Exercises to Strengthen Your Leg Muscles

Strengthening your leg muscles not only can enhance your appearance, but it will make it easier to enjoy some of your favorite activities like hiking or running, not to mention boosting metabolism to burn calories. If you’re stressed trying to figure out how to buy a home, working out can also be a great way to relieve it.

Whatever your reason for wanting stronger leg muscles, these exercises are sure to do the trick.

Squats

When you think of squats you probably envision the basic squat which strengthens quads, hamstrings, glutes and core, but there are other options too. A sumo squat focuses on your inner and outer thighs. You can also try split and jump squats with offers an especially intense workout that can really boost leg strength quickly. If you hold weights, you can increase the difficulty of each exercise even more. Slowly increase your repetitions each week to continue improvement.

Lunges

Similar to squats, there are many types of lunges that can work various areas of your legs. Try forward and backward lunges, side lunges, and jack-knife lunges. These are fantastic exercises that work every muscle in your legs – and, if you hold dumbbells, you’ll also be working your arms, shoulders and core at the same time for a full-body exercise.

Walking and Running

Walking is highly recommended for all body types and strengths, something that nearly everyone can do anywhere. Running is also a great cardiovascular exercise for those with strong joints, while boosting leg strength at the same time. Even if you are already a runner, practice will increase strength as well as endurance and stamina. Researchers have found that by running a maximum of 20 miles per week, it can increase longevity too.

If you walk or run in a hilly area, any elevation change will give you a better cardiovascular workout and boost to leg strength as compared to traversing a flat route.

Swimming

Swimming is one of the best exercises there is. It’s a great alternative when you have an injury, if you’re out of shape, elderly or pregnant too. It works nearly every muscle in the body while keeping your heart rate up to improve cardiovascular fitness. When it comes to leg strengthening, it works the quads, calf muscles, hamstrings, shin and foot muscles.

Plyometrics

Plyometrics are not as well-known as the exercises mentioned above – and, they aren’t for the novice exerciser. But if you’re already fit and looking to take your fitness to a whole new level, particularly improving leg strength, this workout may be ideal. Also known as jump training, plyos are exercises in which you exert the most energy possible in a short amount of time to increase power and strength. Common routines include jump squats, jump lunges, skater (side to side) jumps, skipping, hopping and jump roping.