I recently started going to my campus gym regularly, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what workouts might be helpful for body feminization?
I already dislike my upper body muscle bulk, and am not exactly shaped in a way I like.
Would working out my thighs/butt/legs/lower back/abs help?

Also, could working out my upper body once in a while help my muscles change based on my hormone levels (been on HRT 6 months)?

Any suggestions/advice/etc is greatly appreciated .

My underlying muscle structure is more that of a dancer - long slender muscles. Even as a BodyPump instructor / regular I was unable to bulk up.

In the past months I've done a lot of cardio (elliptical trainer), running and eat a very healthy low fat diet. The biceps and triceps show when I work out but in a nice way. However I focus more on deep muscle activation / yoga / stretching than pumping weights. I use lower kg and higher slower repetitions but definitely don't have the power of pre HRT (just over year now). Most of the time I'm watched at the gym is not because of my transition...

Like Donna E it will be interesting to see what happens post SRS/GRS. However as someone who is doesn't eat much fat (I'm dairy intolerant but will sacrifice myself for chocolate) I'm hoping my muscles will continue to feminise whilst looking strong and youthful....

I would love to have the discipline in doing workouts to help in feminization. I don't know if it would help in my bovine ovary regimen, but was wondering if long walks would do it. I am very overweight and need to lose at least 30 pounds, if not more. I have a bike trail near by that many do walk.

The best way to start... Is to start. And be realisitic. I don't know your starting point - but for a general client looking to change body shape - a rule of thumb would be 3x30 min cardio workouts for a minimum of 6-8 weeks before being able to notice any real change.

If you are starting off from an overweight situation it is much better to have someone help guide and motivate you. And to help monitor heart rate so that you exercise safely. It is not a race with others; it is your own challenge to yourself. Never judge your progress by others - and be prepared for weeks where you don't achieve; but the long term aim is to slowly improve and reward yourself.

I actually don't have anyone anymore to help motivate me since most that could have helped me passed on or moved on. I am up there a bit in age now, so, I have to motivate myself. I do plan on doing whatever it takes, and the cardio workouts sounds logical. I have to learn to cut back on the carbs such as sweets, etc. I have started on protein drinks. I will have to get going on the walks, too. I just hope that I can do it on my own. I am on an up and down roller coaster ride on my weight, so I know I can keep the weight down if I can just eat the right foods and correct exercise. Thanks for the advise!

I'm at an average weight (160lb, 5'10"), though I've gained 20lb since starting HRT. I've been going to the gym for a little while, but was just thinking that it could be good to add in transition specific work outs that may help me what what I would like . Besides going to the gym, I've also begun going to a 2 hour long martial arts class three times a week, which has a nice and somewhat intense 45-60 min warmup exercise period (stretching and cardio mostly).

Thanks for the responses so far!

SQUATS SQUATS AND MORE SQUATS!!! like every single variation of the squat!!!!

Quote from: Lady_Oracle on June 08, 2014, 09:54:56 PM
SQUATS SQUATS AND MORE SQUATS!!! like every single variation of the squat!!!!

Great! I have started doing squats already!

find a good belly dancing class.

Yes!! what TaoRaven said too! If you have a strong cardio workout then I'd say avoid upper body exercises completely until most of your muscle mass is gone and you've been on estrogen long enough. That's what I did, it still took a while for my muscle mass to completely go away but I'm pretty sure if I had done any upper body exercises it would of taken even longer since all I had in my upper body was muscle from bench pressing and barely any fat.

Oh and do yoga!!! Stretching is super important!

Spending half an hour on the cross trainer and using the hip abductor has helped me.

Quote from: Thylacin on June 08, 2014, 10:09:26 PM
Great! I have started doing squats already!

Don't squats give you massive quads? I dunno. I'd personally avoid any workouts, except for peaceful walks, a bit of dieting, and letting HRT do the work. For me, personally, the less muscle mass, the better. Good luck!

