If I do Lunges and/or Squats...

will they help me loose weight and get a firm butt/tone up BUT I don't want 'solid' thighs.

How many sets/repetitions should I do?

A firm butt means low fat, more muscle on the butt. So what you want to do is gain muscle (or keep muscle) and lose some fat.

You can gain muscle by doing heavy squats and lunges, but to lose fat, you need a caloric deficit, and/or add cardio to burn more calories.

I reccomend weight training with a good amout of calories (protein and good carbs) to gain the muscle you need, then when you have achieved a muscle gain, start adding in cardio and diet to shed the fat. That is the most efficient way to do it.

or, you can do the leg exercises, and diet, and do lots of cardio, but you may not get stronger, or add more muscle. It all depends on calories, diet, and your short term or long term goals.

ps...

Mix up the reps.
Heavy squats 5 sets of 5-6 reps
Lunges- 3 sets of 10
each 2x per week with at least two days or rest between.

Go as HEAVY as you can with good form for both exercises. When they get too easy, add more weight. Go as low as you can with your squatting, just don't alow your knees don't go past your toes and keep your back straight. Do not use the smith machine.

good luck!!

Lunges and squats are awesome exercises.

Both have numerous variations and can be a great base for your exercise. Snowboard Girl gave some awesome advise on set / rep ranges. I would like to add some variations.

Squats:
Front Squats: Hold the bar in front of the body opposed to back. You should rest the bar along the collar and you can grip it either with crossed arms (I find this easier) or with bent wrists.

Power Squats: Although the name sounds 'Bodybuilder-esq' they are a favorite amongst women because they are targetting the inner thigh. They are done by pointing the toes outwards with the width between your feet a little wider then shoulder width,

No Lock Squats: USE LIGHTER WEIGHT! These are very tough but you will definatley feelt he burn. You will be performing full squats to parrallel (or deeper) BUT you never lockout your knees at the top. You will follow a controlled tempo and go about 90% up. Add extra reps for these if possible

LUNGES:

Most people use front lunges But there are more.

Side lunges and reverse lunges are performed the same way but with different angles. Each will change up where the muscles are being activated.

There are more ways to turn 'simple' lunges into an even better exercise.

Grab Dumbells and As you lunge add upper body movements. As you lunge forwards, perform a shoulder press in sync with the movement. You can do a push out (Bench press-type movement) or NUMEROUS other movements.


Once you are comfortable, try new ways to perform the same movement and keep it fun.

~Ant