ZAP SADDLE BAGS!
Some of the best exercises for the outer thighs – those flabby areas that so many women hate, otherwise known as “saddlebags” for their unfortunate positioning, are also excellent for the buttocks. These thigh workouts will have you marveling over your thinner thighs if you are diligent.
You CAN help whittle down and minimize the outer thighs, even if you have the genetics that give you wider hips. These exercises help to pull in the fatty tissues that tend to cling to the thighs in most women, and because of that, they shrink down the circumference of this area, and can help you fit in those jeans you’ve been putting off.
BACKWARDS LUNGE
The first exercise is the backwards lunge. This is where you stand with the legs hip width apart, and do a lunge, one leg at a time. Only instead of going forward forward, you are going to take your leg backward, and take it behind the standing leg. It’s as if you are doing a curtsy, only backwards, behind your body.
You can also do these forward, and they can help minimize the outer thigh area, because you are simply working them at a different angle. You can feel that these exercises are targeting that area, because you will feel a burning sensation in the targeted outer thigh area where that fat clings to the muscle.
If you do at least twenty of these on each side, every day, you should start to see your thighs narrow. These lunges are also called curtsy lunges, or backwards curtsy lunges.
Remember, also watch your diet, because you can’t exercise and eat McDonald’s every day then wonder why you’re not seeing results. These exercises will enhance a good diet and bring those “thunder thighs” under control a lot quicker.
SIDE LEG LIFT
The next exercise is a well know, good standby that you can do anywhere with or without weights. They are one of my favorites to perform in hotel rooms. They are the simple side leg lift. This is where you lay on your side, and lift the outer thigh to the side.
The way these are most effective at slimming the thighs is when you gradually add weight and vary the angles at which you lift the leg. For example, you can slightly tilt the foot up toward the ceiling one time, then slightly toward the floor on the next set.
Then, you can do a set where you are simply extending the bent knee in and out away and toward your body, or keeping the leg straight and swinging it out, outer thigh toward the ceiling. Varying your angle will give you a better more rounded out thigh exercise that will tone you from all angles.
It will also burn more calories and fat because it creates muscle confusion. Fat burning is your best friend when you are trying to trim the outer thighs, as these are one of the primary places that women store their excess fat.
BACKWARD LUNGE ON BOSU BALL
If you really want to up the ante on your workout for your outer thighs, then do the curtsy backward lunge on a half circle balance ball, otherwise known as the Bosu ball. I tried some regular standing outer thigh lifts on the Bosu ball when I was at a hotel in their small gym for the first time. My thighs BURNED from this excellent workout!
You don’t realize how much you are also using your core when you use the Bosu ball, so I’d recommend these for both an outer thigh blast as well as a core workout at the same time. You’ll probably burn a lot more calories doing the leg lefts on this rather than doing them on the floor, even with adding weights.
THE BALLERINA
Another exercise you can do, which I call the ballerina, is one where you lie on the floor, on your back. Put the bottoms of your feet together, so you are forming a sort of diamond shape between your legs and your trunk.
Gradually pull this diamond formation down toward your groin area, and keep repeating this movement. You will look almost like a loaded spring when you do this, as if you are popping something up and down. This really helps to tone both the outer and inner thighs, and can also tone your tummy a bit at the same time.
It’s safe for the lower back too, because your lower back is touching the floor at all times. These may seem easy at first, but try doing twenty, you’ll be on fire by the time they’re over.
When it comes to the curse of the saddle bags, it seems like there isn’t a lot you can do other than diet. But on second glance, these exercises really help you to bring those thighs in and taper them down by sculpting the muscles that hold them more in to the body.
These exercises, when performed regularly, can really help you get those thinner thighs you’ve always wanted!
