How to lose weight in your thighs: methods and secrets

Doing isolation exercises for the hamstrings does more harm than good.

First, you run the risk of knee or back injury, as some isolation exercises are not suitable for people with muscle imbalances.

Secondly, if your goal is to tone your hamstrings or try to get rid of cellulite, then doing isolation exercises is of no use as they do not help reduce fat or cellulite.

In order to understand which exercise to choose, it would be nice to understand the anatomy

The hamstrings involve more than two joints and are made up of 3 major muscles: the semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and biceps femoris. The joint movement of these muscles is bending the knee and pressing the heel to the buttock.

Since some of the muscles of this group are attached to the ischial tuberosity, they, together with the gluteal muscles, also take part in hip extension - a movement as if you are hitting someone standing behind you.

If your hamstrings are tight and your gluteal muscles are weak, you are at risk for back problems. That is why isolated exercises for this muscle group are not suitable for everyone.

Nutrition tips

Correctly adjusting your diet is the easiest way to quickly lose weight in your thighs. It is necessary to create a diet so that the body does not need to accumulate excess fat. He should feel that reserves are not needed, and that the body receives all the nutrients necessary for life every day.

Express diets

It is absolutely clear that hunger strikes, low-calorie diets and mono-diets are not a way to lose weight in the thighs, but rather another provocation for the body. Even if you stay on strict restrictions for a month (and you can’t do it longer, as serious health problems may arise) and get the desired result, then as soon as the body “gets its hands on” normal food, it will immediately begin to store those substances that it most does not need enough. Naturally, for a rainy day.

Such experiments can completely disrupt the normal course of metabolic processes and it will be incredibly difficult to lose weight even in a healthy way. Remembering the “dark times”, the body will try for a long time to retain at least minimal reserves of fat (in your favorite problem areas!).

Therefore, the first nutritional tip is to completely abandon all “quick” diets.

Calorie counting

Yes, it's boring. But this is the easiest way to quickly lose weight in your thighs. The body must be outwitted by creating a slight calorie deficit, in which it will have enough energy to support its own life, but due to increased physical activity, it will begin to spend more than it receives from food.

There are several options for calculating the recommended daily calorie intake:

• Use online calculators, which are available on all women's weight loss sites. Daily caloric intake should be 20 percent higher than the level of basal metabolism.
• By eye, remove 1/4 of each serving from an already filled plate. And this applies to everything - solid and liquid dishes, desserts and even drinks (juices, compote, etc.)
• Take a glass and your palm as the main measuring instruments. The volume of soup and side dish should fit into this glass (single serving). And we measure daily portions of meat and fish into the palm of our hand. The meat should fit from the wrist to the base of the fingers. And you can eat more fish - the whole palm of your hand along with your fingers.

If you constantly adhere to one of these rules, the excess fat will gradually begin to disappear. But this does not mean that you can eat everything!

Weekly menu

The diet for the week must be prepared in advance. To prevent the body from making large reserves, nutrition should be as balanced as possible.

There is a convenient formula 30/10/60 - it reflects the optimal balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Moreover, 70% of carbohydrates should be slow, and 50% of proteins should be animal.

You need to be careful with fats. Do not use transgenic spreads under any circumstances. Before cooking, remove all visible fat from meat and fish. The permissible portion of butter is no more than 15 grams per day.

To dress salads, you should not use mayonnaise, but high-quality vegetable oils - flaxseed, olive, pumpkin, sesame. Also choose dairy products with a small percentage of fat content.

But the main enemy of those losing weight is sugar and all products containing it: sweets, baked goods, pastries, cakes, packaged juices and carbonated drinks. You will have to give them up and stick to fruits and vegetables. They should be on the table every day and preferably fresh - this is the main source of vitamins, antioxidants and plant fiber.

Water balance

To lose weight in your thighs faster, you need to not only eat, but also drink. Moreover, drink clean still water and at least 8 glasses a day. And if you are actively training, the water intake should be increased by a glass for every half hour of training. This will speed up metabolic processes, relieve swelling and help the body quickly remove fat tissue breakdown products and accumulated toxins.

A big and very common mistake is counting all the liquids you drink: coffee, tea, juices, milk and even soup. A liquid that contains any nutrients is not water, but food!

Coffee also has a diuretic effect and flushes calcium from the body. Nutritionists advise adding another glass of water for every cup of coffee you drink.

Snacks

Avoiding snacks completely is not the best way to lose weight in your thighs. The more hungry the body experiences, the higher the likelihood that it will begin to save energy and slow down metabolic processes. And this is not at all what we are striving for!

Therefore, snacks should be available, especially for those who work and cannot afford meals several times a day. But snacks are correct - sweets and cakes with coffee are definitely not for you! A sausage sandwich or hamburger isn't much better.

