For women, shaping the muscles of the thighs is an important fitness goal. A shapely lower body is considered very feminine, and the right proportion of the waist to the hips is part of the equation. It's surprising, but true, thigh toning exercises can be done at home, without equipment and results can be seen in 4-6 weeks. Also, did you know that thigh and hip toning gadgets are not required if you know which exercises work, and how to do them. Most importantly, thigh exercises are most effective when combined with aerobic exercise and a healthy diet.

This means that women must not only do the right thigh exercises, but also include aerobic exercise and sound nutrition to get best results. The following exercises are the most effective front thigh exercises for women. The routine also includes inner thigh and rear thigh exercises.

For best results, start with 15-20 repetitions and one set. Increase gradually to 2 sets. Complete the routine at least 2 times a week for best results. This is an effective beginner to intermediate toning program. Please remember that these numbers are general guidelines only. For an optimum program tailored to your needs, please consult a certified personal trainer. If you have any injuries or medical ailments, please obtain a physicians clearance before starting any exercise program.

Wall Squat: Front Thigh Exercise.

Starting Position: – Place your upper back against a smooth wall. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, toes pointed slightly outward. Distribute your body weight equally between both feet and lean back against the wall. Movement: – Inhale, keeping your heels in contact with the floor at all times, slowly lower into a squat position while sliding down the wall. Exhale as you slowly straighten your legs, keeping your head and chest up, returning to the starting position. Repeat as required.

Standing Dumbbell Squats: Front Thigh Exercise.

Starting Position:- Hold a dumbbell in each hand and allow them to hang down at your sides. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, toes pointed slightly outward. Distribute your body weight equally between both feet. Movement:- Inhale, keeping your heels in contact with the floor at all times, slowly lower into a squat position. Exhale as you slowly straighten your legs, keeping your head and chest up, returning to the starting position. Repeat as required. 5 lb dumbbells work well, but you can start with 2 lbs and then work your way up to 5 lbs within 3-5 weeks.

Lunges: Front Thigh Exercise.

Starting Position: – Assume a standing position with your feet slightly less than shoulder width apart. Grasp a barbell with a wider than shoulder width grip and place it across your shoulders. Movement: – Inhale, keeping your back vertical and slightly arched, slowly step forward with one leg making a long stride, lowering your body down slowly until your rear knee lightly touches the floor (if you cannot go as low as this, then work your way up to it over 2-3 weeks). Exhale and shift your weight backwards, taking one step (or 2-3 small steps if that sounds difficult) to return to the starting position. Repeat on the other side. Remember to consult your doctor before this or any other knee exercises if you have had any knee trouble!

Lying Face Down: Front Thigh Stretch.

Starting Position: Lie on your stomach on a matt with your legs together. Movement: Reach behind you and grasp your right ankle with your left hand. Pull your right heel up as far as you can. Hold this position for thirty seconds. Repeat as required on other side. Please remember to hold for 10 seconds for this stretch.

Seated Split Stretch: Inner Thigh Stretch.

Starting Position: Sit on an exercise matt and spread your legs as far as you can. Movement: Lean to your right side and reach for your toes. Rest your hands on your toes or at your ankle. Hold this position for thirty seconds. Repeat as required on other side.

Seated Butterfly: Inner Thigh Exercise.

Starting Position: Sit on an exercise matt with your back straight. Movement: Bring the soles of your feet together and pull them in as close to your body as you can. Allow your hands to rest on your feet or to apply light pressure to your thighs. Hold this position for thirty seconds. Hold this position for 10 seconds. You will find this most effective if you gently push your knees down using your hands, be careful not to push too much.

Seated Hip Twist: Outer Thigh And Rear Thigh Exercise.

Starting Position: Sit on an exercise matt with your legs straight out in front of you. Movement: Bend your right knee and place your right foot over your left leg. Wrap your arms around your right knee and gently pull it in towards your left shoulder. Hold this position for thirty seconds. Repeat as required on other side. Remember to hold for 10 seconds.

