Make Skinny Legs Bigger
If you don't like how thin your legs look, there are a few things you can do to make them appear larger. This article will show you several different ways to make your skinny legs bigger.
Contents
10 Second Summary
1. Skip the cardio and focus on strength-building exercises instead.
2. Train quickly. Work different muscle groups on different days.
3. Include leg-building exercises, like squats with dumbbells and box jumps.
3. Eat more calories and protein. Avoid processed foods, sugar, and white flour.
4. Consider taking supplements, but don't rely on them.
5. Try some clever wardrobe choices, such as wearing baggy pants.
Steps
Changing Your Regimen
- Forget cardio. Exercises like running, power walking, swimming, and biking don’t help your legs get bigger. These exercises require your body to use up a lot of energy, which is fine when you want a total-body workout but not conducive to getting bigger leg muscles. Do exercises that focus your energy on your leg muscles.
- Work out hard. When you go about your ordinary day, your leg muscles get a workout carrying you everywhere you go. They’re already used to being worked out all the time, so in order to encourage muscle growth you need to do high-intensity workouts that focus on the legs. During each workout, do as many reps as you can and lift as much weight as you can so that you feel the “burn.” No pain, no gain is true when it comes to making skinny legs bigger.
- Add more weight after the first few weeks of exercising to increase the intensity.
- Don’t overdo it; make sure you know the difference between pain and injury. Work with a trainer if you haven’t spent time lifting weights before.
- Train more quickly. You might have been taught before that you should move through weightlifting exercises slowly. However, making explosive movements builds muscle faster and enables you to do more reps than you’d be able to do otherwise. Try timing your exercises and doing as many reps as you can in 2 minutes, taking a break, and doing another set.
- Exercise different muscle groups on different days. If you work out all of your leg muscles every day, they won’t have a chance to recover and grow larger. You also stand the chance of hurting yourself. Instead, focus on one group of muscles one day, then rotate to another the next day. The resting period is an important part of getting bigger legs.
- Take in a lot of calories. This doesn’t mean you should start gorging yourself at every meal; rather, make sure you’re getting plenty of calories from healthy food sources. When you’re working on building muscles you need a lot of calories to sustain yourself. Eat plenty of the following foods to keep your muscles growing:
- Meat, tofu, whole grains, beans, vegetables, fruits, and more vegetables and fruits. Eat as much as you want, as often as you want when it comes to these healthy foods.
- Limit your intake of processed foods, sugar and white flour, fast food, and snack foods. These will leave you feeling tired instead of energetic and ready to work out.
- Eat plenty of protein. You need protein to build bigger muscles, so make sure you’re taking it in at every meal. Eat beef, pork, chicken, fish, and other protein sources. Eat tofu, beans, and eggs if you’re not a carnivore.
- Try supplements, but don’t rely on them. Some people find that taking certain supplements can give their muscles an extra boost. Supplements should be used in conjunction with a healthy diet and plenty of water intake.
- Creatine is a substance naturally produced by the body to aid muscle growth. It is considered to be safe to use in doses of {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} per day over a certain period of time.
- Consult your doctor before taking any supplements.
Doing the Right Exercises
- Do squats with dumbbells. If skinny thighs are your problem, this exercise is for you. Doing squats is the best way to pump up your thighs, and adding dumbbells (or a barbell, if you’re down with that) makes the exercise even more effective. Start with dumbbells you can lift 10 times without needing to put them down. For beginners, 10-20 pounds is a good starting weight. Bodybuilders should lift more weight for bigger legs. Now squat using the following form:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands grasping the dumbbells at your sides (If you’re using a barbell, hold it over your head or at your chest).
- Bend your knees and lower your butt to the floor in a squatting position.
- Keep your back straight and keep squatting down until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
- Push back up to your starting position.
- Repeat for 3 sets of 10-12 squats.
- Do dumbbell lunges. This exercise works your glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings, giving you a full-leg muscle workout. You can do it without weights, but when you’re trying to build bigger muscles it’s important to step up the intensity.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-length apart, and hold your dumbbells at your sides. If you want, you can hold them at your shoulders instead.
- Take a big step forward with one foot, dropping your opposite knee toward the floor. So if you’re stepping with your right foot, drop your left knee toward the ground.
- Keep your torso vertical to the ground.
- Rise back to starting position and immediately step forward with the opposite foot.
- Repeat 15 times, then take a break and do another 15.
- Do box jumps. This one works your calves, and you can do it with minimal equipment. You’ll need a sturdy box or exercise step that won’t slip when you jump on it. The taller the box, the more difficult the exercise will be. Don’t use dumbbells when you’re doing this exercise, since you might need your hands to catch you if you trip.
- Stand in front of the box with your toes pointed toward it.
- Jump explosively upward and land on the balls of your feet on the box.
- Jump back down to starting position.
- Repeat 15 times, then take a break and do another 15.
- Do stiff-legged deadlifts. This one works out your hamstrings, putting you on the path to bigger, sculpted legs. Load a barbell with the amount of weight you can lift for 10 reps without stopping to rest. If you don’t have a barbell, you can use two dumbbells.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Place the barbell or dumbbells in front of you.
- Bend at the waist, keeping your legs straight.
- Pick up the barbell or dumbbells and straighten your body, keeping your legs stiff, until you’re standing upright. The barbell or dumbbells should be level with your thighs.
- Bend again to lower the weight back to the floor.
- Repeat 10-12 times for a total of 3 sets.
- Use leg exercise machines. If you’re serious about getting bigger legs, you might want to join a gym and start using the wide array of exercise machines available. Using exercise machines allows you to gradually add more weight, increasing the intensity of your workouts and promoting muscle growth. For each exercise, start with the amount of weight you can lift with your legs 8-10 times before you need to stop. Work with a trainer to determine the right weight for you. Here are a few exercises you can do at the gym:
- Leg extensions. Find the leg extension machine and load it with the heaviest amount of weight you can lift for 10 or so reps. Sit on the machine with your knees bent and your feet under the lower bar. To lift the weight, straighten your legs. Bend your knees to lower the weight back to starting position. Repeat 10-12 times for 3 sets.
- Standing leg curls. Find the leg curl machine, which allows you to lift weights by attaching a cable to your ankles. Load the machine with the amount of weight you can lift for about 10 reps before you need to stop. Attach the cable to your ankle and hold the support bar with your hands. Bend your knee toward your butt to lift the weight, then straighten it back to starting position. Repeat 10-12 times for 3 sets. Repeat with the other leg.
Making Your Legs Look Bigger
- Wear baggy pants. This the quickest way to add a little bulk to your leg line. Choose pants that are tailored well but hang a little loose around your legs. There are plenty of styles to choose from that make your legs look strong without making you look like you’re drowning in fabric.
- Boot-cut pants are another good choice. They hug the thighs and flare at the knee, making the legs look a little bigger.
- Don’t wear skinny jeans. They’re made to make your legs look tiny, so pass them up if you want your legs to look bigger.
- Avoid shorts that are too baggy. Shorts, on the other hand, should be tailored and close-fitting if you want your legs to look bigger. Baggy shorts emphasize the small circumference of your legs.
- Wear pants over boots. This look is always in style and it can add several inches to your legs. Choose boots that rise midway up your calves and wear a pair of boot-cut jeans over them.
Tips
- Try developing a workout routine.
- Keep in mind you may be underweight.
- Don't wear really tight jeans, as they emphasize the thinness of your legs.
- Stretch well both before and after exercising.
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