5 Tips For Toning The Thighs

Everybody wants to have nice legs, but how do you get them? 

Does it take long, extraneous workouts to get lean and toned thighs? 

Is it necessary to get on every single leg machine at the gym? 

The answer to the last two questions is NO! 

And here are 5 TIPS to help you make the best out of your THIGH WORKOUTS so that you can start to really lean out those legs.

 It is funny because most men do not like to work their lower body, and women want to work their lower body every day.  The key to an effective program is somewhere in the middle, and that is what I teach my MOMS inside of FIT MOM FOR LIFE.

Remember that in order to get lean and toned legs you must gain muscle through resistance training.  Muscle doesn’t grow while you are working out, it grows during recovery.  Therefore, it is not necessary to work the lower body everyday, not 4 times a week.

Think QUALITY, not QUANTITY!

You also, must have the proper nutrition.

No matter how hard you work your legs, if you don’t eat right, your results will suffer.  Actually, you won’t see much results if you are not eating properly.

Some people think they are eating right because they are calorie depriving and always feel hungry so they think they are doing good. But actually that just slows metabolism and makes it even harder for you to BURN FAT.

I do have a FREE 30 DAY MEAL PLAN CALENDAR where I show you what foods to eat, how to combine them in order to burn fat and be able to lose weight and how even the busiest moms can eat this way. (by the way, the entire family will love it too).

Grab it here ->  FREE 30 DAY CLEAN EATING MEAL PLAN

Back to exercise! 

If you want amazing legs and glutes, then you must concentrate on the quality of the workout not so much how many times a week you work them.  

I work my legs once a week, but really hard.  It actually takes me a good 3-4 days to get “un-sore” lol.  I actually, myself, follow the Quick Tone Workout Series from Fit Mom For Life.  Because I have compiled some of the best and most effective workouts for that program.  And I love changing it up every 4 weeks. Actually, changing it up is CRUCIAL to your results.

Here are some great tips on how to change your workouts to increase your results.

Here are 5 things to focus on in your training programs if you want lean and toned legs, and if you want more…….  Here are some Exercises to Lift The Butt.  They are awesome, you have to try them.  They really work 🙂

1. Proper technique
2. Time under tension
3. Muscle contraction
4. Range of motion
5. Balance

Proper Technique

It is very important to have proper technique while executing any form of exercise.  If you do not have proper technique, you can either injure yourself or waste your time.  Did I say waste your time?  Yes, I sure did.  A slight variation in technique can place tension in other muscles (not planned on working), while taking tension off of the muscle that you are intentionally trying to work.  

Time Under Tension

I am not sure if it is that people are in a rush to get through workouts or if it is lack of understanding.  But people rush through reps so quickly that I would be surprised if the muscle is under tension for more than 10 seconds in a set of 20 repetitions.  In order for muscle to grow so that you can have lean and toned thighs, you must place the muscle under tension.  What does this mean?  This means instead of doing squats going up and down in 2 seconds, try going down in 4 seconds and up in 2.  Slow it down; place the muscle under tension for longer.  You will definitely feel a greater BURN!  And you will also be in less risk of injury.  These are the types of specifics that are in the MMF Monthly Workouts that make them so effective.

Muscle Co-Contractions

SQUEEZE!  Do not just run through the motions, concentrate on the muscle you are working.  For example, in a step-up, you are working primarily the quads (front of the leg), and the glutes (butt).  Instead of speeding through stepping up and down, focus on contracting the quad as you extend the knee, and squeezing the glutes as you extend the hip.

Range Of Motion

If you want toned legs, should you do a half workout?  No……….. Right?  Then why should you do half repetitions?  So, if you are doing lunges, do not go down an inch and then slightly come up.  Go through the whole range of motion.  Go down as much as you can with the back leg and come up to a full knee extension.  I bet you will really feel the quads then.

Balance

Did you know the leg is composed of many muscles, (quadriceps, hamstrings, inner thighs, glutes, claves)?  Yet sometimes people spend an hour and a half only working the quadriceps (front of the leg).  Depending on the exercise selection, the focus is on a specific muscle, and a specific angle of the muscle.  For example, squats, lunges work primarily the quadriceps and glutes.  While, dead lifts and leg curls work primarily the hamstrings.  So do not spend an hour hammering just one side of the leg.  Work the inner thigh, the glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings equally in order to achieve equally strong and toned legs.  In the FIT MOM FOR LIFE, the workouts are designed to hit every angle of every muscle so that the results are beautifully lean and strong muscles.

Here is a great THIGHS LEANING WORKOUT for you to try.

This legs and glutes workout needs to be done only once per week.  The workout includes 8 exercises, which are to be performed for 2 sets of 20 repetitions.  There is a rest period of 60 seconds between each circuit.  Some of the exercises are to be performed on the BOSU.  This is an unstable surface, which forces you to use balance.  In order to stay balanced you have to work stabilizing muscles such as those in the inner thighs.  The more muscles you work, the more calories you burn.  And voila, no need for the inner thigh machine, you can work them while standing on the BOSU on one leg.  If you don’t have a BOSU, don’t worry about it, perform the exercise without it.  Anytime you are on one leg, you work the stabilizing muscles.

Circuit #1
20 squats on the BOSU, followed by an isometric hold for 20 seconds
20 hip extensions on the stability ball
20 reverse extensions on the stability ball

Circuit #2
20 single leg squat on the BOSU
20 single leg dead lift
20 squat jumps

Circuit #3
20 Step-ups with hip flexion on the BOSU (per side)
20 Single leg reaches (per side)