Whole grain bars, vegetable salads, milkshakes (without sugar!) with fruits or berries, a small amount of dried fruits or nuts are suitable.

To prevent a snack from negatively affecting your figure, follow three basic rules:

• Don’t turn a snack into your main meal – it’s meant to stave off hunger, not to fill you up.
• Snack before the feeling of hunger becomes too strong, but not before it appears.
• After a snack, you should not eat according to a schedule, but when you are hungry enough - no earlier than an hour and a half later.

Important! Be sure to have a snack after an intense workout - this is necessary to speed up metabolic processes!

When is the best time to do hamstring exercises?

For most people, the hamstrings are worked during leg training. Sometimes people break up their strength training, preferring to include exercises for a given muscle group with back work.

If the muscles of the back of the thigh are in a state of tension, then isolation exercises, lying or sitting, should be excluded. If you plan to run the day after a strength training session, you should not do hamstring isolation exercises.

Seven of the best exercises for the “ears” on the hips

When to exercise: it doesn’t matter - in the morning or in the evening, the main thing is at least an hour after eating. You can incorporate these movements into your strength plan by performing them at the beginning of your workout. Don't do a set of outer thigh exercises on a cardio day, as most of them put so much stress on your legs that you won't be able to run or even walk as hard as you can.

Equipment: timer (you probably have it on your phone), jump rope, 2 dumbbells of 5-10 kg each (if you need lighter weights, it’s better to do it without weight at all), rubber mat under your feet for jumping, sneakers.

How to do it: perform the exercises one after another. We set the timer so that the first bell sounds after 40 seconds, the second after 20. We do the first exercise for 40 seconds, and then “according to the text.” At the end of the circle, rest for 60 seconds, repeat 4-5 times. Warm up by jumping rope for 5 minutes. In the final we perform the “corner”, “boat”, “cat” from bodyflex. You can also do it with breathing.

Exercise 1. Classic squat

Time: 40 seconds

Why: tightens all leg muscles, burns a lot of extra calories, warms the tensor fascia lata, protects against injuries

We stand with our feet hip-width apart, toes naturally pointed apart. Dumbbells in hands along the body. We squat until our thighs are parallel to the floor, as if we were sitting on a low chair. We stand up while exhaling.

Exercise 2. Plyometric squat

Time: 20 seconds

Why: burns fat

We throw the dumbbells, do the same, only at the point “Thighs are parallel to the floor” we sharply jump up, and then softly land on the front of the foot. We do not straighten our knees completely, and do not strive to assume a “skier pose” (artificially parallel feet).

Exercise 3. Abduction squat

Time: 40 seconds

Why: strengthens all leg muscles, plus trains the tensor fasciae lata in isolation

We perform a squat, dumbbells in our hands, at the lowest point we transfer the weight to the left leg and, standing up, move the right thigh clearly to the right and up. Imagine lifting your leg up the wall, without swinging back and forth. Repeat, alternating legs.

Exercise 4. Kick-side

Time: 20 seconds

Why: burns fat

Do you watch action movies? Yes, that's it - alternate quick kicks to the side. Strike with your heel, not your toe. First, we slightly shift the body to the left, transfer the weight to the left foot, retract the abs, lift off the right leg, move it to the right, bring the heel to the buttock, bending the knee, and from there push-kick the heel to the side. We repeat.

Exercise 5. Lateral leads

Time: 40 seconds

Why: you wanted exercises for the outer thighs?

We lie down on the floor on our right side, place our left hand with a dumbbell along the body, slowly move and bring the thigh up.

Exercise 6. Running with high knees

Why: burn fat

We get up and go for a short jog, try to do everything gently, don’t knock your feet

Exercise 7. Jumping rope

Why: Maximize calorie expenditure

We jump as comfortably as we can, the main thing is not to fully extend our knees, don’t forget to breathe, and don’t jump on a flat foot.

After completing all seven exercises, take a minute's break and start again from the first. In total you should get 4-5 approaches.

Summary

Surprised? You've probably read on other sites about easier exercises for the outer thigh. Why make it so complicated? The most radical fitness pros only recognize squats with weights of at least 50% of your body weight as exercises for the outer thigh. The problem is that 80% of fitness trainers with training in anatomy and physiology will force the client to do complex movements that burn a lot of calories and work the legs as a whole. And advisors from the Internet will recommend side leg abductions as the best exercise for the outer thigh.

The truth is that fat deposits and flabbiness are a consequence of a lack of tone not only in the quadriceps (this is rare), but also in the muscles of the buttocks, hip extensor and other muscles. So exercises from the ears only work when the entire “bottom” is involved. Well, the notorious hip abductions are a panacea for fat that works if a person is on a super-strict low-calorie diet. In other cases, they burn too few calories. By the way, even really hard workouts do not give you the right to increase your caloric intake significantly. While training with our plan, eat as usual. For those who don’t know, this is an average of 1600-2000 kcal, depending on height, age and weight.

