Quick Workouts: Great Leg Workouts

What’s better than great leg workouts? Only the feeling of knowing how great your legs look! I love how these exercises work my leg muscles and it doesn’t take too much out of the day. Great leg workouts are awesome if you can fit in 2 per week - the one below is pretty short but intense, try it out for yourself!

Chair Squat (10) - You can do this one in a workout, or anytime before you sit in a chair for great leg workouts throughout the day. Stand with feet shoulder width apart in front of a chair. Engage leg and core muscles and start to sit down with chest up, but stop two inches before the chair and hold for 10 seconds and stand back up.

Chair Leg Lifts (10) - Great leg workouts don’t require more than a chair for some of the moves! For this move, stand facing the chair and put your right leg on the chair. Both legs should be straight and all the weight should be on your left leg. Lift right leg up above the height of the chair back and hold for 10 seconds, then lower back down. Repeat with other leg.

Squat Jumps (50) - Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Keep chest up and squeeze core while squatting ⅔ of the way to the floor, hold for 1 second. Then stand all the way up and jump as high you can. When you land, go straight into the next squat - try to push through your toes to get the full extension as you jump in this move. The key to great leg workouts is to push it!

Lunge to Kick (20) - Step into a deep lunge, make sure your front knee is not over your ankle in the lunge. As you stand up, swing your back leg forward into a kick and then step forward into the other leg lunge. For an added challenge, you can add ankle weights and hold your leg in the kick position for 5 seconds each time.

Seated Leg Lifts (20) - Sit in a straddle. Put your hands on the floor on either side of the right knee. Without moving your hands or upper body, lift your right leg as high as you can and lower back down slowly. Repeat on left side and add ankle weights for intensity. Remember, great leg workouts are about making the muscles work, so make sure to engage the leg muscles with each move.

Heel Pulls (30) - With ankle weights on, lay on your stomach with legs straight out behind you. Bend leg and pull heel as close to your back as you can, then lower back slowly. Make sure to be squeezing core muscles and legs throughout this exercise.

Point Flexers (50) - Lay on back with feet straight up in the air and knees straight. Point right foot as much as you can and flex left foot as much as you can. Hold for 3 seconds, then switch and repeat. Great leg workouts use all kinds of leg muscles in different ways!

Heel raisers (30) - Stand straight up facing a wall so you can use the wall to balance. With feet together, lift heels up as high as you can, hold for 3 seconds, lower down and immediately lift back up. Do reps with your feet together, then stand on one foot and do each foot separately. To add intensity, stand on a stair and drop heel below the stair with each rep.

Toe Raisers (30) - Stand straight up facing wall. With feet together and legs squeezing straight, lift up the front of your feet so just your heels are on the floor. Remember to use the wall for balance but don’t put any pressure on the wall, your leg muscles should be doing all the work.

Great leg workouts are a great way to stay fit and will make activities like hiking and biking easier, so start with these leg exercises. I feel younger, healthier and stronger because of great leg workouts!