Easy Legs Workout

1 Squat
Stand with your feet 7 – 9 inches apart, arms across your chest and hands on apposite shoulders. Take your weight back into your heels and lower your body be bending your legs, leading with the bottom, and with your knees directly over the middle toes. Aim to lower to 90 degree and pause for a moment, then raise yourself back up and repeat.

2 Knee drive
Stand with one foot on a step, with your knee bent and the other foot on the floor behind you. Drive up onto the front foot, bringing the back knee up towards your chest, using your arm in an opposite action. Come right up on to the ball of your foot, pause then go straight back down into a lunge position. You can add power by allowing the supporting foot to leave the floor altogether as you drive up with the other leg.

3 Supine curl
Lie face up with your heels on a gym ball, legs and arms by your side. Lift your bottom up so your body forms a straight line from head to heels. Bending your knees, roll the ball in towards your bottom. Pause and slowly extend your legs and roll the ball away.

4 Single leg squat
Stand with your right leg extended slightly in front of you with your core muscles engaged and your back straight. Bend your left leg, ensuring the knee bends directly over the fourth toe, and visualize the leg turning out of the hip. Pause and then straighten and repeat, then change sides. If you want to increase the resistance you can add a dumbbell to each hand.

5 Directional Lunge
Take a big step forward with your right leg, bending both knees so the right one aligns over the right toes, and the left one travels towards the floor. Keep your torso upright. Pause and then pushing up through the front heel, straighten your legs and return to the start position. Take a big step to the diagonal, ensuring your knee aligns over your toes. Step back and repeat the two moves with your left leg. Complete all repetitions. Remember: do not allow your pelvis to tip forward or your tail-bone to stick out.

6 Step-ups
Stand in front of a step around shin height, with a weight in each hand. Step up with the right foot, follow with the left, then step down with the right foot and down with the left.

7 Hip Abduction
Lie on your side with your legs stacked from ankle to hip and your weight supported on your elbow. Remember: don’t let your body sink into the supporting arm. Raise the top leg a few inches from the supporting one, keeping your toes facing directly forwards and ensuring the leg lengthens out of the hip socket as you extend it.

8 Leg crossover
Hook one end of a resistance band around something sturdy and loop the other end around your right leg. Shuffle away from the attachment point until there is enough tension in the band, and your right leg is lifted out to the side. Bring your right leg in towards the centre, taking it just across the left, with your toes facing directly forward. Remember: do not allow the hip of the supportive leg to dip and keep your core muscles engaged.

9 Squat
Stand with your feet together and step both legs out to the side, bending your knees as you land in a wide-stance squat position, with your knees and hips opening out over the toes. Step back to the start position and repeat.

Get free new articles: