Inner Thigh Workout: 10 Top Exercises For Toned Inner Thighs

The inner thigh muscles or hip adductors are one of the most commonly neglected muscle groups. This can create a “flabby” look, but it can also cause pain and increase the risk of injury.

Many people may know they have weakness in their inner thigh muscles, however they have no idea how to target that muscle group. This inner thigh workout is designed by a physical therapist and strength and conditioning specialist, me! These are by far the best 10 inner thigh exercises for getting toned inner thighs.

Inner Thigh Workout At Home

The best inner thigh workout at home includes 10 inner thigh exercises and can be performed at home with little to no equipment. 1. Sidelying Hip Adduction 2. Lateral Lunge With Sliders (or towel) 3. Ball Squeeze 4. Curtsy Lunge 5. Single Leg Deadlift 6. Standing Hip Adduction With Band 7. Wall Sit 8. Sumo Squat 9. Elevated Side Plank 10. Plank With Scissor Sliders (or towels.)

Perform this inner thigh workout at home at least 3 days a week to convert flabby thighs into toned thighs.

Inner Thigh Workouts At Home Beginner

The following three exercises ate perfect for anyone looking for inner thigh workouts at home for beginners. These include 1. Sidelying Hip Adduction 2. Lateral Lunge With Sliders 3. Ball Squeeze. This inner thigh exercises can also be modified to be easier or harder depending on your skill level.

1. Sidelying Hip Adduction

• This exercise is a great exercise for targeting the hip adductors or inner thigh muscles. I love this exercise as a physical therapist because it is very challenging for someone to “cheat” the exercise by compensating with other muscles.
• To perform this exercise lie on your side with the leg that you want to work on bottom. You can bend your top leg over your bottom leg so it is out of the way. Now lift your entire bottom leg off the ground and then slowly return it to the starting position.

2. Lateral Lunge With Sliders

• You can perform this exercise with sliders which are basically slippery disks that slide easily on the floor, or you can use a towel like me! If you are using a towel this exercise needs to be performed on tile or hardwood flooring in order for the towel to slide.
• Start with your feet hip width apart and with one foot on the slider or towel.

3. Ball Squeeze

• Start by lying on your back with both knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Place a ball or in my case a folded pillow in between your legs. Now squeeze the pillow by pushing your legs together. You will feel your inner thigh muscles working.
• For added difficulty, you can perform a bridge with the ball squeeze.

4. Curtsy Lunge

• Start with your feet hip width apart. Now move your right leg behind you towards and past your leg leg and perform a curtsy lunge.
• The key with this exercise is that you want to perform the lunge straight down. Try to avoid leaning to one side. Return to starting position and then perform the exercise 7 more times.

5. Single Leg RDL

• This exercise will tone your inner thighs while also working on your stabilizing muscles such as your glute and quad muscles.
• Start with your feet hip width apart. Now balance on one leg while allowing your opposite leg to extend backwards while leaning forward and reaching in front of you with your opposite arm.
• Depending on your skill level and dynamic balance, you may not be able to lean as far. That is ok! Good form is most important. Be sure to keep your spine in one straight line rather then bending your back forwards with this exercise.

Inner Thigh Workouts At Home With Bands

Resistance bands can be used with inner thigh workouts at home to add more resistance. This is perfect with the standing hip adduction exercise.

6. Standing Hip Adduction With Band

• Start by placing a looped resistance band around your ankles. If you do not have a looped resistance band you can tie a long resistance band around a sturdy surface and your ankle.
• Now stand with your feet hip width apart. Lift up one leg and cross it in front of your body into the resistance band and then slowly return to the starting position.
• If this is too difficult you can hold onto a sturdy surface for balance or use a lower resistance resistance band. If you are looking for more exercises you can perform with a resistance band you can find them at 29 Best Band Warm Up Exercises For Quick Full Body Workout.

7. Wall Sit

• The only equipment you need for this exercise is a wall! Start by leaning on a wall with your feet about 1 foot in front of the wall. Now slowly perform a squat by sliding your butt down on the wall and then pushing up and returning to the starting position.
• For added adductor muscle or inner thigh activation you can place a ball or folded pillow between your knees throughout this exercise.

8. Sumo Squat

• Start with your feet in a wide stance, wider than hip width apart. This is not a regular squat, it is a sumo squat! Your toes should be pointing outwards. Now slowly squat down as far as you can while keeping your trunk and spine in an upright position.
• For added difficulty you can hold this position at the bottom for 10 seconds.

9. Elevated Side Plank

• This is an advanced exercise but is amazing at toning the hip adductors! You will need a sturdy elevated surface for this exercise. I used chair which worked perfectly.
• Start on your side with your top leg resting on the top of the chair and your bottom leg on the ground. Now push up onto your forearm and lift your bottom leg off of the ground. Try to keep your body in as much of a straight line as possible.
• This is a challenging exercise so start with just a 5-10 second hold and focus on your form rather than how long you can hold the position.

10. Plank With Scissor Sliders

• This is also an advanced exercise but it is worth it! Start in a normal plank position on your forearms and toes. The only difference is that your feet will be resting on either sliders or in my case two small towels. Now slide both of your legs out to the side in opposite directions and then bring them back to the middle in the starting position.
• This is a great exercise for both the hip adductor or inner thigh muscles and the core muscles. If you are looking for more core exercises you can find them at 10 Best Physical Therapy Core Exercises For Beginners.

Inner Thigh Workout Gym

Inner thigh workouts can be performed at the gym or at home. The benefit of working out at the gym is that there will be equipment that you may not have at home. The hip adduction machine is beneficial in improving the inner thigh muscles, however all of these inner thigh exercises included in this post can be performed at home or in the gym with little to no equipment.

Inner Thigh Workout Machine

The best workout machine to tone the inner thigh muscles is the hip adductor machine. This is the machine that you sit in with your legs out and you push into the pads trying to bring your legs together. This machine is often also used as the hip abductor machine in which you start with your legs together and push outwards so make sure that it is adjusted to the exercise you would like to perform.

Exercises For Flabby Inner Thighs

The best exercises for flabby inner thighs are exercises that target the inner thighs or adductor muscles. Many people carry extra weight in their inner thighs which creates the “flabby inner thighs” look.

Losing weight will of course help with this but you can also perform toning exercises and strengthening exercises for the inner thighs. Resistance training even with a low resistance resistance band or weight can create even better results.

Inner Thigh Workout (No Equipment)

Trying to perform an inner thigh workout with no equipment? No problem! Just body weight is enough to strengthen and tone the inner thighs. This entire inner thigh workout can be performed at home with no equipment.

Inner Thigh Workout Men

These are the best exercises for an inner thigh workout for men. If the goal is to build muscle mass and develop more muscular inner thighs then the exercises will just need to be modified with more resistance.

For example you can use ankle weights for the leg raises, and use weights for the lunge and squats exercises.

Inner Thigh Workout For Females

This inner thigh workout for females focuses on decreasing “flabby inner thighs” by toning and strengthening the inner thighs. These inner thigh exercises use only bodyweight and low resistance so will not results in bulky thighs. If you are looking to build more muscle mass in the inner thighs you will need to use heavier weight and resistance in all of the exercises.

Summary

I hope this inner thigh workout helps you as much as it helped me. Remember to maintain consistency, focus on proper form, and complement your workouts with a balanced diet to see the best results.

Whether you’re an athlete looking to boost performance, someone aiming to prevent injuries, or just seeking to have nicer looking inner thighs, dedicating time to inner thigh exercises will significantly contribute to your fitness goals.