Are you looking for the best leg workouts? To have toned legs it is necessary that you dedicate time to it either inside or outside the gym. You can do leg exercises at home using only your body weight, with training bands. So you have no excuses if you want to improve them.
You don’t need to be in a fancy gym with weights that still smell new to be able to train and see results. If you have flaccid legs due to excess fat and lack of muscle mass, you should bear in mind that to solve it requires effort and dedication. Let’s be honest, from one day to the next you will not change the appearance of your lower body. Read on!
We can assure you that it is possible to get enviable legs. You need to strength train on a regular basis to get the body you want. For each of the exercises that you are going to perform, you must maintain good posture and always be in control of the movement.
In this way you will avoid problems or injuries in your back that can keep you away from the gym for a long time. When you feel pain, you should stop and analyze if you are doing the leg exercises correctly.
Leg Muscles
The most powerful and specialized muscles in our body will be found in our legs. Since all our mobility and posture will depend on them. For this reason, the gluteus maximus muscle is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, in our body. The leg muscles are what have allowed us to survive as a species. They are the ones that have led us to travel long distances, allow us to walk upright and have helped us feed ourselves. But not everything is gluteus in our legs.
There are two other large muscles in the leg that are just as important and large. And it’s the quadriceps and calves. We also have other smaller muscles that help in the stability and rotation of our lower body. But it is the long muscles that make up the majority of our lower extremities. Next we will describe very briefly the muscles of the leg:
Quadriceps
It originates from the femur and inserts into the tibia. And they make it up:
- Vastus external
- Medial vastus
- Vast intermediate
- Anterior rectus
It is one of the strongest muscles that our body has.
Femoral
It is made up of 3 muscles:
- The long-headed biceps
- The short-headed biceps
- Semitendinosus
Calves
This is how they are popularly known and it is separated into two parts, a part in the posterior region and the other part which is the one that stands out in the calf.
Buttocks
If the previous one was the most forgotten of the leg muscles, then this is the most trained especially by women in gyms. But the glutes are not a single muscle, they are actually a group made up of:
- Gluteus maximus
- The Gluteus medias
- Gluteus minus
The buttocks or buttocks as it is popularly known are those that provide us with stability that allows us to remain in an upright posture.
How to do a leg routine at home or at the gym?
Now that you know what the leg muscles are and before going into detail to see the best exercises for legs, it is important that you know how to structure your leg routine. For this you must take into account the following principles:
- The leg is made up of large and strong muscles so you need a good load and intensity to train them.
- The Best are the compound exercises that involve more muscles like the squat, deadlift and deadlift but that does not mean that you should not include more analytical exercises like the quadriceps extensions or the femoral curl.
- The muscle confusion thing is just a myth. You can vary your leg routine but always include compound exercises.
- Never forget to warm up your legs before training them. Take about 5-10 minutes before your workout to do some cardio that involves your legs, but that alone won’t cut it, you will also need to put in some approximation sets.
- It is important that you complement your leg exercise routine with a good diet to gain muscle mass if you want to have toned and strong legs.
Best leg workouts
Here are the best leg workouts you can do at home or the gym. Continue reading!
Squat
The first and most important of all the leg exercises that exist is the famous squat or squat. This movement cannot miss in your leg routine since it is one of the most complete and has hundreds of variants which allows you to focus on different areas of the legs.
Best of all, you can execute them using only your body weight, or when you have mastered the exercise you can grab a pair of dumbbells and a barbell to increase the difficulty. To do this you must separate your legs at the same level as your shoulders. It is one of the best leg workouts.
Stand up straight but keeping a slight bend in your legs. Next, bend your knees and lower yourself until you create a 90 degree angle between your calves and your hamstrings. You should hold that posture for a couple of seconds always paying extra attention to the position of your back and then go up slowly and controlled. That would count as one rep.
Squat from side to side
It is also known as squat side to side. It has a similar technique to that used for traditional squats. You should stand with your legs open and do the push-up with a slight incline to one side to put more weight on one of the legs. It is one of the best leg workouts.
Bulgarian Squat
You should place a support behind your back with the height a little above your knees. Rest one of your feet on the support always facing forward. And bend the other leg and come down.
