How to Effectively Tone the Largest Muscles in the Body

Many people consider their thighs the number one trouble spot on their bodies. Because this is such a trouble spot for so many people, fitness marketers have invented an array of thigh machines (we all remember the Thigh Master) aimed at removing leg jiggle and toning up your thighs fast. But there is nothing that these costly machines (and sometime dangerous if manufactured poorly) can give you that good old traditional leg exercises can’t give you. It is not that these machines don’t work at all, they just tend to promise people that with just one move for a few minutes a day, you will be able to get sleek and toned thighs. You will need to invest the same amount of time with regular exercise moves as you would if you used a thigh exercise machine, so save yourself the money and ignore the marketing hype.

You will discover that moves that involve many parts of your body and depend on resistance from your entire body are the best for getting shapely thighs. You will also discover that by doing these moves, your butt will become more toned since the thigh and butt muscles are so closely involved in so many body movements. Squats and lunges are two of the most common, and effective, moves for toning your thighs. There are also many variations on these moves like the walking lunge which forces you to go through a full range of motion or the wall squat which is a good isometric move for intense toning of the thighs.

In addition to strength moves, there are a lot of different aerobic activities that are great for toning the butt and thighs. Biking, hiking and skating all require a lot of power from your thighs in order to propel yourself forward. Another great thigh workout is actually rock climbing. Many people view this sport as mostly an upper body workout but in fact your lower body does most of the work by pushing yourself upward. Beach volleyball is another fun choice. In volleyball you spend a lot time lifting you body off the ground by jumping with your legs and doing this in the sand puts a lot more resistance on your leg muscles.

Since these workouts involve the largest muscles in the body, they can also lead to the largest injuries and the most post-workout soreness. In order to avoid this, make sure you warm-up the body with light cardio before you start doing moves with focused intensity on your thighs and butt. Once you have completed your workout, cool down with light cardio for a few minutes, this will help the body remove lactic acid that has built up in your muscles. After cooling down, be sure to stretch out all of your muscles. Short quick stretches are not effective, you will want to hold a stretch for a minimum of 15 seconds though 30 seconds to 1 minute is ideal.

Exercises that focus on the thighs and butt can be challenging but fun, and they are certainly rewarding. It is important that while doing these exercises you focus on these body parts so that most of the work is being done by them. You will also find that the extra time invested in warming up, cooling down and stretching have big payoffs and are also very enjoyable components of being physically active.