Bigger Thighs From Exercise: Causes and What to Do About It
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Why Are My Thighs Getting Bigger From Exercise?

Why Are My Thighs Getting Bigger From Exercise?
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By
Rick Wallace, MD
Updated on November 12, 2025
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It's common to experience an increase in thigh size at a certain point in a new workout routine. This phenomenon is not exclusive to your thighs, but it can be more noticeable in that area for some people.

Switching up your exercise routine or diet may help you achieve a more balanced approach. However, understanding your self-image and having some patience around self-image during body changes is essential.

The Science Behind Muscle Enlargement in Exercise

From an aesthetic point of view, exercises can help you lose weight, build muscle, and in many cases, accomplish both. When you engage in high-intensity workouts, you recruit low-endurance muscle fibers known as fast-twitch, or glycolytic, fibers.

 These fibers break down, and as they rebuild, they get larger. These fibers are also responsible for the size and definition of the muscles you're working.

But muscle hypertrophy (the enlargement of muscle fibers) isn’t the only culprit.

When you start your workout routine, you can expect to see significant fat loss results. As you progress, your body adjusts to the intensity of the exercise, leading to a plateau during which you may see a noticeable decline in the rate at which you are losing weight.

 This combination of a decline in fat loss and muscle hypertrophy gives the impression of bigger thighs.

How to Reduce Excessive Thigh Growth During Exercise

You can take several approaches to try and slow thigh muscle hypertrophy while following a workout plan.

Lower Your Workout Intensity

Although hypertrophied thighs may be a little concerning, they’re not necessarily a bad thing. Increasing lean muscle mass helps your body burn calories more efficiently, even at rest.

However, if you want to slow the growth of your thighs, lower the intensity of your workouts by reducing weight resistance, eliminating explosive movements, and prioritizing rapid recovery time between sets.

Adjust Your Diet

If you’re on a weight management plan and have hit a plateau, you may want to make some adjustments to move past it. To ensure that you can maintain a safe and steady weight loss rate, you can try modifying your diet by reducing your daily intake by around 600 calories.

However, Harvard Health Publishing advises never dropping below a certain number of calories per day: 1,200 for women and 1,500 for men. Consuming too few calories a day risks depriving you of necessary nutrients.

If you have a history of disordered eating behavior, calorie counting may not be the best tool for you, as it can be triggering.

Before you start a weight loss plan, talk to your healthcare provider to determine a healthy weight for your body and needs.

Switch Up Your Workout Regularly

Mix up your workout by adding variations so your body cannot adjust to it. You can change weight resistance, the speed of each rep, the equipment you use, and more.

The goal is to keep your body guessing so it can't adapt, potentially enabling you to break through a training plateau and maintain consistent results.

When adjusting your workout or diet, consult your physician first to ensure that you’re not placing yourself at risk.

Be Kind to Yourself

When people are losing weight, gaining muscle, and changing shape, perceived flaws may start to become more noticeable to them.

 Your body may not look the way you expected.
However, larger thighs may simply be part of your genetic makeup or unique body shape. Research suggests that a close focus on body measurements can encourage critical self-evaluation, which risks a broad spectrum of adverse mental health effects, including low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and social isolation.

Be patient and loving with yourself. After all, you’re still making plenty of health gains (muscular and otherwise) from regular exercise.

The Takeaway

  • If you notice increased thigh size due to exercise, it's often a temporary effect from muscle growth and may balance out over time.
  • Lowering workout intensity by reducing resistance and avoiding explosive movements may help manage thigh enlargement while still maintaining overall muscular benefits.
  • Consider modifying your diet and cardio routine to overcome weight loss plateaus, but speak to a healthcare professional before making these changes, and always stay above the recommended daily calorie minimum to maintain proper nutrition and health.
  • Larger thighs may be a natural part of your body shape, so focus on the positive impacts of regular exercise on your overall health and well-being.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers: What They Are and How To Build Them. Cleveland Clinic. August 23, 2024.
  2. Sartori R et al. Mechanisms of muscle atrophy and hypertrophy: implications in health and disease. Nature Communications. January 12, 2021.
  3. Getting Past a Weight Loss Plateau. Mayo Clinic. April 9, 2024.
  4. Why It Really Is Harder for Women To Lose Weight (and What To Do About It). Cleveland Clinic. March 21, 2024.
  5. Calorie Counting. National Health Service.
  6. Calorie Counting Made Easy. Harvard Health Publishing. April 3, 2024.
  7. Messer M et al. Using an App to Count Calories: Motives, Perceptions, and Connections to Thinness- and Muscularity-Oriented Disordered Eating. Eating Behaviors. December 2021.
  8. 10 Ways to Cut 500 Calories a Day. MedlinePlus. May 14, 2024.
  9. Changing Up Your Fitness Routine Could Help Maximize Results. FIU News. February 21, 2023.
  10. How Your Body Fights With Weight Loss. Northwestern Medicine. December 2022.
  11. Merino M et al. Body Perceptions and Psychological Well-Being: A Review of the Impact of Social Media and Physical Measurements on Self-Esteem and Mental Health with a Focus on Body Image Satisfaction and Its Relationship with Cultural and Gender Factors. Healthcare. July 12, 2024.
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Heather Jeffcoat, PT, DPT, is a doctor of physical therapy and the founder of Femina Physical Therapy and Fusion Wellness & Physical Therapy, both of which focus on pelvic health and whole-body orthopedic care.

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Rick Wallace, MD

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Richard Wallace, MD, is a dedicated family and sports medicine physician with more than 20 years of clinical experience. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, he completed his medical education at Meharry Medical College with honors and specialized training in sports medicine at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Florida.

As a former collegiate track and field athlete at the University of South Florida, Dr. Wallace brings both professional medical expertise and personal athletic experience to his practice. He owns Bayside Urgent Care Center in Clearwater, Florida; serves as medical director at Narconon Suncoast; and hosts Richard Wallace’s The Fix Podcast to educate the public on health and fitness topics.

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