Then one day, I mentioned it to my physiotherapist during an appointment for my knee.
(Yes, the same knee I'd wrecked doing all those lunges trying to fix my thighs. The irony!)
She said something that completely changed how I understood the problem:
"Linda, your inner thighs and your pelvic floor are connected. If your pelvic floor is weak, your inner thighs can't tone properly—no matter how many leg exercises you do."
Wait, what?
She explained that the muscles in my inner thighs (adductors) and my pelvic floor work together as a team. When one is weak, the other can't do its job properly.
That's why all those leg lifts and squats weren't working! I was only targeting half the problem!
She told me that when you strengthen both muscle groups at the same time, everything tightens and tones faster.
And then she showed me this simple little device that's been sitting on her desk.