Thigh toning exercises

Schoenfeld is another advocate of thigh toning exercises: "Regarding toning exercises, there are many that are excellent. The most beneficial generally are multi-joint movements such as squats, lunges, and leg presses. These movements involve the most muscle working during the movement, thus promoting terrific overall development."

Moreover, they also are the best fat burners as total energy expenditure is directly related to the amount of muscle activated during an exercise. That said, variety is the spice of fitness. It is beneficial to mix up your exercises frequently, performing different moves from one workout to the next. One of the great things about exercises such as squats and lunges is that there are many variations of these moves. "For example, you can perform squats with a shoulder width stance, you can perform them with a wide stance (which targets more in the inner thigh region), and you can perform front squats (which targets more in the frontal thighs). Lunges can be done to the front, reverse, and to the side," adds Schoenfeld.

Yoga

If you're not a fan of lunges, is there anything else you can do? Nahid de Belgeonne is a yoga teacher who runs the Good Vibes fitness studios in London, and knows all about the benefits that this exercise has with regards to slimming the thighs. "As yoga uses all of your major muscle groups, your metabolism is raised even while resting. In traditional workouts, your muscles are used repetitively in the same pattern, which ignores other muscles and causes an imbalance in your body. Yoga tones and stretches all of your muscles, creating a leaner silhouette. Holds and dynamic flows (where the focus is on the legs) will speed up your metabolism even more. Power yoga, Vinyasa yoga and hot yoga will give you a harder cardiovascular workout," she says.