Get Skinny Legs Quick

Do you think your legs are too chubby? Or do you just want to fit into and look great in that new pair of shorts or skinny jeans or even if it's bikini season? Well, skinny legs are attainable if you're willing to work hard and eat right! Just remember that won't be able to just lose weight in your legs; you'll have to target overall weight loss, but luckily, your perseverance will pay off.

Steps

Starting An Easy, Consistent Routine

  1. Walk 5-10 minutes to warm your muscles.
  2. Stretch for at least 1 minute per muscle.
  3. Jog for 15 minutes. This may also be substituted by 10-15 minutes of skipping a jump rope, just make sure you do it properly .
  4. Kick your legs up to your butt. These are called butt kicks or kick backs . Do at least 50 times per leg. It may seem a lot but it's not as much as you think!
  5. Run and lift your knees up to waist height.
  6. Walk for about 5-7 minutes to slow your heart rate.
  7. Do leg squats and leg rolls.
    • Leg squats are just simply spreading your legs shoulder width apart and squatting.
    • Leg rolls are where you lay down on the floor and place one leg in the air and roll it in a circular motion.
  8. Stretch or walk around for at least 5-10 minutes to cool down.
  9. Break into a jog every chance you get! And try to drink lots of water in order to stay hydrated.

Other (Leg) Exercises You Can Do Around the House

  1. Go biking or cycling. Cycling around is a great way to burn fat and substitute it with muscle mass. By some estimates, if you weigh 130 lb (59 kg), you can burn anywhere from 325 to 550 calories per hour, depending on your speed.[1] This makes cycling a great way to lose weight. There are several ways to use a bike to get skinnier legs:
    • Biking around casually. Bike to the grocery store instead of driving. Bike to work instead of taking public transportation. If you bike casually, going about 11 mph (17.6 km/h), you can burn 275-450 calories per hour, depending on your weight.[1]
    • Use a stationary bike at home or at the gym. Because this is a bit lighter of an exercise, expect to burn anywhere from 250-450 calories per hour, depending on your weight.[1]
    • Do a spinning class. Spinning classes are butt-kicking but definitely worth it. The advantage here is that you burn a lot of calories: a 145 lb (65.8 kg) person might expect to burn about 750-1000 calories per hour of very vigorous spinning. On the other hand, spinning can be quite monotonous and you'll have to push yourself for maximum results.
  2. Pilates Workouts are another option for targeting leg muscles. Pilates builds a lot of muscle in the core and leg areas, making it a perfect exercise for getting skinnier legs. Pilates won't burn as many calories as cycling will, but it's generally easier to get into. Plus, if you grab a DVD instead of going to a class, you won't have to worry about exercising in public, if that's a concern for you.
  3. Do leg rolls. Leg rolls are easy, effective, and can be done in the comfort of your own home. These are not as effective as high calorie-burning exercise like spinning, but it's much better than nothing.
    • Lie on your right side and place your left arm on the floor in front of you for support and balance. With your left leg, raise it to your hip level. Pretend your leg is in a barrel and with your toes, lead the rest of your leg to trace the inside of the barrel. Your leg will go up, down, and around in circles. Do 50-100 circles, switch legs, and do the same number on the other side.
  4. Do squats. Squats are very versatile. You can do a bunch of different kinds of squats, all with the same basic principle, and get different results. With squats, proper technique is important.
    • Do standard squats:
      • With your legs shoulder-width apart, slowly bring your butt down, bending your knees and keeping your arms outstretched in front of you.
      • Arch your back slightly but keep your torso erect.
      • Bring your butt down as far as you can, keeping the tension on the leg muscles.
      • Exhale deeply and use your legs and hips, not your back, to lift out of the squat. Repeat 20 times, 3 sets each.
    • Do Belgian squats with a dumbbell or other weight:
      • Using both hands, hold out a weight in front of your chest.
      • Standing in front of a bench, lift your right leg back so that it's parallel to the floor and resting comfortably on the bench. Your thigh and knee should form a 90° angle.
      • Bend into a squat by lowering the left leg, so that the right knee almost hits the floor.
      • Explode upward. Do this 8 times, 3-4 sets each. Repeat using opposite leg.
    • Do jump squats
      • Go all the way down into a standard squat.
      • Instead of returning to starting position, jump into the air as high as possible, landing with both feet on the ground.
      • Repeat carefully, 15 times, 3-4 sets each. These squats can be more strenuous on the knees.
  5. Target your legs with other exercises. There's a host of great exercises that you can do to help burn fat and build muscle. Here are just a few of them:
    • Lunges. With a 5 or 8-lb (2 or 4 kg) dumbbell in each hand, lunge forward with one leg and bring the opposite knee about an inch above the ground. Step back and continue with the opposite leg.
    • Inner-thigh press. Lay down on a mat with your knees bent and the soles of your feet on the ground. Put a medium rubber ball (or a knotted beach towel) between your legs and squeeze for 30 seconds. Let go and repeat.
    • Hip extensions. Kneel on a mat with your elbows bent down on the floor. Lift your leg up and extend it fully behind your body. Bend your left leg and draw it in so that it lightly taps the back of your right knee. Extend the left leg out again. Repeat with other leg.

