Well! Physical activity undoubtedly improves your health and increases your immunity against diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.
The workout routine will have immediate as well as long-term health advantages. Above all, you are more likely to live longer with minimum health risks.
So, take out at least 30 minutes for yourself daily, and you will have a healthy life. Research has proved that people with a regular workout routine reduces depression.
You may opt for different exercises to focus on the specific muscle groups. Keep reading, and you will get to know how to build leg muscles?
HOW CAN I BUILD LEG MUSCLE FAST AT HOME?
Well! It would help if you focused on the level of exercise you have to go for. Yes, especially if you are a beginner, you may damage your muscles’ fibers with intense exercise. For that matter, you need to develop such a routine that allows rest days for your muscles.
Well, why is rest important? Yes, the rest helps damage the fibers in your damaged muscles. So, there is no question of missing your rest day.
As you develop a workout routine, you need to consider if you can manage to join a gym or not. Even if you cannot go to the gym, do not fret!
You can still build your muscles at home with the help of equipment like resistance bands etc. Here are some of the workouts you can easily do at home.
Goblet Squat:
You will hold your resistance at your chest to do a goblet squat. It will be a plus if you have your dumbbells, but if you do not have them, do not panic! Yes! You can do this with a jug full of detergent or a sand bag.
Procedure:
Hold the weight with your both hands, standing and keeping your feet hips apart. Make sure your thighs are exactly parallel to the floor, then bend your knees and extend your tail bone to sit back on an imaginary chair. Come to the standing position and this is your one repetition.
Walking lunge:
Here, you have two options. Either you do it with weights in your both hands or without weights. However, if you are doing with weights, always carry equal weights in both hands. The walking lunges with weights create more resistance though.
Procedure:
You should stand with the hip feet distance, with the arms hanging aside with your thighs. Now forward your right knee and simultaneously bend the left one so it can touch the floor. Step forward by rising up with the left leg for the next lunge. This completes your one repetition.
Step up:
Well, if you are lucky enough to have a stair case in your home, make good use of it. Yes, you do not need to have a stepper for the purpose.
All you have to do is to have a step that is 12 and 24 inches above the ground level, and there you go, ready to do this exercise. You may try the step up with or without weights in your hands.
Procedure:
Start by standing in front of the step and lift your right foot the step while your left foot is still on the floor. Now do the same alternative leg.
Repeat the 3 sets of 10 to 15 times for each leg. This is the beginners’ level. There are many variations for the advanced and intermediate levels.
HOW TO BUILD CALF MUSCLE?
To do the proper exercise and focus on the right muscle group, you need to know the anatomy. Yes! The gastrocnemius muscle is the one that gives your calf muscle a round shape.
Underneath this muscle is a longer muscle which is called soleus muscle. Now we will proceed to the exercises for the particular muscle strengthening.
Double leg calf raise:
Calf raise is one of the best exercises for strengthening your leg muscles. For balancing, stand by a wall and place the feet hip distance apart. Always try to make your knees and butts in a vertical direction as it will provide support to your joints.
How to do it?
You will start in a standing position. All you have to do is to shift your weight on the front side of your feet. Yes, stand on the front part of your feet and then come back to the standing position. You can also do it with weights in your hands.
Single leg calf raise:
Same like double leg calf raise you may try to go for an advanced level by standing on one leg. Near a wall stand on one leg by bending the other leg behind you.
How to do it?
By raising the body upward press the front side of your foot upward. Avoid shifting the body to the front or backward, keeping the abdominal muscles tight.
Seated calf raise:
If you are doing this exercise at your home or in the gym you can do this exercise on machine too.
How to do it?
Sit on the hard chair, keep the knees above your feet. Do not let your feet turn in or out. Then go forward, place the hands on your thighs and push the knees down to add resistance.
Press down the front side s of your feet and raise your feet’ heels as possible you can. Then lower your heels and repeat.
HOW TO BUILD THIGH MUSCLES?
