Dear Katie: What Exercises Can I Do to Strengthen My Inner Thighs?

In our “Dear Katie” series, former NYCB soloist Kathryn Morgan answers your pressing dance questions. Have something you want to ask Katie? Email
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Dear Katie,

My teacher keeps telling me to use my inner thigh muscles to support my legs, but I haven’t been able to figure that out. How can I find my inner thighs, and what exercises should I do to strengthen them?

Lavina

Dear Lavina,

The first thing to do is to start activating those muscles, so they’ll start stabilizing you. Lie on your side, bend your top leg, and place your foot on the floor in front of you. In this position, you can start doing leg lifts, small circles, and bend and stretch that bottom leg to really strengthen those inner thighs. Trust me, you’ll feel it! At the barre, even when you’re just standing in first position, you should feel like your inner thighs are rotating forward and your outer thighs are wrapping back around your leg. Every time you tendu, dégagé, grand battement, etc., you should feel like your inner thigh is initiating the movement, not your quad. You could also try to add some Pilates classes to your training. It might take some time, but you’ll get stronger.

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