Home Fitness for Women

Almost all women want thinner thighs, but question how to get them without building muscle and making them look bigger.

First, you must realize that you can NOT spot reduce. Fat burning occurs throughout the body, not in a specific spot. You have to slim down your entire body to slim down your thighs. BUT you can focus on firming, slimming and tightening your problem areas while you burn the fat. And that can give you those thinner thighs you are looking for.

One theory of working out without bulking up is to work the same muscle group for consecutive days. Yes, this is contrary to what you’ve heard before about alternating muscle groups when weight training, but that advice is given to men looking to increase muscle mass and avoid injury while training so hard. (This article is not about weight training or increasing muscle mass.) Just think about dancers or runners and the hard thin thighs they have from doing the same daily workouts and you’ll realize that it works. Just be careful not to overdo it and hurt yourself.

Here are a few exercises you can do at home, that if done correctly and consistently can help create thinner thighs:

Basic Squats - Place your feet hip-width apart, tighten your abs and slowly lower yourself like you are going to sit down in a chair, until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep your chest lifted and keep your knees over your toes. Slowly return to standing.

Wide Squats - Do the same motion as the basic squat, but with your legs in a wide stance and your toes pointing slightly outward.

Reverse Lunges - Keeping your torso straight, step one foot back about 18 inches. Bend both knees until your front leg is parallel to the floor and your back knee almost touches the floor. Keep your weight on the heel of your front foot.  Using your back leg, push back to a standing position. Repeat with the other leg.

Tap Lunges - Similar to the reverse lunge, but as you bend your knees, lean your body forward and tap the ground with your hands.

Side Lunges - Step wide out to the side with one leg and bend that knee until your thigh is parallel to the floor. Keep your other leg straight.

(Check out this Thinner Thigh Workout video for a demonstration of the above exercises.)

Freestyle weight training, Pilates and Yoga are also recommended exercises to strengthen and tone without adding bulk. These exercises have the benefit of working more than one muscle group at a time.

Also remember to vary your workout once your body has gotten use to it. Your body will adapt to your routine approximately every four to eight weeks, which could cause your to hit a plateau. Mixing things up keeps your muscles alert and keeps the fat burning.