Pistol Squat or gunslinger squat
You must perform the movement of the squat but supported on one foot. The other leg remains extended and you must control the balance of your body with the help of your arms. These are just some of the squat variations that you can include in your leg routine. There are many more squat variations that you can include in your workouts.
Lunge or stride
It can be said that it is a variant of the squat. Only in this modality you work one legs at a time. Stand in the same position as the previous exercise, only this time you should take a step forward with one of your feet.
Go overboard and carry it well forward, but keep your balance. That will be your starting position. Now you must bend your knee and the leg that has been left behind should reach almost to touch the floor.
You must take into account that your front knee cannot exceed the tip of the foot. Then slowly go up, switch legs, and repeat the movement. This is another of the best leg workouts that you should try to include in your routines. The exercise also allows you a series of variations and alternatives to work the muscle groups in different ways.
Elevations with bench
Take a small bench or chair that you have at home that can support your body. It is one of the best leg workouts. Stand in front of her and support one of your legs on the chair, now using the strength of your buttocks and legs. Get on the chair and the leg that was on the floor lift it up to almost touch your chest. Hold the pose for a couple of seconds and then lower yourself. You can repeat this up to 10 times before changing legs.
Kicks
Find a towel or mat and support yourself on your stomach using your hands and knees. When you are in that position, lift one of your legs to the height of your hips. Keep your abdomen in tension and squeezing your buttocks. You hold the position and then lower to switch legs and do the same movement. This is one of those leg exercises where you can get used to the movement very easily and add a little weight to increase the difficulty.
Pelvic lift
This is considered one of the best exercises for the leg and glutes. Using the mat, lie on your back, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor. Place your arms at the sides of the body. Now raise your pelvis, always keeping your abdomen and glutes engaged throughout the movement. It is one of the best leg workouts.
Hold the position for a couple of seconds and descend. Rest for a couple of seconds and repeat the movement. After you get used to it and manage to control the execution of the exercise, you can take a weight and place it on your abdomen to increase the difficulty.
Box jumps
This exercise that comes from CrossFit is very good to strengthen the legs. Of course, at the beginning, try not to jump into a box that is too high to avoid an accident. But with the passage of time you will have to do it.
Set up a box made of wood or a material that is firm. As long as to support the requirement. You stand in front of the box, bend your legs a little to gain momentum and jump up to the box. Always try to keep your body very firm. Straight back. When you get off the box, repeat the jump backwards and land firmly so that you also demand the muscles with this movement.
These are not all the leg exercises out there but they are without a doubt the most important. Leg exercises are effective as long as you focus on the muscles you are working on and put the rush aside. Focus on technique before you start to weight with dumbbells and bars. And be sure to always do sets that are effective. It is one of the best leg workouts.
Benefits of the best leg workouts
The advantage of this exercise routine for legs is that you do not need any type of weight. With your body weight you can do this routine that will help you tone the entire lower body of your body.
Muscle Strength
Yes, such training is primarily aimed at sculpting the foot. However, most exercises involve some muscle groups. For example, if you do your favorite squat, not only your glutes and quads, but also your core muscles will work. In addition, these workouts increase heart rate and, as a result, combine strength with cardio.
Leg workouts are intended to tone your legs and, most importantly, strengthen them. Stronger legs will significantly improve your performance in other workouts, including popular cardio sessions like running, walking, and jogging. Additionally, by strengthening your leg muscles, you will also reduce the risk of injury while doing other types of exercises.
Balance and symmetry
Bulky upper body and slender and weak legs-you may have seen these pictures many times. It happens when people devote themselves to upper body training but ignore leg days. Your body should look symmetrical. It’s much more attractive.
In addition, training the whole body is an effective way to avoid injury. The point is that our body acts as a unit, and each exercise contains several muscle groups. Therefore, balance is needed for muscles to function properly. Also, the lower body faces great physical tension, which can cause many health problems if not well trained.
There is an extensive exercise for each muscle group. You can find dozens of leg workouts to help you reach your fitness goals. But some of them are more popular and very effective. So, performing the best leg workouts mentioned above can benefit you.
