Some Basic moves with a Big Payoff

Having a toned butt and thighs is one of the most desired assets for having a sexy body. The two main muscles involved (the gluteus maximus or “glutes”) and the thighs (quadriceps or “quads”) are some of the largest muscles in the body. You will also be focusing on your inner thighs, or adductors. There are some very simple moves that rely on resistance from your own body to help tone these areas. Below are some moves you can try. Keep in mind that cardio will be needed to burn fat, otherwise you will end up with toned muscles covered by fat that no one can see. Before performing these moves, make sure you have had a five minute warm-up so that you avoid injury and so that you can get the most out of these moves.

Squats- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and squat, keeping your back straight, abs in and knees behind your toes. Lower yourself to about a 90 degree angle (imagine that you are sitting down in a chair) and stand up. Throughout this move, keep your butt squeezed, this is the area where you should feel the most work being done though you will also feel the burn in your inner thighs. Do 2-3 sets (alternating your sets with other exercises so that you are constantly moving) of 8-12 reps. Weights can be added for extra intensity.

Lunges– Start with both legs together. Move one leg forward, bend this leg into a 90 degree angle with the knee facing up while the leg behind you bends at a 90 degree angle with the knee down. Return to a standing both and do the opposite leg, be sure to keep you back straight while doing this move, you should feel the burn mostly in your quads. If your knees hurt during this exercise, simply reduce how far you go down. Using hand weights will increase the intensity of this move. Do 2-3 sets (alternating your sets with other exercises so that you are constantly moving) of 8-12 reps.

Hip Extensions- Get into a kneeling position with your hands and knees on the floor. Keeping your abs tight, lift one leg up, with your knee bent at a 90 degree angle the entire time, until the bottom of the foot faces the ceiling and the thigh is parallel to the floor. Return the leg back to the kneeling position at a controlled pace. Do this 10 to 16 times on the same leg, then do the same to the other leg. Do 2-3 sets, alternating your sets with other exercises so that you are constantly moving. You will feel this move mostly in your glutes.

Moves like these will tone these large muscles, you will want to do these moves three times a week to see results. An added bonus of these moves is that since it takes so much work to move these large muscles, you will experience an elevated heart rate which will burn more calories than other strength moves. When you are finished with this workout, take a few minutes to stretch out this muscles, take at least 15 seconds up to 1 minutes per stretch.