If I have to pick the most popular question I am constantly asked, it would definitely be: ”How to slim down muscular thighs?”
HOW TO SLIM DOWN MUSCULAR THIGHS – GET TONED WITHOUT BULKING
I know most people go to the gym to build muscle, but many women actually have issues with getting overly muscular legs when they exercise.
Some people have even told me that their legs get bigger with running, barre, yoga and other exercises that you wouldn’t expect to bulk up your thighs.
EVERYONE’S IDEA OF “BULKY” IS DIFFERENT
Everyone’s idea of “bulky” is different – I cannot stress this enough. This is something every personal trainer should be aware of.
For some women, having just a little bit of muscle in their thighs might be too much, and for others, it might be OK.
For me personally, when I do weights and HIIT, my legs get too muscular for my liking.
However, my arms and stomach tend to slim down. Even just 2 weeks of HIIT, will cause my legs to increase in size. I don’t have too many examples of photos of me when I’m like this, but here is one so you can get an idea.
I will share with you the exact exercises you need to do to slim down muscular thighs. And at the end, I will also give you some ideas on exercises you can do to slim and tone the rest of your body, but without bulking up your legs.
STEADY STATE RUNNING
Everyone knows that marathon runners have skinny legs. Long duration steady state cardio will slim down your legs.
I would run at a medium fast pace and aim for 5kms or at least 30 minutes. But longer is better if you’re trying to slim down muscle.
For speed, I would recommend somewhere between 9-12 km/hr.
And always make sure you’re running on a flat surface. Any uphill running will use your quads more and will contribute to bulkiness.
I should also mention that if you are very short and are the endomorph body type, your legs may actually get bigger with running.
If this is a problem for you, I would focus on walking.
Power walking is the best exercise for slimming down your legs and still burns a surprising number of calories, so don’t feel disheartened if all you can do is walk.
The last thing I want to mention is that running is much more effective at slimming down your legs than the cross trainer/elliptical.
In case you want more details or have more questions about cardio, read my Q&A Cardio post.
Related post: Why You Need Cardio For Lean Legs
DO FASTED CARDIO
When you do cardio, your body will burn stored glycogen (carbohydrates) first, and then fat, followed by protein (muscle).
If you do cardio before you eat, you will have less stored glycogen, and your body will, therefore, burn more fat and muscle.
But for this to work, you need to eat low carb (preferably you haven’t eaten any carbs for dinner the night before), and you need to do cardio for a fairly long period of time.
I have written a much more detailed blog post on fasted cardio, so have a read of this here if you’re interested.
EAT AT A CALORIE DEFICIT AND EAT A LOW CARB DIET
Decreasing your calorie intake will help you lose weight and also muscle. Muscles are a metabolically active tissue, so they require calories.
If you reduce your calories, your body will not be able to sustain your muscle size, and they will decrease. To work out how many calories you should be eating, read this blog post.
If you also eat low carb, your body might also use fat and protein (muscle) for energy, rather than carbohydrates.
This will help you decrease your muscle size quicker.OK, so if you do these 3 things, your leg muscles will start to decrease. However, it is important to know what NOT to do.
If you’re not sure where to start but you want to eat
You can download it below!
LEARN YOUR BODY TYPE
Knowing your body type is super important! There are three different body types and they all lose weight and build muscle differently.
I have created a special body type quiz which will help you determine your body type in just 2 minutes.
Taking my Quiz will help you learn how to exercise and eat according to your body type to get the best possible results. :)
WHAT NOT TO DO
AVOID ANY EXERCISE THAT USESE THESE MUSCLES
As long as you are lifting heavy or doing exercises that use your leg muscles, you won’t lose the muscle.
It’s really that simple.
Even if you’re doing light weight and high rep, you still won’t lose the muscle. You won’t necessarily build muscle, but you will maintain the muscle that you currently have.
So avoid anything you’re doing that uses your legs, including the traditional squats, deadlifts, burpees, and leg weighted machines. And avoid “leg days”.
I would also avoid exercises such as HIIT and CrossFit.
