We all have our own target areas which are the last one to lose fat from and the first one to gain. That, ladies, is what is referred to as stubborn fat. And one of the hardest area that a woman struggles with is thigh fat.
We understand that spot reduction can’t be done but spot toning can be done. Exercise does mobilise fat in the specified part of your body and turns it into muscles. Since muscles occupy less area than fat, you will definitely experience inch loss from targeting your specific areas.
So find your motivation and get ready to embrace the pain. All you have to do is follow this tried and tested workout routine, step by step and we promise you will get the thighs you have always fantasized about.
Here is a quick look at the workout:
Deep breathing and stretching
Warm-Up
20 seconds – stationary jog at your place
20 seconds – butt kicks
20 seconds – high knees
Plie Squats – 1 minute
Plie Squat Pulses – 30 seconds
Curtsy Lunges – 1 minute
Basic Squats – 1 minute
Rest – 15 seconds
Standing Leg Raises – 1 minute each side
Squat with side kicks – 1 minute
Reverse Lunges to hop – 1 minute each side
Rest – 15 seconds
Lateral Leg Raises – 1 minute
Triangle Lifts – 1 minute
Leg Circles – 1 minute each in both directions
Inner Thigh Lift with pulses – 1 minute
Clam Shells: 30 seconds
Clam Shells with a kick: 30 seconds
Rest – 15 seconds
After completing the other side, Rest for another 15 seconds
Donkey Kicks – 45 seconds each side
Fire Hydrants – 30 seconds each side
Fire Hydrants with extensions – 30 seconds each side
Rainbow exercise – 1 minute each side
Rest – 15 seconds
Single leg deadlift: 1 minute each side
Squat Jumps: 30 seconds
Glute Bridge: 1 minute
Squat Jumps: 30 seconds
A total of a 30-minute workout, excluding rest time and warmup, of course! This is the perfect circuit for anyone who doesn’t find time to go to the gym. You can easily do it at your home!
Do this complete schedule 5 times a week and the remaining 2 days just perform some low-intensity cardio like brisk walking. We can assure you within 2 weeks you will see visible results in your thighs.
Let’s start!
Stand straight and stretch both your hands up forming a namaste. Take a few deep cleansing breaths. Become aware of your breathing. Notice the rise and fall of your chest and abdomen and air moving in and out. Then, bring your hands in front of you keeping the namaste position intact. Take some deep breaths in and relax.
This simple deep breathing technique brings your focus to the exercise regimen and helps in stimulating mindfulness during exercise. Mindful exercise increases the workout efficiency, helps in maintaining proper form and makes you more aware of the practice – hence, building consistency.
Now, stretch your neck. Look up, down, left and right. Rotate gently from side to side 2-3 times in each direction.
Once you are done, bend down into a forward fold, bend your knees and touch your toes with hands. This will give your hamstrings a good stretch.
Next, practice standing quad stretch. Stand tall and put your feet together. Use your right hand to pull your right foot towards your butt. Hold and feel your quad stretch. Repeat on the other side.
And at last, it’s time for butterfly stretch. Sit tall on floor. Bend your knees so that the soles of your feet come together. Press your knees towards the floor. If possible, stretch both of your hands in front of you as far as you can. This stretches your hips, lower back and inner thighs.
Move on with these warm-up exercises.
30 seconds – stationary jog at your place
30 seconds – butt kicks
30 seconds – high knees
Now that your heart is racing, let’s start up with your routine. Grab your weights for the first part of your exercise. If you are a beginner, then do it with your body weight for a week and then start with small weights.
Plie Squats – 1 minute
Stand with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders. Point your feet at a 45 degrees angle. Lower your torso, while keeping your back straight and abs tight. Squeeze your glutes and come back up.
Plie Squat Pulses – 1 minute
While maintaining the same form as above, lower your torso and come up just slightly. Do these mini pulses for a minute. If you want to push a little harder, lift your heels from the ground.
Curtsy Lunges – 2 minutes
Stand straight, keep your abs tight and back strong. Bend your left leg behind you and to the right side so that both the legs are crossing. Come back and bend the other leg.
Basic Squats – 1 minute
Bring your feet hip-distance apart. Lower your torso and extend your buttocks as if you are sitting on a chair. Rise back up and beat.
To increase the intensity, pulse for the last 30 seconds of this sequence.
Rest – 15 seconds
Standing Leg Raises – 1 minute each side
Find a wall for support if you are a beginner. Put your hands on your hips and raise one of your legs to the side as high as you can without bending your knee. Do it for 1 minute on one leg before repeating on another.
Squat with sidekicks – 1 minute
Stand with your feet shoulder-width distance apart. Lower your hips while keeping your back tight. Rise up and kick to the side with your right leg. Repeat and then kick with your left leg. Keep doing it for a minute.
Reverse Lunges to hop – 1 minute each side
While standing straight, go into a lunge with your right leg back. Swing it forward as it comes to your chest while hopping a little on your left leg.
