Shapely legs and butt are every woman’s dream. But with so many tasty dishes around and so little exercises that women get, no wonder that it is a losing battle against fat buildup most of the time. Legs are not spared by the onslaught of fat- thighs & hips bearing the brunt of the attack. And slowly, the hips start getting heavier, and the thighs become ‘thunder thighs’ as my wife calls them. The dreams of wearing skirts, shorts or bikinis are thrown out completely. Not only that, the high heels don’t give a great shape to the legs anymore as they used to. And oh, how many women become ashamed to undress in front of their husbands or boyfriends because of their body? Always switching off the lights?
Next come the diet plans which are made and broken every month. The food in the plate at home becomes less but the junk food in numerous outings doesn’t. Chocolates are irresistible, and so are pizzas and pastas.
A diet plan may be able to control fat buildup in your body, it will not bring your legs into shape. Sooner or later either you will have to resign to the fact you would remain ungainly for life or you will have to work out. Choice is yours. Of course you don’t have time or you are busy or you don’t have someone to go along with you… but, as I said the choice is yours. Start exercising before you realize that you are out of breath while climbing stairs, or that your partner is looking at the legs of the young lass passing by. If your partner is fond of staring at legs, he better be staring at your legs right? Those heavy and out-of-shape legs you mean?
Well, I believe you got the point. I think you can do a lot of exercises at home if you do not want to go to the gym. In this post, I shall try to cover great exercises for legs- butts, thighs, and calves- which you can do at home. So let’s start.
1. Skipping
Well, if you are looking for leg exercises and you do not want to go to a gym, nothing can beat skipping the rope. Here is what I found on Wikipedia about skipping- Jumping rope is an activity not only suited for competition or recreation, but also for a cardiovascular workout, similar to jogging or bicycle riding. This aerobic exercise can achieve a “burn rate” of up to 700 calories per hour of vigorous activity, with about 0.1 calories consumed per jump. Ten minutes of jumping rope is roughly the equivalent of running an eight-minute mile. Jumping rope for 15–20 minutes is enough to burn off the calories from a candy bar.
Jumping rope can avoid the knee damage which may occur during running, since the impact of each jump or step is absorbed by both legs. Jumping rope also helps strengthen the arms and shoulders. This combination of an aerobic workout and coordination-building footwork has made jumping rope a popular form of exercise for athletes, especially boxers and wrestlers. Individuals or groups can participate in the exercise, and learning proper jump rope technique is relatively simple compared to many other athletic activities. The exercise is also appropriate for a wide range of ages and fitness levels. Jumping rope is particularly effective in an aerobic routine combined with other activities, such as walking, biking, or running.
2. Squats
If you want to target thighs, hips and calves all at the same time, nothing can beat the squats. The squat is an exercise that trains primarily the muscles of the thighs, hips and buttocks, hamstrings, as well as strengthening the bones, ligaments and insertion of the tendons throughout the lower body. They also strengthen the muscles in your stomach and build strength in your lower back. Great exercise, right? We shall cover two variants of quats here- the regular squats and the inner thighs squats/ plies squats.
Regular Squats- Stand straight with shoulder-width distance between your feet, back straight and stomach sucked in. Keep your back as straight as possible and slowly start to lower your torso, as you bend your knees, until you are almost in a sitting position. Ensure your knees do not go beyond your ankles at any time. Come back to the starting position and repeat the exercise. Gradually increase the reps (start with 15 resps initially and increase it to 25).
Inner Thighs Squat/ Plie Exercise:To do inner thigh squats, place your feet a little wider than shoulder width. Duck-toe your feet, i.e. turn the toes outside, so that the toes are in the opposite direction. Keeping your back straight, and slowly lower your torso till both your thighs are parallel to the floor. Now the knees will also be pointing in opposite directions. Slowly come back to the starting position to repeat the exercise. Increase the reps slowly.
3. Lunges
The third best among the leg exercises that we are going to cover. The lunge is a weight training exercise that is used to strengthen the quadriceps muscles, gluteal muscles and the muscles comprising the “hamstrings”, the semitendinosus, the semimembranosus, and the biceps femoris. A long lunge emphasizes the glutes whereas a short lunge emphasizes the quadriceps.
To perform the lunge, the individual stands with their feet shoulder-width apart, and then steps forward, landing with the heel first. The knee should be at 90 degrees and directly above the toes, not further (taking a shorter step can put added pressure on the knee). The motion is continued until the back knee is nearly touching the ground. The individual then returns to his or her starting position by driving upward with the front leg. (wikipedia)
4. Step Up Exercises
One of the best exercises to shape up your butt is the step up exercise. Nothing much to it, simply place one of your feet onto a raised platform and then without any other help from your body or hands, push with your other heel and use the power of your legs and butt to propel your whole body up to stand on the platform.
5. Hip Extensions
As the name suggests, the hip extension exercise tones your hips and lower back. It tightens your glutes and hamstrings and improves the muscle tone in your backside.
Well, that is all. Don’t give anymore excuses to yourself. All you need to invest for these exercises is to buy a skipping rope and some gym clothes. It’s a worthwhile investment to make. So while you are going for makeup shopping, include these in your lists too.
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