Toning Exercises and Tips to Help You Lose Inner Thigh Fat

Exercises to tone inner thighs

You can do the following routine two or three times a week to help tone your inner thigh muscles. Toned muscles can help reduce the appearance of fat.

When you do the routine, work through the entire thing, and then repeat it two or three more times.

Tip

• If you’re short on time, consider doing the curtsy lunge or the pile squat while brushing your teeth. You could also do lunges without dumbbells.

1. Curtsy lunge

Reps: 10–15 on each leg

Equipment needed: none

• Begin standing with your feet in a wide stance.
• Keeping your chest upright and shoulders down, cross your left leg behind the right and squat down into a curtsy position.
• From the lowered position, push your body back upright, bringing your left leg back to the starting position.
• Next, repeat with the right leg.
• Alternate legs for 15–30 seconds, or perform 10–15 repetitions on each leg.

For an extra challenge, you can hold dumbbells in each hand as you do this exercise. Dumbbells can increase the resistance.

2. Lunges with dumbbell

Reps: 30 seconds per leg

Equipment needed: 5- or 8-pound dumbbell (optional)

• Stand with feet hip-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand. The weights should be steady at your sides. If you’re a beginner, you can also do this with no dumbbells.
• Step forward with your left leg and lunge forward. Don’t let your knee go beyond your toes. You want to keep your leg perpendicular. Your right knee should be about an inch off the ground.
• Keep holding dumbbells steady and straight in each hand, or perform a bicep curl while you lunge for an additional challenge. Your torso should remain upright the entire time.
• Keeping your weight mainly in your heels, push your left leg back to the starting position.
• Repeat this movement with the left leg for 30 seconds. Then, switch legs and lunge with the right.

3. Pile squats

Reps: perform for 30 seconds total

Equipment needed: none

• Stand with feet in a wide stance, with your toes and knees pointed outward.
• Slowly lower into a squat position. You can keep your hands on your hips to help with balance. Keep your spine and torso upright.
• Slowly rise back up, squeezing your glutes at the top.
• Continue for 30 seconds total.

4. Skaters

Reps: 20 repetitions

Equipment needed: none

• Start in a curtsy lunge position (see above) with your left leg behind the right and both knees bent.
• Press sideways off of your left leg and land on the right, with the left foot behind you in a curtsy lunge position on the other side. Switch off between legs.
• You can either hop or step, depending on your fitness level. You can also keep your back leg off the ground for more of a challenge.
• Repeat 20 times (10 per side). Rest and perform another set, if desired.

5. Medicine ball side lunge

Reps: 10–15 reps or 30 seconds per leg

Equipment needed: medicine ball (optional)

• Start standing with your feet wider than hips-width distance. Hold a medicine ball at your chest level with both hands. If you’re a beginner, try this move without the medicine ball.
• Take a step to the left. Squat down on the left leg by bending your knee and lowering your body until the left thigh is parallel to the floor. Keep your toes pointed forward and your left knee in line with your left ankle.
• Keep the medicine ball at your chest. It should align with your left hip, elbow, and shoulder when you are in the squat.
• Push off with your left leg to power back to the starting position.
• Repeat 10–15 times, or for 30 seconds. Switch legs.

6. Supine inner thigh lift

Reps: 15 on each leg

Equipment needed: none

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• Begin lying flat on your back, abs engaged. Extend your hands out to the sides on the ground. Lift both legs to the ceiling with your feet flexed.
• Keep the left leg elevated in position, and lower the right leg out to the side as far as you can go without lifting your left hip off the ground. Keep your foot flexed the entire time.
• Bring the right leg back to the starting position and squeeze both legs together at the top.
• Repeat 15 times on the right leg and then switch to 15 reps with the left.

Additional exercises

In addition to the above exercises, you can also increase the intensity of your walk or run by adding an incline. You can do an incline workout indoors on the treadmill or outside on some hills. Running and walking uphill helps engage the thigh muscles.

On the treadmill, gradually increase the incline to 5, 10, or 15 percent. Outside, look for a small hill or steep driveway to start.

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