Summer is just around the corner and it will soon be time for you to start wearing shorts, swimsuits, and anything else that complements the sunny weather and hot rays. So the first thing you do is find last year’s swimsuit, try it on, check yourself out in the mirror and say “Help! Where in the world did those saddle bags come from?”

Rachel Ayers, Miss West Virginia United States 2009 demonstrates the correct technique for performing the Narrow Squat.

You know exactly what I am talking about—those bulging mounds of fat on both sides of your upper, outer thighs. I can tell you where some of that extra fat came from. You remember all the fun dinners you had at Thanksgiving and Christmas, the fantastic New Year’s Eve party, and don’t forget the Easter meals and the special treats during Valentines. Combining all of this with eating out on the weekends and those late night snacks is where a lot of the outer thigh problems occur.

Of course, there are more contributing factors that help you gain excess fat on your outer thighs. One such factor is that you wear more clothing in the winter, so you are not as self conscious about your outer thighs since they are not being seen by others. Also, you do not get outside as much due to the cold so your exercising can also have the potential of decreasing during the winter months.

Lastly, some ladies are genetically designed to carry more body fat on their outer thighs. Not only have your unhealthy ways added extra fat on your thighs, but you are also fighting against genetics too. But, have no fear, you can slim down those outer thighs if you’re sincere in your quest for leaner, shapelier legs.

As you probably know by now, there’s no quick and easy way to remove excess fat from your body. To be successful you must follow daily guidelines of eating healthy, completing muscle toning exercises, and performing some type of aerobic training 7 days a week. Keep in mind that one pound of body fat contains 3,500 calories. Knowing this, you must now insure that you burn a certain amout of calories each day while also reducing the amount of daily calorie intake.

Let’s say for your aerobic activity you burn an extra 3,500 calories a week. For nutrition you reduce your calorie intake by 500 calories a day. By the end of the week you have reduced weekly calorie intake by 3,500 calories, plus burned away an additional 3,500 calories at a rate of 500 calories a day for seven days. Combining these means you should lose around two pounds per week. Of course, the more aerobic activity you perform the more body fat you burn away.

You will need to do some exercises that target your outer thighs to insure they stay tight as the body fat burns away. There are several very good exercises that you can perform to tone your outer thighs. Outer thigh leg raises and narrow squats are two good exercises.

If you happen to have too much muscle on your outer thighs then I would suggest training them five or six days in a row, with light weight or no weights, performing four or five sets of 18-20 reps per set. When you can complete all sets and reps, and your training is no longer a challenge, and if your outer thighs still need more trimming down, then you can add light weights or some form of resistant bands to your training program.

Now that I have planted the seeds for thought, and the tools of knowledge for training, it is up to you to begin the process of training your body for wearing summertime swimsuits and shorts.

Mike Mauney is a personal fitness trainer certified by the National Federation of Professional Trainers. Mike specializes in personal fitness training for women of all ages. For more than 18 years, he has been training dancers, models, cheerleaders and pageant and swimsuit contestants of all ages and competition levels (local, state, national and international). His daughter, Michelle Mauney-Lowery, was Miss North Carolina USA 1995. Some of Mike’s training credits include: Miss USA 2005 Chelsea Cooley, Miss Teen USA 2004 Shelley Hennig, Mrs. International 2004 Tammy McDonald, Miss USA 2003 Susie Castillo, Mrs. International 2002 Tonya Matney, Miss United States World 2001 Carrie Stroup, Mrs. United States 1999 Janice Ward, Miss Teen USA 1998 Vanessa Minnillo and Mrs. America 1994 Keyna Baucom. His web site is www.bodydesignbymike.com.