Want Toned Legs? Slimming Workouts That Provide Results

Who doesn’t want a perfect body? But when the time comes to implementing a lifestyle change, not many have the courage to do what is required.

What people do not realize is that apart from exercising, they need to take great care about what they put on their plate , since your diet makes all the difference in the world. But let’s not get ahead and instead focus on implementing some of the most effective exercises for toned legs into your routine.

The good news is that most of the exercises mentioned here are easy to pull off, so you won’t feel like pushing yourself, nor will you feel demotivated. Without further ado, here are some slimming workouts that provide solid results and give you an hourglass figure .

Squats

One of the best things about squats is that it is a great way to achieve toned legs. It is a part of strength training , which essentially makes it possible for you to tone your inner thighs and build lean muscles.

To do a squat, what you need to do is to keep your shoulder wide apart and bend your knees in a 90-degree angle. You can do this exercise against a wall for support, especially if you are a beginner. Once you are comfortable exercising against a wall, and if you are confident, try pulling off squats by using your arms as an anchor to balance yourself.

During your exercise, hold your position for a minute, and take 30-second breaks in the middle. To get toned legs, you have to do 10 reps every day without fail.

Lunges

There are many ways you can go about doing this exercise, and it is preferred for the strengthening of the muscles and to give it some shape and tone. You can start easy and then make your way up the difficulty ladder for the best possible results. What is interesting about lunges is that they work on your belly are while toning your thighs and legs.

For a perfect lunge, you have to place your hands on your waist and stand with your feet together. Take deep breaths and lunge forward on one foot while keeping your body balanced. Hold your stance for 15 seconds and then pull back. Now redo the whole stance on the other foot. It is just that simple.

Dumbbell Lunges

Once you are sure you can pull off lunges without breaking a sweat, and to up your game, you should take advantage of dumbbell lunges. If done correctly, this exercise can help you achieve your ultimate goal of toned legs. Basically, it lets you build muscle and burn fat at the same time. It is also a foolproof way of maintaining and achieving toned legs. The good news is that lunges offer best results in the form of toned calves.

For dumbbell lunges, stand with your feet wide apart and in line with your shoulders, but in a triangular position. Hold out dumbbells in each hand and lunge sideways. Balance the weight of the dumbbells in accordance to your sideways lunge.

Exercises Involving Resistance Bands

If you want to mix things up a bit, then you should look into exercises that involve resistance bands. It may seem strange at first, largely because resistance bands are mostly used to tone arms and build lean arm muscles, but they can do wonders for your thighs and calves as well.

The ideal way to use these for your legs is by sitting on a chair and cuffing your legs and the chair’s legs within the resistance bands. Now all you need to do is to sit back and let the resistance bands work their magic to make your calves more evenly strong and toned. Once you get the hang of it, stretch your legs in the forward position with all your strength against the resistance bands. Repeat this movement after every 15-minute break.

Leg Lift

Leg lifts are all about strengthening your quads and they are quite easy to pull off too.

All you need to do is to stand face first towards a chair and stretch your right leg from your knees until you have fully engaged your quad muscle. Keep your leg straight and place it on the chair’s seat for increased pressure on your quads. Repeat the same movement with your left leg, but be warned. Don’t push yourself too hard as you could rupture your calf muscle. In the beginning, do at least two leg lifts for each leg, and then increase your reps as you see fit.

Leg Press

Leg presses work great for both, the front and back of your thighs. For this exercise, you will need a leg press machine, but they do come in different versions. As a beginner, you should start working out on a seated or horizontal leg press though. It should have an upright seat, no different from a regular chair, attached to weights.

How it works is you need to place your feet on the crosspiece, they should be shoulder-width apart. The bar that your feet will rest on is for weight resistance, but make sure your toes are pointing ahead. Push your legs until they are nearly extended without locking your knees. Slowly return your legs to their starting position where your knees should be at a 90-degree angle.

After mastering the horizontal leg press, give the angled leg press a go. The machine works almost the same way as the horizontal leg press, but instead, it is parallel to the floor. On the angled leg press, since you add weight plates, you will get better results.

As for how the angled leg press works, you will need your trainer to guide you in positioning your legs. Push your legs until they are completely extended. You need to let go of the safety bar here, so that you can bend your knees, making sure your thighs and lower legs and perpendicular to one another. Do the number of reps your trainer recommends. Once you are done with your set of leg presses, re-secure the safety bar.

Leg Curl

Once again, you will need a machine to help you with this exercise. With access to a leg curl machine, you will be able to tone your hamstring muscles. Leg curls machines come in different varieties i.e. the standing leg curl, the lying leg curl, and the standing leg curl. Your best bet would be the seated leg curl as it is perfect for people no matter their height. If you are hitting the gym, and you have access to all three machines, then do not be afraid to try each of them until you find one that best fits your needs and requirements.

For the leg curl, you need to be seated on the machine, with your legs are stretched out in front of you. Your legs need to be placed over the padded bar, attached to weights. To engage the hamstrings, push your legs down. Between each set, stretch out your legs though to prevent them from cramping up.

Plié Slides

This move is inspired by ballet and is great for the inner as well as outer thighs.

Stand straight with your hands on your hips, with your heels pressed together and your toes rotated outwards at 45-degrees. Stretch your left foot out, it should be hip-width apart. Both knees need to bend over your toes, avoid letting them roll in. Lower your body towards the floor, but make sure you pull in your abs and your back is straight. Slowly, rise out of the position, sliding your left foot back to its original position. Repeat this movement 15 times on each leg.

Running

HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) is extremely effective when it comes to burning fat and building lean muscles. HIIT can be as short as 4 minutes or go up all the way to 20 minutes each. Running is a part of HIIT because you can control factors like speed, location, and duration. You can run fast or slow, inside or outside and so on.

Plank to Stand Up

Agreed, this exercise is relatively tougher than ones mentioned above, but it can help improve flexibility in your hips and hamstrings; all the while toning your back, legs, and core.

You will need to start in a full plank position. Draw your abs in tight and push your right foot towards your hands. The right foot should rest between your hands, and it should be such that your right thigh is directly parallel to the floor. While keeping your back extended, push all your weight on your right foot while you stand upright. As you slowly stand up, lean your upper body slightly forward, then tap your left foot on the floor.

Next, lunge back down to the ground while bending your right knee. Place your hands flat on both sides of your foot. Push your right leg back to the plank position and then start over again, but this time with your left leg. Alternate between each leg and complete at least 15 reps in total.

The aforementioned workouts will help you be fit, sexy and toned like never before. As long as you remain dedicated to the cause, you will be able to fit in each and every sexy dress you lay your lies on. But remember, you will need to pay equal attention to what you are putting in your body.

To reach your true potential, and if you got what it takes to incorporate more leg exercises into your routine, go ahead.