As the foundation of your body, it’s important that your legs stay as strong and mobile as possible. To help you effectively train your lower body and see results in no time, here are eight of the best leg exercises you need to add to your workout routine.
Jumping Squats
You’re putting maximum effort into the exercise when doing jumping squats, as you’re engaging all your leg muscles and pushing them to new heights. Placing your feet in a squatting position, drive your legs upward and jump as high as you can in one movement. This will keep your heart rate up and work your entire leg, combining strength and cardio training into one killer workout.
Bulgarian Split Squats
More difficult than they appear, Bulgarian split squats require a certain amount of balance to be effective. You’re essentially performing a split squat, except that your back leg will be elevated, forcing your front leg to pick up the extra weight. This exercise heavily targets your quads and will leave your legs shaking.
Pistol Squats
A true test of your balance and flexibility, pistol squats work both quads statically and dynamically. If you’re confident in your balancing skills, then try kicking your leg out at a 90-degree angle before squatting down with your other leg.
Leg Press
Doing leg presses require less muscle mass in comparison to squats, as it doesn’t release the same amount of hormones. However, the variety of foot positions that are possible allows you to target different leg muscles and get a full leg workout. For example, a wide stance will target your inner thighs while placing your feet higher on the plate will target your glutes and hamstrings.
Curtsy Lunges
This is a great workout that heavily targets your glutes. The curtsy lunge is similar to a reverse lunge, except your back leg will be situated behind your stationary leg. It’s an effective exercise that activates your outer thighs and glutes, especially when you add dumbbells into the mix.
Lateral Lunges
A simple but highly effective exercise, lateral lunges place most of your weight onto one leg as you move side to side. This is one of the best ways to activate your glutes and quads before getting into more intense exercises.
Pause Squats
A great way to finish off a leg workout, pause squats only requires you to get into a squatting position and stay immobile for as long as possible. Make sure you’re comfortable while squatting, as not to cause injury or unnecessary pain. Hold your position for a count of ten before standing and repeating your reps as many times as you can.
Deadlifts
Considered a full body workout, deadlifts allow you to use an enormous amount of weight, effectively improving your overall strength. As a full body workout, you can add deadlifts to other training days.
At Forest City Fitness, we provide new and existing clients with personal trainer online opportunities, youth fitness programs and fitness classes. Located in London, Ontario, our gym is open 24/7/365 with key fob access. Feel free to stop by and talk to one of our trainers anytime, or visit our website for more information.
