Legs Workout for Women
1. Inverse Compressions of the Buttocks
The first leg training exercise for women is reverse glute compressions.
Musculature affected:
The target is the posterior thigh muscle and glutes, isolating the muscle where the squat does not work - you will notice that this muscle is much weaker.
How to do:
Close your knees together leaving your feet flat. Use your buttocks to bring your legs inward until the plates of the machine come together. Squeeze and hold as your feet come together.
Number of repetitions:
4 sets of 20.
2. Leg Extension with Toe Twist: Deep Lunges with Contemporary Push (Superseries)
Superset exercises are defined as the execution of one movement followed immediately by another.
Musculature affected:
This exercise works all quadriceps - all three sections and not just the middle one as in the quadriceps split. You will notice that one leg will be stronger than the other which is why you have to use one leg at a time.
How to do:
Start with the toe pointing down and in, turn the toe outward on the ascent - at the top of the movement tighten the muscle.
Number of repetitions:
10 reps on each leg.
3. Deep lunges with thrust
Musculature affected:
Buttocks.
How to do:
Position yourself in a lunge position with the front of your foot resting on a flat bench. Stand a little further than usual.
Keep your head up and chest up.
Sink down and pause, come back and reposition your weight until you get a good stretch then finally push, making sure your chest doesn't drop. Making sure you get a good stretch, pause.
Start off without weights as the hip flexors are usually tighter - if that's too easy, increase the load with weights.
Number of repetitions:
Perform this movement for ten repetitions immediately after the leg extension, then rest for 1 minute. Perform this superset 3 times.
4. Staggered Leg Pressures with Twists
Musculature affected:
Quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes.
How to do:
Position your feet as shown in the first image with one foot towards the top of the plate and the other at the bottom at shoulder height. This way one leg will work with the outside, but the other will work with a different part of the leg muscle.
From this offset position, come down, pause and resume, tightening and contracting the muscle at the bottom and in the final position of the movement.
Both legs work equally effectively but in different ways by acting on the quadriceps.
Number of repetitions:
After ten repetitions swap legs and perform 4 sets of 20 (10 for each leg).
5. Large Bench Press Squats
Buttocks.
Begin in an upright position on a flat bench with your head and chest up and your legs wider than shoulder width apart.
Do a squat by pushing your glutes back, being careful to keep your head and chest up throughout the movement. Sit as close to the bench as possible.
Perform this exercise at low speed trying to compress your glutes at the top and bottom of the movement. Squeeze the buttocks at the top to work both the top and bottom of the buttocks. Challenge yourself to always go a little further back each time - helping yourself with the hamstrings.
Number of repetitions:
4 sets of 20.
Every 4 sets, 1 minute of rest.
6. Posterior thigh bending
Hamstrings of the thigh.
Lying on the machine, place your legs in the correct position.
Make sure you position yourself so that you do not have a grip on the usual handles. This will encourage you to pull the handles, take the weight off the hamstrings, and lift the hips - using the lower back and glutes instead of the hamstrings.
Place your hands at your hips and push your hips and thighs with your hands to see if your hips are lifting. To perform the movement, bring the foot up and bend the leg until it reaches the buttocks.
Make sure you pull your leg all the way - if you can do it it's halfway down, the weight is too much.
Seven double leg pushups, seven single and seven double.
The reason we do single pushups between double reps is because in double reps one leg will always have to work harder than the other - while with single reps we can isolate each leg and see which one is stronger.
Conclusion
With these leg training exercises for women you will firm and tone your muscles. Now it's your turn to put these exercises into action and reach all the fitness and training goals you have set for yourself.
Our articles should be used for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to be taken as medical advice. If you are concerned, consult a health professional before taking dietary supplements or making major changes to your diet.
