Will squats make my thighs bigger?
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I will add to this. Firs off to avoid being screamed at, OP your legs look great. I think strong legs look amazing, HOWEVER comma dot dot dot I prefer the lean ( not long) "scrawny" leg look ON MYSELF. I currently do not lift heavy but want to eventually! here comes the point of my post. I have been all over the weight chart throughout my life, I was 5'2 117 lbs quite a few years back, I squat, I love squatting. I think no matter what look you are going for squatting is essential. It gives you legs definition no matter who you are and what look you're trying to achieve. It works out your *kitten* too!0
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Two things to add:
-OP, your legs look freaking amazing.
-If one more person says this is bulky, I'm going to kick you in the shins.
That is all.0 -
I honestly don't care how big or small my legs get as long as they're strong like tree trunks and the jiggle wiggle is gone! I used to want the thigh gap...but have learned better from all you heavy lifters
Now lets squat!
totally agree. I don't care if my thighs forever stay at 25 inches as long as they become a firm 25 inches rather than soft and jiggly :P0 -
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.
You absolutely do not understand my point, or the point the OP made to you earlier in this thread when you said the same thing to her directly.
The point is that your genetics determine how your legs look, ultimately.
My legs don't look like the OPs. My legs don't really look like any of the legs posted in this thread. They look like my legs, just like your legs look like however your legs look. I can't transform my legs into long skinny things, no matter what I do. However, I CAN make them into the best legs they can be by strengthening my leg muscles and losing as much fat as I find desirable/sustainable. The amount of body fat one has is what will either cover the muscles (giving the appearance of softness) or show them off (lower amounts of body fat) as I said in my previous post.
Look at the other photos posted in this thread by women who squat! I think you'll note that there isn't just one sort of "look" a woman's legs develop from squatting. Nobody can say "squats make women's legs bulky". There is no evidence of that! There's a great variety of squatter's legs posted to this thread, and there is no way anyone could point to all of them and say that squats make legs bulky, because they simply DO NOT. Squats do make your legs firmer and smaller, though.0 -
Your legs look fantastic a inspiration . Thanks for sharing.0
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I would also just like to point out that the media often skews how most celebrities get those fit, "long" and "lean" bodies that you see. No, most of them aren't the product of yoga and running. At the very least they are doing bodyweight workouts and most of them are lifting in some fashion.
For so long women have been brainwashed into thinking that touching anything heavier than a 5lb pink dumbbell is going to make them instantly into a bodybuilder. Most women are dieting... so like the OP mentioned, she wasn't gaining any mass while she was lifting... she was in a deficit, she was shedding fat. The lifting made her maintain muscle to look "toned"... or what apparently some of you think is "bulky". Two words I despise.
And another thing, you know why muscles are sexy? They are the product of busting *kitten* in the gym and discipline. A person's body and composition says so much more than just how they look, it says a lot about their character and work ethic too.0 -
Love this post!0
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I know I'm late to the party but I absolutely love this whole topic :-) you ladies have some beautiful legs out there! Wonderful inspiration to us all!0
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In for Awesome quads!:flowerforyou: :drinker:0
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I know this is an older thread, but I have to say to the original poster, your thighs, after squatting, look great! I used to think that squats would make my thighs bulky since I'm short. That didn't happen at all when I started squats, lunges and deadlifts. My thighs now look better at age 40 than they did when I was 20 and skinny.0
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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.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
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
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
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 nutrition0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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!0 -
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.0
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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.
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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.
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Awesome Progress :-)0
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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.0
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