Getting bored of the same ole’ leg routine? Or maybe you are ready to branch away from the machines. All of us could use new ideas when it comes to creating our workouts. Here are some good leg exercises and options to keep you interested in your lower body workout.Good leg exercises depend on being able to overload your lower body effectively. Here are some exercises to get started with.
Things to remember:
- Good form and small movement is better than big movement with bad form
- Keep your knees over your ankles during squats and lunges and avoid shooting your knee out over the front of your toes
- Think toes, knees, and nose in the same direction
- Use support until you are confident balancing while performing the exercise.Try out these exercises – they can be done with little or no weight, using rubber tubing, dumbbells, steps, benches, cable machine, selectorized machine.Check out my youtube channel for exercise ideas for your home gym.
Total Lower Body:
Squats
Lunges – How to do a Walking Lunge
Quadriceps: Check out quad ideas on my youtube channel: Quad Exercises
Supine (lie on your back) Leg Extensions – Extend your knee as you squeeze the top of your thigh (quadriceps). Try this with the leg on the floor, at 45 degrees at the hip, and at 90 degrees, and anywhere in between.
Seated or standing Leg/Knee Extensions – same as above but sitting down or standing up.
Hamstrings: Check out hamstring ideas on my youtube channel: Hamstring Exercises
Leg Curls – lying (prone – face down), seated – move to the edge of your chair so the working leg can move on the side of the chair, or standing
Ball Leg Curls – lying supine place one or both feet on an exercise ball. Lift glutes & curl feet toward glutes as you press into the ball. Combing a glute lift increases intensity and adds the work for the butt as well.
Adductors or Inner Thigh:
Inner Thigh Squeeze – can be done side lying, standing, or seated. Overload with weight at the ankle or above the knee. Play with the hip angle. You only have to bring leg just past the mid-line. Focus on keeping good total body alignment throughout.
Ball Inner Thigh Squeeze – Laying supine, place stability ball between the legs at ankles, squeeze, hold for a few seconds, release and repeat. Keep tension on the ball or it’ll fall on you.
Abductors or Outer Thigh:
Outer Thigh Lift – side lying, standing, or seated. See Inner thigh squeeze above for overload. Lift from neutral (leg placement when standing with feet hip distance apart or closer) out to the side 35 degrees.
Glutes / Butt Exercises:
Hip Lift – lie supine, feet hip distance apart flat on the floor. Squeeze butt up as you lift your hips off the floor. Overload with weight over your pelvis.
Leg/Hip Extensions – prone or standing. Keeping the back neutral lift the leg from the hip. Squeeze your glutes.
Calfs or back of lower leg:
Calf raises – seated or standing – rise up on your toes, return to flat footed. Overload with weight on your knees (seated) or shoulders (standing).
Shins or front of lower leg:
Toe Taps – standing or seated tap your toes. You can also tie a rubber tube around an anchored pole, place the tubbing around your toes and point and flex your foot.
Enjoy & Don’t Forget To Stretch!
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