Best Lower Body Workouts For Both Men And Women

Best Lower Body Workouts For Both Men And Women

Best Lower Body Workouts : Concentrating only on your upper body when you work out is a mistake. You may find it counterintuitive, but lower-body training is advantageous when you want to stimulate upper-body muscle growth. Leg workouts stimulate some of the largest muscles in your body, which helps create a metabolic state that is conducive to muscle-building. You can build muscle in your upper body without working out your legs, but working all the major muscles in your body will lead to faster and better results.

The major muscles of your lower body are the gluteals or the buttock muscles, which move your upper leg to the side or back; the abductors of the lateral thigh, which help move your leg to the side; the abductors of the inner thigh, which move your leg back toward midline; the hamstrings of the posterior thigh, which lift your heels toward your buttocks; the quadriceps of the anterior thigh, which straighten your leg; and the calf muscles, which point your feet downward and help you stand on your toes.

Major Benefits when you working out your legs :

Boosts Metabolism

The muscles of the legs are the largest muscles of the body.  Moving big muscles requires big energy – meaning more calories burned.  Squats & Deadlifts require nearly every muscle in your body and therefore require a ton of energy to perform. You can bench press all day long, but nothing is going to get the metabolism cranking like heavy squats and deadlifts.

Increased Growth Hormone & Testosterone

There have been many scientific studies conducted that prove performing squats and deadlifts is an excellent way to increase the release of growth hormone and testosterone. If your goal is to build muscle fast, you should always be striving to naturally increase your growth hormone and testosterone levels.

Big Strength & Muscle Gains

More Muscle. You can find studies showing that Squats & Deadlifts increase the release of Growth Hormone & Testosterone more than any other exercise. These are natural muscle building hormones that provide:

• Upper-Body Strength - Squats & Deadlifts work your whole body, not just your legs. Your arms squeeze the bar hard during heavy Squats & Deadlifts, while your abs work hard to stabilize the weight. Even your chest muscles tense hard. If you can’t train your upper-body because of an injury, you can prevent muscle loss in your upper-body by doing heavy Squats & Deadlifts.
• Functional Strength - Stronger legs and core muscles will increase your strength on upper-body lifts, which will help upper-body muscle development. Squats & Deadlifts strengthen your legs & lower back, keeping you more symmetrical.  Strong legs will allow you to become faster, jump higher, and improve your athletic performance. Even if you do not compete in sports, building muscle in your legs will make functional tasks much easier.
• Mental Strength - Here’s the real reason why people don’t train their legs: it’s physically & mentally challenging. That’s why doing Squats and Deadlifts will build your mental endurance like no other exercise.

Focus on compound leg lifts to build muscle fast, such as squats, deadlifts, front squats, romanian deadlifts, lunges, and good mornings will all train the entire body! Even though these exercises are lower body dominant, they will still build an abundance of upper-body strength and size.

Improves Athleticism

It doesn't matter if you're cracking a home run or playing football, the power for these movements is grounded in the lower body. All athletic movement involves the opening and closing of the hip like jumping, throwing, or punching.

Best Leg Exercises For Both Men And Women : 

FOR MEN.

source- By Men's Fitness

A strong lower body is crucial to performance—whether you’re looking to improve your sports performance, gym work, or just daily functional fitness. And yes, we said “strong lower body.”

Leg exercises aren’t just for quads and hamstrings—these exercises will work your core muscles, improve your balance, and grant you the added benefits of things like grip strength.

For the sake of your physique and training results, here are 30 strength-building lower body exercises to ensure you never skip leg day.

1. Front Squat

Set a barbell on a power rack at about shoulder height. Grab the power with an overhand grip at shoulder width and raise your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Take the bar out of the rack and let it rest on your fingertips. Your elbows should be all the way up throughout the movement. Step back and set your feet at shoulder width with toes turned out slightly. Squat as low as you can without losing the arch in your lower back.

2. Bulgarian Split Squat

Stand lunge-length in front of a bench. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and rest the top of your left foot on the bench behind you. Lower your body until your rear knee nearly touches the floor and your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Single-leg training can yield serious strength gains. 

3. Romanian Deadlift

A killer deadlift variation, hold a barbell with a shoulder-width grip and stand with feet hip-width apart. Bend your hips back as far as you can. Allow your knees to bend as needed while you lower the bar along your shins until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Keep your lower back in its natural arched position throughout.

4. Squat

In a squat rack or cage, grasp the bar as far apart as is comfortable and step under it. Place it on your lower traps, squeeze your shoulder blades together, push your elbows up and nudge the bar out of the rack. Take a step or two back and stand with your feet at shoulder width and your toes turned slightly out. Take a deep breath and bend your hips back, then bend your knees to lower your body as far as you can without losing the arch in your lower back. Push your knees out as you descend. Drive vertically with your hips to come back up, continuing to push your knees out.

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FOR WOMEN.

Source- Women health

Tired of the same old squats and lunges in your leg workout? We totally get it. The next time you want to tone your lower half, try these 7 challenging moves from the Women's Health Big Book of Exercises. Your skinny jeans will thank you.

For more awesome moves, get the Women's Health Big Book of Exercises today!

PISTOL SQUAT

Stand holding your arms straight out in front of your body at shoulder level, parallel to the floor. Raise your right leg off the floor, and hold it there. (A) Push your hips back and lower your body as far as you can. (B) Pause, then push your body back to the starting position.

DUMBBELL SPLIT JUMP

Hold a pair of dumbbells at arm's length next to your sides, palms facing each other. Stand in a staggered stance, your left foot in front of your right. From a standing position, lower your body into a split squat. (A) Quickly switch directions and jump with enough force to propel both feet off the floor. (B) Repeat, alternating back and forth with each repetition.

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