Exercises for the inner thighs for women and men

≡ May 2, 2020 Category: Exercises by muscle group

While improving their physical fitness, many may have noticed that even with heavy loads, the inner thighs remain insufficiently toned. The solution to this problem will be special training, during which attention is concentrated specifically on this zone. Therefore, today we offer you an overview of the Top 7 most effective exercises for the inner thigh.

There are many exercises that use your legs. However, not all of them “specialize” in restoring tone to the thigh muscles. At the same time, there are several very successful and effective exercises that help eliminate sagging and reduce the volume of the problem area for many women and men. We will talk about them further.

Complex for beautiful legs

For those who are interested in how to pump up their thigh muscles and get their legs in order, it will be useful to know the structural features of the body. This will allow you to understand how effective certain exercises are for the inner thigh.

The inner part of the thighs is designed in such a way that flexion and rotation movements are possible due to the work of the large, short and long adductor muscles, as well as the gracilis and pectineus muscles. They are the most important and extensive; they are activated when climbing or walking up stairs. At the same time, they are considered the weakest, since they are most rarely used by a person in everyday life. And it was for them that a set of exercises was developed to restore the tone and attractiveness of the problem area. At the same time, during their execution, the muscles responsible for the excellent appearance of the legs, in particular the inner thighs and groin, are activated.

In addition, exercises designed to activate the adductors not only help strengthen muscles, but also allow you to get a lot of pleasant bonuses. Among the main benefits of such training:

Reducing the risk of injury, which is possible due to weakness of the thigh muscles;
Attractiveness and harmony of this area;
Improved coordination and stability while standing and while walking and moving around;
Attractiveness of gait;
Correct and beautiful posture.

You can experience all the beauty and benefits of training if you approach the problem responsibly and exercise regularly at home, outdoors or in the gym. So, let's begin.

Complete Inner Thigh Workout

To work the adductor muscles without lunges and squats, isolating movements are used. This strengthens muscle fibers and reduces the thickness of fat under the skin. However, remember that the effect only appears with regular use. Pumping the inner thighs at home includes lifts, leg swings, and fly-ups. You can exercise without weights, but over time you will need to connect weights and a fitness band.

Perform the exercises for the specified number of repetitions. We recommend doing the exercises in two circles: in the first circle on the right side, in the second circle on the left side. Advanced exercisers can repeat the exercises in four circles.

10 butt exercises for beginners

Lying hip lift with knee extension

How to do it: Lie on your back on the mat, press your head, shoulders and lower back firmly to the floor. Stretch your arms along your sides. Straighten your legs, bring them together, lift them off the surface at 45 degrees. Then pull your hips towards you, keeping your knees apart. Do not open your feet. Stop when your hips are over your pelvis. Do not lift your body off the floor. Straighten your legs back and do it again.

Benefits of the exercise: Stretching and working out the adductor muscles. Pull-ups work the core and lower abs intensively. The thigh and gluteal muscles are loaded. The mobility of the knee joints improves. If you additionally tense the muscles of your thighs when performing, the effect will be greater.

How much to perform: 10-15 repetitions.

Hip adduction while lying on your side

How to do it: Lie on your left side, forming a straight line in your body. Straighten your legs, place one on top of the other. Bend your left arm at the elbow and place it on your forearm under your shoulder. Place your right leg behind your left thigh and place it on your foot near your knee. Raise your left leg with your heel up.

Benefits of the exercise: Isolated pumping, strengthening the adductor muscles. Works biceps, quadriceps, hamstrings, buttocks. These swings are great for training your inner thighs at home.

How much to perform: 10-15 repetitions.

After completing the required number of leg raises, move on to the pulsating version, lifting and lowering your legs in a small amplitude.

How much to do: 15-20 pulsating movements.

