Re: Inner thighs A "how-to" question...

W

wendymin72

Cathlete
So I have been exercising doing cardio and weights for almost 3 years now....I have seen every area of my body change for the better except for my inner thighs! Do they require EXTRA work to really see results? Seems no matter what I do they continue to be pretty fatty and flabby...I'm sure they are less so then if I hadn't been exercising at all but still...the results (in my eyes) are very minimal....any suggestions on how to get good results in that area??

TIA!:)

~Wendy~

I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!

http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img]
EDD: 05/19/05
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

Wendy, in GS Legs, Cathe says that to get good results on the inner thighs, you want to squat with a wider stance. (A closer stance works more on the outer sweep.) Also, plie squats work wonders. I have actually seen tremendous improvement in this area in the last couple of months from all the plie squatting I've been doing. I did notice Cathe takes a much wider stance on the plies in GS Legs, and this gives me great DOMS...

Is it hard for you to do squats and plies so pregnant, though? Just curious...

Cheers,
Marie
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

Hi, Wendy,

First can I tell you I LOVE the little countdown ruler for your baby!! It's too cute!!! And CONGRATS on quitting smoking!! Good for you. Now, on to the inner thighs....dread, dread...haha I find that the plie squats really help tone them up. I also use light weight on the inner/outer thigh machine at the gym. There are floor exercises that basically do the same thing for you though, if you do not go to the gym. If you lay on your side and you lift the leg that is on the floor up and maybe add an ankle weight or a dumbell or band for some resistance, you'll really feel it too!! Keep in mind that is a very small motion when lifting the leg. You can also squeeze a ball between your thighs and maybe add a few crunches in as well. Hope that helps, but I'm guessing you probably already do all of the above...I feel your pain..haha:)
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

TY for the info Marie...I'll add in extra plies squats as well as extra wide squats when I do my leg work from now on.

I have actually been forced to do all of my sqatting with a wider stance since my belly has grown so large. ;) If I try to squat with a narrow stance, the belly gets in the way and I can't go down very far. lol Sqats are no more difficult for me really....just had to adjust them a bit.

I have also had to adjust leg presses by lowering my step height. The normal step height I would use causes my belly to hit my thighs on the way down! I had to take it down to about half the height. I may be working slightly different muscles b/c of this but hey, as long as something is working, I don't mind.:)

~Wendy~

I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!

http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img]
EDD: 05/19/05
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

Hi Lisa. Thank you. I am going to add in extra inner thigh work from now on...all kinds...even stuff that isn't in whatever vid I am doing for legs at the time....hopefully this will help me tone up better! I did the inner thigh squeezes with the stability ball once not too long ago..OH MY that's a killer!:eek: lol Maybe I will throw some of them in EVERY time I work my legs!

~Wendy~

I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!

http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img]
EDD: 05/19/05
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

Wendy - do you have PS Legs? The floor work on that is very good for the inner thighs. And of course, plie squats.

You're almost there with the baby! How exciting! I remember the thing I was most looking forward to was seeing what my daughter looked like. Of course, she looks nothing like that now...
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

Wendy- I am amazed at what you do this late in your pregnancy. I thought Cathe was a beast, now I am beginning to think you are too!
For the inner thighs, I use my DD hop ball that is just like a stability ball, but with handles. I hold onto the handles with the ball between my legs and squeeze and never worry about the ball slipping out from between my legs. My son laughs when he sees me doing this...says it looks like I am having a baby as I make a funny expression and squeeze. :eek: :eek: :eek:

Take care!

Charlotte~~
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

Wendy, this is another one of those depends-on-your-genetics kind of things. You've done a lot of great work for your body, and I admire your dedication to exercise during your pregnancy. I didn't "discover" Cathe until a year after I gave birth, so I was using Kathy Smith, Gin Miller and Tamilee Webb while pregnant. All good instructors, but Cathe's in a league of her own. Anyway, I'm like you in that my inner thighs still needs work when most of my body has made good progress. Early this week I was doing GS-Legs, and while doing the band work for inner thighs I felt the area with my fingers and was surprised to feel a good amount of muscle there. Finally, after two years!:) But I can't see the muscle because of the flab on it. I doubt it'll ever go away. I'll take the muscle underneath it any day, however. Wait after you give birth and see how it goes. Sometimes our bodies can surprise us by how well it readjusts itself after childbirth. I've heard of women feeling better about their bodies after childbirth and fitting better into their clothes.

