Training the leg muscles is unfortunately often neglected. But this is also part of a fit and healthy body. Some exercises are presented below.
Exercises without a device
A classic among the training exercises for the leg muscles is the leg press. This exercise is a great alternative to the squat and is especially good for beginners. Depending on the device, the exercise is performed sitting or lying down and the shoulders are brought under the rollers. From the starting position, stretch your legs and push yourself off the base plate. You exhale and make sure that your legs are not fully stretched and that they remain slightly bent. Then the weight is slowly lowered without putting it down completely. This exercise mainly trains the front thigh muscles. Glutes, adductors, and hamstrings are also involved.
Another exercise is doing lunges with the barbell. The barbell is placed on the neck muscles and grasped with the hands. The leg to be trained is placed offset with a large lunge. The upper body is lowered by bending the front leg until the knee of the extended leg almost touches the floor. Now the leg is stretched again (not stretched) and returned to the starting position. A good sense of balance is required when performing with a barbell. Your back and core should remain straight throughout your lunges. The muscles used are the four-headed thigh muscle and the gluteal muscle. Variations can be incorporated through the step size. With a large step width, the glutes and hamstrings and with a smaller step width the four-headed thigh muscles are particularly stressed.
Seated leg curls, or seated leg curls, is an exercise that is performed lying down on a specific bench. The athlete is prone on a lying surface, the legs are clamped behind two rollers. For the arms there are usually two handles attached to the bench, which offer a good fixation option. From this starting position, bend your knees so that your heels are as close as possible to your buttocks. Then the legs are brought back to the starting position. The muscles used here are the calf muscles and, for the most part, all parts of the back of the leg. The exercise can be varied by the position of the feet, so that different accents are created. Tightened feet shift the strain more to the twin calf muscle and stretched feet more to the hamstrings.
Exercises with the device
Machine abduction: This sitting exercise trains the gluteus maximus (the large gluteal muscle). The athlete sits on the machine and has his legs with his shins in front of the pads. Now the legs are pushed outwards as far as possible and then brought together again without putting the weight down. This exercise strengthens the upper part of the hips and thereby stabilizes the legs.
The training of the adductors also takes place on the machine and works in reverse to the abduction in the machine. Sitting again, the legs are now spread wide and placed behind the cushions. Now the thighs are brought together against the resistance and then brought back into the starting position in a controlled manner. The weight is not stored here either. The stressed muscles, the adductors, are located on the inside of the thighs and are the primary muscle stress in this exercise.
Another popular exercise is leg extension. The starting position is sitting on the corresponding training device and the feet are positioned under the upholstery rolls. The hands grasp the handles or the seat to hold the thigh in place. Now the legs are fully stretched until they are horizontal (exhale). Then the legs are bent again and returned to the starting position. The weight is only stored when all repetitions have been performed. The muscles used in this exercise are the leg extensors or the front and rear thigh muscles. The more the backrest is tilted backwards, the more the pelvis is tilted backwards. This leads to the thigh muscle being stretched more and thus more stressed.
Other leg exercises on the machine or in the gym are the calf raises, sitting or lying, the deadlift and the squat.
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Leg muscle training without knee strain
The knee joint is a very important joint for the legs, through which many movements of the human body are possible. In the vast majority of leg exercises, the knee is more or less stressed. Leg exercises that can be done without knee strain are not that easy to find.
One leg exercise that does not cause any problems for the knee is the side leg raise. The starting position is lying on your side on a fitness or yoga mat. The leg on top is now spread up and slowly brought down again against gravity. Since the legs are straight, the knee does not experience any stress here.
Another exercise is the pelvic lift. The starting position is lying on your back, with your arms on the floor at your sides. The feet are up and now the pelvis and lower back are lifted off the floor and moved upwards until a bridge is created from the shoulders to the knees. Since there is a maximum joint angle of 9 °, the load on the knee is very low.
Climbing stairs is also a good leg workout. However, you should make sure that the angle in the knee joint is not smaller than 90 °. The levels should therefore be normal, and the athlete should only take one level at a time.
Leg muscle training at home
To the Leg muscles to work out it is not necessary to go to the gym. Many exercises allow a varied workout entirely without tools or equipment.
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The Wall seating is a simple exercise that works well for beginners. The upper body is upright with the back against a wall. The thighs are horizontal so that the hip joint and Knee joint each has a 90 ° angle. The execution is quite simple. This position should be held for a certain period of time (30 - 60 seconds). The arms should rest on the sides of the upper body and not be supported on the thighs.
An exercise for them Muscles of the anterior tibia is this Bend toe in stand. To do this, go to the starting position, standing against a wall. You can support yourself on the wall with your palms. The Feet are placed about ten centimeters from the wall. To do this, the toes are alternately drawn in and then lowered again. The legs are trained alternately for 60 seconds in three sets.
Squat can also be carried out without weight. However, you can use a broomstick as an aid. The starting position is hip-width apart with the feet pointing slightly outwards and the arms slightly crossed in front of the chest. Now the legs are alternately bent and stretched without the upper body moving from its straight position. The Upper arms always stay on top at shoulder level. The soles of the feet, especially the heels, remain on the ground at all times. In addition, care should be taken to keep the knees behind the tips of the feet during flexion. The straight attitude of the Spine is extremely important, so you can put something under your heels.
Good exercise for that rear calf muscles is performed standing up and is a good one Beginner exercise. All you need is a wall as a support. The Starting position is the one-legged stand in front of a wall. You can support yourself on this wall in case you lose your balance easily. The other leg is bent. Now the heel is raised so that only the tip of the foot is still in contact with the ground. After a short break, the heel is lowered again. Do 25 repetitions twice per side. To vary the amplitude, the exercise can also be performed on a step so that you can go further down when lowering your heel.
