I want to get super toned legs. What can I do?

[Anonymous]

Im slim but not at my ideal weight... I still need to lose about 4 kg to get my body fat down. My aim is to get a really toned body... especially really toned legs. How can I get this? Im cycling for 15-20 min per week in the gym and rowing 10 min and then jogging 20 minutes. Will this help? I have heard that the rowing machine and the cycling will my my legs bigger rather then smaller... so im scared to used these machines now.

[Nuqood]

You're a woman.. you're not going to bulk up like a man because you can't without steroids. Gaining muscle is essential to having what you call "toned" legs; There's no such thing as 'toning", there's only gaining muscle and losing fat. You're doing cardio, so you're not achieving any high tension and aren't putting yourself in an anabolic state. Couple that with a low caloric diet, and all you're doing at that point is burning fat (and inevitably muscle mass).

Cardio doesn't build muscle; Cardio burns fat and increases endurance. If you want to look lean and not look anorexic then, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to train with free weights to gain muscle mass. You WON'T get big like a man because it's biologically IMPOSSIBLE.

[Nuqood]

ETA: By high tension I meant elongated time under tension, which is what people use to increase sarcoplasmic hypertrophy (size).

[Asker]

Thanks for your answer... ill start doing weight training along with the cardio.

[SNAG93]

Hill running is good cos it does work the muscles a lot, but is a hard cardio workout too. The combo allows your legs to get more defined without getting bigger nor smaller. U r right with the rowing machine and cycling. They tend to make your legs bigger. I would avoid squats if u dont want to get bigger although u can do them if u match it with cardio like the jogging that u were doing. But if its on a treadmill then its doing less work on your legs. I personally dont like treadmills cos it takes all the work away and its far better to just run outside.

[SNAG93]

Oh yeah. I just remembered also. Jumps. There r lots of different jumps. Calf jumps. Squat Jumps. Dumbell Squat Jumps. They r a killer. And u do short and long jumps and also box jumps. Trust me after a jumps workout u will die, but your legs will gain lots of fast muscle twitch and power and be really toned.

[Asker]

Hi, thanks for your reply:-) I try and run outside twice a week. However, I just payed for a gym membership and would like to used other machine other than the treadmill. However, people keep telling me that everything apart from running will make me bigger. I want to get smaller and leaner and more defined.

[SNAG93]

yeah i would say most of te machines will make ur legs bigger. I would use dumbells or kettlebells to do jumps and do running. But i would use a leg extension machine laid down so u can do hammy curls also. And maybe a donkey kick machine, but i dont know what machine your gym has. It trains your butt if u r wondering. Yeah i would mainly do free weights and do explosive exercises to trigger your fast twitch muscles and power. This will allow for a more toning rather than strength and muscle gain.

[rowing125]

okay so i row a lot and my team ergs for 60 minutes, and we do 5ks, 7ks, 2ks, you name it we do it. anyways the machine only tones the legs and doesn't make them bigger just more buff. it also depends on what you pull also if i were you erg for more than 10 minutes try 40 or 20 it helps and apply pressure too you got his and tons of luck

[sjoes006]

Run run and run some more. Also seated leg lifts holding onto the seat of a chair will tone your butt but not your quads. Quads are what make you leg bulky and both cycling and swimming make for large quads but not running.

[Asker]

Thanks for your reply. Swimming also makes legs bigger? I thought swimming burns a lot of fat and tones up the body...

[sjoes006]

It does but tone means muscle. The kicking works your quads so your legs do get bigger in the upper portion. My skinny jeans don't fit right anymore do to overt trained quads.

My legs look great in shorts and what have you but My jeans are lose around the waist and ride lower since the are tight on my thighs now that I cross train.

[Climber]

Don't worry. As a girl you don't build muscle easily. It requires a lot of heavy lifting and a very specific diet. So just continue with what you are doing. You will burn fat and get more defined but lean muscle texture.

[SirenDep]

muscles are smaller than fat. with the rowing machine and the cycling you will get muscles, but toned, not bulging ones. I'd recommend doing squats to tone more and quicker. Women usually can't get naturally big bulging muscles

[WeaponZero]

Nothing will make you bigger unless you are in a calorie surplus. That being said being toned depends just as much on having muscle as it does on having low fat. At some point you will have to focus on muscle building.

[Xcommunicated]

Running stairs... I used to run every morning then we would run stairs. My legs were in killer shape.

Tread climber, long distance running, squats, quad press, calf press,

[Tarvold]

Cycling sucks. Keep an eye out for all the cycling athletes - they all have disproportionately huge legs.

Tried yoga?

[Asker]

Hi thanks for your reply. This is what confuses me... I dont know what is right or wrong. You say that my legs will get bigger as the guy below say nothing will make the legs bigger... I have a gym membership and have no idea what I should be doing.

[Tarvold]

Just google "cyclist" and you'll see. Every result is of someone with giant thighs.

If you want good, overall toned, try doing burpees in high intensity interval training.

[Nuqood]

Those cyclists are also doing deadlifts and purposely increasing the volume of their quads and hamstrings to be able to perform in their sport. I doubt the OP is training to be an olympic cyclist, so she won't need to do any intense strength training regimens (coupled with steroids) to achieve very muscular legs.

[electrollama]

Go slower and longer duration. At least 30 min of jogging.

[martyfellow]

Climbing, tennis, long distance running, aerobics workouts with weights...

[PurpleSweater]

Do some leg exercises like squats , lunges , high knees , leg extensions.

[Dantheman101]

Cannot beat good legs