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10 Exercises for Outer Thighs to Get Strong and Sculpted Legs
You can shape and strengthen your thighs with some of the easiest exercises for outer thighs. Get those firm and defined legs that you’ve always wanted.
We all know spot reduction of fats is a myth, but that does not mean you can’t tone targeted areas. With our list of a few simple exercises for outer thighs, you can now set on a journey to achieve your dream transformation. Outer thigh fat is infamously stubborn, especially in women. This is because, unlike men who tend to store visceral fats (around organs), women store subcutaneous fats (under the skin) around the hips and thighs. These stored fats need to be broken down by hormones and enzymes but only when the body is in an energy crisis. Therefore, factors like high metabolic activities, limited calorie intake, and a healthy lifestyle play equally important roles in burning fats (1).
It might get frustrating when you reduce your calorie intake and exercise regularly but still fail to see visible results after a point. This is because the journey towards losing some pounds of body weight requires a holistic approach that includes cardiovascular activities, a high-protein and healthy diet, and a good lifestyle. This will not just stabilize your metabolism but also keep your hormones happy. When these are done in conjunction with toning exercises that target your outer thighs, you will see a constant upward curve toward your goals. So, let us help you make your journey a little less complicated.
What Muscles Make Up the Outer Thighs?
While talking about the outer thigh muscles, we are talking about the balance, stability, and mobility that are required to move your legs away from your body's central axis and support your hips. The group of muscles that make up the outer thighs are called hip abductors (2). These constitute:
1. Glutes:
The glutes are a combination of three muscles – the largest, gluteus maximus; the middle and most important, gluteus medius; and the smallest, gluteus minimus.
Gluteus maximus: This is the largest muscle in our body that is found in the posterior hip joint region.
Gluteus medius: This is the most essential part of the glutes as it is responsible for stabilizing and moving the hip joint. It is a broad muscle found in the lateral portion of your buttocks
Gluteus minimus: This is the smallest of the three gluteal muscles. Lying deep in the gluteus medius, they work in conjunction to provide stabilized hip movements.
2. Tensor Fasciae Latae:
This is a small muscle that’s found on the lateral regions of your thighs, starting high on the hip and lying between your IT band. It works in synergy with the glutes to assist in walking and is thus quite essential for strengthening lower body movements.
3. Piriformis:
This is a flat muscle that lies deep in the gluteus maximus muscle. It helps in lateral hip rotations and assists in hip abduction when the legs are flexed.
4. Sartorius:
It is a thin, long, and superficial muscle present in the anterior of the thigh. It is the longest muscle that runs from the hip joints to the knee joints while assisting in stabilizing, flexing, abducting, and laterally rotating the thigh (3).
Outer thigh exercises aim at strengthening all of these muscles so that you get sculpted legs that provide great support and stability to your hips. Therefore, keeping back pain, sciatica-type pain, knee pain, and muscle spasms at bay. Let us quickly dive into the 10 important exercises for outer thighs that require just a little determination to get started.
10 Exercises for Outer Thighs:
By now, you have hopefully understood that no fad diet or spot reduction exercises are going to show you visible results. Although you may not be able to work on isolated areas for fat reduction, you can very well train and strengthen specific muscles. For this one must follow a high-protein diet and practice resistance training 3-4 days a week. Along with this, cardiovascular activities as well as a good sleep cycle is a must. However, you must understand that these are not overnight fixes, but rather positive lifestyle changes that will provide satisfactory results after months of patience and hard work.
Here, we will discuss a combination of compounds as well as isolated exercises. Compound exercises involve several muscle groups that work in synchrony, such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, etc. These are done to strengthen your muscles. While isolated exercises work for a single muscle group at a time, such as hamstring curls, leg extensions, leg presses, etc. these help in improving movement and flexibility of isolated muscle groups.
While performing these workouts, start small and work your way up through progressive overload to avoid injuries. You must also warm up before and stretch after workouts to prevent muscle stiffness, spasms, soreness, and injuries.
Warm Up:
Start with a 10-minute warm-up routine. It will increase your heart rate, thus increasing the blood supply to your muscles. It will also relax stiffness and enhance movements (4).
Workout:
1. Goblet Squats:
This is a compound exercise that is a squat variation involving a dumbbell or a kettlebell. It is effective for the glutes and posterior parts of the thigh. It is also safer than barbell squats, making it great for beginners.
Instructions:
- Get to a squat position with your feet apart according to your shoulder length and at 45 degrees angle.
- Hold a dumbbell vertically
- Go down slowly while placing your feet firm and flat on the ground
- Once you feel a strain on your outer thighs, slowly come up to the previous position.
- Continue this 10-12 times and repeat this set 3-4 times.
2. Squat Side Kick:
This is an effective way to increase hip mobility as well as target the outer thighs. It is a dynamic, cardiovascular exercise that can be easily incorporated into your interval training or resistance training. For working your legs a little extra, use a resistance band.
