by Liz Neporent, MA

Some things, like duct tape and ivory soap, are everyday essentials. They're the tried-and-true standards we can't live without. So it goes with certain thigh sculpting exercises. Squats, lunges, hydrants and leg lifts are the heavy artillery of thigh resizing, the go-to moves when you need to get the job done.

This workout revisits these thigh firming essentials and serves as a primer for chiseling and toning your lower half. It's also a refresher course on proper form. After all, anything worth sculpting is worth sculpting to perfection.

Do 1 to 3 sets of each exercise, 12 to 15 repetitions per set. If you do this routine faithfully at least twice a week, you should begin to see tighter, shapelier legs in about a month. And when you're ready for a change in your toning routine, try the souped up versions of these moves, the essential updates.

1. Essential Squat
Works your butt, front and back of thighs. (A) Stand tall with your feet hip width apart and your hands clasped together and held up at chest level with your elbows bent. Square your shoulders and lift your chest. (B) Bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor; don't allow your knees to move forward of your toes. Hold a moment at the bottom of the movement and then stand back up to the start, taking care not to lock your knees.

Essential Squat Update
Works your butt, front and back of thighs, inner thighs, outer thighs, calves. (A) Roll up a stretch mat and place it under the center of a step platform. Stand tall on the platform with your feet hip width apart and your hands clasped together and held up at chest level with your elbows bent. Square your shoulders and lift your chest. Work at maintaining both ends of the step balanced up off the floor. (B) Bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor all the while trying to maintain a balanced position on top of your step platform. Slowly stand back up to the start taking care not to lock your knees.

2. Essential Lunge
Works your butt, front and back of thighs. (A) Stand tall with your feet hip width apart and your hands on your hips. Square your shoulders and lift your chest. (B) Step forward a stride's length with your right leg. As your foot contacts the floor, bend your knees until your right thigh is parallel to the floor and your left thigh is perpendicular to it. Press off the ball of your foot to stand back up to the start. Alternate left and right lunges.

Essential Squat Update
Works your butt, front and back of thighs, inner thighs, outer thighs, calves. (A) Roll up a stretch mat and place it under the center of a step platform. Stand tall on the platform with your feet hip width apart and your hands clasped together and held up at chest level with your elbows bent. Square your shoulders and lift your chest. Work at maintaining both ends of the step balanced up off the floor. (B) Bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor all the while trying to maintain a balanced position on top of your step platform. Slowly stand back up to the start taking care not to lock your knees.

2. Essential Lunge
Works your butt, front and back of thighs. (A) Stand tall with your feet hip width apart and your hands on your hips. Square your shoulders and lift your chest. (B) Step forward a stride's length with your right leg. As your foot contacts the floor, bend your knees until your right thigh is parallel to the floor and your left thigh is perpendicular to it. Press off the ball of your foot to stand back up to the start. Alternate left and right lunges.

Which cardio activities should I avoid if I don't want to bulk up my thighs?

For some reason rumors abound that cardio workouts like running, stair climbing, walking hills add size to your thighs. Not so! It's not the specific cardio activity in and of itself that makes your thighs bigger it's the way you do your cardio.

Any aerobic type activity done slowly, using a heavy resistance, will bulk up your lower body. It's pushing against a lot of tension, like the heavy gear on a bike or a harder level on the stair climber, that creates larger, chunkier muscles. If you aerobicize using a light resistance and move at a faster speed, you're far less likely to bulk up.

Of course some women are more susceptible to building larger thighs no matter what they do. This is a simple fact of genetics. If you legs tend to gain muscle easily, stick to light resistance cardio training; for instance, on a bike spin at a high rpm on a lighter gear or speed walking. When you lift weights stick to light yet still challenging weights for 12 to 15 reps per set. Do no more than 3 sets of exercises for each lower body muscle group including the butt, front and back of thighs, inner and outer thighs, and calves.