Doing squats will help round out the lower half even better. Aerobic exercises only tone, you can only build mass if you weight train and at the same time eat tons of protein to truly build that muscle. So combined with the fact that your testosterone is being suppressed, its pretty safe to do lower body aerobic exercises. Upper body is a different story since males store a lot of muscle mass in that area whether you work out or not, its still much more than a cis female, unless your super skinny that is. Which is why I say avoid upper body exercises until you've been on hrt for a good bit. That's only if your intent is to lose as much muscle mass as quickly as possible in that area. However it doesn't matter in the long run though cause given enough time on hrt your muscle/fat will be just like any other woman.

I started a pole dancing class.. its a lot of fun and its a good work out..

I repost this a lot but keep in mind that fat and muscles don't like to move around or go away if they can help it. You need to help your hormones change your body.

Fat distribution and muscle development is largely shaped by hormones. Testosterone will deposit fat to that of a man's and estrogen will deposit fat to that of a woman's no matter your natal birth.

My best advice is to try to 'reset' your fat and muscles and then allow your body to 'regrow' under the influence of the new hormones in your body. Simply starting HRT and expecting the fat to migrate to female areas from their previous male areas or visa versa is not true. I lost as much fat and muscle as I (safely) could through caloric deficiency and walking on an empty stomach. Then I returned to my normal lifestyle and the results were much better then they could have ever been not doing that or trying to change my workout routine.

A guy I know didn't workout for years, started working out again and quickly returned to how he was when he was working out. Muscles will gain/lose mass but try to stay about the same size. Fat is the same. Neither of these will move or go away unless you force your body to do so, this is the way our bodies are designed.

Quote from: teeg on June 10, 2014, 01:24:13 PM
I repost this a lot but keep in mind that fat and muscles don't like to move around or go away if they can help it. You need to help your hormones change your body.

Fat distribution and muscle development is largely shaped by hormones. Testosterone will deposit fat to that of a man's and estrogen will deposit fat to that of a woman's no matter your natal birth.

My best advice is to try to 'reset' your fat and muscles and then allow your body to 'regrow' under the influence of the new hormones in your body. Simply starting HRT and expecting the fat to migrate to female areas from their previous male areas or visa versa is not true. I lost as much fat and muscle as I (safely) could through caloric deficiency and walking on an empty stomach. Then I returned to my normal lifestyle and the results were much better then they could have ever been not doing that or trying to change my workout routine.

A guy I know didn't workout for years, started working out again and quickly returned to how he was when he was working out. Muscles will gain/lose mass but try to stay about the same size. Fat is the same. Neither of these will move or go away unless you force your body to do so, this is the way our bodies are designed.

Before starting hormones I walked and restricted calories and went from 160 to 140. Since beginning HRT 6 months ago, I've regained 20lb.
My body does seem different, and I've been told that I have a butt now. More fat seems to have settled near my hips, and there's definitely a more defined waist area, but I think I put on weight too soon and my tummy has gotten more male pattern fat too, I think.
This is based on regular measurements and pictures.

I might diet a bit again and do some squats. Maybe that'll help a bit more.

Quote from: teeg on June 10, 2014, 01:24:13 PM
Simply starting HRT and expecting the fat to migrate to female areas from their previous male areas or visa versa is not true. I lost as much fat and muscle as I (safely) could through caloric deficiency and walking on an empty stomach. Then I returned to my normal lifestyle and the results were much better then they could have ever been not doing that or trying to change my workout routine.

^This. DON"t WORK OUT. It will preserve your muscles and preserve your bulk. I did the same thing as Teeg--didn't eat much and walk for miles a day--and now I'm 125 lbs and my measurements are 32-27-34. If you must, must work out, I would avoid any weights.

In my case I never really stopped weight lifting. My muscles were reducing anyway because I was on very low calories diet. In 6 months of hrt and low calories/working out, my weight went from 145 (36-30-29) to 115 (31-25-30) and finally now 122 (34-24½-33½). It's really different for everybody.

Good luck.

This may not have anything to do with work outs, but does anyone know if CLA (Conjugated linoleic acid) supplements work to distribute the fat to the female parts of the body? I still have a bunch of it left, but someone said that it may do nothing but harm the good fat of the female. Anyone have any ideas on that one? It says on the bottle "Body shaping and toning formula," but not sure how that works when transitioning.

This routine worked real good for me, got way better, more defined shapes than I thought I would after only a few weeks. You can easily increase intensity with extra weights or make it more cardio with more, faster reps.