by the stair master.