Pinky
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

Hi, Wendy. Inner thighs, unlike the muscles we build through extension and flexion, are strengthened by adduction or bringing the leg toward the midline of the body. Outer thigh muscles use abduction, or move the leg away from the midline of the body. They are secondary muscles and work with quads, hip flexors, glutes and hamstrings, all of which are called upon a great deal more just moving through our normal day. For inner thighs, I feel them best with plie squats but to really get into them, side-lying weighted inner thigh lifts are the exercises I like best. Since you are pregnant, standing weighted cross body presses might be better. They are my second choice for getting into the adductors. Unweighted works fine too but adding weight, even small amounts, can really get into those muscles. The same is true of the outer thigh or abductor. We just don't call upon our legs to move away from the midline of our bodies the way we require them to move forward and backward. Isolating them with standing and floor exercises is a sure bet. One thing I also know is true of my body, is my inner thigh muscles are less flexible than my other hip muscles and need extra attention there too. Short, tight adductors risk injury when the surrounding muscles are longer and more flexible. I hope this helps! :)
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

Charlotte~~~Too funny! I did the stability ball inner thigh squeezes once and I can totally understand why you made those faces!}(

Donna~~~I don't have PS legs...but you can bet that I will one day!:)
I can't wait to see what my son looks like. I know what you mean. The curiosity is killin' me! I am sure that he will look like my DH cause he's got those super strong Italian genes in him. lol If DS turns out to look like me it will be a pleasant surprise!

Pinky~~~TY for the advice...I'll try to be patient but to be honest, I'd much rather just cut that flabby fatty garbage off RIGHT NOW! :p lol

~Wendy~

I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!

http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img]
EDD: 05/19/05
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

Wendy,

I think Pilates is great for inner thighs. Those smaller isolation kind of movements seem to help.

By the way, you are really getting close now! Do you know if your baby is a boy or girl? (Sorry, don't mean to hijack!)
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

The pilates ring is very effective too. Wendy is remarkable. By the time I was nearing the end of my third pregnacy, waddling and moving my massive belly in either direction-I was all out front, were the only forms of exercise I could do. Running died after the first trimester and I came in just under 170 pounds!
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

Hi Gina,

Yeah, we found out that we are having a boy! :+

I had to quit pilates after the first trimester but once I deliver and can go back to exercise, I intend to put it back into my rotations...thanks for the tip!

~Wendy~

I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!

http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img]
EDD: 05/19/05
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

Hey Bobbi,

Thanks for the compliment!:+ I really don't know how I do what I do lol...but trust me there is no jumping around or much of any bouncing going on when I work out and my cardio often times is killed b/c I have to take a pee break in the middle of it! lol

I actually think my little boy is starting to really dig my work outs though...he has taken to moving around alot during my weight work outs! Do ya think he's doing the mean set of bicep curls with me during ME!? LOL! ;-) }( :D :7

~Wendy~

I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!

http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img]
EDD: 05/19/05
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

Wendy,

I have a list for you:

I think you:

-have the cutest name.
-have the cutest haircut.
-are totally amazing for quitting smoking. (I can't express to you -how much I appreciate this type of determination.)
-are nut's for still doing Cathe. Heck! You have a built in excuse. Literally.

Really you're awesome!!! I just did L&G yesterday, the 79 minute extreme, & today I feel t. It DOES get your inner thighs. Hence my slow, cautious movements today.

Marla
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

>-have the cutest name.

Thanks and wouldn't ya know that I hate it! lol :p

>-have the cutest haircut.

Thank you! Took me a looong time to work up the nerve to go that short! I'm sooo glad that I did though!:)

>-are totally amazing for quitting smoking. (I can't express to
>you -how much I appreciate this type of determination.)

It was an awful experience but the thing in my life that I MOST proud of!!! I NEVER thought I could succeed!

>-are nut's for still doing Cathe. Heck! You have a built in
>excuse. Literally.

LOL, I discovered Cathe as a prego so I don't know any better at this point. Down the line when I don't have any excuses to modify the way I have to now I may be selling all of my Cathe purchases! HEE HEE }(


>I just did L&G yesterday, the 79
>minute extreme, & today I feel t. It DOES get your inner
>thighs. Hence my slow, cautious movements today.

You go, girl!!! I have only done one of the shorter premixes on L & G a few times so far and it about killed me! I have never done the full work out yet...I'm scared!;)

~Wendy~

I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!

http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img]
EDD: 05/19/05
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

In agreeance with Marla on all accounts! Your haircut is too cute! Do you have the Hardcore Series Wendy? I think that the pulsing inner thigh move Cathe does in this series while exchanging a dumbbell from hand-to-hand hits the inner thigh more then any other move she has done in the past. Mine are screaming by the time she finishes and I had some serious DOMS from it. 40 days to go! Can't wait to hear all about him!
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH (AKA "Den Mother Debbie")http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

What are DOMS? Thanks to all of you in advance who can help me with some of these abbreviations you all use. Like PS legs. WHat is that?
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

DOMS=Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness. PS=Pure Strength as in the Pure Strength Series. You will get the hang of the language the more you "hang" around! :7 WELCOME 2 Cathe's!
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH (AKA "Den Mother Debbie")http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
RE: Re: Inner thighs A

Thank You! Everyone here seems so friendly and helpful that I am very excited to be here.
 
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