Exercises You Can Do At the Gym

  1. Swim for a great full-body workout. Do some laps using the freestyle motion. Learn how to do a flip turn so that you won't have to stop when you get to the end of the lap. Swimming is an excellent way to burn leg fat and build up leg muscle, as well as a great cardiovascular exercise. Burn about 440-480 calories doing a moderate freestyle workout for an hour.[2]
    • Different strokes for different folks. Different strokes burn different amounts of calories. Butterfly stroke burns the most calories, while backstroke burns the least.[2]
  2. Use the elliptical. The elliptical is that funny looking, stationary machine that you can run or jog on; it has arm supports that move when you walk/jog. A 140 lb (64 kg) individual doing a moderate intensity workout on the elliptical trainer can expect to burn about 725 calories.
    • When using the elliptical, try to stay away the incline (uphill) option if you don't want to build muscle in your thigh. While good at burning calories, the incline will tend to build muscles in the thigh.
  3. Take a dance or Zumba class. Zumba is dance fitness program created by a Colombian dancer and choreographer. The average 140 lb (64 kg) individual can expect to burn about 450 calories after an hour-long Zumba workout.[3] A dancer can expect to probably burn a little less than that, depending on the workout intensity — about 275.
  4. Join an organized/intramural sport. The gym is a good opportunity to band together with other like-minded, similarly-motivated people who are looking to have fun and burn weight. In order of most calories burned, the following sports are good for blasting weight off of your thighs, legs, and arms:
    • Playing full-court basketball will burn an astounding 700 calories on the average (140 lb/64 kg) person.
    • Playing competitive soccer will burn a very respectable 650 calories on the average (140 lb/64 kg) person.
    • Rollerskating can burn about 525 calories for the average (140 lb/64 kg) person, while ice-hockey can burn about 450.[2]
  5. Run or walk on the treadmill. It may sound obliteratingly boring, but the treadmill can be effective if that's the only exercise you choose to do. Walking on the treadmill at 4 mph (6.6 km/h), for a 140 lb (64 kg) individual, will burn about 175 calories.[4] Running on a treadmill at 6 mph (10 km/h), for a 140 lb (64 kg) individual, will burn about 540 calories.[5]

