The key to bodyweight leg exercises is that you don’t use weights. Many people think that you must lift heavy weights to grow and shape your leg muscles. That is simply not true. Your body weight provides adequate resistance to help you build muscle and burn fat on your lower body.
Lifting heavy weights will take a toll on your joints. You are also likely to injure yourself if you do the exercises incorrectly. When you are trying to learn a new exercise, start with the bodyweight version.
Bodyweight strength exercises allow you to use natural body motions. Each body moves differently. Machines limit your natural range of motion so use machines sparingly. Since machines also stabilize your body for you, bodyweight exercises are more desirable because they help develop strength that allows your body to stabilize itself.
Bodyweight plyometric exercises, like squat jumps, will blast more fat because they are very intense. And, one-legged jumping exercises are more intense than two-legged jumping exercises. Shorten and intensify your workouts with jump training and you will blast more fat and calories during and after your workout!
Bodyweight plyometric exercises are advanced. You need to perfect jumping and landing techniques or you will injure yourself. And, if you have knee and low back problems, high-speed jump training is not for you.
The top five bodyweight leg exercises are:
Squats (all variations)
Walking Lunges
Side Lunges
Step Ups
Squat Jumps
You should do 3 sets and 10 repetitions of the above mentioned exercises to tone your butt, hips, thighs and lower legs. Do this type of workout 2-3 times a week.
A bonus bodyweight exercise for you would be sprinting. Sprinting burns fat like crazy and is one of the best ways to get your total body lean and toned. It is one of the least used exercises done by general exercisers and, you don't have to be fast, just run as fast as you can! To avoid injuries, always sprint on surfaces like grass or sand and never run on hard surfaces like concrete or asphalt.
Consistently do bodyweight workouts to see how they can tone your body.
Mark Dilworth, BA, PES, CPT is a Certified Personal Trainer and former NCAA Division I athlete. Mark’s Fat Blaster Athletic Training System has been proven to give his clients the fit, sculpted and athletic-type bodies they want. Visit Mark’s sites:
My Fitness Hut http://myfitnesshut.blogspot.com
Her Fitness Hut http://herfitnesshut.com
Sports Fitness Hut http://sportsfitnesshut.blogspot.com