You can't actually target your thighs for weight loss. When you burn fat, your body burns it from your body as a whole. However, exercises that target your upper legs can tone the muscles, creating a more attractive and tight frame for your fat to hang on. Between the immediate illusion of weight loss, and calorie burn to produce legitimate weight loss in the future, several activities stand out as good picks for slimming down your upper legs.
Dancing
If you've got rhythm or a love for music, dancing can engage your leg muscles while moving your whole body to promote weight loss. Fitness resource website NutriStrategy reports that a 155-lb. person can burn from 200 to 400 calories per hour dancing. Less vigorous dance like ballroom will burn fewer calories, while vigorous modern or ballet dance will burn more.
Hiking
Walking outdoors can be so enjoyable that Dr. Richard Louv, author of "Last Child in the Woods," reports that a good hike may be as effective as a moderate dose of antidepressants. It's also a good workout, burning 400 to 500 calories per hour in a 150-lb. hiker. For more thigh action, hike uphill.
Group Fitness
Group fitness classes combine the vigor of a serious cardiovascular workout with the fun and camaraderie of spending time with friends and acquaintances. Although any class will burn calories for fat loss, body conditioning classes — or leg-specific classes like indoor cycling or taekwondo — will build muscle tone to slim your thighs. Calorie burn for these classes range between 350 and 700 per hour, according to NutriStrategy.
Event Sports
If you want to run, swim or cycle but don't love it or otherwise lack motivation, you can get the thigh-slimming benefits by joining an event sport. Event sports, such as fun runs and triathlons, mean you commit to running a specific course on a specific date. During the race, the festival of the event itself will keep you moving. Prior to event day, the looming deadline can help keep you motivated and enjoying your training.
Support Activities
Regardless of which exercise you choose to lose weight, you'll lose nothing if you increase your eating habits to catch up with the extra calories you burned. Attempts to lose weight by doing activities work best if you combine them with a diet that pays attention to how many calories you eat, and what those calories are made of.
References
- "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy"; Dr. Walter Willett; 2004
- "The Last Child in the Woods"; Dr. Richard Louv; 2006
- NutriStrategy: Calories Burned by Exercise
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