Increasing definition in your thighs requires developing muscle all over your body and decreasing your body fat percentage.

Training Techniques

Women of all ages can fall prey to those frustrating cellulite bumps.

Though cellulite can pop up any time, it is true that cellulite does seem to appear out of nowhere and can get worse with age. Those strands of connective tissue thicken with age, and our skin gets thinner, making cellulite more noticeable.

Because fat is exceptionally soft, it doesn’t keep our skin taut like muscle does. It also takes up more space, so it bulges out. With the right exercise plan, you can reduce your cellulite and make your lower body look smoother and firmer.

The trick is working all your lower body muscles from every angle, reducing the underlying fat stores and replacing lost muscle tissue to give the area a taut, toned appearance throughout.

Side to Side

• Muscles worked: Quadriceps, abductors, adductors, hamstrings, and glutes

Equipment:

• Dumbbells. You can do this basic exercise without any weights. Just keep your hands on your hips. To make it more difficult, hold the dumbbells up at your shoulders while performing the exercise.

1. Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed out about 45 degrees and your back flat and straight. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and rest them at your hips.

2. Take a giant step to the left and bend your left knee until your thigh is parallel to the floor, keeping your right leg extended. Do not allow your left knee to jut over your toes or your butt to dip below your knee. Pause, then return to the starting position and repeat the motion to the right side without resting.

All-Fours Kickback

• Muscles worked: Gluteal muscles

Equipment: 

• Dumbbells. When doing this exercise, remember not to arch or hunch your back. This will prevent you from putting stress on your back.  Do the exercise with a light dumbbell held behind the knee in the crook of your working leg.

1. Get down on your forearms and knees (similar to the hands-and-knees position, but you bend your arms and support your weight on your forearms instead of your hands). Keep your back straight and your head in line with your back so that your eyes are looking down.

2. Keeping your back straight and leg bent, slowly swing your right leg back and lift your right foot toward the ceiling until your thigh is parallel to the ground. Your foot should remain flexed throughout the exercise. Hold for 1 second, then return to the starting position. Do one set with your right leg, then switch and repeat with your left.

 

Squat and Side Lift

• Muscles worked:Glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, hip flexors, and abductors

Equipment:

• Dumbbells. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, with your hands on your hips, your elbows out to the sides, and your toes slightly pointed out. Remember to keep your head straight and your eyes facing forward. If you want to push yourself a bit, hold a light dumbbell in each hand as you do the moves.

1. Slowly bend at the knees and squat back as though moving your butt down toward an imaginary chair. Keep your back flat, and don’t allow your knees to jut over your toes. Stop when your thighs are just about parallel to the floor; don’t go any lower.

2. Pause, then straighten your legs, lifting your left leg off the floor and out to the side as you stand. Pause again, then return to the starting position. Repeat, lifting your right leg to the side this time. Alternate legs throughout the exercise.

 

One-Legged Lunge

• Muscles worked: Glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings

Equipment: 

• A sturdy chair or bench Since this is a bit of an advanced exercise, practice doing regular lunges to get comfortable with the movement before you start. To make this move even more challenging, hold dumbbells down at your sides.

1. Stand about 2 feet in front of a sturdy chair or bench with your back to it. Bend your left knee and extend your left leg behind you, putting the top of your left foot on the seat of the chair. Keep your back straight, your head aligned with your spine, and your eyes facing forward.

2. Slowly bend your right knee until it is parallel to the floor. Do not allow your right knee to jut over your toes. Pause, then rise back to the starting position. Do one set with your right leg, then switch and repeat with your left.

Benefits of Unilateral Exercises

In addition to balancing out both sides of the body, single-leg (unilateral) exercises work the deep lateral stabilizers of the hip and core in ways we can’t duplicate with bilateral moves. There’s also more carryover to normal ground-based movements like walking, skipping and running than you have with bilateral exercise. Try adding a few of the following exercises into your regular weight-training regimen for better balance and greater strength.

1. Step-Ups

Step-ups target the glutes and hamstrings as well as the quadriceps.

HOW TO DO THEM:

• Stand with a 12- to 18-inch plyo box or bench at your right side and your right foot on the box.
• Step up onto the box with your left foot while straightening the hip and the knee of your right leg. Root through your right heel to lift the rest of your body and raise the left knee until both your left hip and knee reach a 90-degree angle.
• Step down with the left leg by bending the hip and knee of the right leg.
• Repeat with the right leg for 10 to 15 repetitions, and then turn to face the opposite direction and perform the entire routine with the left leg.

2. Bulgarian Split Squat

This one-legged squat resembles a lunge, except the non-working leg is propped up on a bench for balance. It works the quadriceps and glutes.

HOW TO DO IT:

• Start by standing about two to three feet in front of a flat bench with your back to the bench.
• Reach one foot back so that your toes rest on the bench. Your other foot should be planted in front of you.
• Keep your head up, back straight and chest out while performing this exercise.
• As you inhale, slowly lower your back knee until your front thigh is parallel to the floor.
• At this point, your knee should be directly over your toes.
• Lift your knee back to the starting position as you exhale.
• Repeat for 10 to 15 repetitions.
• Switch legs and repeat the movement.

3. Single-Leg Glute Bridge

This exercise may be done either with your feet flat on the floor or up on a bench. It primarily works the glutes and hamstrings.

HOW TO DO IT:

• Lie on the floor with your feet flat and knees bent.
• Raise one leg off the ground, pulling your knee to your chest.
• Push through your heel, raising your hips off the ground and extending them upward. Extend as far as possible and pause at the top, then return to the starting position.
• Repeat for 10 to 15 repetitions.
• Switch legs and repeat the movement.

4. Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

A unilateral version of a traditional stiff-legged deadlift, this move requires balance and core stability and works the glutes, hamstrings and spinal erectors.

HOW TO DO IT:

• Stand on your right leg while holding a dumbbell at your side in your right hand.
• Keeping the right knee slightly bent, perform a stiff-legged deadlift by bending at the hip, extending your free leg behind you for balance or resting the top of your foot on a bench.
• Continue lowering the dumbbell until your upper body is parallel to the ground, and then return to the upright position.
• Repeat for 10 to 15 repetitions.
• Switch legs and hands and repeat the movement.

5. Single-Leg Hip Pops

This challenging exercise primarily targets the hamstrings of the supporting leg. It is a great hamstring exercise both bilaterally and unilaterally, with the additional benefit in the single-legged movement of hip rotators and stabilizers.

HOW TO DO THEM:

• Start seated on the ground with your legs extended in front of you and your feet flexed.
• Place your hands on the ground next to your hips with your fingers pointed toward your feet.
• Raise and hold your left leg just a few inches off the ground. Then push your right heel into the ground, and with the arms extended and supporting your weight on your hands, lift your hips as high as possible in a straight-body position.
• Lower your hips back to the starting seated position, then quickly and explosively pop them back up.
• Strive for 10 to 12 reps each side.

6. One-Armed Dumbbell Row

This one-sided back exercise targets the latissimus dorsi, trapezius, rhomboids and forearm flexors, including the biceps muscles. Keep your core engaged throughout the movement to stabilize and support your back.

HOW TO DO IT:

• Grab a dumbbell with your palm facing the side of your body.
• Place the other hand and knee on a bench; keep your back flat throughout the move.
• Start the movement by lifting the elbow as high as possible next to the body with the elbow bent.
• Maximize contraction by rotating your torso slightly at the end of the row.
• Perform 10 to 15 rows, then switch arms.