Dieting Tips

  1. Eat more protein instead of carbohydrates. Protein is vital for building and maintaining muscle mass. Sources of lean protein include fish, chicken, tofu, and turkey.
    • Stay away from simple carbohydrates found in processed or refined products.[6] These include:
      • Candy
      • Sugary, carbonated beverages, such as colas
      • Syrups
      • Sugars
    • Complex carbohydrates are acceptable to eat, although they should at most make up 60% of your total caloric intake.[6] Complex carbs include:
      • Legumes
      • Starchy vegetables
      • Whole-grain breads and cereals
  2. Add daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and veggies provide you with dietary fiber, which can help reduce the amount of fat that your body stores. They also contain essential vitamins and minerals, and give your body a break from an otherwise monotonous diet.
  3. Drink water instead of sugary drinks. Many doctors recommend that males get 10-12 cups of water per day, which works out to {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}, while females are recommended to drink 8-10 cups per day, about {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}.[7] Water will help your immune system stay healthy, keep your skin looking great, and give you more lasting energy to do the things you need to do during the day.
    • You probably already know this, but sodas, juices, and other sugary drinks aren't the way to go if you want to shed pounds off of your legs. Sugars, as mentioned above, are simple carbohydrates, an excess of which will lead to more calories. Reach for a glass of water instead! You'll see the difference.
    • (Unsweetened) green tea is another good substitute for sugary drinks. Green tea contains a good amount of antioxidants, meaning that it helps your body fight against free radicals, which enhance signs of aging in humans.[8]
      • If you are trying to eat less, drink of cup of green tea before a meal. You'll notice that you feel more full and won't need to eat as much.
  4. Get the right kinds of fats into your diet. Common sense tells us that if we want to lose flab, we better cut out fats. Right? Not always. Getting the right kinds of fats into your diet gives us energy and helps us absorb vitamins, while getting the wrong kinds of fats will make it harder for us to shed those extra pounds.
    • Eat healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 is needed to regulate clotting, build up cell membranes and support cell health. Food high in omega-3 fatty acids include:[9]
      • Fish, notably salmon
      • Nuts and seeds, notably flaxseed
      • Leafy greens, notably Chinese broccoli and spinach
    • Avoid saturated fats such as butter, solid shortening, lard and fatback.[10]
    • Avoid trans fats, which are found in vegetable shortenings, margarine, cookies, snack foods and other foods containing or fried in partially hydrogenated oils.[10]
  5. Eat small portions. Make the most of your day by eating often, but little. Try eating five meals a day, with a couple meals being small snacks (sauteed vegetables or nuts make a great snack) in between.
    • Try eating more in the morning than at night. Ever heard the phrase "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper?" That's because your metabolism starts shutting down during the nighttime as it prepares for bedtime, making late meals prime candidates for being stored as fat instead of burned as calories.[11]
    • Drink water before meals. drinking water before meals can result in consuming less calories at those meals, which can ultimately lead to weight loss. This is probably because the water provides a sense of fullness, so not as much food is needed to reach the point of satiety.

General Tips

  1. Don't expect to lose the weight from just your legs. The body converts fat into energy when it's exercising or low on food. Unfortunately, the body converts fat from wherever it wants, and not always where you want it to. It highly depends on your body type. Some people are bottom heavy, whereas other people can be top heavy.
    • Spot-training, or working one area of your body at a time, has its advantages (toning) and disadvantages (frustration when fat doesn't magically disappear). Don't expect leg exercises to give you suddenly-skinny legs without seeing a reduction in your overall body fat levels.
  2. Burn more calories than you take in as food. This sounds simple, but it's the holy grail of weight loss. To lose one pound of weight in a day, you must burn 3,500 more calories than you take in as food. Now, it's not reasonable to expect you to burn 3,500 more calories than you take in as food, so set reasonable goals for yourself. Small, manageable chunks of weight do make a difference.
  3. Don't starve yourself. A lot of people who want to lose weight make this mistake. Their reasoning: Calories get stored as fat when the body doesn't use them; calories come from food; if I starve myself, I'll get fewer calories; if I get fewer calories, there will be less fat to store. This is a misconception.
    • What happens when a person starves him/herself? The body realizes it is getting less food, your metabolism slows down to save energy, and you start consuming lean tissue instead of fat reserves because the body wants to prepare itself for a while without food.
    • If you do manage to lose weight by starving yourself (you did it the hard, painful way!) your body will gain all the fat back as soon as you begin eating again, and you should eat again. Why is this? Because your metabolism is still hibernating, and it needs to be kick started. How do you kickstart it? By eating the right types of foods in the first place.
  4. Results will take time. A lot of people with really good intentions and strong discipline quit just before they start to see results. They work like crazy for a month, don't see any results, and throw their hands up in the air in despair. Slow and steady wins the race.
  5. Use your legs less if you are skinny but your legs are muscled. Most people who want skinny legs would like to be a bit skinnier all over. But some people who want skinny legs are perfectly skinny in their abs and arms — just not in their legs.
    • Exercise your full body, not just your legs. Stop doing squats and start doing aerobics, swimming, or Zumba. If your legs are abnormally muscled, that's a sign that you're working them a little too hard at the expense of the other muscles in your body.
    • Sometimes, it's just genetics. Sometimes, you're just born with it. Whatever exercise, diet, or fad you do won't help because that's the way you were born. Instead of fighting the world and running after a fool's errand, accept who you are and embrace it. It sounds cheesy, but you'll be happier in the end. Anybody who genuinely cares about you won't care one bit.

