The Skinny Jeans Workout

Many women have a love-hate relationship with their jeans -- especially their "skinny jeans." You might define your skinny jeans as that pair hanging in the back of the closet that fits only when you’re at your slimmest. Or you might think of them as the super-tight, hip-to-ankle style that’s been in vogue the past few seasons. Either way, those jeans don’t lie! They’re a barometer of your weight and how you feel about yourself.

The fitness industry is capitalizing on this obsession by creating "skinny jeans workouts" designed to shape up what you show in that form-fitting denim. A TV commercial for Bally Total Fitness promises to help you look better in your skinny jeans. Equinox offers one-hour Skinny Jeans Workout classes at certain clubs nationwide. Many independent trainers and fitness clubs are offering some variation of the skinny jeans workout.

"I think fitting into any pair of tightly cut jeans is motivating," says Fabio Comana, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise in San Diego. When you can slip into that special pair that really flatters your physique, you feel slim and sexy, and you get second looks and compliments, he says.

A Lower-Body Workout and More

These classes are based on time-tested exercises. In fact, Molly Fox, who created The Skinny Jeans Workout for Equinox clubs, says she harked back to the old barefoot Jane Fonda workouts of the '80s for inspiration, then added some modern twists.

Lisa Wheeler, the national creative manager of group fitness for Equinox, says the classes focus on "old school" exercises for abs, glutes, and thighs, like leg lifts, squats, and isometrics -- but updated to include balance, core strength, light weights, and yoga and Pilates moves for a total body workout.

Los Angeles fitness trainer Lisa Goldenthal created her own Lisa G’s Skinny Jeans Workout DVD. Her version uses intense, multi-tasking techniques so, as she describes, you don’t have to spend as much time working out. For example, squats and lunges also incorporate bicep curls and shoulder presses with light weights. The workout also includes core strengthening moves based on Pilates exercises, and yoga-style stretches.

The Skinny Jeans Workout: Does It Work?

Nichelle Toomire of Los Angeles says the Skinny Jeans Workout is working for her. She started doing Goldenthal’s program two years ago, when she was 39. She says she stuck with it because she saw results in a fairly short time and she felt stronger, more energetic and more confident.

"It enabled me to shave inches off my figure, especially my booty," she says. "Now I don’t look like a pear in my jeans anymore!"

Exercise expert Comana says that classes like these can be a good choice, especially in light of the motivation factor. While he cautions that it’s impossible to spot-reduce fat, targeting the hips, butt, stomach, and thighs as part of an overall fitness program may help you look better in your jeans.