(Photographer: Rebecca Bowley | @Rebecca_bowley)
Heyyyy all of my strong and beautiful lovelies!
So last month we focused on training shoulders–and I was struck with an idea! I thought it would be a good idea to start a series that deals with our individual muscle groups. So this would include what the muscle is, how it functions (and how it functions optimally!) and also a workout. This will continue once a month until we have covered all of the muscle groups–yusssss *insert happy dance.* I hope you guys are as excited as I am about this series, because I’m stoked! (Seriously could talk allll day on these topics.)
So today, true to the title, we are going to be talking about LEGS: The muscle most women go to first when they go to train in the gym. I am totally guilty of it too! We women want to have strong legs to go along with our personalities (amen amen). Whether you’re looking to slim down your legs, or in my case, bulk them baby birdy legs up, I’ve got a workout for you!
We need to cover some basics first, though!⇓
Your legs are comprised of many muscles, but here are the main ones: Quads (the front “thigh”), Hamstrings (the back “thigh”), and then your calf muscles, which are located from your knees to your ankles. The uses of these muscles are clear, as we walk around, jump, run etc!
Nowww for the good stuff: Here is a gym AND home workout for you lovely ladies!
At Gym: Legs
- 7-minute warm-up on bike
- Hack Squats: 12 reps 3 sets
- Sitting Calf Raise Machine (for calves): 12 reps 3 sets
- Leg Extensions (for quads): 12-15 reps 3 sets
- Leg Curls (for hamstrings): 12-15 reps 3 sets
- Jump Squats: burnout for one set! (Do as many as possible until failure.)
At Home: Legs → For all home exercises, weights/dumbbells can be substituted with canned goods, gallons of water, etc.)
- Squats (wide stance) w/ or w/o weight: 10-15 reps 3 sets
- Backward Lunges: 10 reps total (5 each side) 3 sets
- Explosive Jump Squats (narrow stance): 10-12 reps 3 sets
- Front Lunges: 10 reps total (5 each side) 3 sets
- Glute Bridges: 10-15 reps 2 sets
- Stiff Leg Deadlifts (for hamstrings/glutes) w/weight, neutral stance: 8-10 reps 3 sets
(Back should stay firm and flat the whole time; NO rounding of the back should happen!)
Remember to always follow true to form, never go beyond a weight you can handle, and research research research!
All of these exercises can be found on any search engine–ready to guide you!
For more tips, workouts, and just plain motivation, we are at thefittedgem.com AND on IG @thefittedgem
I hope you all KILL these workouts (come back and tell me how hard they were…lol), and remember to eat enough to replenish and build those muscles!
XOXO with love, a new doggo, and a donut this time!
~Leah
Don’t forget to stretch! (photographer: Willow+co @_willowandco)