Five Moves To Slim, Lean Legs
Looking to get slim, leaner legs? If so, you aren't alone. One of the top goals of many women who are entering the gym is to get a lean set of legs that they can feel proud to sport in a pair of shorts or a skirt for the summer.
Let's have a quick look at the top moves that you should consider so that you can achieve this goal in record time. Make sure that you do these exercises regularly if you wish to see results, or to see them quicker.
Lunges
The first move that's great for helping to lengthen the legs and add a more defined appearance is lunges. Lunges are fantastic since not only will they work the glutes, hamstrings, and quads, but they'll also target your core as it contracts to help you maintain balance.
Perform these walking all the way across a room and back, doing two sets each workout.
Squats
Squats are the next movement that will really help you get lean legs in a hurry. Squats are also a compound movement so they will target every single muscle in the lower body and in addition to that, they're also one of the best strength developers.
By adding a bit more lean muscle mass to your frame, you'll increase your total daily calorie burn and therefore have a much easier time shedding the fat.
Rear Leg Raises
Moving over to rear leg raises, these are perfect for any woman who wants to firm up her backside as they'll target the muscles specifically surrounding the bum region.
Since you aren't lifting any weights when doing rear leg raises either, you'll get toning benefits without any increase in size. Nb: You don't want to increase the GIRTH of your legs, just the tone and strength, for obvious reasons (unless you have very skinny legs and you wish to balance their size with your upper body appearance, or top-heavy frame).
Uphill Walking
Uphill walking is another great exercise that you should include in your workout program when doing your cardio training.
Not only will uphill walking burn off as many calories as fast paced running would, but it's really going to challenge your lower body muscles as well.
For anyone who suffers from back pain these are also a perfect alternative since they'll be much lower impact than running would be.
Deadlifts
Finally, last but not least, don't overlook deadlifts. Deadlifts are great for firming your rear side and will also help to strengthen the lower back and core muscles as well.
When performing your deadlifts you really want to think of squeezing up from the glutes only, ensuring that you are using the bum muscles to perform the movement rather than using the lower back instead.
Also be sure when executing the rising phase of this movement that you do maintain that flat back position as this is what will ensure that you aren't at risk for developing lower back pain.
So there you have five great movements that you should consider adding to your lower body workout program. If you can do these three days per week, you are going to be one step closer to that set of lean legs you're looking for.
Remember it is not just your legs that will benefit. Your legs house your biggest muscles and when you firm and strengthen these (and the surrounding muscles involved with doing the above exercises) you are increasing your overall muscle mass which will help you to burn fat faster.
In addition you are also strengthening your back which will reduce the risks of injury and back pain that you might encounter from day-to-day activities. A strong and supple back is the best, natural corset you can ever give yourself for preventing back pain and injury.
Don't forget to also team-up these exercises with a good diet plan as well as a proper appetite suppressant, as this will ensure that you're looking at all aspects where fat loss is concerned.
