DO you long for slim, toned legs to show off in a pair of shorts this summer? Us too!
And while the likes of Hailey Bieber, Kim Kardashian and Amanda Holden strut their leggy looks all over red carpets, the good news is A-list pins aren’t just for the rich and famous. Here, one leading trainer tells Sun Health it’s not as hard as you think to firm up in time for the holidays – sharing her top tips.
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There are several exercises you can do at home while watching TV that will help to create definition in your thighs and give you sleek, sculpted pins that you’ll want to show off in the sunshine.
No, we’re not talking squats or lifting heavy weights. It’s actually all about Pilates.
Pilates uses slow, controlled movements to improve your posture, balance, flexibility and strength.
And exercises inspired by this approach are a great way to work your legs.
That’s evident in celebrities like Margot Robbie, Dua Lipa, Jennifer Aniston, Hailey Bieber and Miley Cyrus, who are all fans of Pilates.
Susie Martin, a chartered physiotherapist and Pilates instructor at Complete Pilates, tells Sun Health: “Every time you contract a muscle group, you increase activity in that muscle through improving the neural pathways from your brain to that muscle.
“Pilates exercises can be considered low-load strength training exercises, and strengthening exercises are what increase muscle tissue.
“This can help to create definition in the upper legs as many of the exercises activate the muscles in the thighs.”
Susie has put together a low intensity lower body workout that challenges your quads and hamstrings, the muscles which sit on the front and back of your thighs, respectively.
She recommends doing it two to three times per week, aiming for three sets of each exercise.
“The number of reps that are needed depends on the amount of effort and load that you are using,” she says.
“You want to feel like you are approaching fatigue – that is, that you can’t continue to do more reps of an exercise.”
But how many you can do will depend on you and your fitness level.
If you’re able to do 30 reps without getting tired, while maintaining good form, then you will need to make it a bit harder by adding resistance in the form of weights or bands.
If you’re comfortable using heavier weights such as dumbbells, aim for eight to 15 reps.
1. HAMSTRING BRIDGE
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TONE and strengthen your hamstrings with this slight variation on a regular bridge exercise.
Place your feet on the edge of a box or a seat and lie back on the ground.
Push down into your feet and lift your hips up. Pause, then lower back down.
To make this more challenging, lift one leg into tabletop position – keeping your knee bent – and keep lifting and lowering, pushing through the foot of the leg that’s still resting on your seat.
2. SCOOTER
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STANDING with your feet hip-width apart and slightly bent knees, push your hips back, keeping your back flat.
Put all weight into one leg and then slide the other leg back, extending the leg fully.
To make this harder, lift the back leg as it reaches the floor. Then place it back down and return to the start.
3. SINGLE LEG KICK
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WORK your hamstrings with this classic Pilates move.
For beginners, lie down on your front with your head resting on your forearms.
Float your lower left leg away from the mat, fold at the knee then pulse your lower leg towards your hamstring three times before lowering it back down flat.
Complete your reps on one side before swapping to the other leg.
For the full variation, prop yourself up onto your forearms with your shoulders above your forearms and repeat the move.
4. KNEELING LEAN BACK
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GET into a high kneel position with your arms out in front of you.
Lean back slowly from the knees, keeping your back flat and arms out.
Don’t let your hips fold in the middle.
Then, using your quads – the muscles that run along the front of your thighs – come back to high kneel.
5. BANDED THIGH STRETCH
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MAKE the above move harder by using a long looped resistance band.
Place one end around an anchor point (a table, for example) and the other hand around your hips.
Make sure there is resistance in the band before getting into a high kneeling position.
Keep your arms out straight in front of you, then slowly lower yourself until your bottom touches your heels.
Then push your shins into the ground and bring yourself back up.
OTHER WAYS TO SLIM YOUR LEGS
CREATING muscle definition and a ‘toned’ appearance in your legs isn’t simply a matter of just strengthening your muscles.
“It’s a combination of increasing lean muscle mass as well as reducing body fat,” Susie says.
“This means that you likely won’t improve your muscle definition without also addressing your nutritional intake.”
If you want to lose body fat, a calorie deficit alongside strength training can help.
Tracking what you usually eat in a day, on an app such as MyFitnessPal, and then reducing this by 200 to 300 calories is a good way to start.
Enjoy a diet rich in lean protein (such as chicken, eggs, fish and tofu), complex carbohydrates (such as brown rice and wholemeal pasta), and healthy fats (such as nuts, avocado and olive oil).
You can also increase your calorie burn and slim your thighs by simply upping your step count every day.
We’re told to do 10,000 steps a day, but if you can increase that, even better!
Walk wherever possible, and keep moving throughout the day.
The 5 best exercises to zap belly fat fast
By Eliza Loukou, Health Reporter
IF you long for a trimmer tummy and even dare to dream of a six-pack, listen up!
There’s no denying the pursuit of a washboard stomach isn’t an easy one – but, with the right focus and consistency that dream could be your summer holiday reality.
Aesthetic concerns aside, excess belly fat can leave you with serious health issues, not least heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes.
But another example is back pain, which London-based personal trainer Will Duru says is commonly caused by weak core muscles.
A lack of abdominal strength can also lead to poor posture, most commonly a rounded upper back.
So, where to begin if you do want to trim down that pesky layer of fat around your middle?
To blast that belly fat, you need a three-pronged approach, Will tells Sun Health – diet and cardio to target belly fat, and exercises to sculpt the abs.
What you eat can be just as important as your workouts – if not more.
For your abdominal muscles to be visible, your body fat needs to be very low, which the PT said is achievable through calorie counting or fasting.
“Remember, abs are largely made in the kitchen, so reducing your weekly pint by one can bring you closer to achieving those abs,” Will says.
“Diet is probably more important than training when it comes to reducing body fat, but training is also important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and bone density.”
If you’re looking to lose some body fat, Will suggests trying some “steady-state cardio”, which includes cycling, incline walking on the treadmill, walking and swimming, a few times a week.
So, with your diet and cardio needs taken care of, Will shares five ab exercises that can help you sculpt the muscles underneath – and you can do them all from the (relative) comfort of a mat at home.
- Knee tucks
- Plank side-to-side twist
- Mountain climbers
- Toe touches
- Butterfly sit-ups
You can learn how to do each one most effectively and read the full article here.
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