If you have strong thigh muscles, you are likely to lose more calories during a workout routine.
Once a physiologist said, “When you have more muscle mass, your resting muscles can burn more calories.” Following are the exercises to build your thigh muscles.
Squats:
Squats are the most well-known exercise to build thigh muscles and quadriceps. But it would be best if you were careful while doing squats to avoid injury. The simplest form of squat starts from a standing position.
You will have your feet at hips distance apart and sit down on an imaginary chair, extending your tail bone and squeezing your glutes.
However, the advanced squat involves holding of a dumbbell behind the neck on your shoulder and lowering your body in the same way as a simple squat. Never go too much down, it can exert more strain on the knees.
Squats without weights:
You can do it without weights too by standing against the wall. Lower yourself by bending your legs and stand up again.
Squats with machine:
This is a safe method to do squats with the machine. You only need to rest your feet on the platform connected to the weights.
You will lift the weight only when you push against the platform. Do not extend your knees, it can cause injury. Repeat this procedure until your legs feel tired.
Leg lunge:
It is an effective exercise to build thigh muscles. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, your palms should face your body.
Now take a step forward and bend both knees at 90 degrees. Yes! It means your forward, as well as the back leg, will be bent. Now come back to the standing position. Repeat it with the other leg too.
HOW TO BUILD LEG MUSCLES WITH BAD KNEES?
Sometimes it happens that our knees have intermittent pain and don’t feel 100 percent. Don’t worry, here I have got some simple exercises to minimize the knee pains to not miss out on your leg workouts.
Rear foot elevated split squat:
It is also known as Bulgarian squats. They can be easily adjusted so that your knees feel comfortable and strengthen your muscles around the knee joints.
Start with your front foot; place the back foot on a bench or roller. Now you will lower your body as a regular squat.
Here, your back leg will automatically make a V-shape as your back knee will touch the floor. Now lift your body, and it completes your one repetition.
Single leg Romanian Deadlift:
RDLs are the best tools for stabilizing the knees and do not result in discomfort. You will start in a standing position, lift your left leg backward such that your spine and your left leg are in a straight line. Yes, they will be parallel to the floor.
At the same time, you will extend both your hands down as if to touch your feet. Now bring back your left down, straighten your upper body and touch your left knee to your chest. Here you have done one repetition for one leg. Repeat the same procedure with the other leg.
HOW TO BUILD LEG MUSCLE FEMALE?
This is commonly said that women look bulky if they build lower body muscles. However, it is a misconception. Yes!
The fact is that if women have well-built lean muscles of legs, they will look smarter, sexier and taller. So, here are some of the most effective exercises to build your leg muscles.
Hip raise:
It is easy to do and modify to more or less challenge, firming your butt like nothing else. You should start without weight until you are used to do it.
How to do it?
You will lie down on the floor on your back, bend your knees and lift your hips up the ground level. Yes! This will make it look like an inverted V-shape. You will be having your body weight balanced on your shoulders and heels.
Now come back to the lying position but do not rest on the floor, keep repeating the process. You may, however try to hold the position of your raised hip.
Deadlifts:
The exercises related to Deadlifts are considered to be very effective exercises for building leg muscles. Without picking weights you can practice the basic movements by mastering a good technique so you don’t need to hurt your back while doing it.
How to do it?
With the hip distance apart, stand on your feet. Whatever you use the weights, kettlebells or barbells should be in front of your shins.
Now slightly bend your knees, lower your torso down and hinge at the hips. Reach down and hold the weight such that your back is parallel to the ground.
Now go back to a standing position, extending your hips and contracting your glute muscles at the top.
CONCLUSION:
So we concluded that to build leg muscles and thighs, exercise 2 to 3 times a week for 30 minutes at a time, with at least 1 day of rest between workouts will be the best strategy.
When you exercise, focus on weight training, and do deadlifts, squats, and calf raises to build your leg muscles and thighs. When you are outside the gym, eat healthy, high-calorie meals to fuel your workouts very regularly.
