How To Slim Down Muscular Thighs – Get Toned Legs Without Bulk

If I have to pick the most popular question I get asked on my weekly Instagram Q&A, it would definitely be either “how to slim muscular thighs” or “how to lose thigh fat and get smaller thighs”.

And I understand why these are such popular questions.

I also used to struggle with finding the answer to this myself. I spent years figuring out how to lose fat from my legs, without gaining too much muscle in the process.

I’ll explain why slimming down legs can be tough for women and show how to slim down muscular thighs effectively.

WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR WOMEN TO GET SMALLER THIGHS?

There are 2 main reasons why it can be quite hard for women to get smaller thighs.

1. WOMEN ARE OFTEN PRESSURED TO LIFT HEAVY AND DO LOWER BODY WORKOUTS THAT BULK THEM UP

I’ve seen this a million times with my clients and I’ve experienced this firsthand. 

When I was in my 20s (I’m 35 y/o now), I wanted to get into shape. For me, being in shape meant getting stronger but also improving the way I looked. Like most women, I wanted to look lean and toned. 

My fitness trainer from back then told me I should start lifting weights and focus on lower-body workouts. (Mistake #1) Cardio was out of the question. (Mistake #2)

I was young and didn’t know much about fitness so I did it. In the beginning, I loved it. I started noticing results fast and I was really happy about my progress. I was getting stronger, I had abs for the first time in my life and I felt good. 

But then things started to change for the worse.

My legs were starting to get bigger and more muscly. I could feel my quads being worked from all those squats and heavy weights. I could see my jeans getting tighter and tighter. And I did not like it.

I asked my trainer about it and he tried to reassure me, “You look great, your legs will get bigger before they get smaller”. 

THE OLD “WOMEN CAN NOT GET BULKY” MYTH

I kept trying to tell him I was not happy with the way I looked but he kept pushing. And every other trainer in the industry, male and female was telling me the same thing, “Your legs are not bulking up, women cannot bulk up,…”

But I knew I wasn’t crazy, I could see myself getting bigger and too muscular for my own liking. I knew that the heavy weight lifting I was doing for my lower body was making me bigger and more muscular. 

After a couple of months, I’d finally had enough. I stopped training with my trainer and enrolled at the Australian Institute of Fitness and became a fully qualified personal and group trainer.

I now have more than 10 years of experience as a personal trainer and during this time I’ve helped tens of thousands of women get the results they want – lean and toned legs without muscle bulk.

And if you want to get the same results, keep on reading. :)

RELATED POST: THE FEMALE GUIDE ON HOW TO GET LEAN AND NOT BULKY

2. WOMEN NATURALLY TEND TO STORE MORE FAT IN THEIR HIPS AND THIGHS

The second reason why women have a hard time losing leg fat and getting slim legs is physiological and sex-based. 

We women tend to have a higher fat percentage than men and we store most of our body fat in our hips and thighs. This is largely because of the female sex hormone (estrogen). 

Scientists and doctors believe that women tend to store more fat in this area in order to reserve energy storage during breastfeeding. So it’s not strange that women drop pregnancy weight during breastfeeding quicker during this time. I experienced the same thing when I had my daughter.

Now that you know the main reasons why it can be hard for women to get smaller thighs. So let’s talk about the things you should and shouldn’t do if you want to slim down muscular thighs and lose leg fat.

RELATED POST: THE BIGGEST MISTAKES WOMEN ARE MAKING WHEN TRYING TO GET LEAN LEGS 

CAN YOU GO FROM MUSCULAR THIGHS TO SLIM THIGHS? SHOULD YOU DO IT? 

Yes, going from muscular thighs to slim thighs is 100% possible. If you adjust your workout routine and diet and stay consistent, you will be able to slim muscular thighs.

When it comes to, “should you do it”, the answer mainly depends on your personal goals and preferences.

I know most people, men especially, go to the gym to build a significant amount of muscle.

But many women actually find they get overly muscular when they lift heavy weights and do lots of squats and lunges. 

Some girls have even told me that their legs get bigger in size with exercises such as running, barre, yoga and other exercises that you wouldn’t expect to bulk up your thighs. 

So, my first tip would be to track your body’s response to different exercises as it is very individual. If you see that a certain type of exercise is growing your muscles, then you should stop doing it if you don’t want to bulk your thighs.

