You could tone your legs by doing cardio, but strength training will be the best for developing overall definition and sleek, firm muscles. Use the legs machines at your gym or local workout center two to three nonconsecutive times a week. Different brands of equipment will yield slightly different settings and motions, so read the highlights on the machine before you get started. Aim for three sets of 12 to 15 repetitions and use weight that is heavy enough so the last few reps are challenging to complete with proper form.
Leg Press
The leg press machine will help tone your thighs, glutes and calves. Start seated with your feet placed shoulder distance on the platform in front of you. Don't get too far or too close to the platform. You should begin with a 90-degree bend in your knees. Push into your heels as you slide back and straighten your legs. Return to start.
Hamstring Curls
There are two types of hamstring machines. The first is a seated machine where your legs are straight out in front of you, resting on a padded bar. As you flex your feet, begin to push the bar down and curl it in toward you. The second machine has you lying on your stomach. Hook your feet under the padded bar, flex your feet, and begin to curl the bar up and toward your butt.
Smith Machine
While the Smith machine may look intimidating and somewhat medieval, familiarizing yourself with it can reap wonders for your legs. Personal trainer John Jay Wooldridge describes it as a barbell with training wheels, because it slides up and down as you move. The rack and cable system ensures that you won't drop the weight and it won't fall to the ground if you let go. Perform lunges, squats and deadlifts with the Smith machine. For lunges and squats, start standing with the bar on the back of your neck and shoulders. For deadlifts, start standing, holding onto the bar with both hands. As you bend forward, keep your back and legs straight, lowering the bar toward the ground, and then return to stand. All of these exercises will help tone your glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves.
Hip Abduction and Adduction
The hip abduction and adduction machines will help tone your inner and outer thighs as well as the outsides of your glutes. Begin seated with your knees either on the inside of the pads, or outside, depending on which machine you start with. For hip adduction, your knees will begin apart and you will squeeze them toward your midline to engage your inner thigh. For your adductors, you will begin with your knees together and push outward to engage your outer hips and glutes.
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