toned legs

How Long Does It Take To Get Toned Legs? A Definitive Guide

Written By : Dr Ruby Shah   ✓ Fact Checked

Getting your legs toned prevents injury and makes you a better athlete, or weekend warrior. But how long does it take and what you have to do to reach that goal? Learn here.

(Last Updated on April 22, 2024)

Today, a friendly tour through the newsfeeds of social media platforms can be an exciting mix of content on the comic, the inspirational, the lame and the how-did-they-do-that!

You will definitely not miss the fitness frenzy content and the obsession with toned legs.

From Instagram to Twitter, Tik Tok, we are constantly bombarded by images and videos of friends and influencers trying to, or flaunting their fitness.

Which can leave you asking, what does it take to get that good, and how long does it take to get toned legs?

Well, you’re in for a treat.

In today’s article, we’re going to cover not only how long does it take to get toned legs, but how you can combine exercise and diet.

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Understanding The Lower Body

Did you know that your legs contain the largest muscle masses in your body?

The highest concentration of leg muscles is on the thighs and calf. These are called long muscles, named after their ability to stretch further than any other muscles in the body.

Their contraction and relaxation are what leads to movement. Several smaller muscles play a crucial role in finetuning motion, rotation, and stability.

To understand how long it takes to get toned legs, we must understand the best way to exercise these muscles.

Here are the top 3 best exercises to start you off:

Squats

If toning your legs is your key objective, your exercise regime should include squats1.

This is because squatting utilizes over 200 muscles in the body resulting in multiple ripple effects on the entire body, especially the buttocks.

To do squats correctly, remember these essential tips:

  • When squatting  lower your body; bend your knees and keep your back straight  as if you are sitting on a chair behind you.
  • Keep your knees facing the same direction as your toes, but avoid pushing them inwards.
  • Your toes should be directly below your knees when you lower your body.
  • No hunching – Resist the temptation to hunch your back when squatting, keep your head up looking ahead with shoulders relaxed.

How long does it take to get toned legs using squats?

For those starting, you’ll start noticing initial results between four to eight weeks in the form of increased ease when carrying out each rep of squats.

If you have a  higher amount of fat around your glutes, it may take longer to see noticeable effects.

Box jumps

To the uninitiated, box jumps may appear to be a simple exercise. Yet, this exercise requires attention to detail to benefit.

A box jump2 is an exercise entailing jumping from the ground to an elevated position, e.g. onto a box, with both feet.

This is a great way to burn calories while increasing the lower-body muscles strength, making you faster and springier than ever before.

When doing box jumps, keep a few things in mind:

  • Mimic your starting position – when landing on the box, aim to land feet flat to cushion yourself and avoid injury.
  • Your knees should be only slightly bent.
  • Protect your joints and step back down to the ground slowly; a leg at a time rather than jumping back.
  • Avoid boxes that are too high; nobody enjoys a sharp edge to the shins! Look at a depth of your landing squat, if it’s too deep, the box is likely too high for you.

How long does it take to get toned legs doing box jumps?

Due to the higher amount of calories burnt from doing box jumps, they are excellent toning exercise to use.

Depending on your starting level of fitness, you may start seeing results within four weeks.

Lunges

Lunges are among the most popular ways to tone your legs.

They involve multiple large muscles. Therefore they are likely to burn more fat.

If you want to focus on working out the quadriceps, making lunges that use short steps are your best bet.

However, to get the butt really in tip-top shape, go for longer lunges in your sets.

Does adding resistance affect how long it takes to get toned legs when using lunges? Yes, adding variations to your lunges can help get faster results.

Here are a few ideas for your next lunges:

  • Add a barbel on your shoulders when carrying out the exercise. This will increase the resistance your muscles are working against thus helping to tone them faster.
  • Use resistance bands – using resistance bands significantly increases the muscle strain since they will have to work harder when the band is tautest.
  • Implementing the two variations above will help you realize gains much faster if you’re looking to optimize toning your legs to perfection.

How long does it take to get toned legs if you use lunges?

If you’re focusing primarily on lunges, adding cardio to your exercise routine will be vital to seeing results.

Lunges do not burn as many calories as the other exercises on their own.

What’s more?

Perhaps you aren’t in a position to hit the gym or exercise rag just yet.

Here are a few more exercises to fasten how long it takes to get toned legs.

Walking

Yes, walking actually helps to exercise the muscles in your legs, keeping them lean.

Go out for a stroll and push yourself further than you usually would.

Dancing

Ever wanted to learn how to dance? Here’s another great reason to hit the floor.

Dancing requires both movement and balance, which means getting all your leg muscles worked up.

There are lots of organized dancing classes such as Zumba, Salsa and aerobics. If for some reason you can’t access any of these, then put on your favourite tunes and start moving.

Skipping rope

Take a trip down memory lane with this fun and easy exercise.

Skipping rope3 not only sculpts your lower body but increases your heart rate if sustained for some time.

This workout can be done from the convenience of your home, just grab a rope and go for it!

Hiking / running

It’s time to hit outdoors.

Working out in nature has a distinct advantage of uneven and natural terrain that forces you to adapt as you run.

Hitting the beach and its sandy shores or the hills for a quick run stretches your leg muscles while helping to reduce fat.

Swimming

Swimming is one of the all-time best cardio workouts. Plus, it’s loads of fun!

Swimming works all your body’s muscles, with the legs playing a pivotal role in propelling you forward.

And if you want to work your leg muscles during swimming, join an aqua spinning class that will take your exercises up a notch.

Proper Dieting While Toning Legs

toned legs

Despite all the above, if you really want to get toned fast, both diet and exercise will have to work hand in hand.

To achieve the best results with the above exercises:

Drink enough water

We can’t say this enough, get enough hydration when exercising.

Since your body temperature rises during exercise, the body regulates it by sweating, which leads to loss of body fluid.

Without replacing this water, your body won’t be able to metabolize stored fat; water plays a vital role in the breakdown of fat into glycerol and fatty acids.

Besides, water will help reduce the number of calories ingested by helping you feel full faster during a meal.

Get a balanced diet

Whether you want to lose weight or gain muscle, having a balanced diet is important.

Having enough protein in your diet will help in developing muscles.

Avoid processed foods

Though generally considered tastier, processed foods have excess levels of sugar, sodium and fat. This can significantly hinder your efforts to trim down and get into your desired shape.

There are multiple healthier options available that don’t include such high levels of calories.

Try a fat burner

Fat burners will make it easier to tone your legs.

But they are not magic pills; they work best when combined with exercise and a healthy diet.

They increase fat burning in the body while retaining muscle.

Try these best fat burning pills in the market.

So, How Long Does It Take To Get Toned Legs?

toned legs exercising female

It depends significantly on multiple factors that are unique to each individual.

Even if two people took the same exercise and diet routine for a year, there would be a vast difference in the final results.

First, you cannot just lose fat in your legs alone; you need to put effort to lower fat in the rest of your body.

This process may take longer, but fat burners such as PhenQ, Instant Knockout, and LeanBean can make it easier to achieve toned legs.

Usually, it takes around 3 to 4 weeks to get toned legs.

Remember, If you want to achieve the kind of body that has everyone drooling on Instagram, consistency is a more significant factor than anything else.

So let’s hit the road, diet right, take your fat burner, and soon it’ll be your image that someone will be drooling all over.

Read next: How Effective Is Zumba For Weight Loss?

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