And before we continue, I just want to clear one thing – There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having strong, muscular thighs, if that’s something you want. Everyone has different goals and preferences.

Some women prefer to look more slim and toned and that’s OK too. I firmly believe we should not be judged for it or told that that’s not a look to aspire to.

So if you are one of these women who, like me, care about being healthy and strong but also about aesthetics, you are in the right place. :)

HOW CAN I SLIM MY THIGHS AND TONE THEM UP?

Everyone’s idea of “bulky” and “too muscular” is different – I cannot stress this enough. This is something I believe 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 too little as their goals are different.

For me personally, when I do heavy weights, squats, lunges, and HIIT which includes jumping, my legs get too muscular and my thighs get too big for my liking.

I don’t have too many examples of photos of me when I’m like this (I didn’t like taking pictures of myself at the time), but here is one so you can get an idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In the first one I was lifting heavy and on the second one was working out with my Lean Legs Program 1 (after having a baby)

I’m not saying that one is better than the other. But for me, I feel more confident with my body and just generally happier in the second one. Many other women feel that way too.

So what should you do if you want to get lean thighs without building muscle?

There are 4 steps you should follow to get slim and toned legs.

HOW TO SLIM MUSCULAR THIGHS IN 4 STEPS:

1. LEARN YOUR BODY TYPE – Your body type plays a massive role in how you build muscle and lose weight, and some body types are more likely to bulk up. You need to know your body type so you can learn how to train and eat accordingly.

2. DO THE RIGHT TYPE OF CARDIO – Do more low to moderate-intensity cardio such as power walking. This type of cardio is the key to getting slim legs.

3. ADJUST YOUR DIET – EAT AT A SLIGHT CALORIE DEFICIT AND FOLLOW A LOW-CARB DIET – If you want to reduce muscle and body fat, you should stay in a slight calorie deficit and eat a low-carb diet.

4. DO RESISTANCE TRAINING THAT WON’T CAUSE BULKINESS – Low-impact, pilates-style workouts are the best for this. These are mostly done either with your own body weight or with light weights and resistance bands. They will have all the benefits that heavy weight lifting does (including muscle strengthening, bone health, increased metabolism, etc.) and they are less likely to cause bulky muscle.

Let’s cover each step in more detail.

STEP 1: LEARN YOUR BODY TYPE

There are 3 main body types. All three body types (Endomorph, Mesomorph, and Ectomorph) respond to training and diet differently.

 

Knowing your body type is super important as 2 out of 3 female body types tend to bulk up more easily in their legs (and in general) than others, i.e. endomorphs versus ectomorphs.

I’ll briefly cover all three of the female body types and also link to the articles that explain your body type in more detail.

FEMALE ECTOMORPH BODY TYPE

Ectomorphs are usually naturally slim (think of Victoria’s Secret models) and they find it difficult to build muscle and gain fat.

If you are an ectomorph body type, you probably already have naturally thinner legs. So, your goal here is to maintain (or perhaps lose a bit of stubborn lower body fat) while building lean muscle. This way your legs will get toned and you’ll avoid the so-called “skinny fat look”. 

Skinny fat is an unfortunate term but it’s often used in the fitness industry for the lack of a better one. It’s not meant to be offensive in any way, it just means that it’s possible for people to have low muscle mass and look lean but a relatively high body fat percentage. 

This can happen if you have an Ectomorph body and you don’t exercise or you only do cardio.

To find out more about the Ectomorph body type, read this blog post on how to slim muscular thighs if you are an Ectomorph.

RELATED POST: VICTORIA SECRET DIET PLAN

FEMALE MESOMORPH BODY TYPE

Mesomorphs can be quite athletic and respond quickly to exercise, which means they build muscles easily. 

They can lose weight very fast, but can also gain weight quickly too. Usually, they are of average size.

If you have a mesomorph body type, overdoing workouts like squats and lunges can easily result in muscular legs. So, your goal here is to reduce body fat percentage and avoid exercises that will bulk up your legs in the process.

I have a Mesomorph body type and this is exactly why I bulked up from heavy weight training. My PT didn’t take my body type (or goals) into account when he created a workout plan for me. Because of this, I didn’t get the results I wanted. 

