Thigh exercises?

[NinjaRapunzel]

Hello!
My main problem area seems to be my inner thigh.
I do "fire hydrants" but I was wondering if there was another kind of workout? (my leg gets tired really fast)


(This is a picture of the right thigh muscles facing from the front ) And the area that I want to work on is the Gracilis.  

[dangerousfish]

Unfortunately your problem area is probably a body fat issue instead of a small muscle issue. Since you can't spot reduce the only way to see the muscle underneath the fat is to do cardio to reduce your body fat. Sort of like how everyone has 6 pack abs, that's how the muscles look under fat, so we have to reduce fat all over to see the muscle underneath. When we do muscle building activities we can make the muscle "pop" more which will help with a them be more visable under a trimmer figure so certainly continue your muscle exercises just be aware they won't melt the fat over them. Word on the internet is that you can induce a bit of a localized fat burn but the amount is tiny and doesn't replace cardio and diet changes. sad

Anyway, for the thighs. I've never heard of "fire hydrants" but google leads me to believe they're like "donkey kicks" but to the side. I just did a set and, like donkey kicks, the major muscle group worked would be the glutes with the thighs as an important secondary muscle. I certainly felt a stretch in my inner thigh though.

Squats! Squats are my friend with or without weight they are great for getting your glutes, quads, hip adductors (some exercises inside link) also known as the inner thigh, collectively (you have a nice diagram), and calves. A great way to isolate your inner thigh (I don't think it is humanely possible to isolate just gracilis since a ton of muscles move when we move, working together) more is to turn your toes out, still making sure your knees aren't going over your toes on the squat part (this is very bad) and plié squat.

I can't do lunges because of bad knees but I can squat. If you would like lunges you can lunge to theside to concentrate more on the inner thigh than a forward or back lunge and bonus, even with my bad knees I can side lunge (I can't do these but I can lunge without moving my foot back to start just fine).

So to sum up: No spot reducing and Squats!  

[NinjaRapunzel]

Dangerous Fish, you never fail me (or anyone for that matter)! heart

Thank you, I'll try those out. 3nodding  

[dangerousfish]

NinjaRapunzel

Dangerous Fish, you never fail me (or anyone for that matter)! heart

Thank you, I'll try those out. 3nodding

Thanks, I try. : ) I've been into fitness for a long time since I already lost all my weight once ( sad ) and when I get passionate about something I kinda go all out and want to talk and research about it all the time. I'm glad I don't come off as an annoying know-it-all. ^^;

btw, I love your outfit.