Leg swing lying on your side with hand touch

How to do it: Lie on your back, lift your body and lean on your elbows, placing your forearms on the floor. Bend your left leg at the knee and move it towards you, placing it on your foot. Rotate slightly to the right, shifting your body weight to the side of your pelvis. Leave the support on your right hand, pull your left up. Swing your lower leg to the level of your hips and touch your foot with your straight left hand.

Benefits of the exercise: Development of strength and elasticity of the adductor muscles. Quadriceps are less active. The tendons around the knee are also included. Swings are suitable for training the inner thighs at home and for full-body workouts. There is additional work on the abs due to twisting by the body.

How much to perform: 10-15 repetitions.

Leg rotation while lying on your side

How to do it: Lie down on your right side, stretching your body into a single line. Bend your right arm at the elbow and place it on your forearm under your shoulder. Cross your left leg over your right thigh and place it on your foot near your knee. Lift your right leg straight off the floor. Perform circular rotations. Place your feet to your shins at an angle of 90 degrees. Point your heel slightly upward.

Benefit of the exercise: Increased development of the adductor muscles, the outer side of the thigh. Additionally, the buttocks work. The body is loaded, as it is required to hold the body in the accepted position. Stabilizers are strengthened. This is one of the best inner thigh exercises at home.

How much to perform: 10-15 repetitions.

Shell on the side in a complicated modification

How to do it: Lie on your right side, stretch your body into a single line. Then bend your knees and move your hips towards you, not reaching 90 degrees from the body. Place your right hand on your elbow, palm under your head, and place your left hand forward, in front of your stomach. Lift your feet together into the air and leave your hips on the floor. Then spread your legs at the knees and bring them back.

Benefits of the exercise: Pumping the adductor muscles, giving the fibers strength and elasticity. The lateral muscles of the buttocks are also worked out, which allow you to keep your hips and knees in a normal position. This is a super-effective exercise for training the inner thighs at home.

How much to perform: 10-15 repetitions.

Circular rotations with a bent leg on the side

How to do it: Lie on your right side, stretching out in a straight line. Bend your knees, bring them slightly forward, set an angle of 90 degrees between your thighs and shins. Place your right hand on your elbow and place it on your forearm under your shoulder. Raise your upper leg and perform circular rotations back at the hip joint.

Benefits of the exercise: Strengthening the adductors and other thigh muscles. Due to the rotational movements, the mobility of the hip joints improves, which is beneficial for the health of the spine and knees. This exercise for the inner thigh at home goes well with the straight leg rotations above.

How much to perform: 10-15 repetitions.

Kick while standing on the knee

How to do it: Get on your knees and keep your pelvis in line with your body. Shift your body weight to the right side and lower your palm to the floor, extend your opposite arm upward. Stay firmly on your right knee only. Raise your left leg until your thigh is parallel to the surface and execute the kick, straightening your knee. Lower it back down. Repeat as many times as necessary.

Benefit of the exercise: Pumping and strengthening the inner thighs. Other leg muscles and hamstrings are involved in the work. Improves joint flexibility and mobility. Stabilizing muscles are pumped. The core, like the whole body, becomes stronger and stronger. A sense of balance develops.

How much to perform: 10-15 repetitions.

Scissors with leg spreads lying on your back

How to do it: Lie on your back and lift your legs together until they are perpendicular to the floor. Stretch your arms and place them on the mat. Head with shoulder blades, press your lower back tightly. Cross your legs in the air, bringing one in front of the other, then spread them apart as far as the stretch allows. Repeat with alternating legs in front of each other in a scissors position.

Benefits of the exercise: Tightening and strengthening of the adductor muscles. The load in the exercise also goes to the outer thighs, muscles of the legs and buttocks. General flexibility and mobility of joints develops. A useful exercise for the inner thighs at home that promotes stretching.

How much to perform: 10-15 repetitions on each side, 20-30 repetitions in total (alternating - right leg in front, then left).