So, don’t make the same mistake I did, and learn your body type so you can adjust your training and diet accordingly. :) 

For more detailed info on mesomorphs, I’ve written an article on how to get skinny legs without building muscle for Mesomorphs.

FEMALE ENDOMORPH BODY TYPE

Endomorphs naturally have a strong build and larger frame. They can build muscle very quickly and it’s slightly harder for them to lose weight. But, it’s not impossible! 

If you have an Endomorph body type and you want to slim down muscular thighs, your goal is to really focus on reducing overall body fat and to completely avoid any workouts that may cause you to bulk up.

To learn more about the female Endomorph body type, read this blog post on how to slim muscular thighs for Endomorphs.

If you are not sure what your body type is, I have created a free body type quiz which will help you determine your body type in just 2 minutes.

Now that you know your body type and have a general idea of what to do and not to do, let’s go to the next step.

STEP 2: FOCUS ON LOW-INTENSITY CARDIO WORKOUTS LIKE POWER WALKING

Power walking is by far the best exercise for slimming down your legs. In all my career as a fitness trainer, I’ve never found a better workout for getting lean legs.

Why is walking so great?

One of the reasons why walking is so great is that it actually burns FAT as the primary source of energy. So yes, walking will help you burn more fat.

But that’s not all, recent studies on the effects of cardio on muscle indicate that cardio, when combined with resistance training, can actually help you build lean muscle. And since walking will build less muscle in your legs than some other types of it is the perfect choice for anyone who wants to lean out their legs.

BONUS TIP: When power walking, make sure you walk on a flat surface. 

You may be tempted to walk on an incline since it’s more challenging. And you think it may help you get results faster. But even though walking on an incline (on a treadmill, uphill, or on stairs) burns more calories it also works your leg muscles more. And if you want to slim down muscular thighs you want to work those muscles less. The more we work certain muscles, the more developer (bigger) they’ll get. 

CAN RUNNING HELP ME SLIM DOWN MY LEGS?

Previously, I was a big proponent of steady-state, long-distance running. And don’t get me wrong, I still think running is a great way to improve your cardiovascular health. Running also burns a LOT of calories, so it will help you with overall weight loss. 

However, while working with my clients, I’ve seen that running doesn’t seem to work as great as walking does for slimming down muscular legs. And in some cases, especially if you have an Endomorph body type, it can even make your legs bigger. 

If your goal is to get slimmer legs, especially slim muscular thighs, then I would highly recommend you focus on walking.

But I think it’s really important to do workouts that you love. So if you love running, I would still encourage you to do it. 20-30 minutes, 2-3 times per week is all you need to increase your fitness and get results.

SHOULD I DO MY POWER WALKING ON AN EMPTY STOMACH (FASTED CARDIO)?

Researchers still don’t agree 100% on whether fasted cardio helps with burning more fat than regular, non-fasted cardio cardio. There are some studies, like this one from 2014 that indicate that fasted cardio doesn’t burn more fat than non-fasted cardio. But then again, there are studies, like this one from 2016 that show the exact opposite.

More research is needed but if we assume there are differences between fasted and non-fasted cardio, here’s how that would work.

When you do a lot of low-intensity cardio (at least 60-90 minutes per day!), your body will burn stored glycogen (carbohydrates) first, and then fat, followed by protein (muscle).

If you do cardio before you eat in the morning, you will have less stored glycogen, and your body will, therefore, need to burn more fat. And when there is no more fat to burn, your body will break down protein (muscle) in order to get energy.

Less fat and less muscle size equals slimmer legs. 

But for this to work, you need to eat low carb and you need to do cardio for a fairly long period of time each day.

I really don’t think it’s necessary to do fasted cardio (walk on an empty stomach), especially if you have any issues with hormones or if you are under a lot of stress. This could make it even worse for you.

As long as you are walking regularly, 10,000 steps per day, you should see results regardless of whether you eat or not before you walk. 

RELATED POST: READ THIS BLOG POST FOR MORE TIPS ON HOW TO USE POWER WALKING TO GET SLIMMER LEGS 

STEP 3: PROPER DIET TO SLIM DOWN THIGHS

1. EAT AT A SLIGHT CALORIE DEFICIT 

Decreasing your calorie intake will help you lose weight overall. And losing weight means losing both fat and muscle. Muscles are metabolically active tissue (they burn calories). To maintain your current muscle mass your calorie intake should be ideal or higher than you need. 

