Does Butterfly Exercise Reduce Thighs? Answered By Experts

Thighs, arms, butt and waistline.

The common areas where most women store excess fat. (We know, it sucks!😭)

Which is why it isn’t common for most women to wonder about the best exercises to reduce thigh fat. (We all love a good thigh gap, right? 😉)

In this blog, we wanna talk about the butterfly exercise and most importantly answer the question “Does butterfly exercise reduce thighs?”

Let’s spread our wings and explore the answer together!

What is the butterfly exercise?

Before we delve into the question “Does butterfly wings reduce thighs?”, let’s look at what the butterfly exercise is and how to perform it.

The butterfly exercise is one of the popular yoga poses that mainly targets the muscles of the inner thighs and groin area. It is also known as the “Baddha konasana”, "butterfly stretch" or "butterfly pose".

The butterfly exercise is called so because of the way your legs and feet resemble the wings of a butterfly when you perform the exercise. When you sit with the soles of your feet together, allow your knees to fall out to the sides, and flap your thighs up and down, it resembles a butterfly flapping its wings.  

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How to perform the butterfly exercise

• Sit on the floor with your back straight and your legs extended in front of you.

• Bend your knees and bring the soles of your feet together, allowing your knees to fall out to the sides.

• Hold your feet tightly with your hands by interlocking your fingers.

• Bring your feet as close as possible to your body such that you’re comfortable.

• Inhale deeply.

• Exhale and gently press your thighs and knees towards the floor.

• Feel a stretch in your inner thighs and groin area.

• Now start flapping your legs up and down similar to the wings of a butterfly.

• Ensure that you’re breathing normally throughout the exercise.

• To intensify the stretch, extend your arms out in front of you and lower your forehead to the ground.

• To release from the posture, slide your arms back towards you, roll your shoulders, and relax.

Does butterfly exercise reduce thighs?

Coming to the question “Does butterfly exercise reduce thighs?”, the answer is both no and yes.

“No” because on its own, the butterfly exercise can’t do much to reduce thigh fat or tone your thighs. And “yes” because the butterfly exercise can reduce your thigh fat when practiced in combination with other exercises that promote overall fat loss. When you lose fat overall, there are chances of some of your thigh fat being reduced too!

Time and time again, science has proven that spot reduction isn’t effective. (For proof, check here, here and here.) This means, that if you think you can get toned thighs just by doing thigh exercises, you’d be dead wrong.

Instead, if your goal is to reduce thigh fat and tone your thighs, you should consider incorporating a combination of cardiovascular exercises (like jump rope, HIIT, running, swimming, or brisk walking) and strength-training exercises (such as squats, banded clamshells, leg presses) into your fitness regimen. Cardiovascular exercises can help you burn calories and reduce overall body fat, while strength training can help you build and tone the muscles in your thighs.

And let’s not forget the importance of a balanced diet in addition to your exercise regimen. Maintain a healthy calorie deficit and you’re sure to see amazing results.

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Benefits of the butterfly exercise

Although it might look simple, the effectiveness of the butterfly exercise cannot be undermined. Here are a few advantages of this exercise including the benefits of butterfly pose for thighs.

1. Improves Flexibility and Mobility

The butterfly exercise does wonders to enhance your inner thigh and hip flexibility. It also helps improve your hip mobility which is especially beneficial to boost your performance in running, cycling, and other sports.

2. Reduces Muscle Tightness

If you lead a sedentary lifestyle or spend hours hunched up on your desk you’re likely to have tightness in your inner thigh and groin area. The butterfly exercise can help counteract that.

3. Prevents Injury

Stretching the inner thigh muscles can help prevent injuries related to the groin and hip area, especially if you’re into sports or activities that require lateral movements or sudden changes in direction.

4. Improves Posture

The butterfly exercise encourages an upright posture while performing the stretch, which can contribute to better overall posture when incorporated into your exercise routine.

5. Warm-up exercise

Leg-day coming up? The butterfly exercise can be a great warm-up before you start hitting your quads, hips, and hamstrings!

6. Pregnancy and Postpartum

The butterfly stretch is sometimes recommended for pregnant women to help with hip and pelvic flexibility. It can also be useful during postpartum recovery.

Conclusion

We hope you now have the answer to the question “Does butterfly exercise reduce thighs?”

While thigh reduction through butterfly exercise alone may not be possible, it is definitely a useful exercise to include in your workout routine. Combine this exercise with other cardio and strength-training exercises and get those toned, slim thighs you’ve always wanted!