How To Tone Legs And Thighs

If I could have a dollar every time someone asked me this question, I would be a very rich girl. So many women are after the best way to tone their legs and thighs, and as a consequence, are receiving some pretty bad information in return. We’ll start by dispelling a common myth that annoys me,  and consequently learn how you actually really can tone your legs and thighs effectively.

The Myth Surrounding The Word ‘Tone’

Tone is a word that people use when they want their muscles to be more prominent, stand out more, be more defined. It really is irrelevant, because when you say you want to tone your body up, I understand what you are trying to tell me, it just annoys me, it is not correct. The fact is that there is a constant level of tone in your muscles, and that can’t be changed. Well, it can be with a very unfortunate accident, because the only people that have extra ‘tone’ in their muscles are those with muscle disabilities, such as cerebral palsy. This disease is characterized by abnormal tone in the muscle, hence why sufferers have diminished control over their movements. To say you want to tone up your body, is just incorrect, you have a constant level of tone in your muscles regardless of how big they are. That being said, I understand when you want a more toned body, that you want to look more defined. The real issue here is it just annoys me, and I like people to be informed, it is the first step to reaching your goals. Why is it so important to me that you understand what the ‘tone’ you are asking for actually is? Well, knowledge is power, and actually understanding this phenomenon will help you understand why you are doing the training you are doing…read on.

What You Actually Need To Do (How To Tone Legs And Thighs!)

Toning your body involves two simple steps.

• Losing Body Fat (healthy fat loss/ increase metabolism)

• Getting Bigger Muscles (build muscle)

At the end of the day, learning how to tone legs and thighs involves only these two processes. You need to have less fat on your body in order to see the muscles, and having bigger ones makes it easier for them to pop out. To put it simply…

Now time to dispel another myth. The difference in training for ‘tone’ and training for muscle size and strength is very little. Most women come to the gym with the thought that, “oh I want to drop some weight, and tone up a little, but I don’t want to get too big”. Now firstly, too big is a very difficult state to get into. It requires a lot of training and a lot of heavy lifting, both of which the average gym goer is not going to do. For those worried about getting too big, you are kidding yourself that it will ever happen, unless you start taking drugs, we simply don’t have the hormones that men do. This does not mean that you don’t need to do a similar training, it will just be less often. The most effective way to tone your legs and thighs, is to lift a decent amount of weight and do complex movements (which means exercises involving a lot of joints) a couple of times a week. Combine this with some cardio (not always necessary as complex movements are intense and burn a lot of calories) and watching what you eat, you will get the ‘toned’ look. Getting too big is going to be impossible on this training plan, but getting the ‘toned’ look is going to be even more impossible with the kind of training most people are doing. You need to work, and you need to lift weights, and you will have the perfect body.

Another common misconception is spot reducing or spot training. You want to tone your butt, well then you need to do 100 reps on an easy butt exercise. Wrong! This will help you to build some muscle in your bottom, however much much less effectively than a complex exercise would, and will also burn much less calories, not helping with the fat loss side of things. Leg extension and other similar exercises are unnecessary for toning your body, and are also a waste of time. Doing the right leg workout is very important. You can train much more efficiently with a few simple complex movements. Check out leg exercise equipment for more discussion on the best leg exercises.

5 Great Exercises To Smash Your Legs

Now that you understand that you need to get stronger and get bigger muscles in order to get more toned, then you will understand why these five exercises are so great. The more muscles you work, the stronger your butt and legs are going to get, your muscles will grow all over your legs, but not excessively, the more calories you will burn, and the more effectively you will ‘tone’ your legs and thighs. All of these exercises can be done with or without weights, start low and slowly increase the weight you are lifting.

• Lunges
• Squats (overhead squat)
  
• Step Ups
• Deadlifts
• Swiss Ball Hamstring Curls

Now you know how to tone legs and thighs, have dispelled a lot of myths and misconceptions, and you should be well on your way to a more defined and better looking body!?