Best exercises to build your thigh muscles.
There are four main muscle groups in your thighs. The quadriceps on the front of your thighs, the bicep femoris on the back of your thighs, the leg adductors on the inner side of your thighs, and the leg abductors on the outer sides of your thighs. If you concentrate on building and strengthening these main four muscle groups several other smaller muscle groups in the thigh will also develop.
Squats are the single best leg exercise you can do when building thigh muscles. Squat exercises work quads, glutes, hamstrings and hips. As well as your upper and lower back muscles along with your abdominals as secondary muscles. Squat exercises by far are the most effective and efficient for overall leg development.
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Barbell squats: Rest the barbell on the upper part of your back, but not on your neck. Grip the bar firmly with your hands wider than your shoulder width apart. Your feet should be positioned about shoulder width apart. Look forward. Keeping your back straight and your chin up, bend your knees and lower your hips slowly straight down until your thighs are parallel with the floor. When you reach this point arch your back and straighten out your legs until you are standing upright. Repeat.
Front squats: Holding the barbell firmly across your shoulders squat down until your upper thighs are parallel with the floor. Keep your head up, looking straight ahead, use the strength of your legs and back to return to a standing position. Repeat.
Zercher squats: Unrack the barbell by holding it in the middle section of your arm while bending your elbows. Wrap towels around the barbell in the places where it will be held to make it more comfortable. Using a wide stance, squat down until your upper thighs are parallel with the floor. Keep your head up, looking straight ahead; use your back, hips and legs to return to a standing position. Repeat.
Some other exercises that are good for working the thigh muscles are;
Dumbbell lunge: Holding a dumbbell in each hand, look straight ahead. Using your right leg, take a long stride forward. Your foot should be in front of you far enough so that you can bend your right knee, forming a right angle with your thigh and lower leg. Slowly bend your knee while lowering your hips, briefly stop in this position. Straighten your legs slowly and raise your body back to a standing position. You can either switch legs and move forward or do a set using your right leg, then switching to your left leg to do a set. Your knees and toes should be pointed in the same direction when performing this exercise.
Leg extensions: Using a leg extension machine, sit down and hook your feet under the bar which is padded. Adjust the pad and/or the seat so your knees will be hanging off the end of the seat and the foot pad rests are right above your ankles, the lowest part of your shins. Gripping the machine handles, extend your legs until your knees are straight while remaining firmly seated flat on the machine. Raising the weight up, lock and hold this position briefly, then lower the weight slowly back to the position in which you started. Repeat.
Leg curls (lying down position): On the leg curl machine lie face down and place the heels of your feet under the roller pads. Your legs should be in an outstretched position with the pads resting on your ankles. For support grab the handles under the bench. Curl your legs up while remaining flat on the bench. Repeat.
Along with regular exercise good nutrition is essential to building your muscles.
