Walking but no difference in legs

[Janeeyrre]

Ive been walking briskly at least 3/4 miles often longer 4/5 days a week but my legs still look the same. I don't want to lose weight but would like my bum and legs to be more toned. Why do runners and football players look so toned and muscly in their legs?

Walking alone isn’t going to build noticeable muscle on your legs (unless you were walking up mountains for hours a day!). You need to be weight training to build muscle

If you want to build muscle, then walking isn't going to be enough. It will be maintaining the muscle tone that you have, but to build on it you will need to do weight training or resistance training.

Walking isn’t going to tone your legs like other exercises will. You need to be doing leg-specific exercises like lunges, squats, deadlifts etc - Google leg exercises.

Thanks everyone , I guess I need to think again if I want toned legs/bum! At least im hopefully healthier on the inside.

At the very least can you do uphill walking? Or are there any steps nearby you can go up and down.

What everyone else has said. Footballers obviously do a lot of running in training but they also do weight training as it helps to protect against injury. I ran for years and whilst lost weight my legs didn't look anywhere near as toned as they do now. I weight lifting 3-4 times a week

Oh walking has so many benefits - it’s undoubtedly better for you to do it than not if you can!

but really everyone is right about what you need to do to tone up and gain muscle.

I find that the most difference to my legs is made by:
Weighted squats
Deadlifts
Lunges (of varying types)

Caroline girvan has a very easy 10 mins leg workout free on YouTube. Joe's wicks also (it's the one at the top of a tower in Dubai).

I go back to these repeatedly.

@Tidekiln there is a hill but ive been walking dogs and there is a prefered a route, I think ill have to start squats etc. I did a legs, bums, tums class the last couple of weeks and I really struggled and walking up my stairs the next day was agony.

So I guess walking isn't really doing as much as I thought.

@Yorkshiremum80 I didnt realise footballers did weights, I keep reading about the importance of weight training as we get older.

Part of the class ive started is squats holding weights but I struggle with the 2.5 dumbbells .

It’ll feel like that when you first start going but you get used to it and it stops hurting.

I run, I’d say I run quite a lot, around 20-30 miles a week and do at least one and two if I can fit them in strength type classes such as legs bums and tums. I also do a dance class for flexibility. My legs are a lot more toned than they used to be. When my only exercise was walking they were pretty flabby.

You need varied terrain, speed, some hill climbing. Add in squats and some weights and you’ll soon tone up. My main cardio is speed walking and I’ve got really toned legs but I also lift 4 days a week. It doesn’t matter if you start small with weights, the point is they become easy so you go heavier.

I can recommend Juice & Toya on YouTube. Short effective routines and you can start with bodyweight if you prefer.

Thanks @TheFormidableMrsC ill check that out.

My kids and Dh are runners and have very muscly legs. I walk about 15,000 steps a day (about 10k) and they are toned not muscly.

Walking has 100s of benefits though so don't stop that, just add other stuff in.

You will be able to build up your weights in time 2.5 kg is a great start!

my son watches football videos and the exercises the footballers do in gym are really interesting and a lot are quite specific to building up strength to aid their specific movements

I struggled with weights for the first couple of months of a weights class but now I’m regularly using 8/10/12.5 kg weights. It’s surprising how you build the strength up quickly but take it slowly. Also I find 3 times a week optimum for weights. My legs are much more toned.

I did notice my legs were a bit slimmer/more toned more or less just on walking - but that was after about 6 months of at least 5 miles a day every single day during lockdown. Most people don’t have time for that! Squats etc really do help and they’re the sort of thing you can fit into your day.

there is no shame in using a low (or even no) weight for strength training.
there are plenty of pilates style own body weight strength trainings online.

walking is fantastic for body and mind though, keep it up if you can!

Walking won’t achieve much beyond helping your cardiovascular system slightly. You need to focus on strength training (I use kettlebells), along with cardio such as cycling, or running. Don’t forget squats.

You can't out-train a bad diet.

Walking (minimum 10,000-15,000 steps) is absolutely necessary to maintain your mobility and general caloric expenditure as part of your TDEE or your BERM (google thse and do the calculations).

But it won't change the shape of your legs & glutes! Walking is important, but it's not challenging enough to your body to force your body to build muscle tissues. Of course it's not! Don\t believe those stupid "Lazy Girl" or "Walk your way" to losing weight adverts on the internet!