Tone Your Inner Thighs
Heading into summer, I’m sure most of us would like to say goodbye to our friend who sometimes makes an unwanted appearance especially when the weather is hot called Mr or Misses Chafing. I have definitely met them one too many times. Sound familiar?
Most of the workouts we do incorporate some sort of leg muscle activation, whether it’s in our calves, hamstrings or the glutes but do you ever focus on your inner thighs? This often-underworked part of our legs is just as important as every other muscle in our legs and body because strengthening them is important for stabilising our hips, knees, lower back and core.
The Role
The primary role of the inner thigh muscle is to flex and extend the thigh bone (femur) while walking. When the leg is in front of the body the inner thighs create extensions, when the leg is behind the body, they create flexion.
The Workouts
Want to hop straight onto a machine that best targets the inner thighs? Bare in mind, if you haven’t been focusing your workouts on this muscle group at all, you may notice that it’s easier to do one series of exercise over the other.
First up, say hello to the Abductor Machine. Abduction moves the limb laterally away from the midline of the body, while adduction is the opposing movement that brings the limb toward the body or across the midline
Choose your weight stack on the machine.
Sit and keep your entire upper body straight and stationary with your back pressed firmly against the backrest.
Place your legs on the either side of the padded leg rests.
Press your legs together and push your legs out against the resistance of the machine.
Aim for 10 on each side of the thigh.
Top Three No Equipment Exercises
1. Inner Thigh Raise
Start by laying on your side, leaning on your arm with your elbow directly inline with your shoulder
Your bottom leg extended straight, and your upper leg placed over the knee.
Start by lifting your lower leg up and down, keeping your toe flexed and your core engaged.
Squeeze your glutes with your legs up and squeeze your inner thighs when your leg is down.
Complete 10 – 15 Reps, and then switch sides.
2. Lateral Lunge
Start with your feet together.
Then take a large step to the side and lower into a lunge.
Keep your hips back as you go down and avoid hinging your upper body too far forward.
Your legs should be straight with your toes pointing forward.
Push off with the same foot and return to your starting position.
Complete 10 – 15 Reps, and then switch legs
3. Plie Squat Pulse
Stand with your feet wide with your toes pointing out to the side.
Keeping your chest lifted, sit into a deep squat.
Raise your heels off the ground, squeezing your inner thighs, pulse up and down in a partial range of motion.
Complete 10 – 15 Rep, before bringing your heels back down to standing position.
Resistance Bands Your New Best Friend
We know how good using resistance bands are for a booty busting workout but just as you are working out your glutes, your inner thighs and all the small supporting muscles in our legs are getting the exact same burn from these workouts too. Choose the strength of the band depending on the intensity of the workout you want to achieve. Try these two exercises.
Lateral Squat Walk
1. Place a resistance around the lower part of your inner thighs right above your knees.
2. Stand with your feet hip- width apart.
3. Keeping your upper body straight, your spine tall and chest upright, lower down into a seated position (squat) with your booty pushed back.
4. Stay in your squat, and slowly start taking 10 – 15 steps to the left whilst keeping tension with the band (pushing out into the band). Make sure each step is holding the same squat position.
5. Rest, then walk back into the other direction.
Glute kickbacks
1. Place a resistance around the lower part of your inner thighs right above your knees.
2. Using a wall in front of you to help you balance, stand with your feet hip- width apart.
3. Engage your core and glutes and keep your spine long.
4. Keep your left leg straight, start by raising the leg up behind you and then lowering it down to gently tap the floor.
5. Complete 10 – 15 reps per leg and switch legs.
The Summary
Your inner thigh muscles are a part of setting up the base of your pelvis which plays a big role in keeping stability in your core. Weak inner thighs can lead to poor balance and keeping your pelvis supported with strong inner thigh muscles can help prevent injury.
