Will sprinting for track make my legs fatter?

Sophie

New member
Does sprinting for track make your legs thicker?
I'm a freshman in high school and I've never participated in any real sport until the last summer when I started playing tennis. I also joined spring track this season for the first time, mainly to prepare myself for tennis this coming fall.
I am currently one of the sprinters and a few days later, I have my first meet. I'm scheduled to run 100m for this meet, but it's not like a fixed line-up, so I could run 200, 400, or others in the future. Besides, I prefer mid-distance or long-distance over sprinting, except I'm not sure if my coach would let me switch to them, considering the fact that it's been 3 weeks into the season. Another thing about sprinting that makes me reluctant is that (from what I've heard so far) the sprinters use a lot of calf muscles in their short, fast speed, and so develop bulky muscles in their legs, whereas distance people use a different kind of muscles, which makes their legs slimmer. I think this is true, because all the distance people in our school are very skinny, as opposed to the sprinters, who are mostly just normal-size with several of them actually heavy and fat, and just one of them really skinny.
As for me, I'm tall and very skinny, and my legs are slim. I really don't want my legs to become bulky and ugly. I want them to stay skinny and slim like they are now. But like I just said, I don't know if my coach will let me switch to long-distance. In the case that I continue with sprinting this season, how can I prevent my legs from getting bulky? I heard from somewhere that I should drink a lot of water each day because it distributes fat in my body, is that true? I also take tennis lessons once a week, does playing tennis have any influence on my leg fat? For example, would it help keep my legs slim, or thick, like sprinting does? Also, if I don't make the tennis team next year, I was thinking of doing cross country. How does cross country affect your legs?
 
Honestly i really don't see the problem with getting a little muscle but i am in track and i am a distance runner and no matter what you run whether distance or sprinting your still going to get muscle it just depends on how hard you work and working in the weight room. My friends do sprinting and the aren't thick with muscle they are either regular, or toned to where it looks just right. One of my friends does the 100m and 200m and she is still thin so i think its safe to say you will be okay. As for the water distributing fat in your body thats just a myth its good to drink water to stay hydrated but i seriously doubt it will keep you thin.
 
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