Leg Workout Summary
- Leg exercises help strengthen and tone the muscles in the legs, improving overall fitness and physical performance.
- Strong leg muscles can improve balance and stability, reducing the risk of injury.
- Leg exercises can build muscle, speed up metabolism, and improve heart health.
- Leg exercises can also improve the flexibility and range of motion of the legs, making everyday tasks easier and change the body’s appearance and function as a whole.
Introduction
Leg exercises are an important part of any workout routine because they help strengthen and tone the muscles in your legs and improve your overall fitness. At the gym, you can work out different parts of your legs, like the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and glutes, with different exercises. Some of the best leg exercises are squats, lunges, leg presses, and calf raises. In this article we’ll take you through our favorite 8 leg exercises which in the main can be performed either at home or at the gym.
There are many reasons why it’s important to work out your legs. First and foremost, they help strengthen and tone the muscles in your legs, which can improve your overall fitness and physical performance. Strong leg muscles can help improve balance and stability, making you less likely to trip and hurt yourself. Leg exercises can also help build muscle and speed up your metabolism, which can help you lose weight and keep your heart healthy.
Protect against injury
Leg exercises also help keep people from getting hurt. Strong leg muscles will better support the knees, hips, and ankles, making them less likely to get damaged. Leg exercises also help make the legs more flexible and increase their range of motion. This can make everyday tasks like walking and climbing stairs easier.
Also, leg exercises can change how your body looks and works as a whole. Strong legs can help you look taller and more toned, making you look leaner and more athletic.
To sum it up, leg exercises are important for overall health and fitness, preventing injuries, and determining your overall ‘look’. They make your legs strong and toned, improve your heart health, and can also speed up your metabolism, which can help you lose weight.
“Don’t Skip Leg Day”
“Don’t skip leg day” is a common phrase used in the fitness world to remind people not to forget to work out the muscles in their legs. The phrase came from gyms, where some people focus more on exercises for their upper body and core and less on exercises for their legs. Skipping leg day can lead to an imbalance in muscle development and injury if the upper body is overworked compared to the legs.
“Don’t skip leg day” is often used as a reminder to include leg-focused exercises like squats, lunges, leg presses, and calf raises in your workout routine. The phrase is also used as ‘reverse psychology’ to encourage people to include leg exercises in their routines, even if they find them difficult or tiring.
It also serves as a reminder that leg exercises are important for overall health and fitness, preventing injuries, and looking good. Since our legs are the base of our bodies and are used for most physical activities, keeping them strong and toned is important. It’s important to do leg exercises as part of your workout routine because skipping leg day can cause muscle imbalances, bad posture, and overuse injuries.
Best Gym Exercises for the Legs
Squats
The quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes are all worked by squats, a compound exercise. Squats can be performed with or without weights and are a great way to make your legs more powerful. Here’s how to do squats at the gym:
- Start by standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing forward. If you are using a barbell, put it on your upper back so that it rests on your traps (the fleshy part of your shoulders) and hold it with both hands.
- Slowly lower your body as if sitting back in a chair, keeping your chest up and your back straight. Make sure that your knees stay behind your toes and don’t cave in.
- As you go down into the squat, take a deep breath and hold it as you reach the bottom.
- Push through your heels to bring your body back to the starting position. As you come up, breathe out.
- Repeat the move for as many reps and sets as you want.
To avoid injury and to get the most out of your squats, it’s important to follow the above procedure correctly. Make sure your back is straight, your chest is up, and your weight is predominantly on your heels. Keep your knees behind your toes, and don’t let them buckle – this could easily cause damage if your knees are weak.
Before building up the weight that you squat with, ensure you get your form right first using little or no weight on the bar. If you have weak knees then you may require some strapping or a knee brace to protect the joint.
If you have never performed squats before, it’s worth knowing that you can also use a squat rack or a Smith machine. These machines help you keep good form by giving you support and direction and are less dangerous if you don’t have a spotting partner.
Lunges
Another good set of leg exercises which work the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes are lunges. You can perform lunges with or without weights, and they are a great way to make your legs stronger and more powerful. Here’s what you need to do to perform lunges at the gym:
- Start by standing with your feet about as far apart as your shoulders. Hold the dumbbells at your sides if you are using them.
- Step forward with one foot and bend your knees to lower your body until your thigh is parallel to the ground. Your front knee should be right above your ankle, and your back knee should be close to the ground.
- Push yourself back up to the starting position, straightening your legs as you go.
Repeat the move as many times and as many times as you want, and then switch legs. I guarantee you’ll be “feeling the burn” in no time!
Deadlifts
The deadlift is a multi-muscle exercise that works the glutes, hamstrings, lower back, and abdominals. People think that they are one of the best ways to build strength and power in the lower body. Here’s how to do deadlifts at the gym:
- Start by putting your feet hip-width apart in front of a barbell on the ground.
