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Exercising your legs is very often
overlooked by even the most avid weight lifters and exercisers. Many
people simply cannot and should not perform some of the more basic leg
exercises like squats and lunges due to knee and lower back injuries.
But, that does not mean you have to neglect the pillars of our bodies'
foundation. Doing leg workouts not only make your legs stronger and
able to support your body better, but you will actually burn more
calories in your workouts by incorporating a leg routine.
Since your lower body has the
biggest muscles in your body, by exercising the thighs, hamstrings,
calves, lower back and glutes (rump), you can actually kick start your
metabolism and burn more calories with the following quick, but
challenging leg workouts. You will find that leg workouts also have a
cardiovascular element to them. Once again, this is because these
muscles require so much more blood, so the heart will beat more to
supply new blood to the lower body.
The exercises:
Squats - Keep
your feet shoulder width apart. Drop your butt back as though sitting
in a chair. Concentrate on squeezing your glutes in your upward motion.
Keep your heels solid on the ground. Grab some dumbbells to make it
more challenging and only do a half squat to place less strain on your
knees. Alternate exercise for squats is the leg extension machine.
Lunge - The lunge is a
great leg exercise to develop muscle endurance and flexibility. Keep
your chest up straight and your stomach tight. Take a long step forward
and drop your back knee toward the ground but keep the front shin
vertical - do not over extend. Want to make it more of a challenge?
Grab some dumbbells. Or make it easier on your knees by only going down
half way. Alternate exercise for lunges is the leg curl
machine.
Single
Leg Calf Raise - Hook one foot behind the other and raise
up on your toes. Make certain you use a full range of motion. It won't
take long to make this burn.
The workout:
Warmup by jumping jacks and squats
mixed:
Jumping Jacks - 10 / Squats - 10 (repeat 5-10 times)
Stretch
Workout #1:
Repeat the following three times: (in circuit order with no rest)
squats- 20 reps
lunges 10/leg reps (regular, 1/2)
bike or jog - 5:00
Workout
#2:
Mix jogging or biking with leg exercises with this time saving workout:
Jog 1/4 mile or bike 2:00-3:00 / stretch
Repeat the following four times:
Feel free to email me if you have any questions at stew@stewsmith.com
TRX Workouts - This is a great device to use if you are failing at pushups and pullups. The TRX rows will help you build your chest, shoulders, triceps and bicep / back muscles like a set of weights, but also work the core at the same time.
Tactical
Fitness / Tactical Strength / Tactical Mobility
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Published Books Available in Stores
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The
Navy SEAL Weight Training Workout
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Complete Guide to Navy SEAL Fitness
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Maximum
Fitness
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The
Special Operations Workout
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The
SWAT Workout - From Recruit to SWAT
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