When you walk, jump or lower down to do a squat to pick up something from the floor, you need the support of strong legs, as well as inner thighs. If your inner thighs are weak, you will have a problem in performing daily activities. So, it’s time to strengthen and tone them up! If you are just starting out, you can do inner thigh exercises for beginners. The best part is that you can do it all at home without going to a gym.
Health Shots connected with fitness guru Aminder Singh of Team Aminder fame to find out which all inner thigh exercises can work for you.
Inner thigh exercises
The muscles in your inner thighs are called the hip adductors, and strong inner thighs means your core, hips, knees and lower back getting stabilised. Here are some of the moves for your inner thighs.
1. Sumo squats
Sumo squats can help to strengthen inner thigh muscle in the legs and core, which is a great place to start if you want to improve overall strength, says Singh.
How to do it
• With your toes turned out, stand straight with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart. Both hands should be placed at your sides.
• Sitting back into your hips, bend your knees to lower till your thighs are parallel with the floor.
• Keeping your chest up and preventing your back from rounding, press through your feet to straighten your legs and return to standing position.
2. Goblet squat
The goblet squat is a compound exercise that targets your lower body, especially your inner thighs. This exercise will strengthen your leg and inner thighs tremendously. It also works on the upper body as well as the core.
How to do it
• Hold the dumbbell with your hands underneath the top of the weight to the chin.
• Get into a squat position while keeping your core tight and upper body upright.
• Bend as low as you can while keeping your hips back.
• Use your heels to come back to the starting position.
3. Butterfly stretch
Butterfly stretch helps to open up the thighs and improves flexibility. It helps to loosen and lengthen the inner thigh muscles. Doing this exercise can be very beneficial to your posture and mobility, says the expert.
How to do it
• Sit down and get your feet together.
• Using your arms, move your knees down into the floor.
• Hold the stretch for half a minute and then release.
4. Side leg raise
This is a great body weight exercise which activates muscle groups throughout your body. Your hip adductors and lower back muscles are majorly involved in it. It is a great and simple exercise to build strength in the outer thigh and inner thigh muscles.
How to do it
• Lie down on your right side, and make sure your body is in a straight line with your legs extended and feet stacked on top of each other.
• Place your arm straight on the floor under your head and cradle your head for support.
• Place your left hand out front to get more support.
• As you exhale, gently raise your left leg off your lower leg.
• Inhale and lower the leg back down so that it can meet your right leg.
5. Resistance band lateral step-out squat
You can include this into your warmup to get the glutes activated.
How to do it
• Stand up straight with a resistance band wrapped below your knees.
• Keep your hands clasped right in front of your chest.
• Take a big step to the right then bend your knees, sit back, and lower until your thighs are parallel with the floor.
Next time you think of working out, make sure to include some of the inner thigh exercises too.
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