Weight-training Exercises For The Legs

The major muscles of the legs include the calves and tibialis anterior, which extend and flex your ankles; the hamstrings and quadriceps, which flex and extend your knees; and the gluteals, hip adductors and hip flexors, which abduct, adduct, extend, flex and rotate your hips. Perform weight-training exercises through these ranges of motion to build and strengthen these muscles. Progressively increase the amount of weight over time. This will help muscles function effectively and may prevent leg injuries.

Squats

Squats target the gluteus maximus and hamstrings muscles, which extend your hips, and the four quadriceps muscles, which extend your knees, through hip and knee flexion and extension ranges of motion. Place a barbell on a squat rack at shoulder height and load it with your desired amount of weight. Position safety bars at about waist height to catch the bar if you lose your balance and fall. Have a spotter stand behind you during the exercise to provide assistance, if necessary. Standing with your upper back and shoulders under the center of the bar, lift the bar off the rack and move forward slightly. Position your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width with your toes directed forward. Flex your hips slightly and your knees to lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Then, powerfully extend your hips and knees to return to the starting position and repeat. Keep your back straight throughout the movement. You can also perform squats by holding dumbbells at your sides or in front of your shoulders.

Leg Press

The leg press also strengthens the hip and knee extensors. Perform the exercise on a leg press machine, which includes a padded chair and a foot platform directly in front of the chair. The platform is attached to a weight stack that you can adjust as desired. Sit in the chair and hold underneath it with both hands to keep your upper body still during the exercise. Some machines have handles you can hold. Place your feet on the platform about shoulder-width apart with your knees flexed to about 90 degrees. You may have to adjust the platform to assume the correct starting position. Extend your hips and knees to press the platform forward and lift the stack of weights. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.

Heel Raises

Heel raises strengthen the calf muscles on the back of your lower legs through ankle extension and flexion ranges of motion. The calves contract concentrically to extend your ankles during the heel-lift phase of the exercise and eccentrically to control the speed of movement as you return your heels to the floor. Stand upright with your feet about 6 inches apart and toes pointed forward. Hold a barbell across your upper back and shoulders. Repeatedly lift your heels as high as possible off the floor, standing on your toes, and slowly lower them back down. Elevate your toes 1 to 2 inches on a sturdy surface to make the exercise more challenging. You can also hold dumbbells at your sides rather than a barbell across your back.