How to Can I reduce the volume of my legs and buttocks with physical exercise or specific exercises?

Losing volume, toning up, marking... are widespread colloquial expressions that are frequently used in the field of fitness by people who are inexperienced or who are just starting out with a training or nutritional plan or both. When a person talks about losing volume or at least not gaining it, mentally they are usually thinking about reducing the size of their clothes or their body circumferences, regardless of what this may mean in terms of body composition. In this way, it often happens that the same people who seek to "lose volume" are the same ones who do not know the importance of seeking a better body composition and who in fact tend to have high percentages of fat, responsible for that extra volume that bothers them at a level of aesthetic. Needless to say, these cases have often never trained and do not enjoy the health and aesthetic benefits that a good muscular base can offer them. In this article, we explain the imprecision involved in the expression "losing volume" and whether it is possible to achieve it in the legs and buttocks or in any other part of the body through specific exercises. What does it mean to lose volume? Losing volume implies, the same thing, losing volume or reducing body circumferences or perimeters. This can automatically translate into one or more clothing sizes, but it does not give us any information about the type of tissue or fluid that we are losing. Beyond the losses or gains in muscle or fat tissue that may occur in the medium or long term, when we begin to train, a certain volume gain may be experienced. This is why many people, especially women, are reluctant to do weight training. This transient volume gain is due to an increase in the expression of glucose transporter proteins, specifically, GLUT4 (glucose transporter type 4), induced by muscle contraction and mechanical overload. In novice people, this phenomenon is even more significant. These GLUT4 transporters promote the movement of glucose from the blood to the relevant target tissues, which may be adipocytes, myocardium, or in this case, muscle. This causes greater retention of glucose (glycogen) at the muscular level. In addition, when glycogen is stored, it carries with it two to three grams of water for each gram of glycogen, which can translate into an increase in muscle volume and total body weight. Does this mean that we are gaining muscle mass? No. The fact that you retain more glycogen and water is a normal physiological response to training with loads, but it does not imply that you are gaining muscle, but rather a certain volume. This is not an aesthetic problem, quite the opposite. In a person with a low-fat percentage, glycogen retention means a look with fuller muscles, in people with a high-fat percentage this look will go unnoticed. So how can I lose volume? When a person wants to lose volume, what they really want is to have a body with a low percentage of body fat and a good muscular base, even if they don't know it, and consider that the last thing they want is to have muscle mass. Yes, you want muscle mass, believe it or not. A person who wants to lose volume will surely have a high-fat percentage, the real culprit for their excess volume. That being the case, what has to be done is to lose that fat through diet and strength training. Cardio training is not really necessary and should be used simply to add caloric expenditure when further calorie restriction is unhealthy or simply not desired. Strength training won't be anything exotic: just combine multi-joint and single-joint exercises and push yourself to progress. In the long run, you should be able to increase your performance by moving more weight, doing more sets and reps, or improving your technique. Is it possible to lose localized volume? Knowing that it is a problem of localized fat, no, it is not possible to lose localized volume regardless of the muscle group you work with. In fact, we have already explained that some increase in volume can occur in the muscle groups worked simply because of better glycogen storage. You should know that muscle tissue and adipose tissue are two different tissues. Stimulating the first does not have to affect the second at all. Be that as it may, there is no "toning" workout that serves solely and exclusively to lose the fat that covers specific muscle groups.