The Best Exercises For Your Legs

As gyms are now fully reopened and summer is finally here, it is now that time to fully focus on exercising and maintaining a healthy diet. As well as eating the appropriate foods, your gym routine is vital if you are looking to tone certain areas of your body or gain some more muscle. Saying that, your legs are an integral part of your body, and it is important to find the best type of exercise to fully train your legs and be able to build some strength.

After all, it is an unspoken rule that you should never skip leg day…

That’s why 24/7 Fitness have come up with the best exercises for your legs and how they can transform your entire workout routine.

Deadlifts

Deadlifts are an absolute classic form of exercise, and are incredibly popular amongst many people. They are instrumental when training legs, as they can help to build up mass and develop significant lower body strength. 

However, it is important that you get deadlifts right when doing it, as you can risk hurting your lower back if it is done incorrectly. 

To do a deadlift, you need to make sure your core is engaged properly by tensing your abs before you squat down to lift the weight. Your feet need to be flat on the ground, and shoulder width apart. Grip the weight tightly, and pull the weight up, as close to your body as possible. Don’t lift it up too quickly, it is better to take your time. When lowering the weight back down, either lower it to the floor so that you can immediately do another rep or you can place it on the ground to come to a complete stop.

Squats

Squats are an absolute powerhouse workout, and will work your legs to the max! They are absolutely brilliant for mass and strength training in your legs, and you will definitely feel the effects of doing squats the day after.

To do a proper squat, you need to either keep your toes parallel to one another or point your toes outwards slightly - it’s your choice. Then you need to engage your core and tense your abs before you do the actual squat. When squatting, you want to keep your back straight and bend your knees slightly outward as you squat down, keeping your feet firmly on the ground and not lifting your heels.

To maximise leg results, you might want to try squatting with weights. 

Lunges

This exercise is, again, very easy to do, and it particularly targets your quads, glutes, calves, and hamstrings. 

It works best while using a set of dumbbells, as this can activate and stimulate muscle growth. To do this exercise, you need to hold a dumbbell in each hand and then take turns lowering each leg at a time into a squat position, so that your knee is almost touching the floor. Repeat this action for as many reps as you are comfortable with, and if you want to challenge yourself even more, you may want to choose heavier weights to lunge with. 

Leg press

The leg press is an excellent weight training exercise, which greatly strengthens and stimulates your quads, hamstrings and glutes. 

At the gym, once you have located the leg press machine, you should sit on the seat and place your feet on the sled so that they are shoulder width apart. Make sure your feet are not too high on the sled as it will stress your glutes too much. Then you should push the platform away from you, using your feet, with whatever weight you have chosen to add to the machine. It is important to keep your back held firmly against the seat so that you are not straining your lower back. After this, bring your knees back towards your chest, and keep repeating the motion.

If you are a beginner, it is best to start with two sets of 10 leg presses. You can gradually work your way up with more sets and bigger weights. 

The glute bridge

This is a very simple exercise, yet so effective if you want to work your hamstrings, as well as your abs and lower back. You simply lie on your back with your knees bent and apart, and then you slowly lift your hips up while squeezing your glutes (located in your buttocks). While your butt is in the air, you should pause for a moment, and then lower your body down.

By doing this properly, you should be able to feel a burning sensation in your hamstrings and glutes. To begin with, it is advised to aim for 15 to 25 reps. To challenge yourself even more, you may want to do the glute bridge with a weight, which will build up your leg strength even more.