Does Running Slim Your Legs? Complete Guide To Slimming Down

Many people start running with the hope of making their legs more toned, or even slimmer. It is a frequently talked about topic, and one of the most common questions is ” Does running Slim your legs?”

While most people start running to slim down focus on losing belly fat, but there is a small percentage of people that want toned and slimmer legs. This is where they hope running can help transform their body quickly.

Running is a challenging and powerful exercise that can transform our bodies better than most other forms of exercise. You can either outdoors or at home on a treadmill. If you don’t have a treadmill, but really want to start running, you can choose among the best compact treadmills here.

So, in this article let’s discuss whether:

– Running can tone your legs
– Whether running slims your legs or not
– How long you should run to slim down your thighs
– What the best program is for getting slimmer legs

Keep reading to find out if running is the best exercise for slimming those hard-to-reach places ie: the legs.

Does Running Slim Your Legs? – Complete Guide

You may have noticed when watching top runners running a marathon or even a distance track event, they all have one thing in common. Their legs are lean, slim, and well-defined.

This is because running is one of the best exercises for reducing body fat and decreasing the size of the muscles in the legs. This results in smaller, leaner legs and thighs.

However, there is one thing you need to understand and another thing that is common within these runners. The mileage they run is extremely high. Often many distance runners cover more than 100 miles a week, so it is no surprise they have a lean figure with low body fat measurement.

So, the answer to the question – “does running slim your legs” is a yes. However, that yes is much more complicated.

To get slimmer legs by running there are a few things that control how much weight we lose from them and that includes:

– The bodies metabolism
– Volume of running
– Duration of running
– Diet
– Current weight

All of the above play a role in how toned and slim your legs will get from running. However, people that can handle higher mileage and have more time to run, will generally see quicker results than someone that runs 1-2 times per week. For this type of person only running a few times a week, they won’t see any significant change in the shape of their legs. That is unless they come from a background of just sitting on the sofa.

For most people that want to slim down their legs, combing running with another form of weight loss exercise can help speed up this process.

Other exercises like weight training, swimming, and walking can all help slim down and tone the legs by increasing the number of calories you burn.

So, for ultimate results don’t just rely on running. That is unless you can run more than 60 miles a week.

How Long Should I Run to Slim Thighs?

If your goal is to slim down your legs and thighs, how much should you run?

Well, this depends firstly on how much volume of training you can handle. So, the best way to know how long you should run to slim down your thighs, is to plan your running training first. This way you can train the amount your body can currently handle without putting added stress on it. It will also allow adequate recovery from the training, so you can see better improvements.

Once you have your running plan together, you can consistently measure any changes in your legs with a measuring tape or body fat callipers. By measuring 2-3 points on the legs you can note any noticeable changes in size.

If after some months you don’t see the results you want, you should then start to implement another form of aerobic training into your plan, or increase the volume of running you are doing.

For most people, the amount of running they need to do to slim down their legs can vary from 30 miles a week up to 100 miles. Ultimately this is down to their current fitness, weight, and available time.

Best Leans Legs Program For Runners

The best lean legs program for runners is a program that slowly increases the volume of running and varies the intensity of the workouts. Then paired with adequate recovery every few weeks, will help you get more consistency and results from your training.

When it comes to weight loss in general, varying your running workouts will produce much better results. That means mixing workouts like intervals, sprints, tempo, and long runs can all help you in your journey to having smaller thighs and slimmer legs.

Does Running Make Your legs Bigger or Smaller?

For most people, lots of running will make your legs smaller rather than bigger. However, genetics play a role in this, and there have been people known to get bigger, most muscular legs than others.

While you will never get massive legs from running, the type of running workouts you do can contribute to how big or small your legs get.

Distance running will usually trim down your legs, while short distance (ie: sprinting) generally increases their size. However, it is important to know that the size increase is nothing like you would see from weight training or track cycling.

So if your goal is to slim your calves, thighs, legs, and buttocks, running is one of the best forms of exercise for this. However, this will take time and often many months of pounding the road. So, if you’re looking for quick results, you are better at pairing your running training with another form of aerobic exercise. That way you can burn more calories in the process.

However, if you are still not seeing any results in your legs, you may need to speak with a nutritionist. They can then see how your diet is affecting your weight loss journey. Provide you with an eating plan, and help you start shredding your legs.