If you reduce your calories (eat at a calorie deficit), your body will not be able to sustain your muscle size, and they will atrophy (meaning they will decrease in size).

When I say reduce your calorie intake, I mean reduce it slightly. I usually recommend eating at a 250-300 deficit (500 max).

For example, let’s say your ideal calorie intake (how many calories you need to maintain your weight) is 2000. To be at a slight calorie deficit, you should eat around 1700-1750 calories (no less than 1500).

You can use my free calorie and macros calculator to figure out how many calories you should be eating.

2. EAT A LOW CARB DIET 

For women who want to lose weight and slim muscular thighs, as a licensed nutritionist, I also recommend eating a low-carb diet. It is well-known and confirmed by research that low-carb diets are effective in improving weight loss (they help you lose weight faster).

Carbs are still important and you should not cut them out completely. When you eat carbs, they get converted to glucose in your body. Your brain and red blood cells rely almost solely on glucose to function. 

Your body has another way of getting the glucose it needs. When you are eating low carb, your body can produce glucose from non-carbohydrate sources like amino acids (from proteins) and glycerol (from fats). When there are not enough carbs, your body will start using fat and muscle for energy.

But since you don’t want to lose all your muscle (you cannot stay healthy and look toned if you lose too much muscle), it’s also important to make sure enough protein.

MAKE SURE YOU EAT ENOUGH PROTEIN WHILE ON A LOW-CARB DIET

Protein is essential for maintaining and building lean muscle mass. Plus, as I explained, when there are not enough carbs, your body will use protein to produce the glucose it needs to function. And if you limit your protein intake as well, your body won’t have enough energy sources.

A lot of women don’t eat enough protein. Some because they are not aware they should eat more and others because they think protein will make them bulky. 

Eating protein is not what makes us bulky. It’s the type of workouts we do (more on those below). Protein just helps us repair our muscles quicker after exercising (during exercise your muscles tear and afterwards they repair). So if you avoid eating protein, you’ll just make it harder for your body to repair those muscle tears.

If you follow these 4 steps, your leg muscles will start to decrease. However, it is also important to know what NOT to do.

STEP 4 – CHANGE YOUR RESISTANCE TRAINING WORKOUTS

In this section, I will tell you what kind of resistance training you should do to tone up your legs without bulking up.

Why is resistance training important and why should you not skip it? 

Resistance training also called weight or strength training is a form of exercise that involves working against a resistance. This resistance can come in the form of free weights like dumbbells, weighted machines, resistance bands, or even just your own body weight. The goal of this type of training is to stimulate muscle contraction and improve the strength, endurance, and size of your muscles.

I know some of you may be tempted to skip resistance training altogether since I mentioned some resistance training workouts (heavy weights, gym leg machines, squats, lunges, HIIT that includes a lot of jumping) can bulk you up.

And I still stand by what I said! But there is a way to do resistance training without bulking up and there are plenty of workouts you can do. Plus, resistance training has some great health benefits. 

Resistance training benefits:

 

• • You’ll get stronger

• • Your bone strength will improve (this will reduce your risk for osteoporosis which is super important for us women as we get older)

• • Your metabolism will become faster (muscle burns more calories than fat)

• • Your joint health will improve (this will improve your stability and reduce the risk of injuries)

And of course, you cannot get that tight and toned look if you skip resistance training. Tone is muscle, and if you don’t have enough muscle, you won’t look toned. 

RELATED POST: WHY I DON’T LIFT HEAVY WEIGHTS ANYMORE

1. SKIP LEG DAY AND FOCUS ON FULL-BODY, PILATES-STYLE WORKOUTS

If you want to lean out your legs, the first thing you should do is skip the leg day and focus on low-impact full-body workouts. I know this may sound counterintuitive but if you really think about it logically, it will make sense. 

What happens when you train certain muscles? Your muscles get bigger, right? 

So if you notice that your legs are getting bigger from squats, doing even more squats will not help you slim them down. It will only make your legs bigger and more muscular.

This is why my Lean Legs Program focuses mainly on full-body workouts. These, of course, include lower body workouts but none of the workouts that would heavily target your quads and hamstrings. My programs also don’t include heavy weights. If you want to make them more challenging, you can use light weights, up to 5kg, and resistance bands.

