How to Firm Up Your Inner Thighs

5 of 6 in Series: The Essentials of Day 3 of Your Ten-Minute Tone-Up

To firm up your inner thighs, add this Legs Apart Thigh Flexion move to your workout routine. Both men and women stand to benefit from this ballet move that works the inner thighs — as well as the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings. Athletes such as hockey and soccer players use this move as part of their training.

Keep the following in mind if you want to achieve fabulous thighs in little time:

Warm-up and stretch: Start off your thighs workout with an aerobic warm-up. Be sure to stretch after your routine.
Breathe correctly: Exhale during the exertion part of an exercise or when the move is most difficult. If you get confused, just keep breathing. Never hold your breath.
Focus on quality not quantity: For some reason, thigh exercises have the reputation of requiring numerous repetitions in order to be effective. Unfortunately, in an effort to do way too many thigh moves, you can lose the correct form, which sets you up for injury. If you can’t consistently do the proper technique that I describe throughout all of the repetitions — stop!
Avoid locking your knees: Don’t lock your knees when doing thigh exercises. Keep them somewhat loose to avoid injury.
Holds your abs in tight: Hold your abs in tight when you do thigh exercises. A strong core (abs and lower back) enhances the effectiveness of your thigh workout by stabilizing your body so that you can perform a more balanced move.

To do the Legs Apart Thigh Flexion, follow these steps:

Start by standing with your legs apart as wide as is comfortable so that your toes are pointing outward.

Flex the thighs to sculpt the insides of your legs.

Keep your back straight, shoulders back, and chest out. Arms should be down at your sides.
Slowly flex your thighs to lower them until they are horizontal to the floor.

Inhale as you lower your body. Exhale as you exert yourself back to an upright position.

Be sure to keep the knees in a straight line with the toes as you lower the body to avoid knee injury. Contract your buttocks to help you return to start. Do five to ten repetitions. As you progress, work up to 20 repetitions.

Do not bend forward during this move. Hold your abs in tight for stability. Keep your spine tall and straight for the duration of the exercise.

Make the following adjustments to this exercise depending on your fitness level:

Use a staff: Rest a staff such as a cane or a broomstick on your shoulder, which can help you keep your back straight. It also works to hold the staff in front of you over your thighs. As you do the exercise, slide it down past your thighs and calves. Remember to maintain proper posture.
Hold the contraction: Make the move more advanced by holding the contraction in the down position for a count of two before returning to start.