Get Strong Thighs

Maybe you want to play soccer, become healthier, or look better in time for beach season, but whatever your personal goal is, you need to get strong thighs in order to accomplish it. But given that people have very sedentary lifestyles these days, lean and muscular thighs are not a natural quality many people possess. Not to worry: by developing a lifestyle to reduce fat, picking a cardiovascular workout for your thighs, and incorporating exercises that target the thigh muscles into your workouts, you can develop your thigh muscles to be just as strong as you've always dreamed.

Steps

Incorporating Exercises that Target the Thighs

1. Know the muscles you want to improve. There are four muscle groups in your thighs, and you'll want to work out all of them. These are the quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors and abductors. In order to strengthen these muscles, you'll need to pick activities that especially target them.
   • There are many exercises that target these muscles, more than there is space to be listed. If you ever hear anyone talking about an exercise that targets any of these muscles and you want to try it, you should.
2. Do goblet squats. This exercise works out your glutes, quads, inner thighs, and hamstrings all at once. It derives its name from the way you hold a dumbbell in both hands like a goblet. Spread your feet out wider than shoulder width with your toes turned outward. Holding onto the dumbbell, squat down until you reach a 90 degree angle, and then rise out of the squat.
3. Try three-way lunges. This move mostly works the front of the thigh and the buttocks, but also the backs of the thighs. First stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands held in front of your chest. A single repetition focuses on one leg: first lunge it forward to a 90 degree angle, then to its side (lunge left for your left leg, right for your right leg) again at a 90 degree angle, and then backward.
4. Perform single leg lateral ski hops. This move mostly targets the thighs, buttocks and calves. To do this exercise, lift one leg off the ground and crook it to an angle so that you will not be tempted to use it. On your remaining balancing leg, begin hopping back and forth from left to right and back again in small motions, gradually moving yourself in the direction of the leg you're standing on. A hop to the side and a hop to the other side counts as a single repetition.
   • Make sure the foot you are hopping on is not twisting outward or inward and remains perpendicular to the direction you're moving.
5. Do classic deadlifts. This exercise targets the backs of the thighs and legs. Using a reasonably weighted barbell, form a shoulder-width stance with your feet behind the bar and grip the bar with both hands. Sit into a squat as deep as you can go and make sure your back is in a straight line between your butt and your head. Lift with your legs through your heels and bring the barbell to your knees, then rise to standing.
6. Perform the side-plank hip lift. This exercise targets the outside of your thighs and your obliques in the side of your torso. Begin on your side with one forearm propping you up and both legs bent behind you. Your legs should form a 90 degree angle at the knees. Keep your other arm extended vertically into the air. Lift your leg, still bent, up into the air, using your hips. Be sure not to move your arms.
7. Try the bridge. The bridge targets your buttocks and the back of your thighs. Lie down on the floor, face up, with your arms at your sides and palms down. Bend your knees up but keep your feet flat against the floor. Using your abs and glutes, raise your hips to form a straight line between your shoulders and knees, and hold this position for 25 seconds before slowly releasing. Repeat this 3 times only.

Picking a Cardio Workout for Thighs

1. Take up running. Running involves your quadriceps and hamstrings and burns hundreds of calories within an hour. It requires and shapes both cardiovascular and muscular stamina. Individuals with a greater overall fitness level will benefit from going longer, but beginners can start with a 20 to 30 minute run on a treadmill, walking trail, or even around your neighborhood.
2. Ride a bike. Some people cannot run because they have joint issues in their knees or ankles; bicycling is a great, low-impact alternative to running. This exercise involves the quadriceps, glutes, calves, hamstrings, and even adductor muscles to create a well-rounded exercise for your legs. You can either ride a stationary bike at a gym or at home or ride a bike through your neighborhood.
3. Climb stairs. You can either invest in a set of stair climbers or find some sets of real stairs for free for this exercise. The repetitive motions involved with the act of climbing stairs creates muscle endurance. It's also great because the low impact nature means there's few risks of injury. Just 10 minutes spent climbing stairs can burn the same amount of calories as an hour long jog.
   • Whenever you see stairs at work or at home, instead of trying to find ways around them, climb them for an extra workout.
4. Try kickboxing. As the name implies, this aerobic activity relies on and incorporates a lot of moves that involve the thighs. The variety of kicks involved will get you using your hamstrings, quadriceps, and other leg muscles. You can find classes at your local gym or by looking for a martial arts studio near you online or in the phone book.
5. Go swimming. Most forms of swimming involve kicking a force that helps to propel your body through water. Working against the natural resistance provided by the water will help build up muscles in your legs. You can heighten the effects of the workout to your legs by holding onto a kickboard with your hands and making your legs the only force keeping you afloat.

