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Coach Foreign Guy-Fitness Correspondent
Whether you want to lose weight, maintain weight, or tone your body NEVER miss leg day. Though many consider leg day the most difficult part of working out, it is important to have at least one day of the fitness week to dedicate to leg workouts.
Leg days help t:
1. burn calories, 2. Proportionate your upper and lower body 3. be less susceptible to injury 4. have more strength as the legs support the rest of the body 5. get better overall results 6. reduce lower back pain 7. increase your core strength.
Having a well-rounded exercise session programme is about more than aesthetics. It’s additionally about keeping yourself healthy and strong from head to toe. So, leg day should make its way into your workouts on a weekly basis.
Here are some leg day workouts. Enjoy, staying fit and training with the best at Invictus Fitness Centre!
Squats
Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and slightly turned out with your weight in your heels.
Hinge your hips to sit your butt back and bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
Drive through your heels to stand back up straight
Squeeze your butt and keep your core tight as you stand
Reverse Lunges
Start standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
Step backwards with your left foot, landing on the ball of your foot and bending your knees to create two 90-degree angles.
Push through your right heel to return to standing.
Repeat on the other side
Lateral Leg Raises
Lie on your side, legs extended.
Lift your top leg 45 degrees, then lower slowly.
Do 5 lifts with your toe flexed, 5 with your toe pointed, and 5 with your toe pointed toward the ceiling.
Repeat on the other side.
Marching Glute Bridge
Lie faceup on your mat with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Lift your hips off the mat into a bridge.
Keeping your right knee bent, lift your right foot off the floor.
Try to keep your hips still.
Hold for five seconds.
Slowly lower your right foot to the ground but keep your hips lifted.
Lift your left foot off the ground to repeat on the other side.
Donkey Kicks
Start on all fours.
Pull your right knee toward your chest, keeping your foot flexed.
Then, kick your right leg up behind you and toward the sky, then back down, keeping your knee bent and foot flexed.
Repeat on the other side.
Single-Leg Glute Bridges
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Lift your left leg straight up above you, toes pointing at the ceiling. Your left knee should be directly over your left hip.
Raise your hips and lower them back to the ground, keeping your leg in the air.
Repeat on the other side
Curtsy Lunges With Side Kick
Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
Step your left leg diagonally behind your right leg and bend your knees to lower into a lunge.
Push through your right heel to stand, and sweep your left leg out to the side.
Repeat on the other side.
High Knees
Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
Run in place, bringing your knees up toward your chest as high as possible while pumping your arms.
Keep your chest lifted, core engaged, and land lightly on the balls of your feet.
Side Lunges
Stand with your feet hip-width apart
Take a big step out to your right
Bend your knee and push your butt back to do a side lunge -Keep your chest lifted and core tight
Repeat on the other side
Side Step Squats
Stand tall with your feet together and hands on your hips
Step your right foot to the right, so your feet are just wider than shoulder-width apart
Drop your butt back and bend your knees to lower into a squat
Straighten your knees and bring your foot back to the starting position
Repeat on the other side
Forward to Reverse Lunges
Stand with your feet hip-width apart
Step forward with your left foot into a forward lunge, with both knees bent so that your knees so that the front thigh is parallel to the floor and the back knee is about two inches from the floor.
Push off your front foot, hover your foot as you stand straight up, and immediately step back into a reverse lunge
Drive through your front foot to stand back up
Jump Squats
Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-distance apart
Sit your butt back and bend your knees to drop into a squat, keeping your chest upright
Jump up into the air as high as you can and straighten out your legs
Land back on the floor with soft knees.
Forward Lunges
Stand with your feet together
Take a big step forward with your right foot
Bend your right leg until your front thigh is parallel to the floor and your back knee is just barely touching the floor.
Push up through your back front heel to return to the start position.
Repeat on the other side.
Squat Jacks
Start standing with your feet together, hands at your chest.
Jump your feet out and sit back into a small squat.
Jump your feet back together to return to standing.
Extended Leg Pulses
Bring your right knee to your chest and extend the right leg to the ceiling.
Keep your left leg extended and off the floor about 3 to 5 inches.
Interlace your fingertips behind your right knee.
Using your abs (not your hands), pulse your upper body up 3 to 5 inches. -Make sure your low back stays planted firmly on the floor
Repeat on the other side
Hip Bridges
Start lying flat on your back, your knees bent and your heels a few inches away from your butt
Your feet should be about hip-distance apart.
Lift your hips up, then lower them back to the ground
Single-Leg Reach and Jumps
Stand with feet hip width apart, hands at your sides.
Hinge at your hips and bend your knees to extend your left leg behind you (no higher than your hips) as you reach your left arm to ground about a foot ahead of where your left foot was.
Drive your left knee up to return to an upright position, and hop on your right foot.
Repeat on the other side.
Power Lunges
Stand with your feet hip-width apart
Lunge back with your right foot, bending both knees 90 degrees
Straighten your left leg and jump into the air while driving your right knee up in front of your body
Immediately lower your right foot back into a lunge
Repeat on the other side
Plié Squat Pulses With One Foot Raised
Start standing with your feet wide and your toes slightly turned out
Bend your knees into a slight squat and lift your left heel so you’re on your toes
Keep your right foot flat on the ground
Lower your butt a few inches toward the ground while keeping your chest up
Continue pulsing up and down
Repeat on the other side
Single-Leg Kickbacks
Start on all fours with your knees under your hips and hands under your shoulders
Lift your left leg and flex your foot as you kick it back behind you and straighten your leg
Return to start
Repeat on the other side
Side Kicks
Stand next to a wall, far enough away so that you can bend your torso forward and press your palms against it, elbows bent
Place both hands on the wall
Lift your right leg off the ground, parallel to the floor
Bring your right knee in toward your right elbow Then, flex your foot and kick the leg back out straight to the parallel position
Repeat on the other side
Alternating Knee-To-Chests
Lie on your back and extend one leg out a few inches off the ground. -Hold the opposite knee into your chest.
Switch legs, bringing your nose to the knee that is in toward your chest each time.
Keep your lower back down, head lifted off the ground, and abs engaged
Jumping Lunges
Start in a lunge with your left leg forward, hands at your sides.
Bend both knees to 90 degrees, keeping your abs tight and back straight.
Swing arms to propel your body up, straightening your legs.
Land back in a lunge and continue jumping.
Repeat on the other side.
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