How to Lose Leg Fat Quickly at Home

So, here you are, bothered about your leg fat! If you are among those people who tend to accumulate fat in their lower body, especially hips and thighs, this article is for you. However, before you read on to know how to lose leg fat, you must understand one thing. There is nothing called spot reduction. If you want to lose fat from any part of your body, say legs, you need to work out whole of your body. The extra thing that you can do is, strengthen the muscles on that spot to tone it up. A toned leg would always look good instead of bulky one. So, in a nutshell, you need to lose overall body fat if you want to slim down your legs too. For this, you need to do cardiovascular exercises and eat healthy balanced diet. You also need to do specific exercises that will make your leg muscles move and get in shape.

Therefore, we zero in on three things- cardiovascular exercise, leg toning exercises, and healthy eating. Now how to do this and what exercises to do to lose fat? Here’s the answer.

Do Cardiovascular Exercises to Lose Overall Fat

Anyone who wants to lose weight, from whatever body part, should do cardiovascular exercises for about an hour, five days a week. Some of such exercises that also work out your legs and thighs include running, hiking, jumping rope and bicycling.

Running

No prizes to guess that running uses mostly your legs and thus apart from helping lose fat from your body as a whole, this cardiovascular exercise also tones up your leg muscles. It is that aerobic exercise that increases your heart rate and also boosts your metabolism. So start running today to lose fat.

Get this:

• A good pair of shoes

Do this: 

• Make a habit of running for at least 30-40 minutes daily.
• You may initially do this for lesser time. Gradually increase your running time to half an hour to even one hour.
• You can run at a moderate pace, if you can’t do it fast. In fact, when you run at a moderate pace, you burn calories efficiently
• If you cannot run at a stretch for that long, take breaks.
• Interval training is also good for burning fat faster and effectively. When running, keep on changing from running to sprinting and then light jogging or brisk walking.
• Run for five minutes and then walk for five minutes, then do jogging for another five minutes and so on. Continue this for an hour.
• You will soon build up your capacity to run for longer at a stretch.

Cycling is easier on your joints than running as it is a low-impact aerobic exercise. So, if you find running a bit too much, try cycling.

Biking or Cycling

Riding bicycle is yet another very good cardiovascular exercise. It will pump up your heart and you will sweat your way to lose weight. Not to ignore, your legs are at continuous work to run your bike so you also end up toning your leg muscles, thus losing considerable fat from thighs and hips.

Get this

• Invest in a good bicycle

OR

• Join a gym

Do this:

• Set up time everyday to ride your bicycle.
• You may either start your day by cycling for half to one hour or do this in the evening. If you do this in the evening, remember, you should do such exercise 3-4 hours before you go to sleep. Doing strenuous exercises close to bedtime may disrupt your sleep.
• If you cannot set apart extra time for cycling from your busy schedule, bike to your workplace. Yes, this is one very healthy mode of transport.
• However, if you cannot do all the above, just join a gym and hit it everyday. If not everyday, at least for five days a week. Don’t forget to use that stationery bicycle in the gym for at least half an hour.

Swimming

If you know how to swim and if you have a pool that you can access, there’s no other exercise better than this for you! Swimming has been listed as one of the best exercises for body. Each and every muscle of your body gets toned up when you swim. It can be termed as a water aerobics that combines weight resistance and cardiovascular movements. Also, there’s no other so refreshing an exercise as swimming.

Do this: 

• Swim everyday for 30-40 minutes.
• While swimming, propel your body actively through the water with the help of breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly or freestyle.
• If you are not that great a swimmer, you can still manage to lose fat from your thighs by immersing yourself waist deep in water. While your lower body is immersed in the water, keep on doing exercises that move your legs such as lunges, lifts and kicks. You will find it far more easier to do it in water than on ground because a body is 90% lighter inside water.
• Perform pendulum move. For this, stand in waist deep water and then slowly lift your left leg and stretch it to the side as far as you. Now gently swing it down and across in front of the right leg. Then, again take your leg back through the water to glide it to the left. Continue doing sidewards, downwards, across, down and back movements for 10-15 times. Repeat the same movements with right leg.
• Perform flamingo move. Stand on your right leg, waist deep in water. If needed, hold on the side of the pool to get support. Now bend the left leg at the knee and place your left feet over your right knee. Holding this position, move your left knee sidewards and then back towards the right knee. Repeat for 10-15 times. Change legs and do the same movements with right feet on your left knee.

These under water leg movements will help you a lot in losing inner and outer thigh fat. Swimming will help lose overall body fat.

Do Leg Toning Exercises to Lose Leg Fat

Squats and lunges are the best exercises for legs. Perform both, squats along with lunges, at least 2-3 days a week. You may add resistance by using dumbbells. This speeds up the process of toning your leg muscles. Apart from squats and lunges, there are few more leg exercises that can help you get rid of thigh fat. Read on to know how to do all these leg exercises to lose fat faster.

Squats

Get this:

• Dumbbells or barbell (optional)

Do this:

• Stand straight with your legs at hip-width
• Now widen your legs a little more.
• Bend your knees and take your upper body back and bend down as if you will now sit down on a chair.
• However, don’t let your knees extend over your toes.
• Hold for sometime.
• Then straighten your legs and return to your beginning position.
• Repeat for 10 times.
• While doing the exercise, you may hold dumbbells or a barbell to add resistance.

Lunges

Get this:

• Dumbbells or barbell (optional)

Do this:

• Stand straight with your legs at hip-width
• Your chest remains lifted, chin up and abs contracted.
• Now take a big step forward with your left foot.
• Bend down straight and bring your front left knee over the top of your feet.
• Your right knee will point down toward the floor.
• Hold for few seconds and then push back to the beginning position.
• Repeat with your right leg.
• Keep on doing with left then right and so on.
• Do this for 10-12 times.
• Initially do only one set and then increase to do three sets of 10-12 repetitions.

