Do you love your legs? This is usually an area where women complain. Leg insecurity can be as common as stomach insecurity.
Even though most women don’t want bulky muscles, improving the glutes, quads, and hamstrings builds muscles but burns fat. This results in lean muscle and incredible leg strength.
Are you ready to try the best leg exercises for women? Here are 5 you need to add to your exercise regimen.
1. Goblet Squat
Oh, the infamous squat. One of the most popular leg exercises for women.
It gets your booty in shape and thickens your thighs at the same time. But for the best results, squat variations are extremely important. One of the best squat variations is the goblet squat.
The goblet squat also called the sumo squat, forces you to squat lower. This is because of your range of motion; your legs are wider than they usually are, and you’re holding a heavy weight in front of you.
The goblet squat works the entire leg, but it mainly works your quads and your outer glutes.
If you want thicker thighs and a well-rounded butt, this is an important move.
Use a heavier weight than you usually would; since you’re staying low to the ground, lifting a heavier weight is easy. This will also ensure fast results.
Start with a dumbbell or a kettlebell in front of you. Lift at your comfort, but try and use a weight at least 30 pounds.
Spread your legs wide, slightly wider than shoulder-width. Start the squat, and lift the weight. Squat as low as you can, hold for a second, and stand up slowly.
Do 15 reps or two sets of 7-8 reps.
2. Wall Sit
It may look easy, but this is one of the leg exercises for women that can be deceiving. All you’re doing is resting in a squat position, with your back against the wall. But this move can get challenging.
You’re relying on your quads to hold your body, and this puts a lot of pressure on your muscles.
To challenge yourself even further, hold a weight or squat lower than usual. You can even time yourself for longer for an extra challenge.
If it’s your first time doing a wall sit, get in squat position. Your legs should be shoulder-width apart and knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Make sure your back is straight against a wall.
Hold this position for 30 seconds, stand up and rest for a minute, and get back into position. Do this for two reps. If you need more of a challenge, try holding for 45 seconds or use a small kettlebell.
If you’re experiencing knee pain, try moving your feet outwards. This puts less pressure on your knees.
3. Deadlifts
Like the squat, this is another one of the diverse leg exercises for women that works all areas of the legs.
But you’ll receive most benefits in your hamstrings. This is the muscle that runs underneath your thigh and stops at your glutes. If you struggle with cellulite, you’ll want to work your hamstrings.
Like squats, you need to use different deadlift variations to receive the full benefits. But the classic deadlift is a good starter.
Take either a barbell or dumbbells. Lift a smaller weight, such as 20 pounds (or two 10 pound dumbbells) to start.
If you’re doing the movement and don’t feel the muscle pull, increase your weight — keep in mind, a barbell on its own is usually 25 pounds, so only use light weights when increasing the weight.
Pick up the dumbbells or the barbell. Bend your knees slightly and bend over. Your back should be as straight as you can make it. Lift down; at the end of the position, your hands should be below your knees.
Lift back to starting position, making sure your back isn’t moving out of position. For this move, make sure your legs and moving your body down and not your arms.
4. Step-Ups
Ever run up the steps and notice you’re out of breath and your leg muscles are on fire? That’s because running up and down stairs is an amazing workout. This is an amazing cardio workout, but can also quickly tone your legs.
This is an easy workout to do at home if you have stairs. If not, you can use a fitness step or bench (most gyms will have these).
The movement is easy: step up with one foot, making sure your leg is at a 90-degree angle with your knee curved.
Put that leg down, and do the same movement with your other leg. Do 20 reps, each leg. Or two sets of 10 reps, each leg.
5. Side Steps
Side steps work your outer quads and your whole glute. Enough of these will give you that glorious Kim K booty. That should give you enough confidence to schedule a date. Want to discover the best dating site? Read more here.
Start standing straight up, legs together. Get in squat position. Step out with one leg and bring the leg back next to your other leg. Step out with the opposite leg.
Do 10 reps each leg, or two sets of 5 reps for each leg.
Try and do this move while in squatting position for the entirety of the movement. If this is too difficult, stand in-between each movement.
Want another challenge? Try the crab walk. The movement is how you can imagine: you’re constantly squatting and walking like a crab. You may look extremely silly, but no one at the gym will judge you.
Use These Leg Exercises for Women for the Best Legs
It’s easy to feel insecure about your legs. Fortunately, there are plenty of exercises that help tone your legs.
When exercising your legs, you need to make sure you’re using weights and using a good range of motion to fully reap the benefits.
With other workouts, stop the exercise if you feel any pain or discomfort. You can’t get beautiful legs with pain!
For more advice for women, visit our resources.
