Expert-Approved: The 7 Best Thigh Exercises for Women

I’ve been a personal trainer for over 30 years. Consequently, during that time, I’ve trained women from all walks of life and for every conceivable fitness goal. I’ve helped bodybuilders, powerlifters, soccer players, runners, cyclists, dancers, moms, and retirees live their strongest, fittest, healthiest lives.

Unsurprisingly, one of the most common areas that my clients want to improve is their thighs. Because of this, I’ve made a study of thigh training exercises for women. And while I love the big basic leg moves, like squats, lunges, and deadlifts, I also believe that exercise variation often leads to better progress.

This is not just my opinion. A 2019 study published on PubMed supports the idea that exercise variation enhances motivation, muscle gains, and strength increases (1). As such, I’ve got a vast library of thigh exercises at my disposal.

In this article, I share my best expert-approved thigh exercises for women. Add a few of these movements to your existing workout or use them to design your next lower body training plan. However you use them, I think you’re going to love them!

Thigh Muscle Anatomy Basics

So, what am I referring to when I’m discussing the thighs? It turns out that the thighs actually comprise several large and important muscles and muscle groups. These include:

Quadriceps

Known as the quads for short, you’ll find this group of four muscles on the front of your thighs. The four quadriceps are the vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, and rectus femoris (2).

All four quadriceps work together to extend your knees. In addition, the rectus femoris also flexes your hip. However, the most effective quads exercises involve knee extension.

Hamstrings

The hamstrings are a group of three muscles located on the back of your thighs. These muscles are the semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and biceps femoris (3). The hamstrings flex your knees and extend your hips.

Why are the hamstrings so-called? Interestingly, the name comes from the Old English “ham,” meaning “bend of the leg,” and “string,” referring to the prominent tendons at the back of the knee.

Adductors

The adductors are your inner thigh muscles. Their name comes from their primary function, which is adduction of the hip. This means to draw your femur or thighbone inward. The muscles of the adductor group are the adductor longus, brevis, and magnus, meaning longest, shortest, and biggest (4).

Abductors  

The abductors are responsible for lifting your leg out and away from the midline of your body. Anatomically speaking, this movement is called abduction, which is where these muscles get their name.

Some of the abductors are found high on your hip, while others run down the outside of your thigh. That’s why the abductors have made it onto my list of thigh muscles. The abductors are the gluteus minimus and medius, and the tensor fascia latae. The TFL is the main outer thigh muscle in the abductor group.

The thigh muscles often work with the muscles of the hip, most notably the gluteus maximus. That’s because knee extension/flexion and hip extension frequently occur together. So, while this article is all about those thighs, many of the exercises listed in the next section also work your butt.

Now you know which muscles you’ll be working on, let’s move on to the best exercises to develop them!

The 7 Best Thigh Exercises for Women

Before I reveal my list of best thigh exercises, it’s important to stress that there is no such thing as a male or female exercise, and all genders can do all exercises. That said, there are movements that may appeal more to women than men.

Based on my extensive personal training experience, the exercises below fall into that category. However, men may benefit from them, too.

1. Wall Squat / Squat Jump Combo

Muscles worked: Quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, abductors, gluteus maximus, calves.

My first thigh exercise is actually two movements done back-to-back. Combos like this are intense and time-effective. In addition, they also burn a lot of calories and raise your heart rate, making them ideal for metabolic training. This is an exercise combo my clients love and hate in equal measure. They love how effective it is but hate how hard they have to work!

Steps:

1. Stand with your back to a smooth wall. Lean against it so your feet are about 18 inches in front of you and shoulder-width apart. Bend your legs and slide down the wall until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
2. Push your lower back into the wall as hard as you can. Aim for 20-30 seconds.
3. Relax, stand up, and stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
4. Bend your legs and descend into a quarter-depth squat.
5. Using your arms for extra momentum, jump into the air as high as possible.
6. Land on slightly bent knees and repeat for 10-15 reps.

Tips:

• Push your back against the wall as hard as possible. Don’t just sit and lean.
• Move quickly from one exercise to the next – no sneaky rests, please!
• End your squat jump set when your height noticeably decreases.

2. Paused Bulgarian Split Squat

Muscles worked: Quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, abductors, gluteus maximus.

Most exercisers are familiar with Bulgarian or rear-foot elevated split squats. However, this variation is much more challenging and turns a good exercise into a great one. Don’t underestimate how challenging this thigh exercise can be; you’re going to feel it tomorrow!  

Steps:

1. Stand with your back to a knee-high exercise bench. Bend one leg and place the top of your foot on it. Hop forward and into a split stance. Put your arms by your sides or hands on your hips as preferred.
2. Bend your legs and lower your rear knee down to about an inch above the floor. Hold this position for a slow count of three.
3. Stand back up and then descend again. Continue for the prescribed number of reps.
4. Rest a moment, swap sides, and do the same number of reps with the other leg.

Tips:

• Hold dumbbells to make this exercise harder.
• The longer you pause, the more challenging this move becomes.
• Use a short stance to emphasize your quads and a longer stance to hit your hamstrings more.

3. Booty Band Goblet Squat

Muscles worked: Quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, abductors, gluteus maximus.

Booty band goblet squats are one of the biggest bang-for-your-buck leg exercises I know. In fact, if you only have time for one leg exercise, this is the one I recommend. In my humble opinion, it’s one of the best squat variations you can do, and it’s one of the most popular exercises with my female clientele.

Steps:

1. Put a booty band around your legs, just above or below your knees. Step out and into a shoulder-width stance, toes turned slightly outward.
2. Raise and hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in front of your chest, just below your chin.
3. Brace your abs and pull your shoulders back and down.
4. Bend your legs and descend until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Push your knees out against the resistance of the band.
5. Stand back up and repeat.

