16 Inner-Thigh Exercises Your Leg-Day Workout Needs From A Trainer

Why it's great: Many moves train in the frontal plane—this one is a great way to train lateral stabilizers. In addition to inner thighs, it strengthens your glutes, which in turn helps to stabilize the knees.

How to:

1. Start standing sideways at the bottom of the mat with feet under hips and arms by sides.
2. Take a large step out with the right leg and sit hips back and bend right knee until right thigh is parallel to floor while left leg remains straight, toes of both feet facing forward.
3. Push through the right heel to return to start. That's one rep.
4. Complete all reps, then switch sides and repeat.

Why it's great: In addition to building stronger glutes and hamstrings, this move hits your inner thigh muscles hard, too.

How To:

1. Start lying on your stomach with forehead resting on forearms, legs extended straight on mat and stability ball (or yoga block) gently squeezed between ankles and feet.
2. Without moving your upper body, bend knees and engage hamstrings to lift feet and ball or block a few inches off the floor. Return to start. That's one rep.

Why it's great: The supported single-leg deadlift is an introduction for people who have a challenging time performing a full single-leg deadlift. It also helps you to understand how to do a hip hinge before just going into a full single-leg deadlift.

How to:

1. Start standing on your left leg with a weight in your right hand, palm facing toward thigh and left arm by side.
2. Step right leg a few feet behind body, lift heel, and press right toes into the floor for balance. Keep the left leg slightly bent.
3. Lean forward, hinging at the hips with a flat back while lowering the weight toward the floor.
4. Drive into the left heel to return to the standing position. That’s one rep.

Why it's great: This move tends to get your heart pumping, so consider it a leg strengthener and cardio in one.

How to:

1. Start standing tall with feet directly beneath hips and arms at sides. (Optional: Hold dumbbells in each hand.) Engage your core and take a big step back with your right foot.
2. Bend both legs until the back knee taps the floor directly beneath the hip (keep right heel high), while simultaneously bending arms and bringing hands together at chest height.
3. Push through feet to reverse the movement and return to start. That's one rep.
4. Complete all reps, then switch sides and repeat.

Why it's great: This super complex movement challenges full-body coordination and strength.

How to:

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, hands at sides.
2. Take a big step to the right, then push hips back, bending right knee and lowering body until right knee is bent to 90 degrees.
3. Push back to an upright position, lifting the right knee and pulling it into the chest with arms. Return to start and repeat on the other side. That's one rep.

Why it's great: This is a great move to activate the glutes. You could integrate this into your warmup to get the glutes activated and work through that squat range of motion.

How to:

1. Stand up straight with a resistance band wrapped just below your knees. Clasp hands in front of chest.
2. Take a big step to the right, then bend knees, sit back, and lower until thighs are parallel with the floor.
3. Engage glutes and press back up through heels to your starting position. Repeat on the other side. That's one rep.

Why it's great: Jumping jacks are my all-time favorite. You don't need equipment or coordination, there's no impact, and it's a great way to warm the body up and get the heart rate going.

How to:

1. Start standing with hands by your sides.
2. Jump legs open, slightly wider than hip-distance, while bringing hands up overhead.
3. Jump legs back together and arms down by sides. That's one rep.

Why it's great: This is the true single-leg test. Your inner thigh muscles, quads, hamstrings, and glutes are all working overtime.

How to:

1. Start standing about two feet in front of a step. (Optional: Hold a weight in each hand.)
2. Extend left leg back and place left foot on chair (or similar height surface). Bend knees to lower body as far as you can (or until knee hovers right above the ground), keeping shoulders back and chest up.
3. Pause, then press through the right heel to return to start. That's one rep.
4. Complete all reps, then switch sides and repeat.

Why it's great: Spending lots of time under tension in proper squat form is guaranteed to light up your inner thighs, so don't underestimate the power of slowing things down.

How to:

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hands clasped in front of chest.
2. Push hips back and bend knees until thighs are nearly parallel to the floor.
3. Hold for up to 30 seconds. That's one rep.

Why it's great: A full single-leg deadlift requires a lot of stability and unilateral strength.

How to:

1. Stand on your left leg with your right palm facing towards your thighs. (Optional: Hold a kettlebell in right hand.)
2. Extend left arm to the side for balance and keep left leg slightly bent.
3. Lean forward, lifting the right leg straight behind the body until the torso is parallel to the mat, and hand/kettlebell is almost touching the ground.
4. Drive into the left heel to return to the standing position on both legs. That’s one rep.
5. Complete all reps, then switch sides and repeat.

Why it's great: Reaching over helps to facilitate more glute activation and helps with core stability.

How to:

1. Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width apart, hands at sides.
2. With the right hand, reach down toward the foot, lowering the body until the left knee is bent to 90 degrees.
3. Immediately repeat on the other side. Continue for up to 30 seconds. That's one rep.

Why it's great: Step-ups are a great way to train unilateral strength, single-leg balance and coordination, as well as work the glutes.

How to:

1. Start standing to the right of a bench or stair, hands on waist and feet under hips. (Optional: Hold a dumbbell in each hand at sides.)
2. Step left foot onto bench or stair and keeping it extended, raise right leg off floor to hover.
3. Reverse movement to return to start. That's one rep.

Why it's great: Nothing fires up the inner thighs like a sumo stance!

How to:

1. Stand with heels shoulder-distance apart, then turn your toes open slightly. Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell at your chest.
2. Bend knees, reaching hips back, and lower down into a squat.
3. Hold weight steady, and lower until hips are slightly below the level of knees.
4. Pause at the bottom for two seconds, then drive into heels to return to standing. That’s one rep.

Why it's great: This tweak on lunges increases your range of motion and time under tension, boosting the challenge for your inner thighs (and entire lower body).

How to:

1. Stand up straight on a small riser, step, or box with a set of weights cleaned in front of your chest.
2. Lift right knee up to hip height in front of body, then bring it behind body until the ball of foot reaches the ground.
3. Slowly lower down until both knees form 90-degree angles. Return to your knee-lifted position. That's one rep.

Why it's great: This single-leg-focused hold helps even out your lower-body strength and improves running mechanics.

How to:

1. Stand up tall, then take a large step forward.
2. From here, bend knees and lower body until knees are bent to 90 degrees. Hold for up to 30 seconds. That's one rep.

Why it's great: This leveled-up side lunge hits your inner thighs and glutes hard.

How to:

1. Holding a pair of weights racked at chest, stand up straight with feet hip-width apart.
2. Take a large step to the left, sit hips back, and lower down until the left knee is nearly parallel with the floor.
3. Right leg should be straight. Press through the heel to return to start. That's one rep.

Don’t Forget Your Upper Body: These moves make up an awesome lower-body routine but make sure you’re not neglecting the rest. If you want to do a split training method, do upper body twice a week and lower body three times a week. Or, you could integrate both together by doing three lower-body movements and three upper-body movements in one training session.

Prioritize Quality Sleep: When it comes to toning all-over, an underrated variable is sleep. It factors into how you show up in the gym, how much energy you have, and also impacts your cortisol levels. The more sleep you have, you lower your cortisol and cortisol is a fat-producing hormone. So sleep is very, very important and really ties together the outcomes you're looking for.

Think Strength, Then Cardio: If you're looking for toning and sculpting, don't rely too much on cardio, although it should be a part of your overall fitness routine. (Remember: Cardio can be anything that gets your heart rate elevated and working. It’s not just relegated to running on the treadmill.)

Be Consistent: If you’re doing all of the above, and showing up consistently, you're going to get results—there's no need to search any further.