Big thighs and a round butt are a bit of an enigma in life. Those who have them, don’t want them. Those you don’t have, want them. Seems we're never happy! If you happen to have them and you want to rid yourself of those thunder thighs, then the trick is to gradually tone the muscles in your upper legs whilst reducing your overall body fat percentage.
With other areas of the body, nutrition is by far and away the key point to consider making that particular area look better. With the thighs there is a bit more of a spotlight on the exercise side of things, but the nutrition is still very important. It is a One-Two combo that effectively brings down the size of your thighs.
Exercise
When we say exercise to tone the thighs, most people jump to the idea of running, cycling or some other form of cardio exercise. Sadly, this is where most people go wrong, and why the issue of large thighs is rarely addressed properly. Exercise in this scenario refers to a good combination of weight training and small amounts of cardio training.
The exercise routine below is one to get your legs toned up to tip top shape in as fast a time as is possible for your body.
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions |
| Squats | 5 | 30 |
| Glut Bridges | 5 | 30 |
| Lunges | 5 | 30 on each leg |
| Straight Leg Dead Lifts | 5 | 30 |
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Squats
Begin with feet hip width apart, toes either pointing straight ahead or at a 45degree angle away from body. Ensure that your feet are far enough away from body so that at no point in the exercise do your knees pass over your toes. Slight bend in your knees, lower your bum to the ground until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Make sure your abs are tight, chest and head are up and your back is straight. Lower yourself in 4 seconds, breathing in. Push back up to starting position in 2 seconds, breathing out.
Glut Bridges
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Begin with back flat on ground and both feet resting on the ground or on some elevated surface. From here, drive your feet into the ground, pushing yourself up from the ground, keeping a straight line from your knees through to your head. Lower yourself down in a slow, controlled manner. Breath in lowering yourself in 4 seconds, breathing out pushing up in 2 seconds.
Lunges
Begin standing straight, with chest and head up and your back straight. Feet should be hip width apart. Take one exaggerated step forward with right foot. From here, lower your back knee to within an inch of the ground, allowing both knees to bend. Push back up to starting position and alternate feet on each repetition. Lower yourself down to ground in 4 seconds, breathing in, and push back up in 2 seconds, breathing out.
Straight Leg Dead Lifts
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Stand straight with feet hip width apart, both toes pointing forward. Lean forward, allowing only a very slight bend in the knees. Make sure to keep your chest puffed out and your back straight at all times throughout this exercise. Bend only as far as your hamstrings will allow. Over stretching this exercise could lead to potential injury. Come back to starting position, keeping chest up and back straight all throughout the exercise.
Diet
Your diet also plays a very large role here. The key point to bear in mind here is that the hormone responsible for toning your upper arms is the same hormone responsible for the thighs – testosterone. For a much more detailed plan of action to get your levels of testosterone raised, check out my previous article on the subject.
Written by Maurice Walsh, BSc of Exercise and Health Studies
About the author
Maurice works as a personal trainer and lifestyle transformation coach at The Gym, Rathgar. He also works as a physique model. To get in contact with Maurice regarding training and nutrition go to www.facebook.com/totaltransformationfitness
To follow Maurice on Facebook, visit www.facebook.com/maurice.walsh87
