Leg muscles play a crucial role in supporting every step and movement of the body. Not only do they provide the strength to walk, run and jump, but they also ensure the body’s stability and balance.
In addition, the leg muscles are also one of the most important parts in supporting the body, because in the body’s movement system the legs are one of the muscle elements that move in carrying out activities.
By strengthening and training the leg muscles can maintain a healthy body, especially in movements such as walking and running. The main types of leg muscles refer to the lower body parts of the thighs, calves, and feet.
Benefits of the Importance of Exercising Leg Muscles
In addition to maintaining leg function and strength, there are many benefits obtained by exercising leg muscles regularly, including the following:
Maintain stability and posture
Strong leg muscles help maintain body balance, especially when performing various daily activities, such as standing and walking.
Improves sports performance
For someone who is active in certain sports, leg muscle endurance plays an important role because it is the foundation and strength to run, jump, or perform other leg movements optimally.
Reduces the risk of injury
Exercising leg muscles can help reduce the risk of injury, especially to the knees and ankles. With strong muscles, the body is better able to withstand the stress of physical activity and reduce the load on major joints.
Improves blood circulation
Movements or exercises that involve the leg muscles can improve blood flow, maintain heart health, and play a role in helping to increase energy.
Exercise Moves to Train Leg Muscles
Here are some exercise moves you can do to improve leg muscle strength:
1. Lunges
Lunges are a great exercise to strengthen your leg muscles. This movement uses both legs simultaneously to hold the weight of the body. In addition, lunges can also tighten the buttocks and shrink the thighs.
To get the benefits of lunges to strengthen your leg muscles, you can do the following steps:
Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Step one leg forwards while lowering your body until your knees form a 90-degree angle.
Hold this position for a few seconds.
Stand straight again and repeat the movement on the other leg.
Repeat 10 times for each leg.
You can also do lunges while holding a weight, such as a dumbbell or barbell. If you are just starting to use weights, you can start with 6-8 lunges for each leg. However, you should avoid this move if you are experiencing knee pain.
2. Squats
Similar to lunges, squats are also beneficial for strengthening the lower muscles, starting from the buttocks, thighs, and calves. This exercise is also suitable for beginners because it is easy to do. Here is how to do squats correctly:
Stand up straight by spreading your feet shoulder-width apart, then extend your arms forward.
Bend your legs and push your buttocks back simultaneously, as if you are about to sit down.
Make sure your back and shoulders remain straight, then hold this position for a few minutes.
Stand up straight again and repeat the movement at least 10 times.
To keep your body balance, you can also do this movement with the help of a wall, by leaning your back against the wall. This position is also called a wall squat. You can also do squat jumps as a variation of leg muscle training.
3. Deadlift
Deadlift is also one of the exercises that can be used to strengthen leg and foot muscles. Not only that, this one movement can also tighten the buttocks. The method is as follows:
Stand up straight and spread your feet shoulder-width apart.
Bend your body slowly, as if you are about to sit down.
After feeling the hamstrings begin to stretch, hold the position for a few minutes.
Stand up straight again and repeat the movement several times.
If you are familiar with the above movements, try to increase the weight while lifting a dumbbell or barbell with the lowest weight first.
4. Side leg raises
This one movement is useful for strengthening the lower body muscles, such as the hips and legs, so that the body becomes more stable when standing. Here’s how to get the benefits of side leg raises to tone your leg muscles:
Stand up straight and spread your feet shoulder-width apart.
Place your hands on your waist.
Lift your left leg to the side, inhale and transfer your weight to your right leg.
Exhale and slowly lower the leg.
Repeat the movement for 10-12 times, then do this movement on the other leg.
5. Calf raises
Calf raises are easy and have little risk of causing injury. This exercise is beneficial for strengthening the legs and calves. By doing so, you will have better body balance and thus lower the risk of ankle injury. Here’s how to do calf raises:
Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing straight ahead.
Slowly lift your heels and lower them back down.
Repeat this movement 10-15 times.
6. Side plank
Side plank is beneficial for strengthening muscles in all parts of the body, including the leg muscles. It can also improve posture and increase flexibility. To do a side plank, follow the steps below:
Lie on your right side with your legs straight and stacked on top of each other.
Place your right elbow under your right shoulder, then bend your elbow to form a 90° angle.
Slowly raise the hips until they are in a straight line with the shoulders.
Hold this position for a few moments, such as 15-60 seconds, then slowly lower the waist.
Repeat the movement several times and perform the movement on the other side of the body.
In addition to doing some leg muscle exercises with the various movements above, you can also jump rope, cycling, and walking regularly to make your leg muscles stronger.
7. Do cardio exercise
In addition to certain movements, you can also benefit from cardio exercises that can help strengthen and shape your leg and calf muscles. Some cardio exercises that you can do include the following.
Running, walking and mountain climbing are excellent calf muscle enlargement exercises, especially when you go uphill. The steeper the climb, the more your calves work.
The sports of football, basketball or tennis, require activities including running, jumping and pushing your calf muscles to accelerate or change direction quickly. So, these activities are great for toning calves.
Step classes and other types of dance will make your calves work every time you step up and down or bend and push your knees from a high position to a low position.
Swimming makes your calf muscles and other leg muscles work. It’s a good exercise for those who avoid running or jumping. Swimming is a low-impact sport that is a safe way to rebuild your leg and calf muscles after recovering from an injury.
Jumping rope builds calf muscles while providing a cardiovascular workout. Quoted from Men’s Health, the repetitive pressure of jumping can strengthen calf muscles. Start jumping rope for 1-3 minutes.
Conclusion
Some of the movements to train leg muscles include squats, lunges, step-ups, leg presses, bridges, and calf raises.
These exercises can be done by optimising the function of your thigh, calf, and core muscles to strengthen your balance.
Also, make sure you live a healthy lifestyle and manage your diet to keep your health in check.
One more thing you can do to make your training programme more effective is to use supplements.
CrazyBulk as a leading bodybuilding supplement manufacturer offers a wide selection of supplements to suit your training programme.
Many people have already benefited from them, now it’s your turn.
