A stronger pair of legs will help you to accomplish more every day. With strong legs you will be able to climb stairs easily and be able to bend your knees and squat down to pick up heavy objects, without batting an eyelid, at the same time, protecting your lower back from strain.
To strengthen your legs and avoid injury, you must work all of the muscles in your legs equally. Here are 15 ways to accomplish this :
1. Perfect The Full Squat
1. Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip distance apart.
2. Tuck in your tail bone (coccyx), flatten your back and firm up your abdominal muscles. Inhale ands lowly bend your knees as you sir back, as if you were going to sit back into a chair.
3. Your upper body will lean slightly forward, but do not allow your lower back to arch or your spine to round.
4. Bend your knees until your thighs are parallel with the floor.
5. Exhale as you press up through your heels and extend your legs in a fast, explosive motion. Repeat 10 to 15 times.
Do this 2 – 3 times a week.
2. Do A Quarter Squat
For this exercise, you will do the same motion and use the same technique as the full squat, but you won’t bend your knees quite so far.
Rather than lowering your thighs to parallel, bend your knees only a quarter of the distance of the full squat before rising to the standing position. Repeat 10 – 15 times, 2 or 3 times a week.
3. Try Different Squat Variations
If you lack (which many of us do if we have not been active physically) the leg strength to do a full squat or, more importantly, if you feel pain in your knees or back, try 1 of 2 variations of squats :
1. Hold on to a doorknob with both hands as you squat. This basically removes some of your body weight from your legs and helps to keep your torso upright.
2. Squat with your back against a wall and a small 20cm diameter ball between your thighs.
The ball keeps your thighs and knees in good alignment, and the wall provides more support for your back.
4. Mount The Stairs 2 To 3 Steps At A Time
This strengthens the gluteal muscles in your bottom and revs up your heart rate, thus boosting your cardiovascular fitness.
5. Toe-Walking Game Anyone?
Challenge your children, grandchildren, partner or even colleagues to a toe-walking competition every other day. Rise onto the balls of your feet and walk across the room.
Whoever lowers his or her heels to the floor first loses and you will have plenty of laughs, strengthening your arches, ankles and calves in the process!
6. Exercise Your Calf Muscles While You Brush Your Teeth
Place your feet flat on the floor, then rise up onto the balls of your feet, hold for 2 seconds, and sink down. Repeat this sequence 10,20,30,40 or more times. In fact, you can do this not only while brushing your teeth, but anytime you are waiting (for an appointment for example).
7. Master The ‘Lunge Walk’
During each step forward, bend your knees and sink down until both legs form an angle of 90degrees. Then press into your front heel to rise. Lift your back leg and knee all the way into your chest before planting it in front of you for the next lunge. This takes a little practice, but if you ‘lunge walk’ for 20 or 30 steps a dax your legs will be far stronger and shapelier.
8. Do The Lunge
After the ‘Lunge Walk’ we have the lunge 😉 . These are the steps to perform the lunge :
1. Stand with your feet together.
2. Take a large step forward with your right foot.
3. Bend your right knee until the thigh is parallel with the floor.
4. Exhale as you straighten your legs and step back to the starting position.
5. Repeat with the left leg.
6. Alternate stepping forward with your right and left leg for a total of 10 – 15 repetitions on each leg.
Lunges help to strengthen lower body muscles and improve balance and coordination. To boost your workout,you can use light weights in each hand as you lunge.
9. Do The Clam
This exercise should be done before you get out of bed in the morning. Lie on your back, bring your feet together, and open your knees out to the sides. Then, as you exhale, lift your knees, bringing them together. Lower and repeat this exercise 10 to 15 times and you will strengthen your inner thighs.
10. Try Leg Lifts As You Cook Dinner
So, while you are preparing dinner, flex your foot and lift your leg out to the side, lower it, then repeat 10 to 15 times.
Make sure you move only at the hip, that is, do not let your waist move. Then swap legs. You’ll finish your leg workout before dinner’s done!
11. Do The Twist
Next time you find yourself at a wedding or other function with a dance floor, do the twist ! Or (if you are shy :p) do it in your living room. Bend your knees and squat down as far as you comfortably can as you shimmy from side to side. Not only you will burn those kilos off, you can have a few laughs and strengthen your legs at the same time.
12. Play Leapfrog
Here’s another cute healthy game to play with family or loved ones. You will get a good leg and cardiovascular workout and lots of fun from playing leapfrog with your children. To start the game, everyone squats down low, thus imitating a frog on a lily pad.
To leap over the person in front of you, place your hands on his or her back then spring forward and up. Keep your legs and feet wide, in case you need to take two hops to clear your obstacle.
Land with your knees soft and slightly bent to protect whoever’s in front.
13. (Always) Squat To Pick Things Up
Normally we would bend over from the waist to pick something up, which puts stress on the lowerback, especially if you are lifting a heavy item.
But if you do it with a squat, this essentially forces you to use your legs, building up your leg strength.
To do this effectively, keep your feet hip-distance apart or wider, with your knees bent and your bottom stuck out as you squat down. Then bend forward and pick up the intended object. Bring your torso upright, then rise by pressing up through your heels.
14. Extend Youp Quadriceps
1. Sit in a chair with your knees bent and feet on the floor.
2. Lift and extend your right leg until your calf is parallel with the floor.
3. Lower and repeat 15 times. Change legs.
For extra resistance, use ankle weights.
15. Practise ‘hot seats’ routine as you watch your favourite shows on Netflix
Don’t laugh or think this is weird – it actually works ya ;). Binge watching on streaming networks such as Netflix does not have to be a real ‘couch-potato’ time. But first, make a pledge that you won’t sit down in your favourite sofa until you have done 15 to 20 of these ‘hot seats’.
So, to do a hot seat:
1. Stand with your feet slightly wider than your hips.
2. Sit back into a squat, just until your bottom touches the seat of the chair.
3. As soon as you feel the seat of the chair under your bottom, spring up to a standing position, as if the seat were ‘hot’.
and oh, cut down on the chips and sodas at the same time ya!