Most gym goers don’t train their legs, which is especially common in commercial gyms. They tend to give different excuses ranging from them being too busy with other major muscle groups in the upper body or because some of these lower body exercises hurt their knees. They however do not know what they lose from not training their legs. Even, if you want to improve the upper body, there are many ways to that just by training the lower body muscles. When you train your legs, it will increase your strength on upper body lifts and help in the development of upper body muscles. Also, exercises like squats and dead-lifts have been shown to release Growth Hormone and Testosterone more than any other exercise. Below are some exercises to help to strengthen your lower body.
1. Plie squat
Stand with your feet a little bit wider than shoulder width apart, with your arms by your sides and your toes pointed out at a 45 degree angle. Keep your back upright, knees over toes and your weight in the heels of your feet. Now, lower down into a deep squat, as you engage your glutes and thighs, keep lowering down until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Raise your arms above your head as you lower down, push back up to the starting position, then Repeat. This will help to improve your strength and mobility.
2. Plank leg lift
Get into the plank position on the floor, with your hands rooted to the floor beneath your shoulders and your butt down. Contract your abs by sucking in your belly button to your spine and then squeeze your left glute to slowly lift a leg into the air a few inches. Keep your leg straight and maintain the position for about 3 to 5 seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat on the other leg. The plank pose is a full body workout and with this variation, you will be laying more emphasis on the leg muscles.
3. Dead-lift
Walk to a bar, with your mid-foot beneath the bar, while your shins doesn’t touch it yet. Grab the bar and narrow about shoulder width apart, then with your knees bent, keep going till your shins touch the bar. Now, lift your chest and keep your back upright, then pull, take a deep breath and maintain the pose for a while. Return to the starting position and repeat.
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