Workouts that combine cardiovascular and sculpting exercises will help you slim down your legs faster than leg exercises alone. To lose fat in your legs, you need to lose overall body fat by burning more calories than you eat daily, the Family Doctor website instructs. Do this by reducing your calorie intake and performing cardiovascular exercise daily. Eat a healthy, low-calorie diet that includes fresh fruits, vegetables, lean protein, complex carbohydrates and essential fatty acids. Choose cardio exercises that lengthen the muscles of the legs such as walking, jogging, dancing or swimming, and add lower-body sculpting exercises to your weekly workout routine.
Pliés
Step 1
Begin standing with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Your posture should be tall with your shoulders directly over your hips and down away from your ears. Place your hands on your hips or extend them out to the sides at shoulder level.
Step 2
Lift your heels off the floor and squeeze your glutes. Release your heels back to the floor, keeping the turned-out position. Your hips should align with your knees and your knees should align with your toes.
Step 3
Keep your feet flat on the floor and slowly bend your legs and lower toward the floor. Imagine a string pulling you down from your tailbone. Push through the balls of the feel and squeeze your glutes as you rise back up. Repeat this movement 15 to 20 times.
Squat Jump
Step 1
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, shoulders upright over your hips. Squat down by bending your knees at a 90-degree angle. Extend your arms behind you and lower your chest forward.
Step 2
Swing your arms forward as you reach toward the ceiling and jump up. Keep your feet level with each other and parallel to the floor. Extend as long as you can from your hands to your feet.
Step 3
Land on the middle of the foot and roll back through your heels. Push your hips backward and down to absorb shock as you land. Repeat the move 10 to 12 times.
Scissor Kicks
Step 1
Sit upright on the floor, a bench or the couch with your feet on the floor and knees up toward the ceiling. Place both hands behind your back to stabilize your torso and roll back slightly.
Step 2
Straighten out your legs and raise them two to six inches off the ground. The lower to the ground, the higher the level of difficulty. Keep stress off your back by rounding it slightly.
Step 3
Open your legs as wide as you can, keeping your knees and toes turned out to the sides and your heels facing in toward each other. Hold this position for two to three seconds.
Step 4
Pull your legs back toward each other and criss-cross them, right leg over left leg. Squeeze your inner thighs as tightly as you can as your legs cross.
Step 5
Open your legs to the wide position again and hold for two to three seconds. Squeeze them back together, crossing your left leg over your right this time. Repeat crossing on both sides 10 to 12 times.
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