Rest – 15 seconds (You can do quad stretch to relax your muscles)
Come down on the floor and lie laterally on the right side. One side of your body should be in contact with the ground. Rest on your elbow but make sure that your back is in line with your leg. First do all the exercises on the left leg and then, you can repeat the sequence for right leg.
Lateral Leg Raises – 1 minute
Maintaining the proper form as described above, raise your right leg as high as you can (atleast at 45°), bring it back and repeat.
Triangle Lifts – 1 minute
In this exercise, tap two times with your left toe on the ground just a little ahead of your rested leg. Then lift it high and this time take it just a little back of your rested leg and tap two times. Repeat this for a minute.
Leg Circles – 1 minute each in both directions
For this, you need to lean your legs just a little forward so that they are slightly ahead of your torso. Life your leg and make a big circle forward. Do it for a minute before reversing the direction of the circles.
Inner Thigh Lift with pulses – 1 minute
For a change, this exercise will be working your right leg so your left leg gets a rest! Phew!
Start with placing your left leg in front of your body so it’s forming a cross with other leg. Rest your left arm on the floor for extra support. With your right foot pointed, lift the leg up and bring it down. Do it for 30 seconds and for the rest, don’t bring your leg completely down, instead do tiny pulses. It’s going to burn so good that you might hear your inner thigh fat crying.
Clam Shells: 30 seconds
While lying on your side, stack your legs and bend your knees to 45°. If your wrists are sore, you can even come up a little so that is forming a 90° angle with the rest of your arm.
With your feet touching, bend your knees to a 45° without moving your hips, pelvis or lower leg. Pause, squeeze that outer thigh fat you are feeling and bring it back. Repeat for 30 seconds.
Clam Shells with a kick: 30 seconds
This is just a slight variation of the clamshells. In this movement, after you bend your knees to a 45°, kick it straight up in the sky, just like in lateral leg raises. Bring it back to the same 45° position and lower it back to the ground.
Rest – 15 seconds (Relax with a figure four stretch)
After completing the other side, Rest for another 15 seconds (Relax with a knee to chest stretch)
Now, get ready for exercises on all fours. Put your hands beneath your shoulders, straighten your back and keep your abs tight while doing these exercises.
Donkey Kicks – 45 seconds each side
Keep your knees bent at a 90° angle, flex your foot and lift the knee to hip levels. Feel your butt tightening up and saddlebags squeezing before bringing the leg back.
Pulse for the last 15 seconds for that extra burn. Repeat on the other side.
Fire Hydrants – 45 seconds each side
One of the best exercises for toning the outer thighs and killing those saddlebags. While keeping your knees bent at 90°, lift your leg to the away from your body at a 45° angle. Lead with your knees and your ankle will follow. Lower your leg and repeat it for 45 seconds on each leg
Fire Hydrants with extensions – 30 seconds each side
A slight variation of the fire hydrants. In this exercise when you lift your leg, straighten it by kicking it straight out before retracting back to the same angle and lowering your leg. Repeat the sequence.
Rainbow exercise – 1 minute each side
This exercise opens your hips and loosens up those muscles, while mobilising the fat. Extend your leg out at or around 45° so the tip of your toes touch the ground. Now, lift that leg to touch your toes on the other side while forming a rainbow arc. Then bring it back to the starting position. This is one rep.
To boost your morale a little, this exercise is one of the favorites of VS models like Adriana Lima, Sara Sampaio etc. O
Rest – 15 seconds (take a good relaxing child pose stretch)
This is the last circuit. Don’t lose it now. You can do this.
Single leg deadlift:
If possible, hold a weight in one of your hands for this exercise. Stand with your right leg straight with just a little bend in your knee. Drive your left foot back while keeping it straight.
Simultaneously, start hinging at the waist, moving your torso forward so as to create a straight line from the top of your head to the bottom of your left foot. Inhale and come back to the starting position. If you are holding a weight, hold it on the same side as the leg that is standing.
Squat Jumps: 30 seconds
With your feet shoulder-width apart, lower your torso as if you sitting back on a chair. Keep your abs tight and jump up explosively. Immediately, drop back to squat down position. Don’t stand tall while doing this sequence. Jump right back again and repeat.
Glute Bridge: 1 minute
Lie down face up on the floor Bend your knees and rest your arms on the side. Lift your hips up the ground without moving your feet. A straight line should form between your knees, hips, and shoulders. Squeeze your glutes and come back down.
For the second half, do mini-pulses to really burn that fat in your hips.
Squat Jumps: 30 seconds
End your exercise routine with another set of squat jumps.
Finish it off with stretching to release muscle tension, reduce the risk of injury and soreness the next day.
Apart from performing this workout schedule, keep your diet balanced. Drink more water, have more servings of fruits and vegetables, cut down on sugar and processed food and sleep well.
