Many women accumulate fat on their thighs more than other areas and so today we are going to look at some ways to help trim down the fat on thighs.
As the thighs are one of the largest muscles of the body they do respond well to focused training, mostly because to work your thighs you have to work the whole body hard. However, before we jump into the thigh workouts we need to talk about diet and nutrition.
How To Lose Thigh Fat Through Dieting
We we consume more calories than we need to maintain our weight, our body converts excess energy (generally sugars) into fat. Where the fat is stored is mostly determined by genetics, which is why we are all different shapes even though many people eat the same diet.
Even if you have a relatively slim waist, excess fat on the thighs is a sign that you are eating too much each day. Thigh fat is not really unhealthy (unlike stomach fat which is) but it still signifies that your overall body-fat is too high.
As with any weight loss plan you need to follow these rules to trim the fat on your thighs:
- Total calories consumed each day must be less than your daily requirements.
- Most of your calories must come from healthy, low GI, low sugar sources, such as salad vegetables, eggs, dairy and lean meats.
- Only by keeping a near constant calorie deficit will you lose weight.
Diet is the cause of weight gain so it must also be the solution. To get thinner thighs you really need to change your diet. Follow these dieting tips:
- Calculate your daily energy requirement (see the table below)
- Consume around 500 calories less per day than your daily needs
- Stop eating all refined or baked goods – no flour, no sugar
- Eat mostly low GI vegetables
- Stop drinking all fruit juices and sodas. Drink only water, green teas and coffees
- Stop eating sugary breakfast cereals (these are also refined goods)
- Instead eat eggs, fresh fruit and wholemeal toast (1 slice) for breakfast
- Eat a fresh salad each day
- Eat more protein and less carbohydrates
- Protein sources: eggs, fish, poultry, lean meats.
Best Thigh Exercises to Burn Fat and Tone Muscles
It is tempting to provide just one exercise only, as there is one exercise that really beats all others hands down at toning the thighs: SQUATS.
Bodyweight squats are extremely effective at toning thighs and they are also very simple to do. Keeping good form is important. To perform squats just stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart and feet facing slightly outwards. Then squat down, looking ahead and keeping your back straight. Try not to move your torso forwards above your feet, instead sink your bum downwards. Once your thighs are parallel to the floor, stand up again.
An exceptionally simple exercise, but very effective. Aim to perform 100 squats per day. Other exercises that will help are star jumps, burpees, leg raises and lunges. Perform a simple circuit like this every day or every other day:
- 50 star jumps
- 50 squats
- 10 push ups
- 10 burpees
- 10 lunges on each leg
- 20 leg raises
- 20 crunches
That is a total of 170 exercises in one circuit. Aim to perform this circuit 2 to 3 times. It will be hard to start with but gradually become easier.
As it does get easier you can increase push ups and burpees to start working the cardiovascular system and upper body harder to aid fat burning.
Legs and glutes workout with fitness pro Lyen Wong
This is a simple free weight exercise routine, performed by German-Cuban ACE-certified personal trainer Lyen Wong. Lyen Wong has won Miss Universe Shape, Miss Fitness and placed in Miss Universe Fitness.
This workout works all the leg muscles and core effectively. These exercises really help to firm the thighs and butt.
She starts with some barbell squats. Note how she squats low, keeping her back straigh and gaze looking forward at all times. The towel can be used to cushion the bar as well as soak up sweat. Form is maintained well and the movement is steady. She performs many reps with a light weight. The key is to go slow and maintain a steady pace so that you do not burn out too quick. As the weight is light the muscles will be worked well be you are not aim for maximum strength, just slender toning.
Next she performs a series of stiff legged deadlifts. Rather then allowing the bar to touch the floor she stops halfway. A standard deadlift is done with the bar starting and finishing on the floor. The deadlift works the core and lower back as well as the hips. Start with a light weight, it is important to maintain good form throughout.
The next exercise is reverse leg raises which work the core and the glutes. Lie face down on a bench with your legs off the end of the bench. Then lift your legs upwards behind you with your legs bent. Again, maintain a steady and controlled movement to ensure that your work the muscles effectively without risk of burning out too soon.
I love the soundtrack on this video. The music is by Salt Tank who provide a mellow latin grove which is great working out to.
If you are interested to learn more about Lyen then she has a website which features her work as a figure competitor and personal trainer as well as fitness and training information for reaching peak performance. Visit her website: www.lyenwong.com.
The key to having a great body really is eat healthy and exercising often.
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