Instructions:
- Stand in with your feet at shoulder-width apart and 45 degrees outwards.
- Squat down slowly until your thighs are parallel to the floor or until you feel a pull.
- Ascend and place your weight on your right leg.
- Lift your left leg laterally to the side.
- Return to the squat position and repeat with the right leg.
- Do this for 30 seconds each leg, or 20 times per leg with a resistance band.
- Repeat the set 3-4 times.
3. Deadlift:
This is one of the most effective compound exercises that helps in strengthening the outer thighs as well as building a tight core. It engages the hamstring, glutes, and lower back.
Instructions:
- Stand tall with your feet apart at shoulder length and 45 degrees outwards.
- Slightly bend your knees and lower your upper body to grab a barbell or a set of dumbbells.
- Start ascending as you pull the weight up and hinge on your back slightly.
- Press your glutes and keep your upper body straight.
- Go back down to the original position.
- Repeat this 10-12 times per set and repeat a set 3-4 times.
4. Curtsy Lunges:
These are fun variations of lunges that specifically target the outer thigh muscles. You can add weights to make it a resistance training routine or do it quickly for high-intensity training routines.
Instructions:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Step back with your left leg diagonally towards your right leg.
- Start descending your body while bending your knees, until the right thigh is parallel to the floor.
- Ascend to the beginning position and repeat this for your right side.
5. Glute Bridges:
These are great for your toning the muscle mass of your glutes and core. It is super simple and can be progressively made difficult with additional weight.
Instructions:
- Lie on your back and bend your knees, keeping your feet firmly on the ground.
- Raise your lower back while pressing your buttocks and hold for a few seconds.
- Return to the original position.
- Repeat this 10-12 times per set and repeat a set 3-4 times.
6. Clamshell:
This is an isolated exercise that will engage your outer thigh muscles where you will feel the burn around your thighs. You can add a resistance band to make it more effective.
Instructions:
- Lie on your sides and bend your knees, placing them on top of the other.
- Add a resistance band around both your thighs.
- Slowly raise your top leg laterally while keeping your knees bent.
- Hold for 3-4 seconds and bring it down.
- Repeat this 10-12 times per side and repeat a set 3-4 times.
7. Lateral Lunges:
This is a compound exercise that is a slight variation of lunges wherein your core muscles and thigh muscles will be engaged. It is also beginner friendly and requires no equipment.
Instructions:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Step with your left leg laterally away from your right leg.
- Start descending your body while bending your knees, until the left thigh is parallel to the floor.
- Ascend to the beginning position and repeat this for your right side.
- Repeat this 10-12 times per side and repeat a set 3-4 times.
8. Side plank hip abduction:
This is a modified plank that is an extremely effective workout that may need a little practice to maintain balance. Side plank engages your thigh, glutes, and core muscles and will definitely make you feel the burn.
Instructions:
- Lie on your side with your top leg extended over your bottom leg that is slightly bent.
- Lift your body upwards by putting pressure on your elbows and feet.
- Hold this position for 30 seconds and then switch sides.
- Repeat this set 3-4 times.
9. Seated Hip Abduction:
This is an isolated exercise that will focus on your outer thighs without putting any pressure on other parts of the body. It will ensure better hip mobility and flexibility along with muscle training. If you are at the gym, there is equipment made especially for this exercise but if you are at home, use a resistance band to provide the pull.
Instructions:
- Sit on a flat stool or chair and keep your back straight.
- Make sure your knees are touching each other.
- Place the resistance band between your calves.
- Slowly pull your knees apart laterally as much as you can.
- Slowly return to the original position.
- Repeat this 10-12 times and repeat a set 3-4 times.
10. Single-leg bridge:
This variant of glute bridges is a great way to give your outer thighs and buttocks a toned appearance. It is super simple, however, if you want to increase its effectiveness, you may add weights.
Instruction:
- Lie on your back and bend your knees keeping your feet firmly on the ground.
- Raise one leg, simultaneously raising your lower back while pressing your buttocks.
- Hold this position for a few seconds.
- Return to the original position.
- Repeat this 10-12 times per set and repeat a set 3-4 times.
Stretching:
End your workout session with some dynamic stretching. This will relieve stiffness and maintain flexibility of your joints and muscles. This will also further prevent the risk of joint pain, strains, and muscle damage (5).
These are some of the most famous and easy-to-do exercises that will definitely make your outer thighs work. You may see visible results after following this exercise routine religiously for a few months.
Conclusion:
Outer thigh fats are known to be insufferably stubborn and may affect a person’s confidence. Therefore, here are some of the simplest exercises for the outer thighs that can help you get rid of the appearance of saddlebags. Your outer thighs are made of different muscle groups called abductors which help in balancing and providing lower back support and hip mobility. These exercises are a mix of compound and isolated exercises that will train your outer thigh muscles to gain strength, stability, and flexibility. These workouts when performed along with an appropriate diet and high-intensity cardiovascular workout, may make your legs look sculpted.
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