AVOID ANY EXERCISE THAT CAUSES YOU TO GET BULKY LEGS
As I mentioned, some women experience bulky legs when they do running, barre and yoga.
If you notice your legs increasing in size with a particular exercise, don’t do it! It is very individual, and you need to do what works best for you.
On my blog, I do have some HIIT exercises that won’t cause you to bulk up.
However, if you are an endomorph, are very short, or very very sensitive to building muscle, these exercises still might cause you to build too much muscle for your liking. So I would do these with caution.
If they work for you, that’s great! If not, don’t do them.
DON’T SPRINT
Cardio is good for slimming down your legs, but not if you’re sprinting.
Sprinting will build muscle, and especially in your quads. Make sure your cardio is steady state. And again, make sure it’s on a flat surface (no hill or stair runs!).
HOW TO TONE UP WITHOUT BULKING UP YOUR LEGS
There are still different types of exercises and resistance training workouts that you can do to tone up, without targeting your legs and making them bigger.
ALL of the workouts on my blog are designed to help you tone up without getting bulky, so I would highly recommend giving them a try! :)
For your lower body, my favorite exercises are pilates-style moves and exercises that focus on toning up your butt, rather than increasing the size of your thighs.
For your upper body, I absolutely love swimming and boxing for toning up (as well as burning LOTS of calories) without bulking up.
When I lift weights for my upper body, and especially when I do pull-ups and overhead pressing, my back gets really wide.
However, if you still want to do weights, read my blog post on how to do it without getting bulky.
Boxing tones up my shoulders and arms without getting broad. Swimming is also great, but just be careful not to overdo it, or your back might get broad.
I also have a 3 Steps to Lean Legs Program which will help you slim down your legs and tone up your body, without getting bulky legs. There are three versions of my program, for each of the three body types. That way you can be certain you’re going to get the best possible results.
3 Steps to Lean Legs Program includes cardio, a complete 8-week meal plan and the style of resistance training that I have mentioned in this blog post.
Also, the resistance training part of my program now has FULL-LENGTH videos that you can follow from
To find out more about my 3 Steps to Lean Legs Program click the link below:
https://www.rachaelattard.com/skinny-legs-ebook/
To find out more about my FULL-LENGTH VIDEOS, follow this link:
https://www.rachaelattard.com/lean-legs-video-course/
And as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
Love Rachael xx
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170 comments on “How To Slim Down Muscular Thighs”
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I have 2 sets of stairs in my house so I can’t avoid them. I’m constantly going up and down all day. I’m between a mesomorph and endomorph body type. My legs are wide up top because of this. Any ideas of how to slim down while doing stairs?
Hi lovely,
Unfortunately there’s no way around this if it’s inevitable for you to climb the stairs. I would suggest aiming for 10 000 steps per day (power walking on a flat surface) to slim down the bulky muscle! xx
Love,
Diana
Can this programme help me reduce cellulite? I was doing lots of squats/lunges and found that although it helped reduce my cellulite it also made me bulkier and so I stopped… now the bulkiness is going but the cellulite is back… I know it’s sort of something that’s not curable but it’d make me so happy if it could be reduced and I could have non – bulky legs at the same time..? I just would like to know if the programme can possibly help with this? Thank you!
Hi lovely,
The Lean Legs Program is designed for overall fat loss, so it will help you reduce cellulite as well! :)
Our program includes the perfect type of resistance training and cardio to give you a lean and toned look, without making you bulky.
It’s an 8 week workout and nutrition plan that will help you slim down your legs, but will also help you slim and tone your upper body and core too (the workouts are full body).
It also includes a full meal plan, a separate recipe ebook and demonstration videos.
If this is something you’re looking for then I would definitely recommend giving our program a go. You can find out more about it here:
Lean Legs Program
For more helpful tips please have a read of this blog post.
Love,
Diana
xx
i’ve been dancing competitively for around 7 years anywhere from 10-15 hours a week, so i can’t cut out my classes. through these 7 years i’ve noticed that my legs, both my thighs and calves, have gotten very bulky. is there any way to slim them down?