- Bend your hips and knees, and use an overhand grip to hold the barbell. You should have your hands just outside of your legs.
- Keep your back straight and your core tight. Straighten your hips and legs to lift the barbell off the ground.
- Once the barbell is at hip level, first pause for a moment and then bend your hips and knees to bring the bar back down to the starting position.
- Repeat the move for as many reps and sets as you want.
This is a great exercise because it works so many muscle groups. Deadlifts can improve your posture and really help with everyday fitness – if you think about it, when you lift your grocery bag off the floor it’s essentially a deadlift – this is the one exercise that really will transform your day to day activity, whilst also improving cardiovascular health.
Leg Press
Ah the leg press. It’s the gym’s ultimate throne for you to parade your impressive quadriceps. However, before taking your regal position on the throne and crushing those weights, you need to know how to perform the exercise properly….
- First, you need to find the leg press machine in the gym. It usually has a massive shining platform with weight plates on it. If you can’t find it, find the person with tree trunk legs—they’re probably using it.
- After finding the machine, settle in. You’re probably wondering, “But wait, I thought this was a leg exercise, why am I sitting down?” That’s the leg press’s beauty, my friend – you just sit and work your legs!
- Now let’s get to work. Place your feet on the platform at shoulder-width apart. Take a deep breath and push that platform away as if your life depended on it.
- Keep your back against the pad, and straighten your legs out in front of you. We recommend not completely extended your legs though because there’s a very small chance of your knee bending backwards if the weight is excessive.
In conclusion, the leg press is a terrific leg-strengthening workout that lets you sit down and check your Tinder profile on your phone. Don’t Skip Leg Day—go straight to the leg press machine and demolish those weights!
Calf Raises
Calf raises are a popular exercise that strengthen the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in the lower leg – i.e. your calves!
They can be performed with a variety of gym gear such as a Smith’s machine, dumbbells, or even just your body weight.
The exercise is performed by standing on the balls of the feet and lifting the heels as high as possible, then lowering them again. For the exercise to work the calf muscles properly, it is important to keep the knees straight.
Calf raises can be used to improve both strength and stamina. For strength training, you should use a heavier weight and fewer reps. For endurance training, you should use a lighter weight and more reps.
Calf raises can also be performed on one leg at a time to make them more difficult. It is a great exercise for people who want to make their lower legs look better and get stronger, as well as for athletes who want to get better at jumping and running.
Calf raises are easy to do, you can do them anywhere, and people of all fitness levels can do them safely. Get raising those calves!
Box Jumps
Box jumps are a great variety of plyometric exercise that can help your legs get stronger and more explosive. If you’ve not heard of plyometric exercises, then these involve high-intensity spurts of power which can improve your speed, power and agility.
Box jumps are a great addition to any workout, and you can perform them with boxes of different heights. Here’s what you need to do to do box jumps:
- Start by standing in front of a sturdy box or platform that is the right height for your fitness level.
- Place your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms in front of you. This is a quarter squat.
- Jump onto the box with all your might, using your arms to help you get up.
- Land softly with both feet on the box, and make sure your knees are bent to help absorb the impact.
- Step or jump back down to the starting position, and make the move as many times as you want.
Leg Extension
The leg extension exercise is a great way to work on the quadriceps muscles in the front of the thigh. Here’s how to do them:
- Start by sitting on the leg extension machine and adjusting the seat so that your knees are in line with the machine’s axis.
- Put the backs of your lower legs under the padded bar and hold the handles on the sides of the seat for support.
- Slowly straighten your legs from the knees up, and push the padded bar away from you as you do so.
- At the top of the movement, take a short break, and then slowly bring your legs back to the starting position.
- Repeat the move for as many reps and sets as you want.
Remember to keep your back tight against the rear cushion of the leg extension machine, keep your chest up, and your core tight. To stop your knee joints from getting too sore, don’t use too much weight. Instead, focus on the movement.
Also, remember that for maximum effectiveness, leg extensions should be performed in conjunction with squats, lunges, and deadlifts for a well-rounded leg workout.
Leg Curl
Leg curls or hamstring curls are a great way to work out the back of the thigh muscles (hamstrings). Here’s what to do at the gym to do hamstring curls:
Start by putting your ankles under the padded bar and lying facedown on a hamstring curl machine.
As you slowly lift the weight, curl your legs up toward your glutes and flex your hamstrings.
At the top of the movement, take a short break, and then slowly bring your legs back to the starting position.
Repeat the move for as many reps and sets as you want.
Remember to keep your hips and abs firmly against the pad, don’t arch your lower back, and keep your knees and toes pointing straight ahead. Start with less weight and get your form right before adding more weight.
So that concludes our roundup of the best leg exercises to perform for luscious looking pins. Be sure to check out some of our other articles on the best machines to use for home workouts if you don’t fancy making the trip to the gym.