Author of the article Elena Selivanova, fitness trainer

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Another important point is the ratio: hamstrings - quadriceps

The relationship between the hamstrings and quadriceps is especially important for sprinters and athletes, but is also important for the average person.

According to the latest scientific data, the hamstrings can lift 75% of what the quadriceps can do. Unfortunately, more accurate data has not been obtained.

You can test your strength in a leg curl/extension machine. If you are able to extend your leg with a weight greater than 25% above flexion, you may need to add hamstring exercises. Or you can mentally focus on this muscle group while performing basic leg exercises.

Exercises for losing weight in problem areas of the thighs

It is useful to have in your arsenal exercises that specifically target certain problem areas:

1. Stepping onto a support . For the front of the thigh. Execution technique: standing in front of a bench (the height is selected according to the physical capabilities of the trainee), place your foot on the bench, rise almost until it is completely straightened, casually place the second foot to the front and immediately begin the reverse movement down. You can perform it first with one leg, then with the other, or alternately. Weights are used to make the exercise more difficult.
2. Hip lift . For the back surface. IP: standing on your hands and knees. Raise the bent leg until the thigh is parallel to the floor and from this position perform upward movements with the thigh, as if pushing something with the heel towards the ceiling. It is necessary to ensure the correct position of the back: it should remain straight and motionless. All movements are carried out only by the muscles of the thigh and buttocks.
3. Lateral hip raises . For external surface. IP: lying on your side with emphasis on your elbow and forearm. Raise your upper leg straight without turning your body. The working leg should be tense, the movement is performed slowly with maximum amplitude (but not to the detriment of technique).
4. Lateral cross hip raises . For the inner surface. IP: the same as in the previous exercise, but the upper leg lies bent at a right angle in front of the body. Raise the straight lower leg without turning the body or pelvis.

A 20-minute workout for the inner thigh is presented in the video:

We also recommend studying tips on how to lose weight in your legs.

Exercises for the back of the thigh

Lunges on the platform

Starting position: Standing, with the left leg placed on the platform, the right leg remains behind on the floor. The distance between the front and rear legs should be such that, when lowering, the front leg (left) is bent at the knee by 90°, while the back leg (right), when bent, also forms an angle of about 90°, and almost reaches the knee with the floor. Hands on the belt (light version) or with dumbbells lowered along the body. The back is straight.

Execution: Slowly squat down, almost until the knee of your back leg touches the floor. Both knees bend to a right angle. Then smoothly return to the starting position. The back is straight, do not lean forward, the gaze is slightly above the horizontal.

Recommendations: When performing lunges on a platform, the front leg is on the heel, the back leg is on the toe. At the lowest point, the angle at the knees is strictly 90 degrees. Don't let your front knee go past your toes as you lower down.

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Features of losing weight in the hips

The nature of the female body is designed primarily for motherhood, so subcutaneous fat accumulates most in the lower part of the body. Those with wide bones will not be able to change their body constitution, but it is possible to remove extra centimeters and fat on the hips.

It should also be taken into account that subcutaneous fat cannot disappear in a few days. Therefore, at least a month must pass to obtain visible results. At the same time, not only thick thighs, but also other parts of the body (arms, legs, sides) will lose weight. It is impossible to reduce inches from the buttocks without affecting other parts of the body.

Additional information on this topic

Leg exercises The common goal of all workouts is health. Leg exercises have many benefits and affect the entire body. It is the leg muscles that help the heart ensure good blood circulation. Exercises for Hips and Buttocks The most effective exercises for hips and buttocks, both in the gym and at home, are those that dynamically engage the entire lower body muscle group through a full range of motion. Leg Stretching When developing flexibility through leg stretching exercises, go with how you feel, not how far you can stretch. How to lose weight in the hip area To solve this problem, it is not enough to just lose weight. It is necessary to tighten the leg muscles, make them strong and elastic, and this requires active strength training. Exercises for women If the percentage of body fat is high, then the basis of the “female” training program, like the “male” one, will be basic (complex) exercises, as well as combinations of various movements.

How to lose weight in your hips, waist and butt

This post is dedicated to a special topic - working with problem areas. But not through exercise. You know them without me. Here we will talk about more subtle matters - the nervous system and capillaries. However, I will definitely give a small set of exercises in a separate article.

Working on slimming your hips, waist and buttocks must include these four points.

1. Exercises for hips, waist and buttocks. This is a mandatory part of the exercise complex.
2. Cardio: Walking, running, cycling and other activities to burn fat.
3. Proper nutrition or a reasonable diet.
4. Stimulates blood circulation in problem areas, from which fat is the last to be lost. As a rule, in women this is the area of ​​​​the hips, buttocks and waist (lower abdomen and sides).

The fourth point is the most interesting for us, since no one talks about it anywhere!