Contrary to what a lot of people seem to believe, going to the gym is not the only means by which you can maintain your fitness and build up your muscles. Without ever having to step foot in the gym, you can increase your overall fitness and develop your leg muscles. All you need to do is have a little discipline and use the following easy tips consistently:
Routine squats
Squats are the unchallenged king of all lower body exercises, targeting your legs, back and also helping to improve posture and ability to generate power by strengthening the core. They are also relatively simple to perform and can be done anywhere.
You could start with the wall squat” which is easier than most other squatting techniques, because when you perform it, you use the wall for support. Wall squats are performed by leaning with your back against a wall, lowering your torso until your thighs are parallel with the floor, and maintaining this position for an extended period–usually 60-90 seconds for beginners.
Depth Jump
This is a rather not so common exercise that probably sounds a bit scary but if you follow the steps outlined here, then you have little to be afraid of. This exercise focuses heavily on all the leg muscles and also increases your vertical jumps. It does however, put quite a bit of stress on the knee so its best done on a soft surface, even surfaces, and is probably not the best exercise for people with a history of serious knee challenges.
To perform this exercise safely, follow the steps outlined here:
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Position a stable platform with a vertical height of around 40cm to 70cm. Make sure it is positioned firmly on the floor and then stand on top of it.
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Take a slight jump off the platform to the ground.
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As soon as you hit the floor, jump as high as possible lifting your hands upward so as to attain the maximum height you can reach. (If you’ve seen the movie Rocky Balboa, then you should have a good idea of what this move looks like)
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Repeat this exercise for like 5 to 8 times for 3 sets.
Gradually increase the height from which you jump each week and not only will you see steady improvement in the endurance of your legs, but you will notice that the muscle mass around your thighs will grow denser.
Leg push-offs
This exercise however doesn’t only work on your leg muscles but also tightens the muscles around your abdominal region.
The procedures for this exercise are quite easy to pull off:
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Lie down flat on a regular surface with your face facing upwards towards the ceiling or sky(whichever the case might be).
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Next, lift up both legs together simultaneously to about a 100 degrees level from the ground
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Throw, or let your legs fall towards the the ground but don’t allow them touch the ground, contracting your abdomen and leg muscles just before your legs make contact with the floor.
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Repeat.
Slow Jogging
Slow jogging is particularly effective for strengthening and building thigh muscles. Another important factor that influences the amount of gains you can make from jogging, is the environment you go jogging at. If your aiming to really build up your lower body muscle mass then the best place to jog is the beach or hilly terrin that provides a lot of resistance.
Biking
Biking is another exercise that has a lot of potential for developing your leg muscles. But much like jogging, you will need a lot of resistance to really experience the full benefits of biking.
Below are two ways you could follow to make biking an efficient exercise for building up your leg muscles:
1. Ride up hills to force yourself to use more leg muscles as you deal with force and pull of gravity. Riding uphill requires that you push your body’s weight and your bike weight with your quadriceps and hamstrings(both thigh muscles), and your gluteus maximus(a butt muscle) if you are riding in a sitting position.
2. Stand while pedaling to add more weight to your down-stroke pedaling, your resistance on the upstroke and to use different muscles than those used in a seating position.
Jump Rope
This exercise has more effect on the calf muscles than any other leg muscle.
Follow the procedures below for a daily skipping exercise:
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First, you must stretch your leg muscles thoroughly.
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Then start jumping the rope at a slow pace to warm up your muscles. Keep this up for approximately 3 minutes, and then, once you are warmed up, begin jumping rope at a faster pace.
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Give the calves an intense workout by landing on the balls of your feet instead of landing on your entire foot.
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Give the calves a break in between these intense sets by slowing down your jumping pace.
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Repeat this procedure all over again from number 1 to number 4 for three to four times.
Lunges
You could think of lunges as being a distant cousin to squats but though they might have a thing or two in common, lunges are really more intense than squats.
Lunges target two primary muscle groups in the leg which are the hip extensors (gluteal muscles and hamstrings) and the knee extensors (quadriceps).
The muscles used in performing lunges are the same as those utilized in the squat, but the lunge provides greater range of motion.
Conclusion
For effective results, you should make sure you keep up a daily routine for all the exercises mentioned here. Also bear in mind that you will need to pay attention to getting the technique right and avoid pushing yourself too hard.
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