Lying Leg Pull: Total Thigh Exercise.

Starting Position: Lie on your back on an exercise matt with your knees in the air and feet flat on the floor. Movement: Bring your right heel to rest on your left thigh. Loop your hands around your left thigh and pull it towards your chest. Hold this position for thirty seconds. Repeat as required on other side. Remember to hold for 10 seconds in each set.

It's every woman's dream; shapely hip muscles. From a human anatomy point of view, women tend to have larger hips relative to the waist (unlike men) since women tend to store higher amounts of body fat in the hip, buttocks and thighs.

Each person is different and fat gets stored in the body in a certain order. That order is determined by gender and genetics. It's a myth that women can selectively lose fat in the hip region. In fact, 'spot reduction' is something that advertisers use to prey on unsuspecting customers desperate to try anything to shape up certain areas of the body. You have probably wasted time and money on gadgets, weight loss creams and other gimmicks. When one loses weight, the 'reduction' is general i.e all over the body, but never in one 'spot'. Think of the body as if it was a balloon, which inflates and deflates every time, you gain / lose weight.

Here's the good news: specific exercises for the hip, as outlined below will help tone the hip muscles (but not spot reduce them). The following exercise routine has been designed to tone the hip muscles. It works best when combined with an aerobic exercise program and a healthy diet.

Combining hip toning exercises with a well rounded aerobic exercise and weight training program requires more energy and more strength. Your body responds to high intensity exercises by adding lean muscle. This increases the rate at which the body burns calories and helps use up excess stored fat. You can burn more calories by doing a variety of activities, and mixing up the exercises, intensity and duration every 2-3 weeks. All weight training exercises are not created equal. Exercises that involve large muscle groups such as squats and lunges for your legs, bench presses for your chest, overhead presses for your shoulders and lat pull-downs for your back build more muscle mass. A combination of cardiovascular exercise and weight lifting will make you stronger and leaner. This kind of effort takes time, but the results are permanent.

The following routine has been specially designed for toning hip muscles. For best results, start with 15-20 repetitions and one set. Increase gradually to 2 sets. Complete the routine at least 2 times a week and you will see results within the first few weeks. These numbers are general guidelines. For best results, consult a personal trainer. If you have any injuries or medical ailments, please obtain a physicians clearance before starting any exercise program.

Side Lying Hip Raises: Hip toning.

Starting Position: Lie on your left side on a mat with the legs straight. Support your heard in your hands and keep the left leg bent. Movement: Slowly raise the right leg 8-12 inches up in the air, keeping the knee straight. Lower it gradually. Complete 15-20 repetitions and repeat on the opposite side. To make this exercise harder, you can try using weight cuffs around the ankles. Start with 1 lb and work your way up to 5 lbs within 4-6 weeks. Another way to make the exercise harder is to raise the leg and then trace large circles clockwise 10 times, followed by another 10 repetitions anticlockwise.

Seated Hip Toning: Hip toning.

Starting Position: Sit on an exercise matt with your legs together and your palms on the matt for support. Movement: Lift your right foot 8-12 inches off of the matt. Point your toes and moving only at your ankle trace a large circle in the air. Complete fifteen circles clockwise and fifteen circles counter clockwise. Repeat as required on other side. To make this exercise harder, you can try using weight cuffs around the ankles. Start with 1 lb and work your way up to 5 lbs within 4-6 weeks. Another way to make the exercise harder is to trace smaller circles.

Standing Single Leg Wall Squat (Advanced): Hip And Thigh Toning.

This is an advanced exercise since it shapes the hips and thighs. Starting Position: - Place your upper back against a smooth wall. Stand on one foot and lean back against the wall. Movement: - Inhale, keeping your heel in contact with the floor at all times, slowly lower into a squat position while sliding down the wall. Exhale as you slowly straighten your leg, keeping your head and chest up, returning to the starting position. Repeat as required. This is an advanced exercise. Please discontinue the exercises if you have any pain and consult a physician prior to this exercise routine if you have a history of hip or knee pain.

