Toned Thighs – Want ‘em? Get ‘em!
Author: Shannon Miller Lifestyle
Give yourself a gift this holiday season – toned thighs!
We consulted with certified personal fitness trainer, Jackie Culver, on how to get those thighs of yours into shape. “As always, there is no such thing as ‘spot reduction.’ You have to follow a healthy diet and work in that ‘cardio’ to help get rid of fat and uncover the beautiful muscle underneath,” Culver says.
Exercises that work the hamstrings (back of thighs), glutes (hiney), and the quads (front of thighs) include:
Squats – These can be done with or without weights. Standing with feet shoulder width apart, bend your knees and pretend that you are going to sit in an imaginary chair. Don’t let your knees come out past your toes. Then return to a standing position by pushing up through your heels.
Lunges – These can be done stationary, walking, with, or without weights. Again, do not extend the knee past the toe. You may want to do these next to a wall or have something to hold onto until you become proficient.
Bridges – Lying on your back, feet on the floor, knees bent, you push up through your heels and squeeze your hiney so that your glutes are lifted off of the ground. Squeeze your butt muscles so that you have a small controlled movement up and down.
Hamstring curls -These can be done with or without bands/weights. Standing upright, move all of your weight to one foot. You may want a chair/wall to stabilize yourself. On your unweighted leg, bring the foot up towards the buttocks bending ONLY the knee. Do not move the hip joint.
Knee Extensions – From a seated position, keeping thighs pressed into chair, extend the knee to straighten the leg. These can also be done with/without ankle weights.
Culver advises “I recommend working up to 3 sets of 12 on each exercise. On the ones that you do with separate legs (i.e. hamstring curls), you will want to do 12 reps for each side.”