Are you ready to take your fitness game to the next level? Building lower body strength is the one of the key ways to unlocking a whole new level of health and vitality! Not only will you look amazing in your favorite jeans, but you’ll also be able to crush your workouts and dominate everyday activities with ease and confidence. Whether you’re an athlete looking to take your performance to new heights or just want to feel strong and capable in your own skin, lower body strength training is the way to go! In this article, we’ll show you how to achieve your goals with effective exercises that will help you sculpt the toned and powerful legs you’ve always wanted. Get ready to feel the burn and unlock your true potential!
Lower body strength training works every muscle below the waist, including the glutes (your largest muscles), quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. Your lower body workout can even include your core and back muscles, as the lower body assists to stabilize them. There is a vast array of workouts to choose from, each utilizing a distinct combination of these muscles.
Here’s what you should know
Key Advantages of Lower Body Exercises
Lower-body workouts have many benefits, whether you’re adding them to your routine to benefit other types of workouts like cycling or running, to further define muscles in your lower body, or to feel stronger in everyday activities like climbing stairs and walking.
Importance of Daily Movement
Lower body strength training, such strength or resistance training, can help promote improved bone health and improve bone density while also lowering the chance of injury and osteoporosis development. A new study discovered that 15 to 20 minutes of strength exercise three times a week can considerably improve bone density. In addition to bone health, increasing muscle around weak joints and conditioning muscles can improve functional strength and help prevent injuries and strains.
Cardiovascular Health Benefits:
While lower-body activities may not appear to provide direct heart health advantages, strength training has been shown to improve several facets of cardiovascular health. Strength training helps lower blood pressure and build leaner muscle mass over time, increasing circulation by strengthening the heart and blood vessels, lowering the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Furthermore, studies have shown that consistent strength training might help reduce levels of “heart fat,” which is connected to cardiovascular disease.
Reduces your risk of injury
Lower body strength training improves your core stability, range of motion, and mobility. It strengthens the muscles surrounding major joints such as the hips and knees, thereby protecting against strains and sprains. Strengthening your glutes, hamstrings, and core also aids with posture alignment by eliminating muscle imbalances that can lead to postural difficulties and pain.
Increases your resting metabolic rate
Lower body strength training increases muscular mass over time. Muscle mass requires more energy for maintenance, increasing your resting metabolism. This implies you burn more calories even when you aren’t exercising.
How Often Should I Exercise My Lower Body?
Lower body exercise frequency is determined by your fitness level and goals. “If you’re new to strength training or want to maintain your strength, once a week is enough. Just be sure you target all of your leg’s major muscle groups: quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves,” says Austin Cagley, Peloton’s Global Instructor Development Lead. “As you become more comfortable in the weight room and look to add strength or muscle, you can up the frequency to two to three days a week.”
You can choose routines that focus primarily on the lower body (known as “leg days”) on rotation with upper body strength training on other days, or you can incorporate as part of a full body strength training workout.
“I find people like to do two legs days, with an emphasis on quads during the first one (along with accessory exercises that hit hamstrings, adductors/abductors, and glutes) and an emphasis on hamstrings during the second one (along with accessory exercises that hit quads, adductors/abductors, and glutes),” says Cagley. He goes on to say, “Just give yourself enough time to recover between leg days.”
If you prefer rotational strength training, Peloton coach Ben Alldis has plenty of tips for developing a well-rounded strength training program that allows you to focus on various muscle areas each time.
Warm-Ups for Lower Body Strength Training
All strength training begins with an appropriate and complete warm-up. To get the most out of your lower body strength training, adapt your warm-up to target the lower body muscles.
Warming up your muscles, joints, and connective tissues slowly increases your blood flow and heart rate, ensuring that your muscles receive more oxygen. By gradually boosting your body temperature, your muscles warm up and become more elastic. Warm muscles also contract more freely, providing greater mobility during your workout and lowering the chance of strains or injury.
One strategy to warm-up activities for lower body strength training is to select ones that will compliment what you’ll be doing during your workout. This may be bodyweight squats for any workout that works your glutes, quadriceps, or hip flexors, or a lunge with a hip opener for any hinging exercises like a good morning or deadlift.
However, any lower-body warm-up is preferable to none, so make sure to include at least 5 to 10 minutes of warm-up exercises.
Here are some lower-body strength training warm-ups to get you started:
1. Running in place or jumping jacks.
Both will raise your heart rate while increasing the speed with which your lower body moves.
1. To do jumping jacks, stand with your feet together and arms by your sides.
2. Jump up, kicking your legs out and extending your arms above your head.
3. Return to the starting location. Repeat.
Muscles worked include glutes, hip flexors, quadriceps, calves, hamstrings, abs, and shoulders.
2. Lunge with Hip Opener.
This is not your typical lunge, but it provides an excellent warm-up if your program involves lunges.
1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Bend your front knee to 90 degrees and step forward with one foot.
3. Lower your back knee down toward the ground, keeping your weight on your front foot.
4. Gently extend your front knee while maintaining your foot securely in place.
5. Switch sides. Repeat.
Muscles worked include glutes, hip flexors, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and core.
3. Forward or Lateral Leg Swings.
Both of these swings will activate your hips and glutes.
1. For balance, stand in a “T” position, meaning your feet together and arms at your sides as this will help with balance balance.
