Will squats make my thighs bigger?
Replies
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Troll all you want, but bulky leggs will in fact look shorter.
do her legs look short?0 -
Not answering to the in informed girls. Just wanted to tell you good job. Squatting made me like my legs a lot more.0
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LOVE THIS!!! I squat and DL HEAVY and they have only made my legs sexier and less flabby!!! I'll argue with any woman who disagrees!0
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Troll all you want, but bulky leggs will in fact look shorter.
do her legs look short?
YES! Andrea Ager... lady crush. So hard. Gonna look like that some day... before I die.0 -
I can't say i agree 100% - first off tho, your legs look great!
... now (am i'm sure there shall be some haters) i disagree b/c you legs did get bigger (in some areas) and smaller / leaner (in other areas). . . looking at the section directly above your knee, your quads are much bigger that in the left picture - while your thighs are leaner in the right than in the left.
Most woman that complain about their "legs getting bigger" due to one reason - their pants start to fit differently. This can happen due to leg swell (if your noticing it directly after a workout) or due to muscle "recomposition". And while most people would suggest (at least this is the suggestions i got when i started noticing this, "way back when" lol): buy new pants, don't shop in the jrs dept, don't workout to fit into your current cloths, build your wordrobe around your new body - and these are all very good points (jr pants aren't made for woman legs lol)... there are also muscle building techniques that can help as well.
there are ways to elongate muscle, instead of bulking muscle (weight / rep range combos, different resistant / impact levels, amt of work on a particular muscle group, etc). And these are definately ideas someone should look it to.
Of course, it also depends upon you body type, current muscle foundation, and amt of time/ dedication to certain muscle groups. someone w/ a even distribution of muscle but a good amt of fat wouldn't have to worry about this so much b/c once all the fat leans out, [ideally] they body will be propotionate; however someone who has developed more muscle in one area than another would want to workout with this in mind, if balance is of importance to them - but a lot of this can't be determined until you DO get to lower bf & see what your working with - that's why i feel body recomp is a continual process...
ps. i hope this doesn't come across as argumentative - i was more trying to point out that in some cases they can make your legs bigger, depending upon your method - in most cases however, the person is probably just gaining muscle quicker than loosing fat, thus they are seeing a gain in size, but once they start to lean out they'll see that reflected in an inch drop again. (also measuring directly after working out is not wise lol)0 -
no but OMG will they make them hurt lol I am still in pain from Monday I think i started wayto heavy though 75 pounds might have been a bit much. I didnt relize the bars are weighted too until a person at work saw me squating that and asked how long I had been lifting when I told him that was my first time he seemed taken aback so yeah bad idea lol0
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Interesting that you say my legs got bigger - they actually got smaller in measurement...quite a bit. That quad is just more defined/noticeable since there is less fat popping over it. *smh*
Also, I might add - not everyone wants to lift as heavy as I want to....I can squat 205# (maybe more, this was last check)...and I want to squat MORE than that so I will continue to add weight and get stronger. I hope my body fat continues to go away and all that is left is rock solid legs!0 -
Interesting that you say my legs got bigger - they actually got smaller in measurement...quite a bit. That quad is just more defined/noticeable since there is less fat popping over it. *smh*
Your looking smaller to me less flabby as well
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Ignoring the science, the yays versus nays, the weights versus cardio. All I want to say is your legs look amazing. Bravo and congrats on your hard work.0
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It really depends on what you like. If you want to look strong as the OP does, then squats are ok, but if you're more into the lean long look, then avoid them and go running.
I've been running for over a year. When will this "lean long look" start to emerge?
^^^this. I can't wait to see how running makes my legs look longer. WTF. Running hasn't even improved the shape of my legs - period. They got smaller, but not better.0 -
It really depends on what you like. If you want to look strong as the OP does, then squats are ok, but if you're more into the lean long look, then avoid them and go running.
I've been running for over a year. When will this "lean long look" start to emerge?
^^^this. I can't wait to see how running makes my legs look longer. WTF. Running hasn't even improved the shape of my legs - period. They got smaller, but not better.
I agree same here and I hadnt even lost that much weight til I started mixing it up a bit0 -
Thank you for posting......exactly what needed today.0
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Your legs are great Jen. My legs are pretty small now but all I can see is fat, still no muscle definition. I'm around 23-24% BF now I think (tested at 25% a few weeks and lbs ago) and hopefully eventually will stop cutting and maybe build some quad definition lol.0
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Troll all you want, but bulky leggs will in fact look shorter.
