Does Jogging Make Your Thighs Bigger?

Jogging regularly is one of the easiest ways to improve your endurance and tone the muscles throughout your entire body. It is generally defined as running at a moderate, steady pace between 10 and 12 minutes per mile for approximately 30 minutes, two to four days per week. The muscles that benefit most from a routine jogging program are those in your legs and buttocks. But don’t throw away those skinny jeans, because your thighs are not going to get bigger.

Jogging causes your quadriceps, hamstrings and inner-thigh muscles to thicken and shorten, making them stronger while enhancing your body’s ability to store glycogen and use fat for energy. Your muscle-mass increase will be minimal because with jogging, which is an aerobic exercise, you'll burn about 67 percent more calories than you would with an anaerobic exercise, such as weightlifting. You'll notice that it's becoming easier to control your weight because your muscles burn more calories -- even during inaction -- than all other body tissues.

If you’re jogging to lose weight, several factors, including gender, will affect how that happens. In general, women have 5 to 10 percent more body fat than men. The upper part of your body, which is controlled by stress hormones, will become slimmer before a reduction occurs in your hips and thighs, which are controlled by reproductive hormones.

Your genetic composition also plays a role. Whereas some people store the most fat in the upper part of their bodies -- apple types -- others store more fat in their midsections and thighs -- pear types. To accelerate weight loss, decrease your caloric intake and avoid fatty processed foods.

Reducing your overall body fat, increasing your lean muscle mass, burning calories more efficiently and keeping those skinny jeans are just some of the benefits of routine jogging. This exercise will also help improve your bone strength and lessen your risk for chronic health issues such as heart disease and diabetes.

Jogging may help increase your longevity. In a study published in April 2013 in the “American Journal of Epidemiology,” researchers at the Bispebjerg University Hospital in Copenhagen analyzed 27 years’ worth of data from an ongoing cardiovascular study. They found that men who jogged one to two-and-a-half hours per week increased their life spans by an average of 6.2 years, whereas females on the same routine increased their life spans by about 5.6 years.

Stretch to loosen your muscles before you begin jogging. Establish a pre-jogging exercise warm-up as well as a post-jogging cooldown program. Walking briskly is an easy way to warm up and cool down. Stay hydrated, especially during hot weather, which continues well into the autumn in the southern-most part of the U.S. In the Southwest, temperatures can rise above 120 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer and even hover between 80 and 90 degrees during the fall.