When searching for the best exercises for the thighs, you see TONS of ads promoting all of these fancy so-called inner-thigh blasters, thigh squeezers, thigh-toning machines, etc. Take my word when I say that you do NOT need any of these ridiculous 'thigh-blasting' gadgets to tighten and tone-up your legs, butt, and hips for good.

As always, the best exercises for the thighs come in the form of free-weight or bodyweight exercises. You really need not look any further than various forms of exercises like lunges, squats, deadlifts, and step-ups to get those toned thighs that you want. In addition, there are plenty of variations of these basic exercises to choose from, so in reality, it is simply a waste of time messing with all of these inner-thigh gadgets and fancy thigh machines.

Here's an example of one of the most effective thigh exercises that you can do. I'm sure you have done some variation of lunges before. There's probably about 20 different versions that you can try and they all kick butt!

One of the best variations of lunges are walking lunges (and a couple ways to do these slightly different to change the emphasis). Instead of standing lunges where you either lunge forward or lunge backward for 1 step and come back, with walking lunges you keep traveling forward on each step for anywhere from 10-30 steps, and then you turn around and come back that same distance.

A couple ways to improve on these and get better results over time is to increase your distance each time or start carrying dumbbells to increase the resistance. Walking lunges done right are a real thigh-burner!

Here's a couple tips to keep in mind when performing walking lunges:

1) Step far enough forward so that your front shin stays approximately vertical and your front thigh is approximately parallel to the floor at the bottom of the lunge.

2) Your leg behind you while lunging should have a bend in the knee at the bottom but your knee should come just short of touching the floor. Try not to touch the back knee to the ground during walking lunges.

3) Pause for a second at the top of each step before you lunge forward again for your next step.

Ok, now that you've mastered the basic walking lunge, let me give you a couple ideas for lunge variations that change the emphasis a little bit for working the outer thighs, inner thighs, and buttocks in a slightly different manner.

One variety is to step at an angle outward on each forward step. A second variation is to step at a slight angle inward on each forward step. The inward stepping version of the walking lunge is also called a cross-over lunge, and it really stretches out the buttocks and hips.

Go ahead and give these lunge variations a try and I guarantee that you will be firming up those thighs in no time. Whatever you do, just please say no to the fancy thigh machines and inner thigh squeezers, and use these more effective bodyweight exercises and free weight exercises, and you'll be much better off for it.

See below for more innovative exercises for the thighs and workouts that will have you showing off your new sexy toned legs.