"Resize Your Thighs"

I was just wandering around the internet looking for different ways to tone my body and came across this article (*clicky clicky*). I'll copy and paste the excerices here...

Do 1 to 3 sets of each exercise, 12 to 15 repetitions per set. If you do this routine faithfully at least twice a week, you should begin to see tighter, shapelier legs in about a month. And when you're ready for a change in your toning routine, try the souped up versions of these moves, the essential updates.

1. Essential Squat
Works your butt, front and back of thighs. (A) Stand tall with your feet hip width apart and your hands clasped together and held up at chest level with your elbows bent. Square your shoulders and lift your chest. (B) Bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor; don't allow your knees to move forward of your toes. Hold a moment at the bottom of the movement and then stand back up to the start, taking care not to lock your knees.

Essential Squat Update
Works your butt, front and back of thighs, inner thighs, outer thighs, calves. (A) Roll up a stretch mat and place it under the center of a step platform. Stand tall on the platform with your feet hip width apart and your hands clasped together and held up at chest level with your elbows bent. Square your shoulders and lift your chest. Work at maintaining both ends of the step balanced up off the floor. (B) Bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor all the while trying to maintain a balanced position on top of your step platform. Slowly stand back up to the start taking care not to lock your knees.

2. Essential Lunge
Works your butt, front and back of thighs. (A) Stand tall with your feet hip width apart and your hands on your hips. Square your shoulders and lift your chest. (B) Step forward a stride's length with your right leg. As your foot contacts the floor, bend your knees until your right thigh is parallel to the floor and your left thigh is perpendicular to it. Press off the ball of your foot to stand back up to the start. Alternate left and right lunges.

Essential Lunge Update
Works your butt, front and back of thighs. (A) Stand tall with your feet hip width apart and your hands on your hips. Square your shoulders and lift your chest. (B) Step your right foot back a stride's length and bend your knees until your right thigh is perpendicular to the floor and your left thigh is parallel to it. (C) Press off your right toe and lift your right knee up in front of you to waist level. Lower to the start. Alternate left and right lunges.

3. Essential Hydrant
Works your buttocks and back of thighs. (A) Kneel on your elbows and knees with your elbows directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Tilt your chin towards your chest to align your neck with the rest of your spine. (B) Keeping your knee bent, lift your right thigh up to hip level. Lower to start. Complete all reps and then repeat with the left leg.

Essential Hydrant Update
Works your buttocks, back of thighs, inner thighs. (A) Kneel on your elbows and knees with your elbows directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Tilt your chin towards your chest to align your neck with the rest of your spine. (B) Keeping your knee bent, lift your right thigh up to hip level. As you lower, cross your right thigh over your left thigh and squeeze for a moment before moving into the next rep. Complete all reps and then repeat with the left leg.

4. Essential Leg Lift
Works your outer thigh. (A) Lie on your left side with your legs out straight and a few inches forward of your body, your right hip directly stacked on top of your left hip. Rest your head on your outstretched left arm and place your right palm on the floor in front of you for support. (B) Keeping your toe softly pointed, lift your right leg up until your foot is at hip height. Slowly lower to the start. Complete all reps and repeat with your left leg.

Essential Leg Lift Update
Works your outer thigh, inner thigh and butt. (A) Lie on your left side with your legs out straight and a few inches forward of your body, your right hip directly stacked on top of your left hip. Rest your head on your outstretched left arm and place your right palm on the floor in front of you for support. (B) Turn your knee towards the ceiling, flex your foot and toss your leg up as far as you comfortably can. At the top of the movement, point your toe and, slowly enough to create extra tension in your leg and butt, lower to the start.

Thanks for your post. I've linked it to my files.  I'll see if they help my "Thunder Thighs" :)  

Yeah for sure! I'm going to start doing these ritually and see if/when results come forth. I'm already tracking inches on my thighs and I know how flabby they are, haha, and something has got to change. I think combining these with regular running or something oughta be some good.

I've got much back. And thighs. And there isn't much more weight to lose.. which isn't making me happy.

i started doing these a couple of days ago. my friend told me about them... and my thighs are sore now.... guess i gotta keep doing them to work out the soreness... good luck!

If you have your hands clasped in from of you for the squats, and on your hips for the lunges, how do you hold the weight?

What muscle does #4 work?

Goblet Squats, perhaps? They're good for teaching form to a beginner, and I like using them as part of a specific warmup routine - when I'm not doing Jeremy Frisch' mobility complex anyway.

 And I presume you're wearing an Xvest for the lunges, seems a bit complicated to do it that way, but to each her own, I suppose.

 Number 4 works the Gluteus Medius and a few other support muscles - not the ones I'd choose to focus on for effective thigh exercises, but if you feel the need to add some volume after the goblet squats.

 Nah, seriously - if you've done little or no exercise before, you can get a pretty good workout from bodyweight exercises. It's not a bad way to start getting used to working out and familiarising yourself with how your body responds to exercise. And with a bit of ingenuity you can find ways to make bodyweight exercises more difficult than the standard version, so you can go pretty far. Well, it will be less efficient than a lifting program and some cardio, but efficiency is still secondary to consistency.

 I'd say that doing this for 4-6 weeks is the absolute maximum for how long I'd stick to this program before adding weights or different exercises, if you're using this to ease into a workout program.