If you want to be a footballer, look good at the beach, or just stay healthy, one way to do that is by practicing to strengthen your thigh muscles. However, many people do not have thighs that are densely muscled due to lack of movement during daily activities. Do not worry! You can have strong thigh muscles by living a lifestyle to reduce body fat, practicing cardio that focuses on the thigh muscles, and doing movements that are useful for training the thigh muscles.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Performing Movements to Train the Thigh Muscles
Step 1. Know the muscles that need to be trained
The thigh muscles consist of 4 muscle groups, namely the quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, and abductors that need to be trained thoroughly. To strengthen your thighs, perform movements that specifically work each muscle group.
There are so many useful movements to train the thigh muscles. If you've been informed about this exercise and want to give it a try, feel free to get started
Step 2. Do goblet squats
This movement is useful for training the buttocks, quadriceps, inner thighs, and hamstrings simultaneously. The name of this movement is adapted to the shape of both hands when holding dumbbells that look like wine glasses. Spread your feet wider than your shoulders while pointing your toes out to the sides. Holding dumbbells with both hands, do a squat while bending your knees 90°, then slowly stand up again.
Step 3. Perform a three-way lunge
This movement is useful for training the quadriceps, hamstrings, and buttocks. Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart and your palms together in front of your chest. Each repetition of the movement aims to train one leg. First, perform a forward lunge while bending your knees 90°. Second, do a side lunge while bending your knee 90° (a lunge with your right leg will work your right leg and vice versa). Third, perform a backward lunge with the same leg.
Step 4. Jump on one leg
This movement is useful for training the thighs, buttocks, and calves. Start the exercise by lifting one leg (such as your right foot) off the floor and then pointing your right foot back so it doesn't touch the floor. While maintaining balance, jump left and right using one leg while moving back and forth to the starting position. Leaps left and right count as 1 rep. Perform the same movement using the left foot.
Make sure the sole of the foot used to jump is pointing straight ahead, not tilted to the left or right
Step 5. Perform the basic deadlift
This exercise is useful for strengthening the thighs and legs. Prepare a barbell with the weight of the load according to ability. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart under the dumbbell bar. Hold a dumbbell bar with both hands and do a squat while straightening your back from your tailbone to your neck. Lift the dumbbells to knee height by pressing your heels into the floor and engaging your core muscles, then slowly stand up straight.
Step 6. Perform a side plank (plank posture) while lifting one leg
This movement is useful for training the outer thighs and the oblique muscles of the outer torso. Lie on your side resting on your forearm (eg left arm) and straighten your right arm up. Bend both knees 90° then lift your right leg using your hip muscles. Make sure both knees stay bent and arms don't move. Do the same movement while resting on the right arm.
Step 7. Do the bridge posture
This movement is useful for training the buttocks and hamstrings. Lie on your back on the floor, extending your arms at your sides and pointing your palms toward the floor. Bend your knees and place your feet on the floor. Use the strength of your abs and hips to lift your buttocks off the floor so that your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Hold this position for 25 seconds and then slowly lower your body to the floor. Do this movement a maximum of 3 times.
Method 2 of 3: Practice Cardio to Strengthen Thigh Muscles
Step 1. Get into the habit of running regularly
Running is useful for working the quadriceps and hamstrings while burning a lot of calories in an hour. Before running, make sure you have good stamina, a healthy cardiovascular and a fit body. Very fit people can run longer, but beginners can run 20-30 minutes on a treadmill, in the park, or around the house.
Step 2. Set aside time for cycling
Some people can't run because of knee or ankle problems. Instead, they should do light impact exercise by cycling, which works the quadriceps, gluteus, calf, hamstring, and adductor muscles to strengthen the legs as a whole. You can work out at the gym on a stationary bike or cycle around the house.