Circular movements of the legs while lying on your back

How to do it: Lie on your back, stretch your arms along your body, and lift your legs up until they are perpendicular to the floor. Press your head, shoulder blades and back tightly to the surface. Make outward circles with both legs, spreading them out to the sides and lowering them slightly. Do not lift your lower back or bend your neck. Keep your knees straight. You will get two parallel circles with each leg.

Benefit of the exercise: Tension and enhanced development of the adductor muscles. The exercise involves the muscles of the thighs. The abs tense as you need to keep your legs in the air. Stabilizing muscles develop. In home workouts for the inner thigh, such rotations are indispensable.

How much to perform: 10-15 repetitions.

Scissors in supine position

How to do it: Lie on your back, straighten your arms along your body. Press your head with shoulder blades and back to the floor. Raise your legs to the perpendicular to the floor, bringing them together. Pull out your socks. Perform alternate crosses with your legs at knee level - bring one hip in front of the other and vice versa. Work in a short amplitude to maintain constant tension in the muscles.

Benefits of the exercise: Toning the muscles, working the femoral and adductor muscles, reducing the proportion of adipose tissue. The pelvic floor is strengthened and blood flow is activated. The press is being worked on. The movement is popular and effective for training the inner thigh at home.

How much to perform: 15-20 repetitions on each side, 30-40 repetitions in total (alternating - right leg in front, then left).

After your workout, you can do exercises to relax your legs and relieve muscle tension.

Exercise No. 1 – Plie

On your way to perfect shape, be sure to try plie squats, also known as sumo squats. It is very simple and accessible to many, and to increase the load it can also be performed with weights.

During this exercise, it is worth monitoring the work of the muscles in the problem area. It is very important that it is the inner thighs that are pumped. To do this, you need to perform squats from the starting position - standing with your legs wide apart and your toes turned to the sides. During a squat, you need to bend your knees so that they point in the same direction as your toes.

Having taken the starting position, straighten your back and clasp your hands at chest level. Slowly lower yourself as far as you can to feel the tension in your inner thigh. After a 1-2 second pause, smoothly return to i. p. You can start by doing 10-15 squats, increasing the number of approaches and repetitions in them. “Advanced” athletes can perform 2-4 sets of 20 squats each with additional weight.

When you are ready for more serious loads, you can use weights to enhance the effect of squats. When working out in the gym, you can use a kettlebell or dumbbells for these purposes, and at home you can use a bottle filled with sand. Holding the weight with both hands, perform a squat, smoothly lowering until a right angle is formed in your knees, and also smoothly return to the starting position.

Why does fat appear in the thighs?

If the daily caloric intake exceeds the norm, then the frogs actively accumulate fat, and they usually do not want to get rid of it. For example, if you lose seven kilograms, then six of them will come from your stomach, hips, chest, and only one from your thighs. But if you gain the same seven kilograms, then most of it will be deposited in the hips and buttocks.

This kind of natural injustice leads to fat appearing on women’s thighs. Moreover, it is especially problematic there, and it is difficult to get rid of it. You will need a comprehensive approach. To cope with such a task as reducing the volume of thighs, you need to do exercises , adhere to proper nutrition , and also, if possible, resort to additional measures . And after you manage to lose weight, you need to try to do everything to maintain the results.

Exercise #2 – Scissors

Another very simple, but very effective exercise that allows you to thoroughly work out the muscles of the inner thigh - leg swings on an incline or simply “scissors”.

Starting position – lying on your back with straight legs and arms parallel to the body. Raising your legs approximately 45-50 cm from the floor (approximately 45⁰), spread them as far as possible, then bring them together and cross them. The next approach is the same, but when crossing, change legs. It is recommended to perform 2-3 sets and 15-20 approaches each.

This scissoring variation is also beneficial for the abdominal muscles, as it works this area well. As a result, you can improve not only the appearance of your thighs in the area between your legs, but also tighten your abs, which is very important for most girls. (Note: the exercise is contraindicated for diastasis of the abdominal muscles).

