Even if you are healthy, it can be difficult to achieve a toned and sculpted appearance. Though liposuction provides the solution, it is recommended only if diet and exercise fail to provide the desired outcomes. The thighs are one of the areas where fat gets stored easily. They are a big muscle and if you want slimmer thighs, you have to work at it. Some specific workouts can help you achieve sleek, toned thighs. Basic exercises to tone the thighs include squats, lunges, and calf raises. Trying new types of workouts can make things more enjoyable.
Here are some of the best upper-leg-exercises for stronger, longer and leaner thighs:
- Lunge Back Kick: Stand facing forward with your feet hip-width apart. Engage your core and keep your back flat. Inhale as you lunge, and keep the front knee aligned with the ankle. Breathe out as you kick back and squeeze the glutes. The main role of the inner thigh muscle is to flex and extend the thigh bone. When you do a forward lunge followed by a back kick, you force the inner thigh muscles to move through their full range of motion.
- Gate Swings: This move helps get the lower body in shape and is a great cardio that tone your glutes, core muscles, and both the outer and inner thighs. Start in a sumo squat position with your feet in a wide in a second-position stance with your toes pointed slightly outward and your thighs parallel to the floor. Jump up crossing your legs and jump again to uncross them. Return to the starting position by pressing your hips back and bending your knees.
- The Flamingo Balance: This full lower body workout utilizes many major muscle groups, the gluteus, quadriceps, hamstrings, and other hip flexor muscles. Start the exercise by holding a dumbbell in your right hand and with your left hand on your hip. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Lean forward and lift your left foot behind you to around hip height. Bring your right arm forward with your palm facing the ceiling and complete a biceps curl. Touch your toes back down to the floor briefly and repeat for 12 reps. Switch sides and do about 12 repetitions.
- Side Shuffle Switch: This fast-paced move involves your inner-thigh muscles to help you quickly switch directions and gets your heart rate up to kill body fat. Stand with your feet together, arms by your sides. Take three quick steps to the side (right, left, right) to ‘shuffle’ to your right. Then lift your left knee up while swinging your right arm forward. Immediately reverse your shuffle (left, right, left). Repeat 20 times in a row as fast as you can, changing sides.
- Cross Jacks: This is a perfect exercise to start any strength-training workout. It can tone your arms and legs while getting your heart rate up. It effectively targets the inner thighs muscles and helps to trim down the body fat by burning more calories.
- Three-way Lunge: This workout is a calisthenics, free weights and plyometrics exercise that mainly targets the butt, quads, inner thighs, and hamstrings. To perform this exercise, you have to step in three different directions. Begin with a step forward, keeping your hands on your hips or holding weights or resistance bands, bending downward while keeping your torso straight, then moving back to your starting position. The second part of the lunge is a step to the side, 90 degrees out from your body. The final part of the exercise is a step backward, repeating the same lowering and raising movement. After you perform all three steps, repeat the exercise with the opposite leg.
Before you start any exercise, discuss it with your physician. This is especially important if you are over 55 or you have any spine-related issues.