Step 3. Use the stairs to exercise
In addition to buying stair climbers, use the stairs so you can exercise for free. Repeated movements when climbing stairs are useful for increasing leg muscle endurance. Exercising using stairs is a light impact exercise that reduces the risk of injury. Even if it's only 10 minutes, the calorie burn while climbing stairs is the same as jogging for 1 hour.
If there are stairs at home or at work, use them for exercise, instead of choosing other means
Step 4. Time to practice kickboxing
As the name implies, this aerobic exercise uses a lot of thigh muscles. As you train, you'll use your hamstrings, quadriceps, and other muscles to perform a variety of kicks. Use the internet or a phone number book to find a kickboxing course at the nearest gym or self-defense practice.
Step 5. Take time to swim
Almost all swimming styles involve a powerful kick to get you moving forward. Efforts against natural resistance when you are in the water is useful for building and strengthening leg muscles. To make leg muscle exercises more beneficial, hold onto a float while swimming so that you stay afloat relying solely on leg strength.
Method 3 of 3: Adopting a Healthy Lifestyle to Reduce Body Fat
Step 1. Adopt a healthy diet
The old adage "You are what you eat" makes sense because you have to eat a balanced diet of nutrients to get the minerals, vitamins, protein, and healthy fats you need to build muscle. Make sure you eat enough protein to restore muscle fibers damaged during exercise. Get in the habit of eating a high-protein meal about 20 minutes before and after your muscle-strengthening workout.
Daily calorie needs must be adjusted to age, gender, and lifestyle
Step 2. Drink plenty of water
In addition to reducing hunger, drinking water can increase stamina and improve the quality of exercise. Body fluids that come out due to various bodily functions, such as breathing, sweating, or urinating must be replaced because of the human body consists of fluids.
- Teenagers should drink 8-10 glasses (2 liters) of water per day.
- Adults should drink 2, 2-3 liters of water per day.
Step 3. Create an exercise schedule
No matter how busy you are, you need to exercise regularly to keep your body healthy and fit. For that, make an exercise schedule that can be applied consistently. Fitness trainers recommend that you train 4-5 days per week. If you want to work your muscles, set aside 3-4 days for strengthening muscles, 1 day for cardio, and 2 days for "active rest" with light intensity exercise, such as yoga or walking.
- To get maximum results, make sure you exercise regularly by applying a consistent exercise schedule.
- You should also train your cardiovascular regularly to reduce body fat because the layer of fat is on top of the muscle so that the shape of the muscle is not visible if it is covered in fat.
Step 4. Set realistic practice targets and deadlines
To motivate yourself, make sure you set reasonable and achievable training targets. If you want to have tight, muscular thighs, but you've never worked out before, start working out to the best of your ability (e.g. using light weights, doing short cardio, and doing small reps) and then gradually increase the intensity of the workout.
Health experts state that people who have just started exercising can increase muscle mass 10% of their total body weight in a year or 1 kg of muscle mass per month if they exercise regularly
Tips
- If you're just starting out, do the moves in this article in 1 set of 10-12 reps each time (unless the reps are set). If both legs are trained alternately, do 1 set of movements each side. Exercise both sides of the body in a balanced manner with the same number of sets and repetitions of the movement.
- When training to lift weights, use weights that are heavy enough to make it difficult to lift the last rep with good posture. Make sure you know the difference between "trying hard" and "pushing yourself out." To train the thigh muscles, you can use a weight that is heavier than the weight used when training the shoulder or arm muscles because the thigh muscles are large muscles.
- After 2-4 weeks of regular training, increase the intensity of the workout by adding more reps, sets, and weights.
- Health experts suggest that you pay more attention to the weak side of the body by training it first to compensate for the lack of muscle strength. Usually, the muscles on the non-dominant side of the body are weaker. For people who work with the right hand as the dominant side, start exercising by training the left side of the body and vice versa.
- If you work out in a gym or fitness studio, you'll meet people who train with the same goals and experience in staying in shape. They can provide advice and practice tips if you want to chat with them and ask for advice.