What a beginner needs to know before starting to lose weight

When thinking about how to remove fat from the inner thigh, you should understand that you should start losing weight with a balanced diet:

You should completely give up fast food, sweets, starchy foods, and other fatty and unhealthy foods;
exclude sweet sodas, consume only freshly squeezed juices;
Preference should be given to boiled chicken or turkey. Use any vegetables and fruits both fresh and boiled or stewed. It is better to have cereals for breakfast;
There must be breakfast, lunch and dinner. You need to have dinner 3 hours before bedtime. If you are very hungry, you can have a snack in the form of light yogurt, a glass of kefir or fruit;
Before eating, it is recommended to drink a glass of clean water.

Note! You need to eat 5-6 times a day: three main meals and two snacks. Portions should be small

When combined with exercise, a healthy diet will help you quickly lose weight in different parts of your body. In addition to proper nutrition, you also need to think about motivation

It is very important not to force yourself, but to purposefully and voluntarily want to change. If the desire is really strong, then the process will go quickly

You need to find your path and follow it.

It is worth completely giving up fast food, sweets, starchy foods, and other fatty and unhealthy foods.

Sports training is very important when losing weight. If someone was previously far from sports, then they should start with something simple and practice for a minimum amount of time, constantly increasing the intensity and duration of training. After some time, an optimal exercise schedule will be developed and the weight loss results will become more noticeable.

Exercise #3 – Side Lunges

As in the previous case, this exercise will help quickly restore elasticity to the leg muscles. It is performed from the starting position - standing straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands clasped at chest level.

Lunge with one leg to the side, keeping your knees and toes pointed in the same direction. Keeping your back straight, perform a lunge through the push with the other leg. Make sure that your knees maintain their correct position and do not go beyond the line of your toes. Such lunges will help pump up your inner thighs if you perform them for 2-3 sets and 15-20 repetitions.

Exercise No. 4 – Jumping

Jumping with legs crossed in the air is another exercise that justifiably takes its position in the TOP-7. It has brought a lot of benefits to many girls suffering from sagging and large thighs.

Starting position – standing straight with a straight back and tense abs. After jumping, lower yourself to the floor, crossing your legs so that your toes point in the same direction, but one leg is in front of the other, as shown in the photo. Next time you jump, switch legs. And repeat this 15-20 times for 2-3 sets.

It is worth noting that this exercise can also be useful for the muscles of the arms and upper shoulder girdle. In order to simultaneously tighten them, during jumps you can use the same technique to cross your arms extended in front of you.

Exercise No. 5 – Lying hip adduction

Lying leg raises are an equally effective exercise that activate the deepest muscles of the inner thighs, helping to strengthen them. To perform it, you need to lie on your side on the floor, leaning on your elbow, as shown in the next photo.

The leg that lies on the floor must be left straight, and the other leg must be bent at the knee and placed behind. In this position, you should perform hip adduction with a delay of 2-3 seconds at the top point.

To get the maximum effect from the exercise and strengthen the problem area of the hips, it is better to perform the movements slowly. This will allow you to feel how each muscle group is pumped and understand whether you are reproducing the movements correctly.

Anatomy of the thigh muscles

The structure of the thigh muscles is divided into 3 groups.

Front

Sartorius. A thin muscle that runs along the top of the thigh. Functional purpose: participates in flexion, pronation, supination of the thigh and lower leg.
Quadriceps. Includes 4 heads: straight, medial, lateral, intermediate. Functional purpose: participates in flexion and extension of the lower leg.

Leg muscles: anterior group

Rear

Biceps femoris muscle. Consists of two heads: long and short. Functional purpose: participates in flexion, extension, supination of the lower leg.
Semitendinosus muscle. A narrow muscle that runs next to the long fascicle of the biceps femoris. Functional purpose: flexion, extension, pronation of the lower leg.
Semimembranosus muscle. A narrow muscle located on the inner edge of the back of the thigh. Functional purpose: hip extension, flexion and pronation of the lower leg.

