Easy 10-Minute INNER AND OUTER THIGH WORKOUT for Beginners (No Equipment)

Toning your thighs isn’t just about squats and lunges, sometimes the best moves are actually the ones you do lying down.

This 10-minute inner and outer thigh workout hits both sides through simple floor exercises like clam shells, leg lifts, and pulses. So if you’ve been looking for an exercise for gap between thigh areas, this routine has you covered with no equipment needed, just a soft surface.

Here’s the full workout:

We’re starting this inner and outer thigh workout on the ground, so make sure you’ve got a soft surface under you.

For this one, you’ll press your hips up into a bridge and then open your knees outward at the top. It’s a small movement, but you’ll feel it working through your glutes and the outside of your thighs pretty quickly.

Don’t rush the abduction part, though. A slow, controlled squeeze will do way more for you than speeding through it.

Now you’re going to take that bridge up a notch by working one leg at a time.

Since you’re balancing on a single leg here, you’ll notice your supporting side has to work much harder to keep your hips steady. And honestly, you might start to feel this one creeping into your inner thighs too.

If your hips start to dip, that’s your sign to slow down and focus on keeping everything lifted.

Time to flip over onto your side for some outer thigh exercises. You’ll be propped up on one hand and knee, which means your core is working just as hard as your legs here.

The key thing to watch is your knee direction. You want it pointing straight forward the whole time, so you’re truly targeting that outer thigh instead of letting your hip do all the work.

Same position, but now you’re drawing big circles in the air with your toes.

This one takes a bit of coordination since you’ll need to keep your supporting hip from dropping while your leg moves through a full range of motion. If you feel your body leaning or shifting, that’s totally normal. Just try to stay as stable as you can.

These circles are great for firing up both the outer thigh and glute on your working leg.

You’ve probably seen clamshells done lying on your side before, but this seated version adds a little extra challenge.

You’ll be propped up on your hand with your knees bent, and then you’re just opening and closing that top knee. It sounds simple enough, though it gets spicy after a few reps.

This is one of those exercises that really targets the gap between your thighs and the outside of your hips all at once.

Alright, roll onto your back for this next one. You’ll bring your heels together in a frog-like position and then extend your legs out at an angle.

Here’s a little tip that helps a lot: 

try placing your fingertips on your inner thighs so you can actually feel them engaging as you push out. It’ll help you connect with the muscles you’re supposed to be working.

Play around with the angle of your legs, too. Go lower for more intensity, or keep them a little higher if you’re just getting started with inside thigh workouts.

These tight, quick crosses are all about your inner thighs at home, and they will let you know they’re working almost immediately.

You’ll keep your legs extended at an angle and crisscross them back and forth in small, controlled motions. The word “small” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, so don’t turn it into big, sweeping movements.

Keep your lower back pressed into the floor the entire time and try not to hold your breath!

For the last few exercises, you’ll be working one leg at a time to really zero in on the inner thigh.

The trick that makes or breaks this one? Rolling your weight slightly forward onto your hip. 

If you’re sitting too far back, you won’t feel it where you’re supposed to, so make that small adjustment and you’ll notice a big difference.

Same concept as the last exercise, but now you’re propped up on your forearm, which changes the angle just enough to hit the muscle a little differently.

You’ll cross your top leg in front and lift the bottom one up and down. Again, sitting forward on that hip is what makes this an effective leg gap exercise versus just moving your leg around.

You’re almost done with this best inner and outer thigh workout!

For the finisher, you’ll keep that bottom leg lifted and pulse it with small, continuous movements. No resting the leg on the floor between reps.

This is where it really burns, so just keep pushing through those last few seconds. You’ve made it through nine exercises already, and this is your final one to finish strong.