Balanced proportions between your waist, thighs, and hips can give any woman a curvaceous body. Unfortunately for many ladies, the lower half of the body is a zone they aren’t too proud of due to issues like cellulite, varicose veins, and excess fat deposition. Cellulite and fat deposition are higher in women without a regular excess routine.
If you have high levels of estrogen also the lower half of your body can get progressively out of shape. Although thigh fat is not as harmful as the fat around your abdomen, you still need to strengthen your leg muscles as they play the most important role in weight-bearing. Without much ado, here are 5 simple exercises you can do at home for strong and toned lower limbs.
1. Seated Pillow Squeeze
This is a great workout that aims at your inner thigh muscles.
Steps:
- Sit on a sturdy chair with your feet placed firmly on the floor.
- Bend your knees at 90 degrees and place a pillow in between your thighs.
- Exhale deeply as you squeeze the pillow between your thighs.
- Hold the position for 10 seconds and release.
- Repeat 10 times.
2. Sumo Squat
The best exercise type for working out your lower limbs are squats, Sumo squats, in particular, open up your groin area and work on your thighs, calves, core, and back.
Steps:
- Stand with your feet about 4—6 inches wide and your toes pointing out.
- Fold your hands in front of your chest and descend slowly until your knees bent at 90 degrees
- Hold the position for 5 seconds and go back up
- Repeat for 10 sets.
3. Seated Leg Raise
This is a great way to tone the muscles of your core and legs.
Steps:
- Be seated on a sturdy chair with your legs stretched out on in front of you. The feet should be in contact with each other.
- You can keep your arms on either side of the chair before raising the legs.
- Raise your legs simultaneously without bending the knees until they are perpendicular to your abdomen. Inhale deeply while doing this.
- Now lower it back to the ground and exhale at the same time.
- Repeat for about 10 sets.
4. Foot Fire
This exercise is probably the toughest one to pull off given its intensity. Although a good warm-up exercise, at increasing speeds it can thoroughly shape your leg and thigh muscles.
Steps:
- Standing with arms at the chest level and hands in fists.Alternate running fast in place between your two feet.
- Now start running on the same spot while you stay on the balls of your feet.
- You can alternate the pace of your run.
- Perform foot fire for about 3 minutes.
5. Hip Abduction
Hip abduction can be done with or without resistance. It’s a good way to work on your glutes and thighs.
Steps:
- Lie on your side on a mat/floor with your legs stretched parallel to each other with one arm under the head for support.
- The upper arm should rest on the hips and your neck and spine should be well-aligned to the floor.
- Gently exhale and raise your upper leg away from the lower one without bending the knees.
- Once you feel some in your lower back and thighs, hold the position for 3 seconds.
- Slowly inhale and bring the raised leg to the starting position.
- Repeat for about 5 sets.1
Go on and try these simple yet killer moves. Practice them regularly for at least a month and you will be happy with the difference it makes in your legs and thighs.2
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