Jillian Michaels Talks Inner-Thigh Exercises (and Why You Shouldn't Do Them)

Published on April 20, 2016 at 1:15 PM

Jillian Michaels is the queen of lean, so naturally when we talked to her, we were dying to get all her secrets to a strong, ripped, slender body.

But when we asked Jillian "what's the all time best inner-thigh exercise?" her response totally surprised us.

"You can do sumo squats, mat Pilates . . . but I don't advocate it," she said. Whoa, what? "I don't isolate muscles; I hit legs." Jillian clarified that she has a more holistic approach and says the best way to lean out your thighs is to train the entire muscle group — as in all of your legs — as a whole.

"The best way to get in shape is not by spot reducing a certain area or toning a certain area," said Jillian. "Train in the way that's most efficient and most metabolic, so you're burning fat and you're conditioning your body in a functional way."

She expanded further, emphasizing the importance of training your body as a whole, conditioning multiple muscle groups simultaneously, and not "artificially isolating muscles." And with legs like hers, we're listening.