To have a harmonious and strong body, it is very important to work all parts of our body, as the joint work of all muscles will bring us many benefits.
In this article, we show you 8 leg exercises to do at home and train the lower body.
Tone the muscles in your legsQuadriceps, hamstrings, abductors, glutes, and calves.
The muscles in the legs have the function of moving and stabilizing the lower limbs. Therefore, strengthening them will greatly benefit leg locomotion.
They are the foundation of the body and include different joints, numerous bones, and interconnected muscles. Well-defined and strong legs will help make our body more harmonious and well-proportioned.
Below, we show you the best leg exercises to do at home.
8 Leg exercises to do at home
1- Squats: It is a very common leg exercise. It consists of standing with arms at the sides, legs extended in line with the shoulders, and toes slightly pointing outwards.
Then bend your knees as if you were going to sit down, pushing your pelvis back and bringing your arms to shoulder height. Hold this position for 5 minutes and then stand back up, straighten your knees, and bring your arms back along your body.
It is important that both the ascending and descending exercises are controlled.
2-StridesIn your at-home leg workout routine, lunges should not be missing, as this particular exercise will help you tone your thighs and glutes.
The starting position is standing with your hands on your waist and your legs slightly apart. You should take a step forward (not too long or too short) while keeping your torso as straight as possible. Then, you must bend the leg that remains behind until the knee almost touches the ground but without actually touching it, and the front leg should not bend more than 90 degrees at the knee level.
3-Step Ups: Get motivated to play the best music at home to practice this entertaining exercise that will help you strengthen your legs. Step is done through exercises on a step or platform, where you should continuously step up and down. You can combine it with aerobic exercises to achieve better results.
This leg exercise to do at home will help you tone your thighs and glutes, and it also works well as a cardiovascular exercise.
4-Side lunge: Similar to the simple stride we initially discussed, this one should be done to the side. It is a leg exercise to do at home and it is very effective, as it will help you tone your quadriceps, thighs, and glutes.
To begin, stand with your legs slightly apart and your abdomen contracted. Start by moving one leg to the side, shifting your body weight onto it and placing your foot on the ground while bending your knee.
It is important that the thigh of the bent leg is parallel to the ground and the foot and knee are pointing in the same direction. Hold this position for 5 seconds. Then return to the starting position, rest, and repeat with the other leg.
5- Glute bridge: This is an excellent exercise to do at home, focusing on toning and lifting the glutes. To do it, you should preferably lie on an exercise mat, on your back with your arms at your sides and your knees bent upward.
Take a deep breath and lift your hips, keeping your back straight and contracting your glutes, hold that position for 3 seconds and then lower again.
6-Deadlift: Deadlift is a basic weightlifting exercise.
To work the posterior area such as hamstrings, calves, core, and glutes, deadlift is one of the best leg exercises to do at home. However, like all other exercises, it is important to perform it correctly.
To perform this exercise, you will need some weight (water bottles, dumbbells...).
During the execution of this exercise, it is important to keep the back straight and the head facing forward. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the weight with both hands, keeping your arms extended. Open your chest, and with a straight back, lower your torso by flexing at the hips until the weight reaches below the knees. (Remember to keep the weight close to your body)
Return to the starting position by pushing with your legs (the legs and the lower back muscles drive the upward movement).
7-Single-leg deadlift: This is an excellent leg exercise to do at home, where you will test your balance while working out a large number of muscle groups.
Start with your legs slightly bent, and take one leg back while leaning your body towards the floor, supporting your weight with one leg. You can do this exercise with weight, which can be a dumbbell or a water bottle that you will hold with one hand or with both, so you will have to work on balance with a set of muscles, including those in the lower back.
It is a perfect exercise to work the stabilizing muscles. Remember to control your knee so that it does not go either outwards or inwards.
8-Wall sit: It is an excellent leg exercise that will also help you tone your waist, thighs, and glutes. To perform it, you only need the support of a wall and you're ready to go.
It is very similar to a
squat, with the difference that, with the Wall sit you must lean your back against the wall and then lower yourself as if you were sitting on a chair, holding the position statically for at least 30 seconds depending on your own resistance, then gradually increasing the time.
"Salter" is a surname in English. We have shown you 8 leg exercises to do at home and include them in your leg routine.