Best exercises for thighs?

Squats and lunges. With weights.

squats but mostly cardio helps!!! I've lost all my weight by doing cardio. I'm trying to add in strength training tho lol, im just not consistent with it

I'd like to know this as well... I usually do the elliptical at about 8 or 9 incline (the ones at my gym are precour and give little light indicators of what areas you are targeting and that's the spot where it gets fronts, backs, and rear). I also found that I feel it in the innner thighs if I turn my toes out and heels in (not easy to do in the little foot pedals but it seems to work). Also, when you are walking, even though it feels really unnatural try to walk with your toes slightly out.

Elliptical with no resistance, running, definitely squats & lunges, kickboxing, leg lifts.

Most definitely squats and lunges, leg press and running. Also try hills either walking them or running them.

I agree with others with the following most important qualification: If you have been trained with squats and still cannot do them without backpain QUIT doing them. I have HUGE thighs with leg extensions, stiff legged deadlifts, and leg presses. LOTS of bodybuilders do NOT do squats. If you can do them, do them, they are great. BUT you can build ROCKIN' thighs without them. I recently did 1000lbs of real weight on an angled leg press at the END of my leg routine, for 12 reps. I measured my thighs recently, very muscular, at 38" That is bigger than my waist (34")

JUMP SQUATS.

Jump squats and jump lunges. I'm stunned at how quickly plyo exercises work in the thighs.

Squats and lunges to build up those muscles, and a good amount of cardio to burn off the fat that surrounds them.

I do a lot of pilates (I usually do the ones off Netflix) which consists of doing squats with your knees apart and lying on your side lifting your legs up and slowly. Most exercises I do I do sets of 50 - 100 cause my legs are horrible!

I think that walking is doing a lot for me too. I do some hiking but, mainly walking around town or the mall and my inner thighs have shrunk a lot since I first started. If you have stairs in your house try jogging up and down them or at least trying to sprint up them.

insanity

Wow. Yes doing leg presses incorrectly curves your back, but that is simply a function of improper foot placement relative to the angle of your torso. My trainer taught me the correct way to do them.

Several top Olympian bodybuilders (including most notably Frank Zane) quit squatting due to lumbar compression issues and built the best in the business legs that earned them Mr. Olympias.

I have worked with trainers and some of the best chiropractors and even a kineasiologist and we have concluded I should not squat with any amount of weight that would be sufficient to induce good hypertrophy.

I said before I'll say it again. I have a 33-34 waist and 38 inch thighs. And shaped quite nicely I might add.

Oh, the other worthless exercise you quote, leg extensions? I do them too.

Safety is first. Proper technique that still produces chronically clinically significant pain indicates an individually anatomical mis-alignment against the stated exercise. There are simply too many ways to achieve objectives without incurring potentially dangerous pain or anatomical damage. F' up your spine in your 30s-40s and then tell me about your quality of life later in your life, or heck even then.

Oh, I don't do standard bench presses either--deep shoulder pain. But I can do 100 lb dumbell presses on a slight incline, do dips go ALL the way down with 45-75 lbs strapped around my waist and I have been repeatedly told I have a pecs to die for-- I guess that is just an ego/illusion issue too, right?

People, it is simple: If you are have been checked out with a good trainer on an exercise, and your still experience clinically significant pain, just pick another exercise. People making comments otherwise are GROSSLY irresponsible and ignorant.