Thigh Toning Exercises

Well toned body and a slim and trim abdomen is everybody’s dream. However while working out you need to consider the overall body condition.

Anatomy of the Inner Thigh

The inner thigh also called adductor group has got five muscles. These are pectineus, gracilis brevis, longus and magnus. These muscles help us pull the leg inwards towards our other leg. The adductors actually fill the space in the inner thigh caused by the dropping and angling of femur and hip joints. The Pectineus is a quadrangular flat muscle running from the side of the pubic bone and acts as an attachment for the muscles. Adductor brevis is triangle in shape and also runs from the pubic bone behind gracilis and inserts into the femur’s upper shaft just below the pectineus.

The triangular adductor longus attaches to the pubic bone and fins out towards the mid thigh. The largest amongst the adductor muscles is the Adductor magnus which originates from the pubic bone and fans out to attach to the entire length of the femur. The last muscle is the Gracilis (meaning thin or slender) which originates below the pubic symphysis and passes down the inner thigh. This is a two joint muscle and is responsible for the large movements of thighs.

Popular Exercises

Exercising the thigh muscles is important to maintain the stability of the whole body and provide balance. The inner thigh muscles may be the hardest exercise and you cannot actually isolate these and work them out alone. One of the exercises that can help tone the inner thigh muscles is detailed below:

Stand straight holding a chair or the wall for support. Work out one leg at a time. Move your left leg in front of the right and lift it up off the ground. Lift your leg up in the air till you feel the inner thigh muscles tightening, hold for a few seconds and pulse with smaller movements. Do this at least 10 times and repeat with the other leg. You can intensify the exercise by adding ankle weight or resistance bands. Since the working of the muscles can be felt easily, you can move then just as much as required.

Another powerful exercise is done in the sitting position. Sit on your butt with your back straight and bring the feet together bending at your knees. The feet soles should hug each other. Keep the palms of your hands on your knees inner side to provide resistance. Try to bring your knees together with your hands resisting the movement by pushing it outwards. Avoid pushing too much though. You should be able to do 8 to 12 repeats and increase as your inner thigh muscles become stronger.

Exercising with equipment and machine

Leg cords are excellent equipment to target the least worked inner thigh muscles. Available in different tensions, leg cords can be used for standing exercises as well as in lying down position. Easy to use, leg cords improve balance and stabilize the lower body muscles. Leg cords are also helpful in doing lunges, squats and other cardiovascular exercises which also help tone the inner thigh muscles.

Amongst the as seen on TV equipment, the Thigh Master, The Mini Stepper Stair Climber and leg magic are excellent equipments. The thigh master is a classic device which tightens the inner thigh area. It doesn’t actually slim the inner thighs but does help tone it. This fairly good muscle toning equipment is cheap and easy to use. The mini stepper stair climber is an excellent cardio workout and with resistance bands provides for a good workout for both upper and lower body. The leg magic has lateral gliding motion and tones up the hips and the thighs in a few minutes workout every day. However, all the equipments provide good result only when proper nutritional diet is followed.

Commercial Inner thigh Exercise machines are also available that along with inner thighs can tone the abs and rest of the body.

Free Hand Exercises

By far the best exercise for toning abs and inner thigh muscles is swimming and cycling. Ball squeeze also helps tone the abs and the inner thighs. Exercises like crunches and sit-ups can provide the toning effect provided they are done along with other exercises like yoga or aerobics.