Will squats make my thighs bigger?

ninerbuff

made mine a lot bigger

Did you actually take measurements to verify this? Or did they appear bigger for the reasons the OP explained?


Love this OP! My legs are rocking thanks to squats. My muscles look bigger, but my legs are smaller. I know this because I've measured and I'm down another pant size since starting lifting (depsite not losing much weight).

yup were 19.5in and now 20in

A half inch is a lot bigger? Legs will naturally increase in size due to water/glycogen retention, but not from muscle building if one is on a deficit.
Oh well, some don't feel a half inch (all the way around) is much of a gain compared to how legs look once fat is lost.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

Here's the legs of one of my former clients who ran only till she started lifting. Never worked on squats before training.

Before


After


A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

toutmonpossible

I've been lifting for almost a year, and I like looking and feeling strong. However, it's ridiculous to say that people that don't want my type of muscle definition are stupid or misinformed. Some people (women in particular) would rather be and look a little soft, even if that means they have a little more wiggle in their walk. As long as they're healthy, why do you care? You don't want to look like them, and they don't want to look like you. The end.

Way to miss the entire point of the thread, beginning to end.

The point was that lifting will make your legs (thighs in particular) firmer and smaller, rather than "big and bulky".

"Looking soft" has to do with your body fat percentage. I lift heavy weights and look "soft", as my BF% isn't low enough to look hard or ripped at this point. I wiggle!

Nobody seems offended by this, and I'm certainly not offended by anyone who has a harder, tighter body than me, just as I'm not offended by someone with more body fat than I have, who is even wigglier and jigglier.

What bothers me are comments suggesting women who lift weights are "masculine", "bulky", and generally undesirable. I'm bothered by women jumping up to object to the MANY positive benefits of lifting weights, and the (YES) misinformed women who will discourage others from lifting by telling them they'll get big and bulky, masculine, etc. They are indeed misinformed if that's what they believe. There's no two ways about that, sorry.

I understand your point. But to some people the OP would probably be considered "bulky", and might serve as an example for women who do not want that aesthetic to not lift heavy. It's nothing personal, I'm a heavy squatter and tend to have "big thighs" but I get it that some women/men don't like that.

:flowerforyou: Yes, it's a matter of aesthetic preference, genetics, and need (for some sports or jobs it's beneficial to have big, strong quads and glutes). Another member was talking about an increase of 1/2" as if it were nothing. If you have large thighs to begin with and are not interested in getting bigger, 1/2"is a lot.

Lupercalia

Half an inch is NOT "a lot bigger" when you're talking about the circumference of a relatively big body part, namely the upper thigh. It certainly isn't noticeable without pulling out a measuring tape, and could be down to just about anything--water retention for whatever reason, glycogen, error in where someone measured, etc.

Building strength in your entire body-- lower body as well as upper body-- is beneficial in life, PERIOD. Not merely "for some sports or jobs".

On the other hand, worrying about half inches on your thighs, and how you can possibly atrophy the muscles in your lower body in order to make yourself smaller is not beneficial for anything at all, unless you're actively trying to disappear yourself.

If you want to lose fat, eat at a moderate deficit. Keep your muscles by eating a sufficient amount of calories and protein, and make sure you're including resistance training to retain whatever lean muscle you've got.

Lupercalia

Here's the legs of one of my former clients who ran only till she started lifting. Never worked on squats before training.

Before


After


A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Beautiful legs!

noacalz14

It actually really depends on what body type you have, if you are a mesomorph it can most definitely increase your leg mass, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But if what you are looking for is lean legs and you have problems with having overly muscular thighs try long distance or endurance running.

TR0berts

It actually really depends on what body type you have, if you are a mesomorph it can most definitely increase your leg mass, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But if what you are looking for is lean legs and you have problems with having overly muscular thighs try long distance or endurance running.

mustgetmuscles1

It actually really depends on what body type you have, if you are a mesomorph it can most definitely increase your leg mass, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But if what you are looking for is lean legs and you have problems with having overly muscular thighs try long distance or endurance running.

Exactly.

Dre8604

Awesome Progress :-)

ItsCasey

It actually really depends on what body type you have, if you are a mesomorph it can most definitely increase your leg mass, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But if what you are looking for is lean legs and you have problems with having overly muscular thighs try long distance or endurance running.

Strong first post.

LolBroScience

It actually really depends on what body type you have, if you are a mesomorph it can most definitely increase your leg mass, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But if what you are looking for is lean legs and you have problems with having overly muscular thighs try long distance or endurance running.

please deactivate your account.

scottb81

It actually really depends on what body type you have, if you are a mesomorph it can most definitely increase your leg mass, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But if what you are looking for is lean legs and you have problems with having overly muscular thighs try long distance or endurance running.

Not true at all as it depends. Marathon running alone gave me 12% bodyfat and 23 inch thighs, 2 inches larger than the average male at a significantly lower bodyfat than the average male.

nomorebingesgirl2014

Bump

DjinnMarie

Made mine bigger, exactly what I wanted. I want centaur quads.

ajlala1221

I'm pear shaped and I will always be pear shaped. Squats are taking me from a squishy pear to a firm pear and I would much rather be a firm pear ;-) All of these progress photos are amazing! They let us newbie squatters know that we're heading in the right direction...thank you all for sharing!

InsanityForMe

Great work! and thanks for the post!