Leg muscle
Instructions
1. Go for a long walk. The best way to begin
building leg muscle is to walk briskly for more than 30 minutes every day. Keep
a quick, steady pace. Incorporate walking into your day--for example, try
walking around your neighborhood after dinner or early in the morning. Leave
the car at home if you need milk at the convenience store.
2. Start running or playing soccer. Both
long-distance running and soccer matches are great for building leg muscle. You
run anywhere between 6 and 13 miles during a soccer game, which is a great
workout for the legs. The same is true of running. Run for longer than 30
minutes for the best results.
3. Take a cycling or spin class. Stationary
bicycles will make you feel the burn in your legs. A vigorous hour-long routine
several times a week (preferably with an instructor) will work your quads,
calves and hamstrings. As an added bonus, cycling makes your gluts (butt
muscles) stronger, too.
4.
Find time to do standing calf raises. This
exercise can be done anywhere. Find a step or uneven surface, or use a stepping
block at the gym. Stand on the higher surface with just your tiptoes and balls
of your feet touching the bottom; the rest of your feet should be hanging off.
Use a wall for balance. Move the balls of your feet up and down in a steady
motion.
5.
Curl and extend. The leg curl machine and leg
extension machine at the gym are both necessary for building well-rounded leg
muscle. The curls work your calves, while the extensions are good for your
quads.
6.
Lunge. Lunges work every leg muscle when done
properly. This is a difficult exercise to do correctly, so ask for help at a
gym or search for proper visual demonstrations online. Always keep your knee at
a 90-degree angle in a lunge. There is a serious risk of knee injury if you
push your knee beyond your toes.
Phase 1
If you're a beginner or
haven't worked out in 6 months, do the moves shown as your lower-body workout
and use only your body weight for each exercise. If you already work your legs
weekly, incorporate these exercises into the beginning of your workout, but
keep the weight light -- 5- or 10-pound dumbbells, for instance. Do the workout
two or three times a week, with at least a day of rest between sessions.
Perform three sets of 10 to 14 repetitions of each move; for the stepups, that
means 10 to 14 for each leg.
Front Stepup
The step should be high enough that your thigh
is parallel to the floor when your foot is on the step. Place your left foot on
the step and push yourself up until your left leg is straight. Your right foot
doesn't need to rest on the step. Step back down, right foot first, followed by
your left.
Lateral Stepup
Use a step that's about 12 inches high. Follow
the same procedure as for the front stepup, but stand sideways next to the step
instead of facing it.
Ball Squat
Hold a medicine ball or a basketball between
your knees as you perform the exercise. Keep your upper body as straight as
possible and lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor, then
return to a standing position.
Belt Squat
Position a rubber belt, tube, or band just
above your knees and push out as you squat. Keep your body as upright as
possible throughout the movement, and lower yourself until your thighs are
parallel to the floor; then return to a standing position.
Read more at Men's Health: http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/build-powerful-leg-muscles#ixzz2BEgqDN31
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