5 Great Leg Exercises for Women

Many men want to have huge arms, shaped pecs and muscular legs. The majority of women tend to be the exact opposite. For example, instead of aiming for muscular legs, they aim to have more toned and slender legs. As a result women are always more cautious of any type of weight or strength training. The reason for this is that they often believe it will lead to their legs becoming more muscular rather than toned. This however isn’t the case at all, in fact weight, strength and resistance training is highly effective at toning the legs. They are all much better methods than simply trying to diet and will actually help you to achieve the results that you want.

 

It doesn’t matter whether you have a gym membership or are planning to workout at home. These 5 leg exercises are the best ones that you can do and will help you to see results in no time.

 

#1 The Squat

 

Lots of women tend to shy away from doing the squat, but they shouldn’t as it is one of the most effective leg exercises that women can do. They work every part of the legs and are excellent for sculpting the legs. Here’s how to perform it correctly.

 

1      Stand up and place your feet shoulder-width apart.

2      Squat down (the motion should be the same as if you were sitting down on a chair) until your thigh is parallel with the floor.

3      Make sure that your back is kept straight, your abs are kept tight and that your chest stays lifted.

4      Your knees should never go over your toes. They should align with your ankles.

5      When your thighs are parallel hold the position for a count of 10 seconds.

6      Repeat.

 

#2 The Wall Squat

 

Although this exercise involves a similar motion to the squat it is different as it places more emphasis on the thighs.

 

1      Lean against a wall making sure that your head, shoulders, lower back and butt are all flat with the wall.

2      Keep your knees shoulder-width apart and slide down the wall again as if you were sitting down in a chair.

3      Once your thighs are parallel with the floor hold the position for 30 seconds.

4      Repeat.

5      Once 30 seconds becomes easy for you work up in 30 second increments.

 

#3 The Lunge

The lunge should be a staple in all women’s leg workouts. It is easy to perform and you can really feel it working the legs as you do it.

 

1      Stand up straight, place your hands on your hips and make sure that your legs are hip-width apart.

2      Take a big step forward with your right leg, until your right thigh is parallel with the floor.

3      Make sure that your knee doesn’t come over your toes.

4      Your back leg should be bent with your heel coming off the floor.

5      Never lean forward, always maintain a straight back.

6      Push yourself back up using your right leg until you are in the starting position.

7      Repeat with the left leg.

8      Then repeat the whole process until tired.

 

#4 The Ball Squeeze

 

This is another easy exercise to perform. It is a great one to include as it works the inner thighs, which many women tend to forget to work.

 

1      Sit in a chair leaning forward a little with your hands by your sides and your feet flat on the floor.

2      Place a ball, about the size of a football, in between your legs in line with your knees.

3      Apply enough pressure to keep the ball from dropping to the floor.

4      Then squeeze the ball concentrating on using your inner thighs, hold the squeeze for around 10 seconds.

5      Go back to step 3 and repeat about 20 times.

 

#5 Calf Raises

 

You should never forget about calf raises. Doing them will deliver the complete package for your legs.

 

1      You can either do calf raises off the floor or by using a sturdy box, which is the more effective way.

2      You should stand up straight and use your calves to push off the floor so you heels are as far from the ground as it possible.

3      Your toes should be rooted to the floor or to the box.

4      Hold the top position and really squeeze your calves.

5      Lower yourself down again but don’t allow your entire foot to touch the floor. Keep your heel a few centimetres from the floor.

6      Repeat this around 50 times.

 

These should be easy to get comfortable with for women of all ages and sizes. If you want to get to the next level and try out some more advanced exercises, check out this vertical leaping guide by Dualfit to see how you can get slim legs by doing leap exercises!

 

 

This guest post was written by Endre R., former body builder and waterpolo player. He is also a guest blogger and freelance writer for Dualfit.

Posted by healthmateuk on November 1, 2012

https://healthmateuk.wordpress.com/2012/11/01/5-great-leg-exercises-for-women/