Do Squats Make Your Legs Bigger Or Smaller?

Last Updated May 11th, 2020 4:20 PM

If you join a gym, attend almost any fitness class or ask a PT for advice on how to slim down your legs– chances are you’re going to end up doing lots of squats.

But, do squats actually make your legs smaller, or do they actually increase thigh size? Will you end up with bigger legs overall with lots of squatting?

This is the question I get from a lot of girls, especially the ones that feel like they have issues with getting thinner thighs in general.

So, let’s find out.

Which Muscles Do Squats Work?

The squat is one of the best compound exercises, meaning multiple muscles are activated at once – your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves.

This is why squats are included in the majority of fitness programs and routines.

Squats will hit multiple muscles at once and (in most cases) give you a fantastic looking butt– which is the desired fitness goal for most girls.

But, doing a high volume of squats (especially with heavy weights) will definitely increase the size of your legs (quads and hamstrings).

Whether your legs end up bigger or smaller largely depends on your body type, your starting point and your diet.

But, if your goal is to specifically slim down your legs – this might NOT be the way to go, as doing lots of squats will most likely make your thighs bigger, not slimmer.

Let’s explain a bit more about how different body types respond to exercise in different ways.

Different Body Types Respond To Exercise Differently

Are your legs getting bigger from doing squats even though you see your friend getting slimmer legs with the same workouts?

You most likely have different body types.

There are 3 main female body types- ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph, and each responds differently to the same diet and workout regime.

And actually, 2 out of 3 female body types can get too muscular!

Endomorphs and mesomorphs build muscle quite quickly, while ectomorphs usually struggle to put on any muscle size.

Some girls will find growing muscles in their legs not to be an issue (as long as they’re building a booty), while some will end up feeling like their thighs got bulky from doing lots of squats.

I was one of them.

I was doing lots and lots of squats, trying to slim down my legs and ended up feeling very bulky…especially in my thighs!

My legs grew twice in size. I had trouble fitting into my old jeans and shorts, even though I was working out consistently and keeping a close eye on my diet.

Meanwhile, my friend – who did the exact same gym routine I was doing – actually got thinner thighs and really toned up her body.

I was doing lots of squats and lunges, expecting my thighs to get thinner, but I ended up making them bigger.

I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong!

That is until I learned the difference in body types and how to adjust my workout and diet regime to get the results I actually wanted.

So, incorporating a lot of squats in your exercise WILL make your legs bigger- especially if you are a mesomorph or an endomorph.

If you’re not sure what is your body type, you can take my FREE quiz that will help you find out in just 2 minutes. :)

Benefits Of Doing Squats For Your Body

Hitting multiple muscles in your lower body is good for burning lots of calories and, obviously, training lots of muscles with a single exercise is efficient.

And doing squats with a proper form will also help you get a lean and toned core and a bigger booty.

But you are building these leg muscles, which means you are increasing the size of them (i.e. you are increasing the size of your thighs and hamstrings).

Squats don’t necessarily get rid of the fat on your legs, either. That can only be achieved with a controlled and healthy diet.

Overall, squats are a great compound workout for your body – they help you get stronger legs and a bigger, rounder booty.

I’m not saying they’re bad at all! :)

But, I want you to be aware that you CAN get a bigger booty with other types of exercises that won’t necessarily make your thighs bigger.

Can I get a bigger booty without doing lots of squats?

Squats are known as the butt-building king of exercise. And, it will definitely work your glute muscles a lot (if done properly).

But, there are still ways of growing your butt without growing your legs.

This can be achieved with butt isolation workouts, which are especially efficient if you are quad dominant.

The truth is unless you activate your glute muscles properly before doing lots of squats (i.e. with glute bridges), the vast majority of girls seem to be quad dominant.

This means that when doing squats, your quads (front thighs) are doing the majority of the work and firing up, while your booty…not so much.

To summarize, if you want lean legs, heavy squats won’t necessarily give you that look (unless you are an ectomorph body type and find it difficult to gain muscle/fat).

And if you want to reduce muscle bulk on your legs, you need to stop squatting.

You won’t reduce the muscle size if you continue to squat and continue to use these muscles. Use it or lose it rule, remember?

THE PRESSURE TO SQUAT 

Everywhere you look, people are advocating for squats, squats, squats!

Trainers will tell you that you can’t get too muscular from squats, and squats are honestly the number 1 exercise that trainers live by (I know this too because I worked as a personal trainer in a gym).

Having too much muscle on your legs is really up to the individual, as it really depends on personal preference.

The number one issue I’ve seen from working out as a PT is the lack of communication about the desired physique.

For example, one person might think that this woman’s legs look amazing, and others might think they look too muscular.

So if a trainer wants you to achieve this look, and you don’t like it, you’re going to have a problem.

These legs are achieved by squatting with very heavy weights.

CAN I GET THINNER THIGHS WITH LIGHTER WEIGHTS AND HIGHER REPS?

If you continue to squat, you will continue to grow your leg muscles. It’s that simple.

Any workout that targets your quads heavily, will maintain or grow your muscle size (depending on your diet).

Even if you are doing lighter weights and higher reps, you are still using these muscles.

You may not build as much muscle compared to heavy lifting, but you will still continue to work these muscles. That means they will not decrease in size.

To decrease the size of the muscle, you need to stop squatting and also stop other exercises that are targeting these muscles directly.

That is the fastest way to decrease muscle size for any body part.

IF MY THIGHS ARE TOO BIG, CAN I JUST DIET TO SLIM THEM DOWN?

Diet will help you with reducing the fat on your body, which is great! And it will also help you reduce fat on your legs (although not as much as cardio).

If you diet and eat better, but continue to squat, your legs won’t go down in size. You can still maintain muscle at a slight calorie deficit.

So, this might help you lose weight but won’t change the size of your thighs.

Related Post: How To Slim Down Muscular Thighs

WILL SQUATS MAKE YOUR THIGHS SMALLER: SUMMARY

• Squats will most likely make your legs bigger – especially if you’re an endomorph or mesomorph (and especially if you’re doing heavy weight squats)
• Squats increase the size of your leg muscles (especially quads, hamstrings and glutes) and don’t do much to decrease the fat, so overall your legs will look bigger.
• If you’re trying to decrease the muscles in your legs, you need to stop squatting.

I hope you found this blog post helpful!

HOW TO EXERCISE TO GET SLIMMER THIGHS, NOT BULK UP

If doing squats has made your legs bulkier, and you would like to lean them out, I should also mention my 3 Steps to Lean Legs Program, which is designed to help you get lean legs without the bulkiness. :)

There are 3 different versions of my program, one for each body type.

Each version combines the right type of cardio and resistance training for one particular body type, so you can be sure you’re going to get the best possible results. 

And, of course, since you cannot train and be on a crappy diet, I included a complete 8-week meal plan in my program.

Also, the resistance training part of my program now has a  FULL-LENGTH videos that you can follow from warm up to cool down.

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/

Love Rachael xx