Tips

  • Eat healthy and don't give up. All the work you've done will be completely worth it.
  • Long distance running thins the legs whereas short distance makes them stronger. Actually, if you eat plenty of protein and healthy food, long distance can make your legs really muscular.
  • If you feel thirsty instead of going towards the fizzy drinks why not have water -refreshing, healthy, helps lose weight.
  • Don't use the elevator, take the stairs if possible. Do you live close to work? Walk or jog there. These are great little ways to help stay active throughout a busy day.
  • Try to workout 2-3 times a week with sports.
  • Patience and a healthy life style are key.
  • Physical sports may also help. Sports like hockey, soccer, netball, volleyball, and swimming are all good ways to burn leg fat.
  • Stay away from junk food no matter what.
  • Consider swimming. Swimming requires the use of every muscle in your body, so you burn more calories than you would in most other sports. Swimming tones and balances your physique and gives a ultra-toned fit look. Also, swimming has a low impact on your joints, reducing the likelihood of injury.
  • Don't expect to see results right away.
  • Try doing some cross country running, cross country running is running that you don't stop till you reach the end, it's hard but you'll see results right away!
  • Squats work like in 3 weeks to lose weight in your thighs.
  • Tennis is a good way too lose leg fat. From all the running and sliding and other moves you'll be bound to lose a decent few pounds.
  • Try horseback riding, it will exercise your thighs, calves, and butt. They can be pricey but ask for a riding certificate for your birthday and try it out to see if you like it. It's a great workout! Also, look into gymnastics!
  • Soccer is a great way to tone your legs. They won't be super skinny but they will be muscular.
  • Losing weight might take a lot of time. Don't expect to get results in a week, keep working. Don't give up because you are tired, keep going because you are almost there!
  • Hip Hop dancing is great for your entire body, especially your legs!
  • Do Zumba, it's good for your body, especially legs.
  • Run a mile every day. Every chance you get, do wall sits.
  • Bike riding is a great idea ! For maximum results, try to take trailed and tours for biking! You might enjoy it so much that you continue after reaching your goals!
  • Squats make your muscles big and more defined on your legs, try leg lifts for thinner legs.
  • You should stretch your calves to make your muscle longer!
  • Not drinking for a long period of time will cause harm so be sure to keep your thirst quenched.
  • Do stretching and jogging.
  • It's okay to have thicker legs. Just try to be comfortable in your own skin.
  • I'm some cases, you just need to accept that genetics have made you have bigger hips or thighs or stomach. It's nothing to be ashamed of. And remember that girls in particular are supposed to be curvy.

Warnings

  • Never starve yourself to lose leg weight. Starving yourself will mess with your metabolism, making it much easier to gain weight when you begin eating again.
  • Remember that you cannot get results without burning fat as well as doing exercise. If not you may have fat covering your muscle.
  • Do not preside if you pull a muscle or hurt badly when performing these exercises. Stop if it's not for you. but remember keep trying!
  • Don't try to change yourself all at once. Set reasonable standards.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://www.nutristrategy.com/fitness/cycling.htm
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://www.nutristrategy.com/caloriesburned.htm
  3. ↑ http://caloriesburnedhq.com/zumba-calories-burned/
  4. ↑ http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calories_burned.asp
  5. ↑ http://42.195km.net/e/treadsim/
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002469.htm
  7. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256
  8. ↑ http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/antiox.html
  9. ↑ http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000140000000000000000.html
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dietaryfats.html
  11. ↑ http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-big-breakfast-diet
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