What Exercises Turn Fat Into Muscle?

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What exercises can I do to turn the fat on my legs to muscle?

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Michael Collins: None. There's a common misconception that doing certain exercises can turn fat into muscle. Fat does not turn into muscle, period. Nor does muscle turn into fat. It's physiologically impossible. It's like expecting to turn a pumpkin into a horse and carriage.

Muscle has a different composition than fat does. To keep it simple, muscle and body fat are separate entities.

Go ahead and flex your right arm- as kids we used to say “make a muscle”. If you feel your flexed arm, you'll notice that close to the surface, right under the skin, it feels a little soft (depending on how much body fat you have, you'll be more or less soft). This is basically your skin and a layer of body fat. Under that layer (as you stay flexed), you'll notice it's solid. This is muscle.

If you'd like, you can try this on your stomach (abdominal muscles), your legs, or wherever.

Now, to improve the appearance of your legs, name of the game here is not to turn one layer into the other. The goal is to burn the fatty layer that is above the muscle, and to slightly increase the muscle fiber underneath.

This is where proper diet and strength training come into play. Read those 2 articles and you'll be well on your way to burning off that unwanted fat from your legs.

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