If you don’t like the way your thighs look in your summer shorts, then posterior thigh exercises can help you improve their appearance. Learn which exercises are most noted for their ability to tone posterior thighs and how you can perform them in your daily routines.
Where Are the Posterior Thighs?
Before you can begin posterior thigh exercises, it’s helpful to know exactly what your posterior thighs are. This thigh area is located on your behind, just below your glutes. They’re notoriously problematic for women, as cellulite often accumulates here and doesn’t want to budge. And even though performing posterior thigh exercises won’t necessarily rid this area of cellulite, it will help tone the muscles beneath, which can improve the overall look of that area.
Squats
Squats work the posterior thighs better than almost any other butt exercise. When you ask a fitness professional for how to improve this area, they’ll likely tell you to do squats in some fashion. However, doing plain squats gets old after a while. Going up and down like a machine takes all the fun out of exercising, and yes, it should be at least a little bit fun!
So instead of performing the same old squats every day, try some squat variations instead.
- Jump split squats: These are basically a cross between a squat and a lunge. You’ll perform a lunge in regular knee-up/knee-down position, but instead of walking with your lunge, you’ll jump to switch legs and squat down to position, remaining in essentially the same place.
- Jump squats: Begin in squat position with your hands closed in front of your chest. Spring through your feet to jump into the air, then come back down into squat position. Lower yourself a little past squat position to really work those posterior thighs.
Leg Circles
Leg circles generally belong to the Pilates category. But since Pilates helps tone and strengthen muscle, you’ll enjoy doing leg circles knowing that you’re getting multiple benefits out of the same exercise.
Lie flat on your back and raise one leg into the air. Point your toes and swing your leg back and forth in a circle. Switch directions and legs after several seconds.
Getting bored? “Fitness” magazine recommends spelling out the alphabet with your leg instead of doing circles. This is not only more mind-involving, it’s a little harder than standard circles.
Fun Activities for Exercise
Posterior thigh exercises aren’t limited to the gym and the exercise mat. Outdoor activities can be just as effective for working your posterior thighs as gym exercises.
Outdoor activities can be better for your mind than working out in the gym too. When you’re performing regular exercises, your mind tends to bore quickly. You try to get out of the last few repetitions because your thighs are burning and you’re feeling tired.
But with outdoor activities, you’ll go for hours before tiring out, and as a result, you might burn more calories. You’ll certain work your posterior thighs more, too.
These activities include biking, hiking and standard walking and running. You can also walk or run on a treadmill or elliptical trainer if you don’t have an ideal place to go walking.
These posterior thigh exercises will put tone back into your legs and target areas that seem hard to improve.
Sources
“Fitness” magazine: Our Top 10 Thigh Exercises
