Use body weight exercises to strengthen your legs without going to the gym or buying expensive equipment. Your major leg muscles include your gluteus, quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors, hip flexors, gastrocnemius, soleus and tibialis. Strengthen your muscles by adjusting the speed, elevation and depth of your body weight exercises. Add weights to your body for a greater challenge. Body weight training is an effective way to improve your strength as long as you adjust your exercise variables, according to an April 2010 published by the “Strength and Conditioning Journal."
Step 1
Start with basic movements. Perform squats, lunges and step-ups with just your body weight. Complete three sets of 15 repetitions per exercise.
To perform squats, place your feet shoulder-width apart and lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Don't let your knees go past your toes.
Perform lunges by stepping forward with your right leg and lowering your body to form near 90-degree angles at your right hip and right knee joints. Your front thigh is nearly parallel to the floor. Stand up and lunge with your left leg.
Perform step-ups on a sturdy chair or bench. Stand up straight on the bench with your right foot on the inside and your left foot on the outside. Slowly bend your right leg to lower your left foot toward the floor. Raise your body up by contracting the muscles of your right leg.
Step 2
Use weights. Perform squats, lunges and step-ups while holding one-gallon water jugs by their handles. Hold one in each hand to mimic dumbbells.
Add one-leg dead lifts to your routine. Stand near an immovable counter or table so you have something to grab on to in case you lose your balance. Hold a water jug in your right hand to steady your body--the counter should be perpendicular to your left side. Raise your left leg and keep your right leg fairly straight as you lower the jug toward the toes of your right foot. Maintain a straight line between your head and your left leg. Limit yourself to 10 repetitions. Turn around and switch arms and legs. Complete three sets of 10 reps for one-leg dead lifts.
Work up to three sets of 15 repetitions for the squats, lunges and step-ups. Wear a weight vest or use a backpack filled with soup cans for a more challenging workout.
Step 3
Jump up. Adding jumps to your leg exercises increases the strength and power of your leg muscles. This form of training commonly is known as plyometrics, a method in which you slightly stretch your muscles before rapidly and forcefully shortening them. Do not hold or use additional weights when you initially perform plyometric exercises. To safely perform plyometric exercises, you must start with a basic exercise, such as the squat, then increase the speed before adding a jumping movement, according to a 2005 article by Jay Shiner and his colleagues, published by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
Perform a light warm-up of regular squats, lunges and step-ups. Start with squat jumps. Perform a regular squat but jump up off the floor when you stand up, immediately return to the squat position and quickly jump back up again. Complete two sets of 10 rapid and powerful squat jumps.
Start a lunge with your right leg in front of you and jump up as you bring your left leg forward. Perform two sets of 10 reps for each leg. Do not perform step-up jumps unless you have a step-aerobic bench. Once your left leg hits the floor, quickly propel your body upward using your right leg. Perform two sets of 10 reps per leg.
Tips and Warnings
- Walk, run or lunge up a steep hill to further increase your leg strength. If you are walking or lunging up a hill, progress by carrying the water jugs or wearing a weighted back pack.
- Plyometric exercises are strenuous on your joints. Ensure you have supportive cross-training or weight-lifting shoes to decrease your risk of injury. Do jumping exercises on rubber floor mats or padded carpet to further reduce impact on your bones and joints.
Things You'll Need
- Sturdy chair or bench
- Gallon jugs
- Counter or table
- Weight vest
- Back pack
- Soup cans
- Step-aerobic bench
References
- “Strength and Conditioning Journal”; Bodyweight Training: A Return to Basics; Jeffrey S. Harrison; April 2010
- “Strength and Conditioning Journal”; Integrating Low-Intensity Plyometrics into Strength and Conditioning Programs; Jay Shiner et al; December 2005
- American College of Sports Medicine: Safety of the Squat Exercise; Jeff Chandler, Jim McMillan, W. Ben Kibler and David Richards
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