Losing fat on the thighs is an uphill battle, but not an impossible one. Working your thighs to slim them down requires doing a wide array of thigh exercises that will work your muscles, rather than thigh-targeting exercises that almost never work. But for those days when you don’t feel like a traditional workout, we’ve got 3 thigh-muscle building activities that work!

[Tight and toned thighs like these requires 'pounding the pavement' at least 3 days each week.]

Getting thinner thighs means finding smarter thigh workouts, not harder or longer workouts. Just because you’re tired doesn’t mean you’re getting the results you want. Keep reading for a few thigh workouts that’ll help burn the unnecessary fat keeping your thighs hidden behind baggy swoosh pants.

Know Thy Thighs

Before we get to the 3 thigh workouts that’ll help you achieve fat loss, we need to talk about your thighs. I know it’s a personal thing, the thighs, but you need to understand the thighs to defeat them. Effective fat loss in the thighs requires working all the vital thigh muscle groups.

1. Hamstrings. The hamstring goes from the back of your knees to your butt, and is mostly responsible for helping you bend those knees. Lean over to touch your toes and you can feel the hamstring.
2. Quadriceps. The quadriceps, also known simply as “quads” are located in the front portion of your thighs and they help you straighten your knee–but never too much as that could lead to injury!
3. Adductor. The adductor is more commonly called your ‘groin muscles’ are located in the inner thigh area. The adductor muscles work to pull your legs together.
4. Hip flexors. The hip flexors are located at the front of your pelvis area and they allow you to lift your knee using your thigh muscles.

Running

Cardio is the most effective way of losing fat from your thighs, and running is the best cardio around! Running targets all 4 thigh muscle groups to ensure that each muscle group is burning fat with every stride. In addition to eating less food each day, a sixty-minute jog can burn anywhere from 350 calories, and up to 650. But exactly how many calories you burn running will be determined by your weight and speed during the run.

A 30 minute run 3 days a week will help you see a noticeable difference in your thighs in just a few months. Keep in mind however that it does take time to tone the thighs, as they are our largest muscle group, and that consistency is just as important to fat loss as exercise. Sporadic bouts of running will help your thighs for the day you do them, but you will not experience any long term results without regular exercise.

Tennis

You don’t have to be Roger Federer in order for tennis to give your thighs a truly hardcore workout. Tennis is a great way to lose fat in the thighs because your legs are constantly moving and bending and stopping suddenly. Running across the court to hit the ball will give your entire body the cardio exercise it requires for fat loss, and bending your legs as you hit through the ball will work all the right thigh muscles.

If you really want to get the most out of an hour of tennis, run after the ball with the “tennis side shuffle”. The tennis side shuffle lets you to move either left or right to go after the ball, and gives you the option of stopping suddenly and switching directions if needed. The ‘shuffle’ motion works your adductor muscles a lot because you are stepping out with one foot and brining the other fit in every time you chase down a ball. A man or woman under 50 years old can burn as little as 400 calories in an hour of tennis, or as much as 511!

[The tennis side shuffle will make sure all thigh muscles are getting a proper workout!]

And that’s the real reason female tennis pros have no problem sporting such short skirts…amazing thighs!

Cycling/Spinning

Whether you enjoy getting outdoors and enjoying fresh air or prefer to tone your thighs in front of a gigantic flat screen, cycling is an exercise your thighs will thank you–and hate you for. Although not as effective as running, cycling can be just as fun and provide an easy transition for those of us whose bodies aren’t quite “run-ready”. An hour of cycling or spinning can burn as much as 700 calories, and your thighs are moving constantly so they are getting toned while they burn fat.

[Those thigh muscles certainly weren't developed with the old school ThighMaster. Cycling is a great alternative thigh exercise that's also been known to cure boredom!]

Cycling outdoors or indoor spinning is all about the thighs, the butt, and the calves, making it the perfect alternative exercise to tone that section of your body. Cycling is a highly effective cardiovascular workout, meaning that it has the added benefit of slimming thighs and reducing heart disease…a win-win thigh workout!

When you get tired of doing the same old lunges, try one of these alternative thigh workouts. They’ll give your thighs the same workout as more traditional exercises, but without the boring repetitiveness. Sometimes you just don’t feel like working out–especially when it feels like working out–and these activities will get your heart pumping and burn fat from those thighs…all while you’re having fun.

Still looking for a way to lose weight that actually works? Read our review of Eat Stop Eat for more information on how intermittent fasting can actually help your fat loss.