If you have 18 inch thighs, then your legs are approximately 3-4 inches smaller than the average thigh size. This is for both men and women.
Typically, the only adults in the general population who have 18 inch legs are elderly men and women. This is because you usually lose muscle mass when you age, which is a process that’s known as sarcopenia.
Of course, those with eating disorders may have much thinner thighs than usual. But you may also have 18″ thighs if you have a naturally slim build and a top-heavy fat storage distribution.
18 inch thighs look small and skinny on just about any kind of physique. Of course, the taller you are, the thinner that your 18 inch thighs will look. This is because your leg mass is spread over a larger surface area when your thigh bones are long.
This isn’t to say that 18 in thighs will look bulky on people with short legs because they most certainly won’t. It’s just to say that tall people tend to have thinner-looking legs even if they have an equivalent amount of thigh muscle and fat to a shorter person.
If you’re a man with 18 inch quads, then your legs will look very straight, and you won’t have much of what bodybuilders would call a quad sweep, which is another way of saying that your thighs won’t have any real muscle bulk to them.
Whether or not this look is desirable depends on your goal physique. Having 18 inch thighs only becomes dangerous when it’s indicative of you being underweight, which is when your BMI is below 18.5. [1]
How big is an 18 inch thigh circumference for women?
Despite what you may see on social media or read in magazines, most women don’t have an 18 inch thigh circumference. The average American female actually has around 22 inch thighs.
As such, 18 inch and 18.5 inch thighs aren’t very big at all for a woman, especially a woman under 50.
If you’re a senior lady, on the other hand, then it’s normal to have only 18″ thighs because of age-related muscle loss, something that you can mitigate to a large extent by performing resistance training. [2]
While it’s true that some women naturally have thinner thighs than others without being underweight, having 18 inch legs could also be a sign that you have a low BMI.
Every adolescent male has 18 inch thighs at some point during his physical development. However, for an adult male, 18 inch quads are definitely on the small side.
If you have 18 inch legs as a man, then it could be a sign that you’re not consuming enough calories or getting sufficient amounts of protein in your diet. If this is the case for you, then try to get a good serving of protein (eggs, dairy, meat, fish, nuts, beans) with every meal that you consume.
On the other hand, there are some men who would be expected to have 18 inch thighs. For example, if you have a really small build, let’s say you’re 5’3″, then it’s conceivable that you’d have 18″ thighs.
Additionally, elderly men, especially those aged 80 and older, tend to have much less thigh mass than younger and middle-aged men.
How can you build up your 18 inch thighs?
Lower body resistance training is the best way to boost your leg strength and increase the size of your thighs. Bodyweight squats are a great place to start, but if you want to gain considerable amounts of muscle mass, then you can always lift leg weights at a gym.
Both men and women can benefit from strengthening their legs with weights because resistance training increases your bone density and resting metabolic rate while simultaneously reducing your fat mass. [3]
If you don’t want to make your thighs too big (which is hard to do, believe me), then you can stick to light weights and/or bodyweight movements.
Just make sure to eat enough protein to make the best use of your resistance training efforts.
Healthy fats are also important because they regulate your hormone production, which in turn gives you more energy. [4]
Many people report improved body confidence once they start lifting weights, so don’t worry about putting on some muscle mass (and even a bit of fat) because you might be surprised at just how fit and healthy it makes you look!
Conclusion: Is it bad to only have 18 inch legs?
It depends. If you have 18 inch thighs and you’re underweight, then the size of your legs is obviously indicative of a low BMI, which is definitely bad.
On the other hand, if you have a healthy body weight but just so happen to have thin thighs, then that’s nothing that you should be too concerned about.
You can always add muscle to your legs using the tips above if you so desire.
It’s important to note as well that just because your legs are bigger than 18 inches, that doesn’t mean that they’re too big. It’s much better for your health, for example, to store fat on your thighs than it is to store it on your stomach.
References
Underweight | Office on Women’s Health. (2019, March 27). Office on Women’s Health. https://www.womenshealth.gov/healthy-weight/underweight
Porter, M. M. (2001). The Effects of Strength Training on Sarcopenia. Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology, 26(1), 123–141. https://doi.org/10.1139/h01-009
Westcott, W. L. (2012). Resistance Training is Medicine. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 11(4), 209–216. https://doi.org/10.1249/jsr.0b013e31825dabb8
Herrera, K. (2020, July 22). How Dietary Fat Benefits Hormones – Women’s International Pharmacy. Women’s International Pharmacy. https://www.womensinternational.com/blog/dietary-fat-benefits-hormones/
People whose thighs measured less than 60 centimeters, or about 23.6 inches in circumference, were in trouble. And those with stick-thin gams (less than 18 inches around) were at the greatest risk, according to new study in the online version of the British Medical Journal.
Generally speaking, 20-inch thighs are pretty normal for adult men and women. According to body measurement data from the US Department of Health Statistics, the average thigh circumference is 20.2 inches (51.3 cm) for men and 19.7 inches (50.1 cm) for women.