Tips:

• Raise your heels on weight plates to increase squat depth and quads engagement.
• You can also do this exercise without weights.
• Pause at the bottom of each rep to make the movement harder without using more weight.

4. Lateral Walking Lunge

Muscles worked: Quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, abductors, gluteus maximus.

I’m sure you’ve done walking lunges before, but I bet you’ve only ever done them forward. This lateral or sideways variation works your quads and hamstrings but increases the work your adductors need to do. This makes lateral walking lunges a more complete thigh exercise than the regular version.

Steps:

1. Stand with your feet together and your arms by your sides. Look straight ahead and pull your shoulders back and down.
2. Take a large step out to the left, bend your left knee, and descend until your left thigh is roughly parallel to the floor. Keep your right leg straight.
3. Bring your right foot up to meet your left, step out again, and repeat. Continue for the required number of reps or prescribed distance.
4. Rest a moment and then do the same number of reps back the other way.

Tips:

• Hold dumbbells to make this exercise more challenging.
• No space to do walking lateral lunges? Just alternate from side to side, instead.
• Lean forward to increase the work on your hamstrings and glutes. A more upright torso tends to work your quads more.

5. 1 ½ Air Squats

Muscles worked: Quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, abductors, gluteus maximus.

While squats are a great thigh exercise, they also involve a lot of glutes engagement. This variation makes the humble squat much more thigh-centric. However, because it’s a bodyweight exercise, this move is ideal for home workouts and for anyone who prefers calisthenics vs. weight training.

Steps:

1. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly outward.
2. Bend your legs and squat down until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Raise your arms forward for balance if necessary.
3. Drive your feet into the floor and stand about halfway up.
4. Descend again into a full squat.
5. Stand all the way up and then repeat.

Tips:

• Descend under control to put maximum tension on your muscles for superior results.
• Take care not to round your lower back, as doing so can cause severe injury.
• You can also do this exercise with weights if you want a tougher workout.

6. Romanian Deadlift

Muscles worked: Hamstrings, gluteus maximus.

The Romanian deadlift is a classic strength training exercise. And it’s a classic for a reason – it’s awesome! The RDL is one of the best ways to hit your posterior thighs and butt. Unfortunately, a lot of exercises do it incorrectly and even unsafely. Let’s fix that here and now!

Steps:

1. Hold a barbell with an overhand, shoulder-width grip. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, knees slightly bent. Pull your shoulders back and down and brace your core.
2. Push your butt back, hinge forward from your hips, and lower the weight down the front of your legs. Descend until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
3. Drive your hips forward and stand up straight. Do not lean back.
4. Reset your core and repeat.

How to do the Romanian Deadlift the right way:

Tips:

• You can also do this exercise with dumbbells.
• Take care not to round your lower back, as doing so can cause back pain and injuries.
• Use gym chalk to stop your hands from slipping.

7. Squat to Box Jump

Muscles worked: Quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, abductors, gluteus maximus.

Box jumps are a CrossFit and circuit training staple. They’re a great exercise for building fitness and endurance. However, the way that most people do them means they’re less effective for working the thighs. This box jump variation makes your thighs work much harder, so it’s a far more efficient and effective exercise. It’s harder, too!

Steps:

1. Stand in your usual squat stance while facing a knee-high box.
2. Bend your legs and squat down smoothly and with control until your thighs are roughly parallel to the floor.
3. Explosively extend your knees and hips and jump up to land on the top of the box. Bend your legs to absorb the shock of landing.
4. Jump back down, descend into another parallel-depth squat, and repeat.

Tips:

• Adjust the height of your box according to your jumping abilities.
• Step instead of jumping down to reduce the impact of this exercise.
• You can also do squat to box jumps while holding dumbbells.

Closing Thoughts

While leg extensions, leg curls, and leg presses are effective thigh exercises, you can have too much of a good thing. Do even the best exercises too often, and they’ll start to lose their potency. Your progress will stall, and you’ll soon become frustrated.

Needless to say, when this happens to a personal training client, it won’t be long before they start looking for a new coach!

Having a library of tried-and-tested exercises means that I always have plenty of novel training approaches I can use. This helps prevent boredom and plateaus and keeps my clients coming back for more.

The exercises in this article are some of the best thigh exercises for women that I know. Each one is tried, tested, and expert-approved, so use them to build the lower body of your dreams.

What are your favorite thigh exercises? Let us know in the comments section below.

References:

1. Baz-Valle E, Schoenfeld BJ, Torres-Unda J, Santos-Concejero J, Balsalobre-Fernández C. The effects of exercise variation in muscle thickness, maximal strength and motivation in resistance-trained men. PLoS One. 2019 Dec 27;14(12):e0226989. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226989. PMID: 31881066; PMCID: PMC6934277.
2. Bordoni B, Varacallo M. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis, and Lower Limb: Thigh Quadriceps Muscle. [Updated 2023 May 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan. 
3. Rodgers CD, Raja A. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis, and Lower Limb: Hamstring Muscle. [Updated 2023 Apr 1]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan.
4. Jeno SH, Schindler GS. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis, and Lower Limb: Thigh Adductor Magnus Muscle. 2022 Aug 1. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan–. PMID: 30521263.
5. Flack NA, Nicholson HD, Woodley SJ. The anatomy of the hip abductor muscles. Clin Anat. 2014 Mar;27(2):241-53. doi: 10.1002/ca.22248. Epub 2013 Apr 27. PMID: 23625344.

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