As summer continues to be upon us, I wanted to take some time to discuss how to achieve the elusive “thigh gap” that many women dream of. From an evolutionary standpoint, women are “meant” to have a little more meat on their bones and not be super lean and/or ripped.
Top Inner Thigh Exercises
However, while we can’t go against biology, with the proper knowledge and discipline, one can tone and shape their lower halves to varying degrees.
With all this being said, I’m writing this article to help women everywhere better achieve the legs they want and be kind to themselves in the process with a few self-love tips and some inner thigh exercises below.
Have Realistic And Sustainable Goals
Before I begin talking about workouts and fitness equipment, I feel it’s important to touch on the importance of knowing what your body can realistically and sustainably achieve.
Some folks are meant to be thicker, others leaner, and everything in between. There is no one way to be fit/in shape. Furthermore, different types of sports and workouts lend themselves to different body types. For example, a bodybuilder usually has a much different physique than a sumo wrestler or swimmer.
I’m mentioning all this to say, I highly recommend being honest with yourself about your body, lifestyle, schedule, job, emotional/spiritual/physical limitations, priorities, etc, and creating a realistic fitness goal and program off of that.
It’s paramount we don’t set ourselves up to fail and/or be hard on ourselves for not completing an unrealistic ask of ourselves.
It’s all about healthily and realistically challenging ourselves. Over-training is real. Burnout is real. Setting ourselves up to fail and be disappointed in ourselves can happen, and we want to mitigate that chance as much as possible.
Slow and steady wins the race. It’s so important to love ourselves before, after, and during our fitness journey.
Self-Love and Compassion
Building on these concepts, I feel that self-love and compassion are so important when it comes to life and fitness.
Women (and all people in general) are constantly being told by advertisements that we are incomplete as we are. We always need to lose more weight, be more ripped, have better clothes, skin, etc.
Furthermore, many of the models are heavily photoshopped and shellacked with lighting and makeup. When this type of image is projected out into the world, it tells people that they must strive for an unrealistic ideal, and when they can’t achieve that ideal, they can think they are “worthless” or “ugly” or “unloveable.”
This just isn’t true. Everyone has a certain type of beauty and allure. It’s so important during your fitness journey to focus on the positives about yourself as well as what you want to work on.
I have often given gratitude journal assignments to my clients along with their weekly workouts because emotional/mental health is just as important as the physical. Also, if you’re feeling positive about life/yourself, you’re more likely to enjoy the fitness journey and keep up with your program for longer.
Back To the Workout!
Thank you for indulging with me on that self-love tangent. I always feel it’s important to build ourselves up, and wanted to share the importance of self-love with you.
I suffer from body dysmorphia, which can make it very hard for me to love myself. With this being said, I hope to help anyone else out there that is hard on themselves too.
Adhering to a fitness routine greatly helps my self-esteem and self-image though.
Regarding inner thigh exercises, I highly recommend purchasing a yoga block. Whether you’re squatting, dead-lifting, planking, doing push-ups, planks, glute bridges, etc, a yoga block can greatly help with extra glute, hamstring, quad, and inner thigh activation when placed in between the thighs. A small yoga ball can work in a lieu of a block as well.
When doing these exercises, it’s important to squeeze the block or ball as hard as you can. You should visibly see your glutes and thighs engage if you have a mirror available.
To work the outer thighs, I highly recommend purchasing a booty band. Simply, place the booty band slightly above the knees. When bridging, squatting, dead-lifting, etc, make sure the band has enough resistance that you feel your legs working, but not too much where it’s difficult for you to keep the knees tracking over the toes.
Remember, to avoid knee injury, we always want the knees tracking over the toes.
Getting your weight on your heels when lunging, squatting, and/or dead-lifting, can help tone/shape the glutes, thighs, and hamstrings as well.
Wrap-Up
I hope you have found this piece empowering and helpful! It’s so important to have a fitness plan but also find it in our hearts to love ourselves for all that we are in this current moment.
Fitness is a balance of working your butt off and being kind to yourself. This balance allows for long-term, sustainable growth, and dedication to living a healthy, balanced life.
If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to reach out here.
As always, thanks for reading, and stay tuned!
Alexis is grateful to be a NASM-certified personal trainer and a Mad Dogg Athletics-Certified Spin Instructor. Her mission is to help all individuals achieve their best selves, and have the happiest and healthiest lives possible. Her specialities are resistance training, TRX, bodybuilding, HIIT/VIIT/LIIT, spin, corework, functional moment, nutrition, and weight loss.
She is honored to be a guest contributor for DIY Active and wishes to inspire and motivate all readers. Please feel free to email her at [email protected] for more info about wellness, fitness, and personal training including virtual options.
