While 27 inches isn’t a normal thigh size for anyone—even bodybuilders and powerlifters—your 27 inch thighs will look considerably bigger or smaller than they actually are, depending on your height.
This guide explains what causes men and women to have 27 inch legs and then arms you with the knowledge to build and slim your thighs as you desire.
See How Your Thighs Stack Up
- 23 inch thigh circumference
- 24 inch thigh circumference
- 25 inch thigh circumference
- 26 inch thigh circumference
- 28 inch thigh circumference
- 29 inch thigh circumference
- 30 inch thigh circumference
Are 27 inch thighs big for men?
Unless you’re an elite-level bodybuilder or powerlifter, 27 inch thighs are very big indeed. Just how big for your body?
It depends on how tall you are.
27 inch quads will look big on just about any frame. But they’ll look absolutely monstrous on a guy who’s short, let’s say around 5′5″.
On a lifter who’s 6′2″, however, 27 inch legs will still look big, but they won’t look as huge as they do on the short guy because the same amount of muscle is distributed over a much longer surface area when you have long femurs.
To be clear, most lifters don’t have 27 inch quads of any description. And those who do generally don’t have the best quad definition and separation—404 striations not found.
All this is to say that you should be very satisfied with your strength training progress if you’ve managed to build legitimate 27″ thighs.
How about for women?
If you have 27 inch or 27.5 inch thighs as a woman, then your upper legs are definitely bigger than average. But is this necessarily a bad thing?
Danish researchers examined nearly 3,000 participants and found that bigger thighs actually reduced your risk of heart disease and premature death. [1]
The sweet spot appeared to be 23-24 inches. Anything smaller was associated with worse health outcomes, whereas no additional benefits were found in those with thighs greater than 60 cm in circumference.
So unless your 27 inch legs are indicative of other health issues, you shouldn’t worry about your thighs being on the chunky side.
How can you exceed your 27 inch thigh circumference?
Although many people want to slim their thighs—more on that in a minute—some folk, mainly men, actually want to bulk up their legs and make their thighs bigger.
It’s no coincidence that those who can squat a lot of weight have big quads. This is especially true if we’re talking about a high bar squat performed with a relatively upright torso, which is a more quad-focused lift than a low bar squat.
In this regard, there’s a decent chance that you can build and exceed your 27″ thighs just by squatting heavy—with good form—on a consistent basis.
In other words, you don’t need to do anything special to get 27 in thighs; you just need to exercise your patience.
Of course, bulking up to a higher body weight is bound to increase all of your circumference measurements to an extent—thighs included.
So don’t be afraid to gain a bit of body fat if you’re aiming for a bulky rather than lean physique. The extra body mass will, after all, boost your squat strength and improve your recovery capacity.
How can you slim your 27 inch legs?
The thighs are a problem area for many women. It seems like all the fat falls off your stomach and upper body but never off your legs!
While it’s true that we all have different fat storage distributions, you can certainly improve your current physique by manipulating a few simple training and dietary variables.
For example, if you’re not in an energy deficit, then it’s unlikely that your thighs will become any slimmer. [2] To say it another way, successful weight loss necessitates consuming fewer calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight.
If you want to sculpt lean and toned thighs, then it’s also vital to consume enough quality protein so that you can preferentially shed fat tissue rather than precious lean muscle mass. [3]
You may well have 27 inch thighs because you have genetically muscular legs. However, most women (and indeed most men) of a normal height simply don’t have the mass-building genetics to develop thighs that are that muscular.
As such, you shouldn’t worry about having legs that are too muscular. Once you lose some fat off your thighs, your legs will look a lot leaner.
The verdict: Is it good to have 27 inch quads?
If you’re a man, then you may well have some of the best-developed quads in your gym if your legs are 27 inches. Most lifters, after all, go their whole training career without ever attaining a 27 inch thigh circumference.
If you’re a woman, then you might have 27 inch thighs due to a combination of body fat storage and leg muscularity genetics. If this is the case, then you can still slim your thighs, but you might never have really slim thighs. It’s just the way that some people are built.
References
- Heitmann, B. L., & Frederiksen, P. (2009). Thigh circumference and risk of heart disease and premature death: prospective cohort study. BMJ, 339(sep03 2), b3292. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b3292
- Hall, K. D. (2007). What is the required energy deficit per unit weight loss? International Journal of Obesity, 32(3), 573–576. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803720
- Stiegler, P., & Cunliffe, A. (2006). The Role of Diet and Exercise for the Maintenance of Fat-Free Mass and Resting Metabolic Rate During Weight Loss. Sports Medicine, 36(3), 239–262. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200636030-00005