How to get thinner thighs

Having trouble sliding into those skinny jeans — despite your daily workout? The truth is, many exercise routines simply don’t include the key moves you need to truly target the often-troublesome area of the inner thighs. Fortunately, slimmer, sexier, whistle-worthy legs can be yours in only a week or two. That’s right, to help you banish dreaded inner thigh bulge, we asked Jessica Smith, fitness guru and star of the ’10 Minute Solution: Knockout Body’ DVD series, to supply us with seven, simple fat-blasting moves for thinner thighs. For best results, circuit through the following exercises (doing one move after the next without resting) four times a week, then finish up with 15 to 20 minutes of any cardio activity. To turbocharge your fat-burning furnaces even more, reduce your daily diet by 500 calories. Try some of these healthy snack ideas for some tasty, waist-friendly food choices.

Slimming skaters

Start with your feet together, toes pointing forward, arms by your sides, with your head and neck straight ahead. To begin, take a wide skate step with your right foot to the right side, then drag your left foot toward it, reaching your left arm forward while bringing your right elbow back, as if you were skating. Then, quickly change directions and repeat the movement on the opposite side. Repeat as many times as you can, alternating from left to right, for a total of one minute. This double-duty move not only tones and sculpts your inner thigh muscles, while you change directions quickly from side to side, it also burns off jiggly bulge.

Side to side plies

Look straight ahead and stand with your feet positioned about three feet apart. Your knees and toes should be pointing out at about 45 degrees and your hands should be resting on your hips. This four-count move starts with a simple ballet plie. To do: Bend your knees and lower your hips towards the ground as low as you can. Keep your shoulders stacked over your hips, your back straight and knees pointing out over your toes. Dip down into the plie and hold it for 30 seconds. Then, slowly straighten your legs and slide your left heel into your right, squeezing your inner thighs together for a count of 30 seconds. Take a big step back out to the left and repeat plie, then slide right heel in. Thats one rep. Repeat this movement 10 times.

Crescent kicks

Standing with feet hip-width apart, arms relaxed by your sides, look straight ahead. Step onto your left foot, brush your right leg forward off the floor and create a large circular sweep from left to right with your leg. Then step onto right foot, and repeat on the left. Thats one rep. Repeat this move 10 times. This kick tones and slims your inner thighs as you help control your leg through a circular range of motion, while also stretching your inner thigh muscles as you open your leg to the side.

Inner thigh attitude pulse

Stand on your left leg and lift your right leg a few inches off the ground, bending at the knee. Now turn your knee out to the side. Bring right heel towards the ceiling and bring leg across the front of your body so that your right knee is past your left leg. Lower right leg towards the floor and lift it up as high as you can, keeping heel up. Thats one rep. Repeat this movement 15 times on your right side, then 15 times on your left.

Towel squeeze bridge

Lie down on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, arms relaxed on the ground by your sides, looking straight ahead. Place a folded hand towel between your knees. Squeeze your knees together into the towel to really activate your inner thighs, and lift hips off the floor, as high as you can, towards the ceiling. Hold for two counts, then lower down. Thats one rep. Repeat this movement 15 times.

SEE ALSO: Zumba Fitness Gold Live It Up DVD Set for the Baby Boomer Generation