slim thighs: 7 Best Exercises for Women to Get Slim Thighs

Slim thighs are a dream for many women. While many are blessed with slim and toned legs, others have to work really hard to achieve the same. However, here’s the thing: you can’t target-tone or spot-reduce fat from your thighs.

You can, however, build muscles in your legs to make your thighs look more toned, firm and, most importantly, strong. Incorporating the right leg exercises into your workout schedule can work every angle of your legs and help burn fat from your thigh muscles, giving them a slimmer, toned and sculpted look. So, if you are looking to tone your thighs, consider the following seven exercises:

7 Best exercises for slim thighs

1) Leg extension

Leg extensions are one of the best exercises to tone your thigh muscles. This exercise mainly targets the quadriceps and the muscles located in the front of your thighs.

To do it:

Sit straight on the leg extension machine, and keep your knees bent.
Put your ankles behind the padded bar that is connected to the weight stack.
Extend your legs straight, and use them to lift the padded bar.
Continue the move, and try to increase your intensity after a few starting reps.

2) Squats

Squats. (Image credits: Freepik) eg presse (Image credits: Freepik)

Squats are the best bodyweight exercise that works for your thighs, glute muscles, hamstrings, hip flexors and calf muscles.

To do it:

Stand upright. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart, and rest your arms by your sides.
Engage your core; keep your chest lifted, and push your hips back as you lower your body to the floor till your thighs get parallel to the ground.
Pause for a few seconds, and push up evenly to the initial position.
Repeat.

3) Leg press

Leg presses are an effective exercise that targets the front as well as the back of your thighs.

To do them:

Place your feet at a shoulder distance on the leg press machine. Keep your toes pointed straight and forward.
Push the crosspiece till your legs are completely extended. Make sure you don’t lock your knees while pushing.
Slowly return the weight till your knees are at the starting position.

4) Side Lunges

Side or lateral lunges are a great way to reduce your inner thigh fat. This exercise targets your glutes and quads, while the side movement puts extra tension on your outer and inner thigh muscles.

To do them:

Stand tall, and hold a dumbbell in front of your chest. You may also use your body weight as resistance, and hold your hands together at your chest.
Step forward with your right foot till it reaches a 90-degree angle.
Your left foot should be back and parallel to the floor, and your right knee should not go beyond your toes.
Lift our right leg to return to the initial position, and complete the desired number of reps.
Switch legs, and continue.

5) Inner Thigh Pulse

Inner thigh pulses are an excellent exercise to reduce the fat on the inner side of your thigh muscles.

To do them:

Lie down on your side, and keep your head, hips and heels aligned in a straight line.
Keep your finger tips on the ground to support your body, or lift your arm towards the ceiling.
Engage your glutes and core; squeeze your heels, and rotate your toes externally.
Raise both legs off the floor, and try to hold up for a few seconds.
Release your legs, and repeat the exercise.

6) Lateral Band Walk

Lateral band walk, also known as side steps, targets the thigh, glute and calf muscles.

To perform it:

Take a resistance band, and place it above both ankles, wrapping it around your legs.
Keep your legs shoulder-width apart; slightly bend your knees, and take a half squat position to target your thigh and glute muscles.
Keeping the half-squat position, move your weight to one leg, and take a step forward sideways with your other leg. Bring this leg in, out and sideways, for a few reps.
Switch sides, and repeat.

7) Leg curls

A leg curl helps tone the back of your thighs and hamstring muscles.

To do it:

Sit comfortably on the leg curl machine. Keep your legs straight and extended in front of you.
Put your ankles on the padded bar, and push your legs down slowly instead of pushing them up to engage your entire hamstring muscles.
Stretch your legs between sets.

The above-mentioned leg slimming exercises can help tone and slim down your thigh muscles. However, along with these exercises, you’ll also need other strength training and cardio exercises combined with dietary changes to achieve fat loss.