I’ll share a couple of workouts from my program so you can see what kind of workouts I recommend:

 

• • FREE WORKOUT FROM THE LEAN LEGS PROGRAM DAY 1

• • FREE WORKOUT FROM THE LEAN LEGS PROGRAM DAY 2 

• • FREE WORKOUT FROM THE LEAN LEGS PROGRAM DAY 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2. AVOID EXERCISES THAT HEAVILY TARGET YOUR LEGS (I.E. HEAVY LIFTING, SQUATS, BURPEES)

Avoid any kind of exercise that primarily work your quads and hamstrings. The sooner you stop doing these, the sooner you’re going to see results.  

As long as you are lifting heavy or doing exercises that put a lot of strain on your quads and hamstrings, you won’t slim down muscular legs. You will still continue to build or maintain leg muscle, even if you are doing cardio and eating at a calorie deficit.

Use it or lose it. It’s really that simple.

Therefore, I recommend avoiding anything you’re doing that uses your legs heavily, including traditional squats, deadlifts, burpees, and leg-weighted machines. I would also stay away from workouts such as CrossFit and HIIT routines that have lots of squats, burpees, and lunges.

Below is an example of a no-jumping HIIT routine that you can do instead of traditional HIIT routines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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However, if you are an endomorph, if you are very short, or very very sensitive to building muscles in your thighs, 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.

The same goes for other workouts (and other body types).

Some women experience bulky legs when they do running, barre, or even 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.

WHAT IF I ENJOY HEAVY LIFTING AND I DON’T WANT TO STOP?

I totally get how you feel. I felt the same when I realized I’ll probably need to stop lifting heavy weights to get the results I want.

Lifting heavy made me really strong and I loved that feeling. But the way I looked also mattered to me. So for me, the cons outweigh the benefits. 

Stopping with heavy weights was the right choice for me. I’m still strong and fit (even if I do mainly just bodyweight workouts) and I feel good about the way I look.

But for you, this may not be the right choice and that’s OK. I’m not here to tell you what to do. I just want to share my personal experiences and my experience as a PT. :)

3. DON’T SPRINT TO SLIM DOWN LEGS

Another thing I would not recommend to someone who is trying to slim muscular thighs is sprinting.

Let’s compare the legs of sprinters and marathon runners. As you can see in the image below, sprinters (image on the left) have a lot more muscle on their legs than marathon runners (image on the right). Marathon runners who are long-distance, steady-state runners have a lot less muscle in their lower body.

Sprinting is going to build muscle and it’s going to build it fast.

So, to lose muscle from your legs faster, make sure your cardio is always done steady-state. This means you should maintain consistent speed and level of intensity for the entire workout. Preferably, your cardio should also be low-intensity. Walking is the best option. 

And again, make sure it’s on a flat surface (no hills or stair runs!).

SUMMARY: HOW TO SLIM MUSCULAR LEGS FAST

So to summarize, if you want to get smaller thighs, here’s what you should do:

 

• • Learn your body type so you can understand the best exercises and diet for you.

• • Go power walking – This type of low-intensity cardio burns fat and is the best exercise for slimming down legs.

• • Follow a low-carb diet and stay at a slight calorie deficit so your body can burn more fat and protein (muscle).

• • Avoid exercises that target your quads specifically – lunges, burpees, squats, etc.

• • Avoid exercises that make you bulk up even if they aren’t supposed to. (Some women have told me they bulked up from yoga.)

• • Avoid sprinting and stair runs – make sure you walk and run (if running doesn’t bulk up your thighs) at a steady state and on a flat surface.

• • Focus on full-body pilates-style workouts like the one below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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BEST PROGRAM TO LOSE THIGH FAT AND SLIM DOWN MUSCULAR THIGHS

My Lean Legs Programs (Lean Legs 1 and Lean Legs 2) are designed specifically to help you get lean legs and slimmer thighs.

What will my programs do for you?

My Lean Legs programs will help you:

 

• • Lose excess inner and outer leg fat 

• • Slim down muscular thighs fast

• • Tone up your legs without adding too much muscle

• • Get rid of cellulite

If you buy both programs (Lean Legs 1 and Lean Legs 2), you can get them a in bundle and save money! We are doing a special, time-limited deal right now. 

Start today by following this link to click the button below. :)

Love Rachael xx