Let’s be real for a second. If you grew up in the 90s, you couldn't escape the image of Suzanne Somers in a leotard squeezing a butterfly-shaped piece of metal between her knees. It was everywhere. The Thigh Master became the poster child for "As Seen on TV" fitness, promising to blast away inner thigh fat with minimal effort. But decades later, the question remains: does the thigh master before and after actually show a physical transformation, or was it just clever marketing and a lot of lighting?
It’s easy to dismiss it as a relic. However, resistance training is resistance training. Whether you use a fancy $5,000 cable machine at a boutique gym or a $20 piece of spring-loaded steel, your muscles respond to tension. The catch—and there’s always a catch—is how you use it and what you expect to happen.
The Anatomy of a Thigh Master Transformation
People want a miracle. They want to sit on the couch, eat chips, squeeze the device fifty times, and wake up with a gap between their legs. That isn’t how human physiology functions.
When you look at a legitimate thigh master before and after, you aren't seeing fat loss from the device alone. You're seeing muscle hypertrophy or improved muscle tone in the adductors. The adductors are a group of five muscles: the gracilis, adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus, and pectineus. These muscles pull your legs toward the midline of your body.
Most people have incredibly weak adductors. We walk, we run, we maybe do some squats, but we rarely move our legs laterally or squeeze them together against significant resistance. When someone starts using this tool, those muscles wake up. They get firmer. They might even get slightly larger. This creates a "tightened" look, but it won’t melt the adipose tissue sitting on top of the muscle.
Spot reduction is a myth. Science has debunked it a thousand times. A 2013 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research looked at localized muscle endurance training and found that it did not result in fat loss in the specific area being trained. You can't choose where your body burns fat. If you have "thigh goals," the device helps with the "muscle" part, but your kitchen habits handle the "fat" part.
Why the Before and After Photos Can Be Deceiving
Context matters. A lot.
If you see a dramatic thigh master before and after photo online, look at the lighting. Look at the tan. Look at the posture. In the "after" shots, people usually stand with their feet wider apart or flex their quads to create the illusion of more space.
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But there is a "real" version of this transformation. It looks like this:
- Week 1-2: No visible change. You’re just sore. Your inner thighs feel tight, and you might notice you're more aware of your posture when sitting.
- Week 4-6: Improved "firmness." When you poke your inner thigh, it’s not as soft. You’ve built some baseline neurological connections.
- Week 12: If—and only if—you’re in a caloric deficit, you might see more definition. The muscle you've built starts to show through.
Honestly, most people quit by week three. It's boring. Squeezing a spring while watching Price is Right reruns doesn't exactly get the adrenaline pumping. Consistency is the only thing that creates a visible difference.
The Suzanne Somers Factor and the Power of Branding
Suzanne Somers wasn't just a spokesperson; she was a genius. She bought the rights to the device (originally called the "V-Toner") and turned it into a $100 million empire. She looked incredible, which was the ultimate "after" photo. But Suzanne also did Pilates, watched her diet religiously, and lived an incredibly active lifestyle.
The Thigh Master was one tool in her belt. For the average consumer, buying the tool felt like buying her legs.
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Does it actually provide enough resistance?
This is where the nuance comes in. For a beginner or someone recovering from an injury, the resistance is plenty. For an athlete? It’s a toy.
The spring in a standard Thigh Master provides roughly 10 to 20 pounds of resistance depending on how far you compress it. To keep seeing results—the "after" part of the equation—you need progressive overload. This means you eventually need more resistance. Since you can’t easily "add weight" to a Thigh Master, you have to increase repetitions or slow down the tempo.
- Slow it down: 3 seconds to squeeze, 3 seconds to release.
- Pulse it: Small, 1-inch movements at the point of maximum tension.
- Isometrics: Squeeze and hold for 30 seconds.
If you aren't making the workout harder over time, your thigh master before and after will look exactly the same. Your body has no reason to change if the challenge stays the same.
What Most People Get Wrong About Adductor Training
People think the Thigh Master is just for "thigh gaps." That’s a shallow way to look at it. Strong adductors are actually crucial for knee stability and hip health.
If your inner thighs are weak, your knees might cave inward (valgus) during squats or even just when walking down stairs. This leads to ACL issues and general joint pain. So, while you might be chasing a certain look, you’re accidentally doing something great for your longevity.
However, there's a downside. Over-training the adductors without training the abductors (the muscles on the outside of your hips, like the glute medius) creates an imbalance. This can tug on the pelvis and cause lower back pain. You need to balance the "squeeze" with some "pushing out."
The Real-World Verdict: Is it Worth Your Time?
If you enjoy it, yes. If you’re using it as your only form of exercise, no.
A successful thigh master before and after is usually the result of a "gateway effect." You buy the device, you start using it, you feel a little stronger, so you start going for walks. Then you start eating more protein. Then you try some lunges. The Thigh Master is the spark, not the whole fire.
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There are better exercises. Let’s be blunt.
- Copenhagen Planks: Much harder, much more effective for the inner thigh.
- Sumo Squats: Hits the adductors while also building the glutes.
- Lateral Lunges: Functional movement that builds stability.
But those are hard. They require getting off the floor or the couch. The Thigh Master’s greatest strength is its low barrier to entry. It’s better than doing nothing.
Actionable Steps for a Better Transformation
If you are determined to see a change using this tool, don't just mindlessly squeeze. You need a plan.
- Track your volume: Don't just do "some." Do 3 sets of 20, and try to do 3 sets of 21 next time.
- Combine it with "Big" movements: Use the Thigh Master as a "finisher" after you do squats or walking. This fatigues the muscle fully.
- Mind-Muscle Connection: Actually think about the inner thigh doing the work. Don't just use momentum to bounce the spring.
- Watch the scale and the plate: If the goal is a visual change, your body fat percentage matters more than the muscle underneath.
- Measure, don't just weigh: Take a tape measure to your mid-thigh. Weight can fluctuate, but inches tell the truth about muscle tone and fat loss.
Forget the airbrushed photos from 1992. Your thigh master before and after will be subtle. It will be about how your pants fit and how stable your knees feel. It’s a tool, not a magic wand. Use it as a supplement to a real strength program, and you'll actually see the results the commercials promised.