If you want to maximize your workouts and get the most out of your time at the gym, defining what parts of the body you want to focus on is highly recommended. For example, if you want to shape and strengthen your thighs, calves, and buttocks, deciding to target these areas before you head out to the gym will allow you to focus on them and decide the most effective strategies to help you achieve your goals.
While there are lots of activities that you can do to enhance these body parts, if you’re going to the gym, opting to use the machines that they have made available to you is your best bet. By using machines, you can skip over learning the proper form and safety precautions that lifting free weights and doing things like Zumba and other similar activities require. By eliminating the need to learn and apply proper form and safety precautions, you can jump right into working on muscle hypertrophy (the fancy way of saying “muscle growth”) that resistance training provides.
The hip extension machines, squat machines, and leg press machines target the quadriceps for the extension of your leg. As for the hamstrings, you can try leg curl machines which reverse the leg movement, i.e., for kickbacks they’re clutch. When you think of the butt, look for the gluteus maximus.
Like most people, one of the main reasons you joined a gym in the first place is so that you can make use of all of the equipment and amenities they offer. If your gym is halfway decent, it will feature a variety of machines that promote strength training and muscle building throughout the body, including the thighs, calves, and butt.
The best gym machines for thicker thighs, glute muscles, and calves include single machines that target all three areas, or three separate machines that focus on each area individually.
It’s important to note, however, that no matter which machines you decide to use, and no matter how effective the equipment is at targeting these specific parts of the body, you should really still include individual workouts, such as lunges and squats (either with or without weights) in order to achieve your goal and to really see a profound difference in your physique. With that said, however, there are several types of equipment that you can add into the mix.
To find out what type of machines to use at the gym to enhance the shape and size of your thighs, calves, and butt, keep on reading. By using the machines mentioned below – and by adding squats and lunges to the mix – on a regular basis, you can tone and strengthen your thighs, calves, and butt that you long for, which will not only improve your physical appearance, but will also make you stronger, healthier, and a whole lot better about yourself, too.
Top Picks for 2025 Gym Equipment to Strengthen the Gluteus Maximus
The gluteus maximus, “glutes” for short – or just simply the “butt” – is the largest and arguably the strongest muscle in the human body. If your glutes are small, flat, and flaccid, your hip-extension strength can suffer.
Hip Extension
Hip extension machines, vital for powering moves like lifting, running, and swimming, target the butt’s primary function. Shape highlights these as top picks for glute growth—here’s why they work.
Leg Press
There are different leg press machine designs, and all of them can provide an effective workout for the bum. No matter what type of leg press you’re using, set your feet high on the footplate and then push down through the heels to maximize the amount of work your glutes are doing.
Cable Machines
These cable machines let you work the glutes while you’re in a standing position, as well as from several different angles. Secure the adjustable ankle cuff to your ankle and perform a series of hip extension exercises. These exercises isolate the glutes, which will help to maximize the growth of these muscles.
Leg Curl Machines
Most gyms feature several styles of leg curl machines, with the front-lying and seated machines being the most popular. Both styles involve placing a pin into a stack of weight plates, then lifting the load with the legs, and both options provide an awesome workout for the glutes.
Gym Machines for Thicker Thighs
The muscles in your thighs move your legs, but they also impact how your hips move; plus, they affect your physical appearance. The thigh muscles are divided into three distinct groups: the anterior, which extend the legs and flex the thighs, the medial muscles, which rotate and adduct the thighs, and the posterior, which extend the thighs and flex the legs.
Here’s a look at some of the best gym machines for thicker thighs:
Leg Press
The leg press not only works out the butt, but it works out the thighs, too. In fact, it’s one of the best pieces of equipment for working out the thighs. To warm up, start doing 25 reps that focus on slow contractions. Once you’re warmed up, depending on how you feel, you can continue with the weight you warmed up with, but increase the reps, or you can add more weight and perform fewer reps.
Leg Extension
The leg extension is a lever machine that specifically targets the quadriceps muscles. When using this machine, the leg bends at the knee and extends out, then lowers them back down to the original position. Make sure you adjust the seat so that your knees are in direct line with the axis of the machine. Be sure to pause at the top of each movement, and squeeze the quads to increase the intensity. The leg extension machine is an excellent way to isolate the front and sides of the thighs.
Inner / Outer Thigh Machine
This machine shapes, tones, and strengthens the legs and hip muscles. By using this machine, you’ll strengthen the inner and outer muscles of the thighs, which will not only help to enhance the look of your legs, but will also help to stabilize your pelvis and your knees.
Gym Machines for Thicker Calves
When it comes to strengthening and enhancing the appearance of the lower portion of your body, you don’t want to overlook the calves. The calves contain two main muscles, including the soleus and the gastrocnemius, which work in tandem to carry out the function of plantar flexion (the fancy way of saying pointing or pressing the front of your foot downward). Of course, these muscles have a direct impact on the way you move, and they affect the look of your physique.
Here’s a look at some of the best machines that you can use at the gym to strengthen the calf muscles.
Seated Calf Raise Machines
There are several different types of seated calf raise machines, but no matter the type, the main objective, as the name suggests, is to build the muscles in the calves while you’re in a seated position.
These machines feature a seat, which you (obviously) sit down on, and once you’re positioned on the bench, you’ll want to adjust the knee pads so that they’re resting right on the thighs.
You should feel some degree of tension from the load right away. Avoid making the pads too high, because if you do, you won’t be able to lift and lower the weight properly.
Once you’re comfortably situated, use your knees to lift the pads, flexing the muscles in your calves, and you’ll feel the muscles being worked out with each calf contraction.
Standing Calf Raise Machine
Again, as the name suggests, the standing calf raise machine is designed to work out and strengthen the muscles in the calves while you’re in a standing position. Muscle & Fitness rates it high for targeting the gastrocnemius—here’s how it works.
No matter which type you use, they all feature a platform that is slightly elevated. You’re supposed to stand on the platform while balancing on your toes; the heels should be suspended in the air.
There are pads that fit over your shoulders, rather than the knees (like with seated calf raise machines); the shoulders carry the brunt of the weight. As a result, it can take a bit longer to experience that burning sensation in the calves that lets you know they’re being worked out than it does on the seated machine, as the force the seated machine applies to the calves is more concentrated.
With that said, however, the standing calf raise machine can be an effective way to build the muscles in this part of your legs.
Once you’re positioned, use your calves to lift your body up, and then lower it back down. Be sure that the calves are fully extended and that your body remains rigid throughout the entire workout. Switch between fully contracted and fully extended, with each action counting as a rep.
Final Words
By incorporating the best exercise machines for thighs, hips, and glutes, you can successfully strengthen and enhance the overall function and appearance of the lower portion of your body.
Use these machines on a regular basis, combined with things like squats and lunges, and you’ll see a profound difference in your strength, agility, and appearance.
Read more:
- Leg Machine Exercises: How to Tone Your Legs at the Gym
- Leg Press For Glutes To Get A Better Butt
- How Do You Do Calf Raises Without a Machine
- Leg Press Feet Placement for Quads, Hamstrings, Teardrop, and Glutes
- What are the Alternatives to Leg Press Machine
- Exercise Your Legs the Right Way with a Leg Exercise Equipment
References
- 6 Leg Press Mistakes and How to Fix Them - Tips to perfect your leg press form for max gains.
- Shape: The Top Back, Leg, and Arm Exercise Machines at the Gym - Expert picks for sculpting your glutes with gym gear.
- Muscle & Fitness: The Best Workout Routines for Bigger Calves - Pro advice on calf-building with machines.