Women aged 20-29, 30-39, and 40-49 all had 21.7-inch thighs, precisely around the ideal female thigh size many women desire. Like men, females' average thigh circumference tends to diminish beyond 50.
Researchers tracked the volunteers for an average of 12.5 years. They found that people with big thighs had a lower risk of heart disease and premature death than those with thin thighs.
That's the word from Danish researchers who studied more than 2,800 middle-aged people for up to a dozen years, only to find that those with the slimmest thighs had the highest chance of heart disease and premature death. “There was up to a double risk for the people with the smallest thighs,” said Dr. Berit L.
your ideal measurements should be: Bust, 34 inches to 35 inches: waist, 24 inches to 25 inches; hips, 34 inches to 35 inches. If you're a tall woman of over 5 feet 6 inches, you must stack up to these measurements for perfection: Bust, 35 inches to 37 inches; waist, 25 inches to 27 inches; hips, 35 inches to 37 inches.
If someone is skinny and wishes to change it, it's possible. Longing for much bigger, thicker thighs is not enough and it doesn't matter whether someone aims at increasing core strength or just looking better in general. The calorie intake and the workouts put into the hips and thighs have a major part.
What's the Ideal Leg Size? To find your ideal leg size, take your waist measurement and multiply it by 0.75. According to Casey Butt, PhD, that number is your ideal thigh circumference measured at the midway point between your knee and hip joint with your muscles relaxed.
Thighs. The hamstring and quadriceps muscles form your thighs. Your thighs may be considered buff in bodybuilding if they each have a circumference greater than 20 inches. The circumference of a top bodybuilder's thigh may be greater than 25 inches.
The ratio of body fat to muscle increases, as muscle mass decreases. Due to the aging factor, weight is being added to our thighs and buttocks. Some may notice dimpling in these areas... No, it is not your imagination, IT IS EASIER TO GAIN WEIGHT NOW, than it was when we were in our 30's.
Studies have shown that men prefer women with longer-than-average legs and a higher leg-length-to-body ratio. Men's interest in women's legs may explain the preference for tall fashion models.
Why is my thigh so big? This is usually due to your genes. Leg fat may be comprised of different types of fat cells, including: Subcutaneous fat: most common in the thighs and located right beneath the skin. Intramuscular fat: fat dispersed within the muscle itself, much like the marbling seen in meat.
Model leg workouts tone your thighs, calves, and glutes. The primary exercises that will help you achieve this are lunges and squats. Those two exercises are the foundation of strong, well-toned legs, and will be a crucial part of your legs routine. Lunges and squats are basic leg exercises that you can do anywhere.
Unless your goal is to gain weight overall, you're better off focusing on building muscle mass. Strength training focusing on your quadriceps and hamstrings, as well as eating sufficient calories and protein, can help build greater muscle mass to increase the size of your thighs.
You could have skinny legs because you're not training often enough, not lifting heavy enough, not eating properly, or lifting with improper form. Doing too much cardio and not doing enough total leg volume could also limit your leg gains.
The main culprit behind weight gain in your thighs is estrogen. This hormone drives the increase in fat cells in females, causing deposits to form most commonly around the buttocks and thighs.
Have you ever noticed that people have thinner arms and legs as they get older? As we age it becomes harder to keep our muscles healthy.They get smaller, which decreases strength and increases the likelihood of falls and fractures. New research is showing how this happens — and what to do about it.
Generally, hip measurements of 36 inches or less are considered skinny body types, whereas curvy ones have usually 37 or more (inches). Similarly, skinny women have bust measurements of 34 or less, but that may also be true some curvy body shapes (see below).
This small survey found that the women surveyed did not think size matters in terms of their overall sexual satisfaction. The largest study performed investigating does size matter to women found that 84% of women were satisfied with the size of their partner and an additional 2% desired smaller partner penis size6.
Many believe an hourglass body shape translates to bust-waist-hip measurements of approximately 36-24-36 inches, respectively. The truth is, though, an hourglass-shaped body simply describes roughly equal bust and hip measurements with a significantly narrower waist.
Hormones drive the deposition of fat around the pelvis, buttocks, and thighs of women and the bellies of men. For women, this so-called sex-specific fat appears to be physiologically advantageous, at least during pregnancies. But it has a cosmetic down-side as well, in the form of cellulite.
A thigh circumference of 20 inches is not large. And, it is impossible for it to be half fat - you have bone, muscle, tissue, skin, and likely a bit of fat, but that is completely normal and just fine.
What's the Ideal Leg Size? To find your ideal leg size, take your waist measurement and multiply it by 0.75. According to Casey Butt, PhD, that number is your ideal thigh circumference measured at the midway point between your knee and hip joint with your muscles relaxed.
German professional sprint cyclist Robert Forstemann is credited for having the biggest thighs measuring 74 cm and also has been given a nickname 'Quadzilla'.
Introduction: My name is Rev. Leonie Wyman, I am a colorful, tasty, splendid, fair, witty, gorgeous, splendid person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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