Her legs look smaller to me.
Just her body composition improved.
Well done OP.
10/10 would bang. :flowerforyou: :smokin:0 -
your legs are gorgeous!
thank you for the post. I know that lifting has made my legs look much much better. I sit sometimes and flex just to see what I have accomplished....LOVE what all those moves have done for my legs!0 -
Troll all you want, but bulky leggs will in fact look shorter.
We get it, you want weak scrawny legs....0 -
Troll all you want, but bulky leggs will in fact look shorter.
do her legs look short?
YES! Andrea Ager... lady crush. So hard. Gonna look like that some day... before I die.
I'm right there with the lady crush, between her and this girl...
Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet
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Depends on how your body responds to exercise and what you want to look like. Not every woman wants heavily muscled thighs.
Agreed0 -
Troll all you want, but bulky leggs will in fact look shorter.
I don't think you understand what "troll" means. Or bulky, for that matter.0 -
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agreed with the OP, except for the bit of body shaming of what she used to look like, even though they didn't look the way you wanted, you were stronger than you ever realized, till you started lifting.0
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Troll all you want, but bulky leggs will in fact look shorter.
I don't think you understand what "troll" means. Or bulky, for that matter.
Or "fact" lol0 -
You da bomb Dizzy!0
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I'm right there with the lady crush, between her and this girl...
Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet
Oh yeah, Camille! She's got great legs, too.... :smooched: :drinker:0 -
It really depends on what you like. If you want to look strong as the OP does, then squats are ok, but if you're more into the lean long look, then avoid them and go running.
NO.
here are mine....Squat.
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Troll all you want, but bulky leggs will in fact look shorter.
I don't think you understand what "troll" means. Or bulky, for that matter.
Or "fact" lol
hahahhahahaa0 -
Short legs will always look short regardless of muscle definition or "bulkiness". This is probably due to the fact that they're short legs. I'm no expert though.0
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The answer is no...not really.
So many women want to know the secret to slimming out their thighs. It's an area women struggle with because we tend to store fat there, the stubborn kind that seems resistant to change. And yes, it is stubborn. Which is why it is all the more important to SQUAT, LUNGE, DEADLIFT, JUMP, and USE THOSE THIGHS to their advantage! Big muscle groups within the quads, hamstrings, and glutes that burn big calories! Muscle burns more calories at rest than does fat so we WANT to build muscle in our legs, or at least retain as much as we can while dieting.
Squats - in conjunction with a caloric deficit - will help your legs get smaller, more taut, less jiggly - what we alllll want. The people who say that squats made their legs bigger are special snowflakes OR they were eating too much and either gained muscle in the process or gained fat (depending on how much they were eating and what they were doing for exercise).
This picture below shows my legs at 185# on the left. I had already lost 35# but you can see they are very flabby and pocked and just not pleasing to look at. They rubbed against each other when walking, standing, what have you (and that ish hurts when they chafe!). At this point all I had done for exercise was walking and some jogging (while doing C25K). You can imagine how fatty and big they were when I was 220# several months earlier!
The picture on the right shows my legs currently, in progress. I'm 155# (about 25% bodyfat, trying to get to 18-20%). You'll notice they didn't get "bigger". They are more defined, leaner, and definitely wayyy more taut than before. My quads are pretty dominant and I can squat a hella lot of weight. These legs were built from lifting (no cardio) and a small calorie deficit (250-500 cals, toward the lower end on average though - I like to eat, a LOT). So - squats, deads, lunges, etc COMBINED with a caloric deficit = smaller thighs. As I continue to drop fat, they will continue to lean out and be even more defined and taut. I'm anxious for that but I suck at dieting.
So there ya have it - a little progress picture to show the ladies who are afraid to lift weights because their legs might get "bigger" that it's all about your diet when you are lifting. If you eat at maintenance or more, you may build some muscle and until you lose that fat your legs will look bigger. But if you eat within a deficit, your legs will respond and get smaller. It just takes time...because that fat is very stubborn. Happy Beautiful Thigh Thursday!
I think your progress is awesome, and you legs look great. But, there are people that just don't want to have legs that look like that. Too each her own.0 -
I gained an inch in thighs, but they look better and are a little less jiggly, so I assume it's muscle mass or swelling from working the legs. Not really complaining though.0
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Short legs will always look short regardless of muscle definition or "bulkiness". This is probably due to the fact that they're short legs. I'm no expert though.
there is far too much logic in this post0
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