What I Did to Tone Down My Thighs

First thing first, you got to do the Slim Thigh Test. Before you start whining about having a big thigh or whatever, you need to establish whether or not you have big thigh muscles or a lot of thigh fat. Understand the difference girls,

To do the Slim Thigh Test you have to 

1. Straighten your leg, you can do so by sitting on a flat surface, I suggest on the floor. 
2. Tighten your thigh muscles, squeeze really tight but not at the point where you end up having crumps afterwards. 
3. Pinch the top layer of fat and skin of the thigh, you will see this the minute you squeeze your squeeze and stretch your leg at the same time. 

If there is much to pinch, then fat is making your thighs big and you’ll also probably suffer with cellulite. 

If there is little to pinch, you have large thigh muscles and little fat and will have little cellulite, if any.

HOW TO SLIM THIGHS

1. Exercises that I Avoided.

Avoid exercises such as squats, lunges, leg curls, stiff-legged dead lifts, leg extensions and calf raises, especially with heavy weights for now. They DO NOT slim thighs. A piece of cardio machinery you would do well to avoid is the step machine. For me, this was the hardest to avoid. I couldn't help myself from doing squats 😣 If you wish to get your butt lifted and rounded, you know the importance of this as well, so I decided to keep Lunges to my leg workout just to balance my butt and legs. 

2. Cardiovascular Exercise to Slim Thighs

This is the main tool in your arsenal. Your cardio goal should be to burn fat without gaining much muscle mass in the thighs. To achieve this you need to avoid working the thigh muscles more than necessary. If you are working out on cardio equipment, you need to keep the resistance low (e.g. elliptical trainer, stationary bike) or the incline low (treadmill). However, aim for a moderately high intensity (how hard you are exercising) for maximum effectiveness. Use the heart rate calculator. If you are exercising outside avoid hilly terrain.

3. Long-duration cardio to burn fat without bulking up

This will avoid targeting the type of muscle fiber that makes muscle get big and bulky. Instead, long-duration cardio (e.g. long-distance running) will target a smaller muscle fiber that has very limited capacity for growth. The result is that you build stronger muscle without building big thigh muscles, while burning fat. On the other hand, avoid short intense bouts of cardio (e.g. sprinting, HIIT). Although this can be a great fat burner, it may also increase the size of your thigh muscles. Endurance running is one of the most effective exercise to get defined, slim thighs and legs. Endurance runners tend to have very slim legs, especially in compared with sprinters who have highly developed and very large thigh muscles.

4. Running to slim thighs and reshape legs

Endurance running is especially effective in those who have big thigh muscles, as it may decrease the size of the muscles and reduce fat around the muscle to make the thighs smaller. It will completely transform the size and make-up of your thighs and your calves. Therefore, to slim down thighs do endurance running with little or no incline. If you find it too difficult to run or are unable to run, try the elliptical trainer with little or no resistance. Posture on the elliptical trainer is critical. Correct posture will target your butt, outer thigh and hamstring muscles (back of thighs) and lessen the strain on your quadriceps (front of

thighs), avoiding you from inadvertently building big thighs

5. Resistance training

When you have lost some fat from your thighs you can think about resistance training. If you need to increase muscle mass in order to increase the shape and definition of your thighs you can implement resistance exercises. In order to have fantastic legs you need muscle. Therefore, if you lack shape having lost weight, a program of resistance training targeting the legs will help to shape and firm them. Be sure to keep the weights moderately light, so that your thigh muscles become harder, stronger and more defined, but not significantly larger. In other words, focus on completing more repetitions, with less resistance. Those who have the type of muscle (mesomorphs) that responds quickly and gets big need to be particularly vigilant and may not choose not to do any such exercises, since their thigh muscles are already well toned.

6. Patience

The very important key on slimming down thighs is PATIENCE. You need to be patient and focused on what you want to achieve. You cannot burn body fat in specific areas, especially inner thigh fat. You cannot spot reduce. Body fat is lost from the entire body during weight loss. The inner thighs will be one of the last areas of the body in a woman to be slim and firm. Just remember to be realistic and to take your body shape, genetics and current level of body fat into consideration when setting goals. You can get slim thighs, but you need time to get there. A lot of people misunderstood and missed this step. And trust me I was one of them too. But really, when you want to lose weight on specific area, you would also notice a slightly change for example staring from your face, neck then down to your arms and shoulders and so on.

7. Play with your routine.

One thing that I remember clearly since the day one I started focusing on my body is that, I can't keep using the same workout again and again, if you do that - you're body will get use to it and it will no longer work. That is why you need to either increase or change your workout every now and then. What i like to do with my is that, I focus on what worked for me but increase it by doing another 20x additional from my normal 30. Something that will push you to work harder. 

BUT a thigh gap largely has to do with your bone structure; something you cannot change - I feel you, the minute I learn this, I was disappointed too. To try and diet and exercise your way to a thigh gap is completely unrealistic. 

There's nothing wrong with having a thigh gap. There is, however, something wrong with over exercising, ruthlessly dieting to the point of being malnourished, and generally making yourself mentally and physically unhealthy in effort to reach a goal that is literally not possible for your body. I didn't understand this at the beginning, no one was there to help me understand. So I blamed myself for not doing a very good job at dieting and not exercising to much. And this is wrong for a 15 year old to think.

And whoever tells you that you can achieve thigh gap is either wildly uneducated on the subject of fitness and the human body, or just telling you what they think you want to hear. 

So what's the point of DMJ writing about this? you may ask? well, Slimming your thighs is something like me telling you that unicorns are real. But the point I want to reach out to girls that want their thighs not to touch is, focus on making your legs tone. Toning is the key to make your legs look skinny (if that's what your aiming for)

Here's what I want you to take away from this article; for the love of all things good health, set and pursue fitness goals that improve the health of your body and your quality of living - not empty goals that are at best unattainable and diminishing of your well-being or for the sake of the society.

Push yourself towards fitness goals that make you feel strong, vibrant, happy and healthy, and I guarantee that you're going to like the changes you see in your body and mindset.