Developing a Lifestyle to Reduce Fat

1. Eat right. That old saying "you are what you eat" exists for a reason: it's important that you eat the correct proportions of quality foods to get the minerals, vitamins, protein, and healthy fats you need for muscle development. In particular, be sure to eat plenty of protein, which your body uses to rebuild muscle you've broken down in workouts. Try to eat some high protein food about 20 minutes before and again directly after a strength-training workout.
   • The amount of calories you should take in per day varies by age, gender, and lifestyle.
2. Drink plenty of water. Drinking water will help to reduce your sense of hunger and also allow you to exercise longer and better. Your body is approximately ⅔ water and it must continuously be replaced to make up for what is lost through breathing, sweat, urination, and other bodily functions.
   • Teenagers should try to drink 8 to 10 glasses, or 2 liters of water per day.
   • Adults should have between 2.2 and 3 liters of water every day.
3. Design a regular fitness schedule. In order to improve your overall fitness level, you're going to need to get active more often, even if you're busy. That means you need to design a fitness plan for yourself. Physical trainers recommend that individuals take four to five days a week to work out. If you're looking to build up muscle, then you might spend three to four days for strength training, one day on cardio, and two days of your week "active resting," which refers to doing something light like yoga or walking.
   • In order to have good results, it is of the utmost important that you have a routine and that you stick with it.
   • It is important to have cardiovascular workouts incorporated into your routine in order to help reduce fat since fat lays on top of and can hide muscle.
4. Have reasonable goals and a timeline in mind. Your goals must be concrete and reasonable or else you may give up. If you never exercise currently and you want rock-hard thighs, you will need to start with routines that are less strenuous (like incorporating smaller weights, shorter cardio workouts, and fewer reps) and work your way up.
   • Some specialists suggest that in one year's time, beginners can gain up to 10% of their total body weight or 2 lbs of muscle per month with dedicated training.

Tips

• For the beginning trainer, start with one set of 10 to 12 repetitions per exercise (unless stated otherwise), or in the case of exercises where each leg is exercised independently, one set per leg. Be sure to exercise both sides of your body equally between reps and sets.
• When using weights, be sure to use enough weight to keep the balance between a difficult finish and one with sloppy form. Because the thigh muscles are generally bigger ones, you can usually use more weight than if you were to be exercising your shoulders or arms.
• Around the two to four week mark of training, consider adding in a few more reps, an additional set, and more weight.
• Experts recommend to give extra attention to the weaker side of your body by exercising it first in order to compensate for its lack of strength. This is usually the non-dominant side, so for right-handed people, start with your left side; for left-handed people, try your right-side first.
• Joining a gym or a sports club will introduce you to people who have similar goals and experience training the human body for fitness. They may have some tricks and tips of their own if you are willing to talk with them and ask for advice.

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Sources and Citations

See also

• Fit Small Bursts of Exercise Into Your Day
• Do Leg Exercises
• Create a Consistent Workout Plan for Regular Exercise
• Stay Motivated at the Gym
• Get a Hot Body
• Make Skinny Legs Bigger
• Get Thicker Thighs
• Get Stronger Legs
• Get Fit
• Do Leg Lifts

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