2. Support your weight on one leg and elevate the other off the floor.
3. Increase your range of motion by swinging your raised leg forth and backward.
4. Swing your lifted leg side to side, in front of your opposite leg, to increase your range of motion.
5. Repeat for at least three sets on each leg.
Muscles worked include glutes, hip flexors, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and core.
4. High knees.
This will raise your heart rate, depending on how quickly you pace it.
1. Start with your feet hip-width apart.
2. For high knees, lift one knee as high as possible while raising the opposite arm.
3. Quickly switch to the opposite foot and arm. Repeat.
4. Increase the speed as desired.
Muscles worked include glutes, hip flexors, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and core.
5. Butt Kicks.
Butt kicks are an excellent technique to warm up your glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings.
1. Start with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Bring one heel up to your buttocks, then place your foot down.
3. Switch feet and repeat.
4. Increase speed as you go.
Muscles worked include glutes, hip flexors, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and core.
The Most Effective Lower Body Strength Training Exercises
Once you’ve completed your warm-up, you can begin your lower body strength training program. Here are some of the most effective lower body workouts you can use to start making significant progress in your fitness journey.
1. Squats
1. Stand with feet shoulder to hip-width apart with a small bend in ankles, knees, and hip.
2. Keep knees above your second and third toes at 11 and 1, and avoid collapsing inwards.
3. Sit back with your hips parallel to the floor, engaging your core and maintaining an erect chest.
4. Return to the starting position and activate your glutes at the top of the action.
Weights can be used to make this motion more difficult.
Muscles worked include glutes, hip flexors, quadriceps, calves, hamstrings, and abs.
2. Proper form during deadlifts protects the entire back
1. Stand with feet shoulder to hip width apart.
2. Maintain a neutral spine position by hinging at the hips.
3. Lower your torso to the floor, keeping your back flat.
4. To return to standing, engage your glutes and hamstrings while keeping your spine neutral.
The action is created from the hip hinge, but avoid locking out your knees.
Muscles engaged include glutes, hamstrings, core, back, and traps.
3. Lunges: Use the form below when performing forward or reverse lunges
1. Stand with your feet shoulder to hip width apart and toes facing forward.
2. Take one step forward and lower your weight to the floor, ensuring your front and rear legs form a 90-degree angle.
3. Maintain a hovering position with your back knee, avoiding contact with the floor.
4. This movement can be done with or without weights.
Muscles exercised include glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves.
4. Bulgarian split squats
This requires some balance and coordination, so spend some time getting your footing comfortable and stable.
1. Stand in front of a chair or bench, feet hip-width apart, with a straight back and shoulders.
2. Begin by placing one foot on the chair or bench behind you. To maintain balance, keep it hip width apart.
3. Maintain a straight line of vision, bend your front knee, and balance on the front leg.
4. Hinge slightly forward at the hips, keeping your front knee in line with your toes and not going inward or outward.
5. Lower until your front quad is parallel to the ground, then stay there for a beat.
6. Raise your front leg to stand, then lower your back leg. Switch legs and repeat.
Muscles worked include glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, and abs.
5. Glute bridges
This technique can be performed without weights or with dumbbells over your hips for added resistance.
1. Lie down on the floor, feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent at a 90-degree angle.
2. To lift your hips, engage your glutes and push your heels into the floor while maintaining a neutral spine and neck.
3. Maintain a straight line from knees to shoulders and avoid arching your back.
4. Pause at the top and slowly lower your hips to start position. Repeat.
Muscles worked include glutes, hamstrings, quads, and adductors.
6. Good morning!
Depending on your strength training goals, you can add weights or merely focus on the exercise. Begin with no weights and gradually add them.
1. Start standing with feet hip-width apart.
2. Place dumbbells on your shoulders or hold one at chest height.
3. Bend knees slightly, lean forward at the hips, which will bring your upper body parallel to the ground.
4. Maintain a straight back and use your core muscles.
5. Gradually return to start. Repeat.
Muscles exercised include hamstrings, glutes, and abdominal.
7. Boxing Step-Ups
Box step-ups, which combine the benefits of a lunge with a squat, are a tough activity to include into your training. This exercise can be performed with or without dumbbells. You can also proceed by increasing the step height.
1. Place one foot on top of a stable box or raised platform, and the other on the ground.
2. Move the weight of your body forward toward the foot on the box.
3. Insert your weight into your box foot and pull up, bringing your other foot onto the box.
4. Return to the floor with one foot, then join with the other. Repeat.
5. Alternate leading leg or perform repetitions on one side followed by the other.
6. Vary your stepping technique to target certain muscles, add weights, and increase your heart rate.
Muscles worked include glutes, quads, hamstrings, adductors and abductors, calves, and core.
As with any new exercise program, begin slowly, incorporating a few lower body strength training exercises and warm-ups into your sessions and gradually increasing the intensity. Don’t forget to alternate it with upper body strength training, or perform a full body strength training program to get all of the muscles functioning together.
Closing Thoughts for One Motion Forward:
Incorporating these lower body strength exercises into your fitness program will significantly improve your overall health and well-being. Not only will your strength and endurance improve, but you will also feel more stable and balanced in your regular activities. Whether you want to excel in your sport, improve your fitness, or simply move more freely and confidently, strengthening your lower body is essential. So let’s get ready to feel the heat – your stronger, healthier lower body is waiting!
Step into Your Stride: Accept the Journey with One Motion Forward!