Perfect Recipe for Toned Legs: Best Exercise for Hamstring, Quad, and Calf

Ever wonder why people talk about the beauty of the models? You might have guessed it by now, it is all about those toned long legs. Getting toned long legs can be tricky and to be honest, it is more linked with your genetics than any other thing. You cannot change the length of your legs because that is not possible but you can surely train your muscles to look good. As skinny jeans are in fashion and people like to flaunt their legs if your body is all about muscles, especially your legs it will instantly make you look short. On the contrary, if you have toned legs no matter short or long, it will make you look taller right away.

If we look at our daily routine we will see that our legs play a very important role starting from walking to sitting and even standing in a queue. You are on your feet all the time no matter what you do. It is not just about your looks, it is also about the use of your body effectively, as legs are one of the most used parts of the body, it is only fair to give them enough time, just like they deserve. Working on leg muscles and making them appear strong means that you surely have to hit the gym. This also means that your leg strength will help you work for longer.

With the help of this article, we will highlight what muscles you need to work on. We will also help beginners in understanding how they can get rid of chicken legs and make their bodies proportionate. For a beginner who is struggling with finding a good leg workout plan, we will also mention some amazing exercises that you can try.

How Exercises Work And Why Leg Workout is Important?

If we look at the way our body works, we will look at the importance of diet and exercise. Exercises can be something that you perform in a gym or it can be something that involves any physical activity. This is the reason, Athletes and sportsmen that stay active but do not perform any specific exercises have strong leg muscles as well. When we perform physical activity, we are training our muscles to perform better.

During hard exercises, the muscles go through extreme wear and tear. To resolve this issue and heal, our body replaces these damaged muscle cells with new and stronger muscles. As a result, our newly gained muscles are much stronger and can withstand extreme hardship as well. All in all, it all comes down to your goal. The muscles that you use the most will eventually become stronger than ever.

If we look at the leg muscles we can simply say that they are one of the most voluminous muscles in our whole body. This is mainly because they are used the most even while walking, standing, and sitting, etc. if we look at the structure of the leg, we will see that there are three most important muscles.

One of the calves, the other is a hamstring, and then comes quadriceps. Although adductors are also important it still comes at the secondary level as compared to the other three. Apart from all these muscles, your leg also has glutes which are the muscles set present at your buttock. When you perform squats, lunges, deadlifts, etc., you are working on your glutes. With stronger glutes and quads you will be able to prevent injury and this will also help you withstand extremely difficult workouts.

Best Leg Workout That Will Help You Work On Your Hamstring, Quad, and Calf Squats

A squat is a great exercise that will help you work on your legs as well as your buttock region. If you aim to have a Kardashian booty, you need to add squats to your workout plan. Within squats, you will have a lot of variation which include classic squat, body squat, and sumo squat. The squat aims to help you lift your body weight on your leg muscles only. With the help of posture, you need to concentrate your full body weight on the calves, glutes, hamstring, etc.

Body Squat

For body squat, you need to keep your feet wide apart so you can balance your body weight easily. Now, get down as you bend your knees. You need to keep your weight on your feet but you can shift on the heels. Make sure your legs are apart and you are handling your body weight. You need to hold it for a few seconds and then you can come back to the original position. You need to repeat this at least 15 times.

Sumo Squat

For this, the technique is the same but the posture is a little different. You need to imagine that you are sitting on an imaginary chair. For holding the body weight you need to spread your legs a little outwards and get your hips low. This will be a wider squat than a body squat. Your thighs need to be parallel to the ground. Once you are on your feet hold your position for a few seconds and then return to the original position. You need to repeat this at least 15 times.

Lunges

Lunges are a great way to train your hamstring, quads down to the calves. For lunges, the technique is the same but there are so many different variations. Lunge aims to help you open up your leg muscles, increase flexibility and improve leg strength.

Lateral Lunge

Lateral lunges are like moving side to side. You need to take a step on one side and then get low, bend your knee and try to touch the ground. Do not bend both knees at the same time, keep one leg fully straight and the other knee bent. Now hold it for one second and move to the other side to repeat the same. You need to repeat at least 15 times.

Reverse Lunge

For the reverse lunge, you will be keeping in mind how your body moves when you walk. You will take the longer strides but then you can go a little low. Where most people forget that lunges are going to help you increase your muscle flexibility as well as restricting your movement will not be beneficial. The reverse lunge is a very functional exercise because it helps you with running, jogging, and other simple activities. Once you have taken the step, you need to hold your lunge position for a few seconds and then get back to your original position. Keep repeating for at least 15 times.

Calves raise

This is an amazing exercise that doesn’t require too much work but it is very effective. For this exercise you need to stand straight, now keep your leg apart till you are comfortable. Your legs should not be close like you are standing attentively and neither too relaxed that you end up losing your body balance.

Now, try to get on your tiptoes and then get right back. You will have to repeat this at least 20 times and you will feel the tightness and soreness in your calves. This is a great exercise that will help you train your whole body without too much effort. You can even perform this exercise while you are standing in your kitchen or while waiting for the bus at a bus station. You do not need any equipment for some extra space.

Burpees

Burpees is a very effective full-body exercise that will help you work on your legs as well as your core. You will start with standing straight, now get down into the push-up position, hold it for a second and then jump right up and stand tall. Now you will have to get back into the same push-up position and repeat this. This will help you work your leg muscles as well as your core, shoulder, and chest. You need to repeat this at least 15 times before moving to the next exercise.

Bottom Line

To sum it all up, your leg muscles need to be toned and stronger if you want to stay healthy and happy for a long time. Most of the time people link the leg muscles with beauty only but that is not true. Although toned legs will help you appear taller and look good in kinds of clothing your focus needs to be on its functional importance as well.

We have seen that people usually complain that they can’t walk or they do not want to exercise because their legs are weak. In case they muster up the courage to work out, they start to feel dizzy or their legs start to shiver. Even if the work is not too much and you are just washing clothes or doing dishes, you might feel like you are tired. In this case, it is better to exercise more, this way your leg muscles will get stronger and you will be able to stand for long hours without getting tired. To work on your leg your aim is very important.

If you just want to have a round bottom then focus on the quad exercises. However, if you want to tone your legs, focus on the hamstring and calves. Your goal will help you decide which exercises will suit you the best.

Relates Popular Articles