Reverse Lunge

Do this:

• Stand straight with your feet little wider than your hip-width.
• Step backward with a leg.
• Now lower your hips till the time your front thigh is parallel to the floor.
• Your knee should be directly over your ankle and foot.
• Hold for few minutes.
• Go back to starting position.
• Repeat with the other.
• Do 8-10 repetitions.
• Gradually increase to 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Side Leg Raise

Do this:

• Lie down on your left side.
• Keep your head rested on your left arm
• Keep your right hand placed on the floor in front of your chest, palm down.
• Keep your legs straight with left leg touching the ground and right leg on top of the left leg.
• Now gently raise your right leg above, as high as you can.
• Hold for few seconds.
• Bring it back to its resting position over the left leg.
• Do this five times.
• Change sides, now lie on your right side and repeat the whole process five times.
• This completes one set.
• Initially do only one set, gradually increase to do 3-4 sets everyday.
• You may add resistance by placing a band on both of your legs just below your knees or around ankles or thighs.

Clamshell

Do this: 

• Lie on your left side.
• Keep your hips and knees bent at 45 degrees.
• Keep your right leg over your left leg.
• Heels will stay together all the time during the exercise.
• While keeping your heels together and left leg touched with ground, raise your right knee as high as possible. Remember heels will stay together.
• Hold the position for few seconds.
• Return to the starting position.
• Repeat 5 times.
• Change sides and do with the other leg.
• Repeat 5 times.
• Gradually increase the time of exercise and do 3 sets of 5 repetitions with each leg.

Hip Raise

Do this:

• Lie down on your back, face up, looking towards the ceiling.
• Bend the knees and bring feet a little towards hips. Feet will stay touching the floor.
• Keep your hands stretched straight outwards on both the sides
• Press into your heels and lift hips to form a diagonally straight line from shoulders to the knees.
• Hold for some time.
• Bring your body down.
• Repeat 10 times to make one set.
• With time, increase the sets. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

Cross Body Mountain Climber

Do this:

• Lie down on your stomach.
• Get into pushup position with your body resting on your heels and palms with the hands stretched without any bend.
• Raise your right leg and try to bring the right knee to your left shoulder, as far as you can.
• Get back to the starting position with feet down on ground but in pushup position.
• Repeat with left leg
• Repeat 5 times with each leg

One Leg Romanian Deadlift

Get this:

• Dumbbell

Do this:

• Stand straight with feet at hip-width
• Raise your right foot off the floor and stretch your right arm in front of yourself.
• You may hold a dumbbell in your right hand to add resistance
• Bend forward from your hips while keeping your back flat
• Raise your right leg straight behind you till the time your body is horizontally straight over your left leg like the shape of ‘T’
• Hang down your right arm.
• Hold the position for few seconds.
• Return back to your starting position.
• Now repeat with the left leg.
• This completes one round or repetition.
• Do 3 sets of 3-4 repetitions.

Side Plank

Do this:

• Lie on your left side
• Keep your legs stretched straight with right leg over your left one.
• Your right hand will lay straight over the length of your body.
• Left hand will lay on floor near your chest, palm down.
• Now lift your hips with your body weight on your feet and the left forearm.
• Your body should form a straight line from your neck to your ankles.
• Place the right hand on your hip and hold the position for few seconds or a minute.
• Bring down your body to the starting position.
• Switch sides and repeat the exercise while lying down on your right side.
• Repeat 5 times with each side.

Chair Exercise

Get this:

• Chair- 1

Do this:

• Stand behind the chair facing the back of the chair.
• Hold the back of the chair and stand on your toes.
• Now swing your left foot over the right foot and bring the left foot back and stretch as high as you can.
• Do this 5 times
• Switch legs and do this with right leg for 5 times.
• Do 2-3 sets 5 repetitions with each leg.

Take Stairs

This might be the easiest exercise you can do to lose leg fat. Take stairs whenever you can. Avoid using elevators and escalators. This burns fat too effectively. Your legs also get into shape due to the toned muscles. If you need to go upstairs to a high rise building and reach, say, 15^th floor, it may not be possible to take stairs for such a height. In such a situation, take stairs till 5^th or 6^th floor and then use elevator or escalator. This will help keep you motivated to take stairs and lose fat from you leg and overall body.

Eat Healthy to Get Fat-less Legs and Body

When you eat healthy, cardiovascular exercises become more effective. They burn fat faster. Eating a healthy diet which is also a low-calorie one will definitely restrict your body from gaining fat. Here are some tips for doing so.

1. Give your body less calories by not eating sugary and fatty foods.
2. Reduce intake of carbohydrates too, specially refined carbs.
3. Instead of refined carbs, have complex carbohydrate foods such as whole grains.
4. Have more foods that contain protein and fiber.
5. Don’t skip breakfast. It jump-starts your metabolism.
6. Have protein and complex carbs in breakfast to give you energy to carry out your early morning workout.
7. Watch your portion sizes. This restricts you from overeating.
8. Have small meals and healthy snacks more often. This counters hunger pangs.
9. Have more fruits and vegetables
10. Instead of red meat, have lean proteins such as poultry.
11. Fish is a good source of protein. Include it in your diet.
12. Drink lots of water to keep yourself hydrated and also to avoid water retention.
13. Avoid having sodas, colas, carbonated beverages and sweetened beverages. They all contribute to weight gain.

Combining exercises and healthy diet is all what you need to lose leg fat. Not only leg fat, this routine will help you get rid of your overall body fat. So, start today and lose your leg fat to get your lower body in shape!