Hi lovely,
The best you can do is power walk at least 45-60 minutes every day. You can also add in resistance workouts 3 days per week if you have enough time.
We would love to help you as much as we can :) So that’s why we have created the Lean Legs Program!
Our program is an 8 week workout and nutrition plan designed to help you get lean and toned without bulking.
It will help you slim down your entire legs, but will also help you slim and tone your upper body and core too (the workouts are full body).
It also includes a full meal plan, a separate recipe eBook and demonstration videos.
You can find out more about it here:
Lean Legs Program
For more helpful tips on how to slim down your calves please have a read of this blog post.
Love,
Diana
xx
About how long should this take to see results?
Hi lovely,
Depending on how much muscle you’ve gained it can take anywhere from 2-6 months to slim down completely.
Love,
Diana
xx
I’m a ballet dancer so avoiding excersises that use those muscles is not possible, opp 😬
Hi! Will your workouts also help with my upper body? I am short (5ft) and i have big muscular thighs. My pants are starting to be too tight around my thights but not tight around my waist. And my shoulders look broader and arms a lot bigger. I do lift but im only using 10lbs for upper body. Lower i am using up to 100lbs with squats/leg press. Im also training for a half marathon and a marathon in October. So my question is will your program lean out my entire body to look thin or just my legs? Thank you!!
Hi lovely,
The Lean Legs Program includes full body workouts, so it will help you slim and tone your upper body and core as well, not just legs! Also, it’s completely tailored to your body type. :)
You can find out more about our program here:
Lean Legs Program
Love,
Diana
xx
Hi! So I have been a gymnast for almost 8 years now (since I was 5) and I’ve just now stopped because it is tiring. But I’ve noticed my legs have gotten very bulky and the muscle isn’t toned anymore….. I really want to fix it but nothing I do works!! I don’t need to lose weight because I don’t weigh over 95 lbs…. but I just want to tone my muscle and try for a thigh gap? Is there a healthy and safe way to achieve this goal of mine? I really need some help!
Hi lovely,
The best way to maintain your weight and get more toned is to eat enough (as many calories as you burn) and focus on resistance training.
I suggest checking out our YouTube channel with lots of free workout videos! :)
Here are some samples of workouts from the Lean Legs Program:
Day 1 – https://www.rachaelattard.com/free-skinny-legs-ebook-workout-part-1/
Day 2 – https://www.rachaelattard.com/free-skinny-legs-workout-ebook-day-2/
Day 3 – https://www.rachaelattard.com/free-skinny-legs-workout-ebook-day-3/
Love,
Diana
xx
Hi dear Rachel! i just wanted to thank you for all this information. I’m struggling with my legs all my life, I’m a very active girl since I can remember myself and everything in my life is around sports. All my trainers were always telling me the same thing: “this is your body and there is nothing you can do to make you legs thinner”. lust before giving up, I found your blog and finally i feel like there is hope! thank you so so much for what you’re doing.
XO,
Tal :)
Hi lovely,
I’m so glad you’ve found our blog helpful! Hopefully you’ll be able to achieve your fitness goals in no time. All the best! :) xx
Love,
Diana
I’m a dancer and I have class 5 times a week but I’m getting really bulky, how do I fix this.
Hi lovely,
We would love to help you as much as we can :) So that’s why we have created the Lean Legs Program!
The Lean Legs Program is an 8 week workout and nutrition plan designed to help you get lean and toned without bulking.
It will help you slim down your legs, but will also help you slim and tone your upper body and core too (the workouts are full body).
It also includes a full meal plan, a separate recipe eBook and demonstration videos.
You can find out more about the program here:
Lean Legs Program
Love,
Diana
xx
Hi! After we complete your program, what exercises should you do maintain your skinny legs? Can I just walk by itself?
Hi lovely,
I would recommend doing another round of the Program for even better results or maintenance.
Of course, you can also add some ankle weights, gliding discs and resistance bands (if you haven’t already), or increase the number of repetitions to make the workouts more challenging.
Whatever you decide, walking should always be combined with resistance training. :) xx
Love,
Diana