1. Squats
Squats help strengthen the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and lower back. They also enhance core and leg strength. They also aid in stability and balance.
How to accomplish it:
Keep your chest straight and straight, your back straight, and the core engaged. Your lower back should stay upright throughout the whole workout. Put the hands of your back on hips, or extend your arms straight to the side.
Lower your knees and bend your knees. Your hips are towards the floor as if you’re sitting in a chair. Maintain your weight on your heels.
Lower your thighs until they are in line with the floor (or you have reached your full range of movement) then raise your thighs to the starting position.
2. Lunges
Lunges can strengthen the glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calf muscles, as well as enhance balance, stability, and strength in the core.
How to go about it:
Place your feet a few inches apart and your hands resting on your hips.
Knees bent, lower your left knee towards the floor to the extent your motion range allows (but not putting your knee directly to the floor). Make sure to form right angles using both knees while keeping your right knee in line with the left toes.
- Keep your chest straight with your back straight, and keep your core engaged.
- With your left leg, pull up until you are back in the starting position.
3. Deadlifts
Deadlifts strengthen the glutes, lower back, hamstrings, and the core. They are a great way to improve core and leg strength and can also increase stability and balance. This exercise utilizes a barbell. However, you could also use a broomstick to focus on form before making the proper resistance for the level of fitness you are at.
How to go about it:
Place your feet hip-width apart, toes pointed toward the front. The barbell should lie on the floor in front of you, close to your toes.
Bend your knees and pivot on your hips. Work your core and grab the barbell in an overhand grip. You must keep your back and arms straight throughout the entire workout.
Straighten your posture with the muscles on the back of your legs. Lift the barbell off of the floor. Maintain your arms in a straight line until the barbell rests on your hips in the middle of the movement.
- Keep your chest straight with your back straight, and your core is engaged.
- Lower the barbell down to the ground, slowly stretching the knees while hinging on the hips.
4. Step-Ups
Step-ups target the quads, glutes, and the hamstrings. They also help improve stability and balance, along with overall leg muscle strength. Replicate important tasks of daily life, like climbing steps.
How to accomplish it:
- Place your feet in front of a bench for exercise or step aerobics.
- Put one of your feet on the bench, placing your left foot on the floor.
- Press your right foot through to raise your body onto the step.
- Keep your chest straight, keep your back straight, your chest up, and your core is engaged.
- Take a step down to the floor using your left foot. Followed by your right foot and then switch sides.
5. Box Jumps
Box jumping is a plyometric workout (movements that exert maximum muscle force over a short period of duration) that strengthens the glutes, quads, and calf muscles. They can help improve the strength and power of the leg, resulting in the ability to create maximum effort and high-speed moves that let you leap, jump, and sprint and also improve cardiovascular fitness. Exercises that involve jumping are only recommended if you have a solid base of leg strength and have completed a vigorous warm-up, including step-ups, heel raises and lunges, or jumps that are in place before.
How to accomplish it:
Place yourself on a solid box or platform that is suitable to your current fitness level. The box’s height must be challenging but not too that it is a hindrance to your technique. Begin with a smaller step, such as 6 inches of step. Then, raise the step until you are at ease. It will feel like stretching to climb up this box. However, it is it’s possible.
Squat into a high position. Move your arms backwards and then leap up and then land on the top of the box using both feet. You can absorb the impact by bending your knees a bit and ensuring your weight is evenly distributed over your midfoot while keeping an upright posture.
Lower yourself until you are on the floor. Or, if you feel confident then you can leap down and land softly upon your heels. Make sure to remain in front of the box all the time.
6. Bulgarian Split Squats
Bulgarian split squats target the glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings. They help increase the stability, balance, and strength of the single leg.
How do you go about doing it:
Keep both feet about hip-width apart and the aid of a bench for exercise or an aerobic step in front of you.
Begin to slowly extend your right leg towards the bench, putting the foot’s top on the bench so that you’re balanced on your left foot.
Knees bent, lower your right knee to the floor as much as your motion range allows (but not bringing the knee directly to the floor). Try to create an angle right with the left knee while keeping your knee in line with the toes.
Keep your chest upright with your back straight, and your core is engaged.
Lift your left foot to stand while keeping your right foot on the bench. Do all repetitions on this side prior to returning to your beginning position and then switching sides.
7. Calf Raises
Calf raises help to strengthen the muscles in the calf. They enhance ankle stability as well as leg strength overall.
How to go about it:
Place your feet shoulder-width apart and the hands on your hips. (If you’re doing the weighted calf, raise two dumbbells on your side.)
- Take a step forward to your feet and activate the muscles in your calf for a few seconds.
- Lower your feet to the floor gradually.
8. Glute Bridges
Bridges help strengthen the glutes and support the lower back. In addition, they enhance core stability and maintain balance and strength.
How to go about it:
Lay on your back, and bend your knees hip-width apart, with your feet lying flat on the floor. Put your arms by your sides, with your palms pointing down to the floor.
Engage your glutes and lift your hips off of the ground until your body is in a uniform line that runs from your shoulders to the knees (or as close as your body’s range of motion permits).
9. Single-Leg Squats
An advanced form of exercise, single-leg squats target the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings. They increase stability, balance, and single-leg strength.
How to accomplish it:
Be sure to keep your right foot in place as you stretch your left leg forward of you. (Keep that left leg straight. You can also bend slightly the knee based on the range of motion you have.) Place your arms out to the side for stability.
Flex your knees to the right, then hinge at your hips, then lower your body to a standing squat while maintaining your balance, and keeping an unbending back and engaging your core.
You can push through your heel to return to the starting point. Perform all repetitions on one foot prior to switching sides.
10. Leg Sled Pushes
This is my favorite leg exercise because it works the entire lower body; it builds the quads, core glutes, hamstrings, glutes, as well as the calf muscles. It improves overall strength and cardiovascular fitness and improves stability and balance. The majority of the exercises mentioned are vertical and involve the body moving up and down using leg and hip muscles. The sled push is a vertical translation (sliding across the floor) of a weighty object, which means it exercises muscles in a unique method.
The sled creates resistance to a new plan of motion, and you’ll need to work your legs differently than the squat or bridge. Since it isn’t always available, you could test pushing any object that slides easily on the floor.
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