Exercising your hips and thighs
Exercising the hips and thighs
There is a popular misconception that you can reduce body fat by doing lots of exercises that work the muscles around the hips and thighs, or reduce your abdominal fatness by doing lots of abdominal curls. The only way to reduce body fat is through daily low intensity exercise, for at least 30 minutes per session. Your body just doesn't take body fat from the area being exercised. Exercise on one part of the body will not suddenly make the body fat in that area 'mobilise', or 'break up', or 'break down', or 'burn up'.
Plastic wraps, creams, massages, rollers or vibration belts won't reduce body fat (sometimes called cellulite) either. These treatments usually force fluid out of the tissues of the area being worked, so the size (girth measurement) of the abdominal area, arm, hip or thigh is smaller just after treatment. However, the girth returns to normal soon afterwards, as fluid returns to the area.
Toning the muscles
Exercising the muscles will increase their 'tone'. Muscle tone is the firmness of a muscle when it is at rest, or its ability to hold its shape and not sag with gravity. Isolation exercises such as side leg raises will give your muscles this firmness and shape. The more muscles you exercise, the firmer and more definite they'll become.
Ad/ab machine
This machine will work the muscles on the inside of your thighs and hips.
- Sit yourself in the seat, and adjust the back support so that you can lean against it when in a comfortable position. Place your legs in the supports.
- Adjust the resistance to a low number (2 if it has a scale from 1 to 6). Press out with your thighs, as far as you can go. Pull in with your thighs until your legs are together.
- Make sure you push and pull with your thighs, not your ankles. If you use your ankles, there is a chance you will damage your knee ligaments.
- Use the handles on each side to keep your upper body fixed during the exercise. Don't let your hips come off the seat, or your back come away from the back support.
Leg press
The leg press will work the muscles on the front of your thighs (the quadriceps) and your buttocks (the gluteal muscles). The more common leg press machines have a seat that slides forward and back.
- Sit in the seat, put your feet on the foot plates, and then adjust the seat so that your knee angle is slightly less than 90 degrees.
- Set the weight at a level where you can easily do 15 reps. Push yourself hard into the back support. Hold the handles next to the seat, so that your hips are held down into the seat.
- Push out slowly with your legs, until your knees are straight, but not locked. Bend your knees and control the weights as you lower them until your knees are at an angle of 90 degrees.
- If you've set the seat up correctly, there should be a gap of about 3 centimetres between the weights you are using and the weight stack.
Hamstring curls
The last muscle group in your thighs is the hamstrings, at the back of your upper leg. The 4 hamstring muscles bend at your knee, and help with lifting your leg out behind you.
- The secret to success with the standing hamstring curl is to use the muscles in your thigh, not the ones in your buttocks (the gluteals).
- Make sure you don't arch your back, and that your thighs do stay in contact with the padded supports. This exercise can cause back problems if done incorrectly.
- Hook your ankles under the roller pads. Set a light weight, or pull the pin out if you haven't done this exercise before.
- Hold the hand grips, and keep your thighs against the padding. Bend one knee, and keep lifting until your heel almost touches your buttocks.
- Lower the leg down, and repeat with the other leg. If your weaker leg gets tired, stop. Don't do more on your stronger side, or you'll get even more unbalanced in strength.
Last Reviewed: 30 May 2002