Posterior leg muscles

Medial

Thin muscle. A narrow, long muscle lying on the inside of the thigh. Functional purpose: hip adduction, tibia flexion.
Pectineus muscle. A small muscle that lies under the quadriceps. Functional purpose: adduction and flexion of the hip.
Adductor. Consists of 3 bundles: long, short, large. Functional purpose: adduction, flexion, extension of the hip.

Adductor muscles of the legs

Exercise No. 6 – Leg adduction with an expander

To perform this, you will need an expander, which can be purchased at any sporting goods store. Hook one end of the expander onto a stand or support at a distance of approximately 10-15 cm from the floor. Stand with your right side to the support and put the loop on your right leg. This leg will be the working leg, and the left leg will be the supporting leg.

From this position, stretching the expander, bring your working leg forward, trying to create a single line with the supporting leg (see photo). After completing 3 sets of 10 reps each, repeat the same with the other leg.

A similar exercise is performed by gym goers. Leg abduction in a simulator (crossover) is more convenient, because you have the opportunity to set and adjust the weight. Over time, the load can be increased, thereby increasing the effectiveness of training.

Exercise No. 7 – Leg abduction on the machine

Another exercise that is considered a favorite among many girls who visit the gym. It is performed on a special simulator and allows you to tighten the inner thighs.

To begin, go to the machine and set the required weight. Sit on the seat and press your straight back tightly against the backrest, while grabbing the special handrails with your hands. Position your legs so that your feet are on the pads and your inner thighs are firmly pressed against the bolsters. As you exhale, bring your legs together using the muscles of your thighs. Pause at the extreme point and return your legs under control to the starting position.

What Spas Can Offer

Various beauty establishments and spa complexes offer a huge range of pleasant treatments that will help reduce fat deposits on the inner thighs. In particular, you can order a set of activities at once, including several manipulations. First of all, the specialist will exfoliate the problematic part of the body to cleanse the skin of dead cells and open the pores. Then he does a light massage, which improves microcirculation in the tissues and relieves swelling. After this, a fat-burning cream and algae extract, chocolate, medicinal mud or something else is applied to the inner thigh - at the client’s choice. Next, the body is tightly wrapped in cling film and covered with a thermal blanket. After these procedures, you can relax and lie down for 30–40 minutes, enjoying the pleasant sensations and aromas emanating from your body. When the time required for the mixture to be absorbed has passed, the specialist will completely cleanse the skin and apply a cream or special lotion to it.

In addition, the beauty industry has a number of techniques using various devices that will help remove fat on the inner thigh. One such method is cryoliposis, developed by Harvard scientists Rox Anderson and Dieter Manstein. Its essence is that the fat in the problem area is exposed to cold for one hour. The device, applied to an area of the body, cools it quite strongly, as a result of which the fat cells crystallize and die. It is noteworthy that the rest of the body's cells are not affected in any way, since only fat is so sensitive to cold. This series of procedures shows excellent results: according to a study by scientists, the fat fold affected by the device decreases in size by 40%. But in order to wait for such good results, you will have to be patient, since the body will need about two to three months to naturally remove these fat cells.

Another modern method of getting rid of fat on the inner thighs is cavitation. It is even considered a non-surgical analogue of liposuction. In this case, a special device applies ultrasound to the skin on the thighs. As a result, the process of saturating cells with oxygen improves in the tissues, but fat is broken down and eliminated naturally, while other cells do not suffer from the powerful sound wave.

An important condition for the fact that using the services of spa salons will be a pleasure is a preliminary visit to the doctor.

Because no matter how fashionable and effective the treatment of skin defects with the help of devices is, they carry a number of contraindications. Therefore, only a qualified health worker has the right to prescribe them to each individual person. The same recommendation applies to surgical intervention. Some particularly desperate women are even ready to undergo plastic surgery to get rid of annoying fat on the inner thigh, but any operation can only be prescribed by a doctor.