Why do your legs get thicker after exercising?

The purpose of fitness is to reduce fat and lose weight, to make the body slimmer, more slender and healthier. However, if we don’t pay attention to some problems during the fitness process and the legs become thicker, it will make people very unhappy and feel that the gain does not outweigh the loss. We are clearly exercising, so why do our legs become thicker? There must be reasons for this. Let me explain them to you one by one.

For most people, the real culprit of thick thighs is fat. But how to judge? "When your legs are not exerting force, anything you can pinch with your hands is fat." Under normal circumstances, losing fat is much easier than gaining muscle. After a period of effective fat-loss exercise, in most cases the muscles will indeed become firmer and tighter, but the circumference of the legs will decrease. General jogging, relaxing running and long-distance running not for the purpose of competition are all relatively gentle exercises that will make these fats disappear. At the same time, the degree of muscle development is relatively small. Therefore, these types of running will not only not make the legs thicker, but also have the effect of slimming the legs. Other relatively gentle exercises include: cycling, easy rope skipping, swimming, etc. On the contrary, high-intensity exercises such as fast running and strength training can increase muscle volume and make the legs thicker.

In fact, the hormone secretion required for muscle synthesis in women is very small, so it is difficult to build muscle even with a lot of exercise. Moreover, a normal diet contributes very limitedly to muscle growth. However, any muscles that are exercised can absorb nutrients more easily than muscles that have not been used for a long time. Exercise can also relatively increase the level of growth hormone. Whether each person's legs will become thicker during exercise depends on the specific situation. For example, everyone's genetic conditions are different, and it is not ruled out that running will cause the lower limbs of a very small number of women to become thicker.

There is a saying circulating on the Internet: stretching your legs before and after running can prevent the lower limbs from becoming thicker due to running. In this regard, Zhou Tong said: "There is no relevant theoretical basis for this statement, but these are relaxation activities that should be done before and after running, which are conducive to preventing injuries and speeding up the body's recovery. Relaxation and massage after exercise can also speed up the removal of fatigue and the removal of metabolic products."