Quite simply, unless you’re a bit of a masochist, the chances are that you loathe leg day. Many of the exercises are painful and due to the sheer size of the associated muscle groups, it can sometimes take up to a week to heal before the next session begins. Did you know, however that exercising your legs will release massive amounts of growth hormone? This chemical can help to burn cutaneous (surface) fat, which can help you grow lean muscle mass. This is why those who might have plateaued in terms of their fitness levels will often focus upon their legs. However, more is not necessarily better in this sense. The team at Trion has put together a handful of leg exercises which will prove to be highly effective within a short period of time. Let’s take a look at our top six picks of Trion leg exercises you have to try.
Jumping Jacks
These are primarily intended to be used as a warm-up exercise. It is important that the muscles in your legs are supplied with ample amounts of blood in order to avoid possible injuries. Furthermore, warming up with jumping jacks will help to increase the hydrostatic pressure within your knees and ankles. Perform three sets of 100 jumping jacks (or until failure) before moving on.
Glute Kickbacks
As the title may already have suggested, kickbacks work the muscles found in your bottom. These muscle fibres are absolutely essential when performing basic movements such as squats and they will also provide your lower lumbar region with a greater degree of stability. As kickbacks are performed one leg at a time, you can easily determine if either side of your body requires more attention (most of us have one side that is more “dominant” than the other).
Squats
It should not come as a great surprise that squats have made it onto this list. Squats have been represented one of the “big three” exercises (including bench presses and deadlifts) for decades and as many strength training athletes will testify, these movements provide the basis for a solid foundation. The good news is that there are plenty of variants to choose from. Wide squats will work the inner portion of your quadriceps while narrower stances can be used to strengthen your hip flexors. Be sure to check our the options found within the Trion programme, as variety is indeed the spice of life.
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Lunges (side and front)
Lunges are another staple within any properly planned leg routine and one of our favourite Trion leg exercises. There are several benefits associated with lunges:
- They help to increase your flexibility
- They can be used to practice balance
- Lunges are excellent ways to target the secondary (supporting) muscles found within your legs
Lunges can also be performed from the comfort of your home: a nice touch if you do not have time to hit the gym.
Calf Raises
We should never neglect our calves. While these muscles are much smaller when compared to the hamstrings and quadriceps, they are critical in terms of balance, coordination and explosive movements. Calf raises are generally included at the end of a workout, as your legs will already be quite fatigued by this point. Once again, you’ll find loads of different calf exercises on Trion.
Split Squats
Split squats are a final variant to include sooner rather than later. As you will require nothing more than a bench and your own bodyweight, these are another powerful home-based exercise. A further massive benefit of split squats involves the fact that split squats are controlled movements. In other words, you will not be placing an undue amount of strain upon your knees, hips and ankles. These squats are often preferred by long-distance runners due to how the planes of motion slightly mimic those associated with sprinting or performing long jumps. Having said this, you can always add a bit of weight through the use of dumbbells if you wish to increase the level of effort required.
These six Trion leg exercises represent the “bread and butter” of any well-planned leg training session. Of course, you can take a closer look at how each should be performed by logging into the Trion app. There are likewise countless other variants to appreciate, so something new is never far off. Why not turn those toothpicks into tree trunks and try out these Trion leg exercises?