Jennifer Aniston’s fabulous legs are some of the best in showbusiness, largely down to her love of jogging and yoga. This exercise – the tightrope lunge – is fantastic for conditioning your thighs and bottom. And if you include running in your regime, it will strengthen the muscles and connective tissues around your knee, ankle and hip joints.
Start with your right foot forwards and imagine you are standing on a tightrope. Your left foot should be directly behind your right. Lift up on to the balls of your feet and find your balance; your core muscles will contract without you even thinking about it.
Take two steps forwards as if you were walking along a tightrope, first with your left leg and then your right. Take another step forwards with your left leg but make it a bigger step (this is the lunge). Make a gap of about 3ft between your left and right foot depending on your height.
Place your left heel on the ground, keep your back heel lifted and bend the knees into a lunge. Aim your right knee straight downwards so that it hovers an inch above the floor. Keep your chest lifted so that your body is upright, and look straight ahead.
Stand up by pushing with your left (front) leg, straightening both legs in one quick movement, rising up on to the balls of your feet. Repeat the two steps and lunge.
Make sure you don’t fall off the tightrope. Do 20 repetitions (ten on each leg), take a rest, then turn and repeat with another 20 reps.
Your inner thigh muscles will work more than when you perform standard lunges because of the straight line you make between your front and back feet when you walk forwards.