Diet & Fitness 

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Toning the backs of the thighs

It is tough to work the hamstrings—the muscles at the backs of your thighs—at home without machines because they are strong and you need a reasonable amount of resistance to increase their strength. However, you can start with squats, then add resistance by holding dumbbells in your hands. Of course, once you have the dumbbells, you can do all sorts of other exercises as well.

Think about the gym for a moment. Start with the leg curl machine, which isolates the hamstrings. You begin by lying on your stomach or sitting up, depending on the style of the machine, with your legs extended. Whichever position you're in, you pull your heels towards your bottom to contract your hamstrings, and then slowly return to the starting position. It's similar to the way you curl a dumbbell with your arms to train your biceps.

To simulate this exercise at home, you'll need ankle weights or some other form of resistance such as exercise tubing or bands. Start out on your hands and knees, wearing the ankle weights. Extend one leg behind you, so that your knee is straight and slightly higher than your hip. Curl your heel in toward your bum as far as you can, then slowly lower your leg back to the extended position. Don't let your knee drop below the level of your hip. Do a set of 15-25 repetitions and 1-3 sets, then change legs. As you get stronger, use heavier ankle weights, but don't increase the repetitions.

To do the same exercise with elastic tubing or bands, make a loop large enough to fit around both feet. Lie flat on an exercise mat. Curl one leg towards you while the other leg remains on the floor as an anchor for the band or tube. You'll need to make some adjustments until the band is long enough to let you curl your leg past 90 degrees while still giving you enough tension. Let us know how you get on.

Why not chat to other iVillagers about exercise on the Shaping Up message board. Take a look at some of the LIVE discussions happening now on the board:

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