
Lift heels until on the balls of feet, lower to floor, repeat Place heels together and create a “V” shape Invert toes to create a triangular shape with feet Lift heels until on the balls of feet, lower to the floor, repeat Stand tall with feet hip-width apart and arms at your sides Targets the glutes, hamstrings, quads, calf, core, and back The exercises should feel difficult, but stop if there is pain. Proper form is more important than how many or how quickly these exercises are done. These leg exercises will only make your legs stronger. Since sitting has been coined as the “ new smoking,” let’s talk about the strength we can gain with those leg exercises you can do at home with no equipment.Īs you strengthen those strong, powerful legs, embrace the burn, shake, and fatigue. With modern advances with the nature of “work” these days, we sit a lot more than we used to. They are responsible for taking us on all kinds of adventures. Leg exercises you can do at home with no equipmentįrom walking to running and biking to skating, our legs are responsible for getting us around town. Soleus: Lower, back part of the leg that goes from the knee to heel Gastrocnemius: Back, lower portion of leg

The gastrocnemius is known as the calf muscle with the soleus, plantaris, and Achilles tendon (the one that gives us that bounce when we run) supporting it. The calf connects to the heel, flexing the foot, ankle, and knee. Semitendinosus: Middle portion of the thigh in the back Semimembranosus: Middle, side of the thigh in the back They help flex the knee and extend the hip.īiceps femoris: Lower inside part of the back of the thigh The three hamstring muscles (biceps femoris, semimembranosus, and semitendinosus) are at the back of the thigh. Vastus intermedius: Arise from the front of the femur and sits under the rectus femoris

Vastus medialis: Starts half way up the femur on the inner portion of the quad and connects back at the knee Vastus lateralis: Begins on the femur on the outside of the quad and inserts at the knee Rectus femoris: Starts at the hip and goes down the middle of the upper leg, connecting back at the knee These muscles help extend our legs straight. Quadricepsįour muscles (rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius) make up the quads, which are the strongest muscles in our body. These muscles contract and relax, helping to move our bones so that we can squat and lunge our hearts out while the smaller ones help stabilize those big ones. Time to talk anatomy! Most of the muscles in the leg are long, meaning they cover more surface area than short muscles. If your home space happens to be chaotic, squeeze some of our leg exercises in at the office, in the park, or grab some friends and get moving with those accountabilibuddies.

If you’re still having trouble motivating yourself to do them, decide whether you have the most energy and strength in the morning, afternoon or evening and schedule your workouts for that time of day to start. Further down, we’ll show you a number of leg exercises you can do at home with no equipment. Working out at home eliminates all of those neverending excuses that stand between us and a healthier, happier lifestyle.

Using our own body weight offers a plethora of modifications, making almost any exercise perfect for all levels!Īnother big perk is that bodyweight workouts challenge not just the target muscle group, but the entire core as well since it stabilizes your body. Think about it: When using weights or big machines, it’s easy to get caught up in how heavy things feel and lose proper form which, in turn, leads to injuries. No-equipment workouts help us get in tune with our current fitness level by allowing us to listen to our bodies and push just the right amount. Stop, drop and do a convenient (and effective!) bodyweight workout. No need to spend money on a crowded gym, precious time in the car or on a bus, or energy lugging around a stinky bag of clothes. The good news is, there are plenty of ways to do leg workouts at home. We know deep down that exercise will give us the energy and confidence we crave each day, but the mere thought of getting out of bed makes us want to throw health and fitness related goals out the window and start again tomorrow (or next month). Yesterday we told ourselves that we had to go to the gym because it’s leg day. We’ve all been there… waking up feeling unmotivated, tired, and downright grumpy.