Standing Single Leg Dumbbell Squats (Advanced): Hip And Thigh Toning.

Starting Position:- Stand on one leg with a slight bend in your knees. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and allow them to hang down at your sides. Movement: - Inhale, keeping your heel in contact with the floor at all times, slowly lower into a squat position. Exhale as you slowly straighten your leg, keeping your head and chest up, returning to the starting position. Repeat as required. You can start with 2 lb dumbbells and work your way up to 5 lbs within 3-4 weeks.

Lying Leg Bridge: Hip Toning.

Starting Position:- On an exercise matt, lie with your feet on a plank or a board with a 4-6 inch elevation. Keep the knees bent and both feet flat on the floor. Lay your hands on the matt palms down on either side of your body for support. Movement: - Exhale as you push your hips up into the air, keeping your spine straight. Hold this position as long as you can, continuously keeping your hips in the air. Lower slowly. Repeat for 15 to 20 repetitions.

Lying Face Down Plank: Hip, Thigh And Ab Toning.

Starting Position: Get on an exercise matt on all fours, with your elbows touching the matt directly underneath your shoulders. Extend your legs back as far as you can, and keep the toes on the floor. Movement: Raise the hips up and hold yourself in this 'plank position' with your back completely flat. This is an excellent exercise for the hips, thighs and abdominal muscles. Since it involves so many muscles, it is strenuous in nature. Lower the hips slowly down to the mat. Repeat for 15-20 repetitions. (Most individuals find it hard to complete 15-20 reps for this exercise and 8-10 might be a more suitable starting point).

Top Inner Thigh Exercise Secret

If you are like most women, your inner thighs are probably one of your biggest trouble areas. Unfortunately doing the thing that seems to make sense doesn't work. But once you learn the trick behind toning your inner thighs, it will all make sense and you will be on your way to the body of your dreams.

First, let's just get something out of the way real quick. The word tone does not really describe any physiological process. But, as I regularly coach women, I know exactly what you mean when you say that you want to 'tone your inner thighs.'

There are only two physiological processes that can improve the appearance of your body. One is fat loss. Lose fat - fit into smaller jeans. The other one is muscle building. Now don't freak out, I don't mean to turn you into Arnold Schwarzenegger. Building a little extra muscle will make your body firmer and curvier.

In order to tone your inner thighs, you have to lose fat from them, and build a bit of muscle.

Before I show you how, I have to get something else out of the way first. You cannot choose to lose fat from a specific place on your body. So if you are going to lose fat from your inner thighs, you are going to lose fat from all over your body (this is a good thing).When building muscle, it is possible to target specific areas of your body.

The best approach to toning your inner thighs is to:

1. Include exercises for the entire body in order to burn that fat everywhere (including inner thighs).

2. Use exercises that build a bit of muscle around your inner thighs.

It just so happens that the best exercises for firming up your inner thighs are also some of the best fat burning exercises. I'll give you the effective exercises, but before I do, I want to tell you about the one exercise - that you probably love - that is not effective.

The fancy name for the exercise is hip adduction, but you may know it as the 'innie machine.' It's the one where you sit with your legs spread wide and try to close them against resistance. It is probably the all-time favorite for female gym members around the world.

I understand why you may want to do that exercise: it seems to be the best way to work the very area your are concerned about. But there is one big problem with this approach.

The best way to target a muscle is to use it according to its function. The collection of muscles that for your inner thigh are technically called the 'adductors' and these adductors' primary roles is not to move your upper thigh in as you would on the 'innie machine.'

The adductors are designed to stabilize your body during single leg activities such as walking and running. Therefore, the best exercises for your inner thighs are those where you are on one leg. Some of the best ones are: split-squats, lunges, step-ups, and single leg squats. You can google these to see how to perform them.

Get off the 'innie machine' and start doing these exercises and you will start burning fat all over you body, tone your inner thighs, and fit back into your skinny jeans.