Exercises to Tone the Thighs

If you are looking for ways to tone the thighs and get a lean, fit look at home, you have come to the right place. Sometimes your regular cardio simply isn’t enough to target the muscles of the legs and backside.  Or perhaps you’ve been doing resistance or strength training workouts and you’re not getting the results you want.

Exercises to tone the thighs aren’t necessarily hard to find, but you do need to choose the right ones. Moreover, you need to do them properly.  If you’re not looking to build bulky muscle or if you’re aiming to burn fat instead of toning muscle, then different moves are required.

What to Expect from Exercises that Tone the Thighs?

To start, you need to understand what it is to tone the thighs.  This term is often used interchangeably for the following definitions:

• Fat burning to reduce the size of your legs;
• Building muscle size;
• Improving lean muscle shape.

Only one of those definitions is correct.  Overall, when you’re aiming to tone the thighs, it means that you’re focusing on enhancing your lean muscle.  The reason is that targeted fat burning doesn’t exist (no matter what some people claim). Moreover, not everyone is into bodybuilding and wants large, sculpted and chiseled muscles all over their bodies.  Toning usually means that you’re not focusing on body fat as much as you’re aiming to improve your lean muscle shape.

What Are Your Best Options?

These exercises to tone the thighs also give legs aim for the right amount of muscle without the bulk. If you already have bulky muscle in the thigh butt area be sure to extend you stretching time to about 15 minutes before and 15 after your workout.

When it comes to the best options to tone the thighs, squats are nearly always suggested as a starting point.  Doing squats with dumbbells will give you a compound workout. A compound workout is an exercise that works out two or more muscle groups. Compound workouts give you more fat burn.  Therefore, if you’re also looking to work on your overall weight or building strength while toning muscle, this may appeal to you.

Moreover, if you’re already strong, compound workouts can boost the challenge so that you will not need to do as many reps to achieve the same results.’

Other Compound Exercises to Tone the Thighs

90 Degree Lifts

• Using a chair, stand with feet shoulder width apart, hold the chair with both hands.
• Bend at knees and hinge forward at the hips, trying to get your back parallel to the floor.
• Keeping both hands on the chair for support, lift left leg outward, toes pointed. Then switch sides do 40 on each side.

Leg Lifts

• While lying on your left side on a yoga mat or towel, resting elbow on the ground and hand on head.
• Take some deep breaths then on the exhale, lift right leg up towards the sky, as you inhale lower.
• Do two reps of ten each side.

Ballet Pliés

• Hold the back of a chair, stand with legs farther than shoulder width apart. Lower down into a squat.
• Keep your back straight, with tailbone tucked in.
• Hold 3 seconds and then raise again.
• Begin at 15-20 per day, work your way up to 50.

What Else?

Another great way to tone the thighs is walking, it gives cardio and tones, too. Walking in combination with these other exercises will slim and fit. Using a walking stick or old ski poles will give you a combination workout and help give you good muscle definition. Using step up shoes and/or walking on an incline will further the sculpting action.

When your cardio routine is not enough to firm legs, try these effective exercises to tone the thighs. It is important to do these 3-4 times per week at least. Make sure you are getting a lot of protein and getting a great macronutrient ratio overall. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit, and drink healthy beverages like water or green tea.