Looking for some effective exercises to build strong, toned legs? You’re not alone.
Leg day has become something of a cultural phenomenon. Seriously, the hashtag #legday has 20 billion views on TikTok and 23 million posts on Instagram.
So, what’s up with our leg day obsession?
When people think of adding leg day to their training plan, their goal is usually aesthetic. People want to slim their thighs, get a peachier backside and tone their calves so they look good walking around. But strong legs do so much more than look good.
What are the leg muscles?
In order to understand the benefit of strengthening your legs, it’s important to know what muscles we’re targeting with leg exercises.
The muscles in the legs are some of the largest in the body. They include the quads and hamstrings, but also the hips, adductors, abductors and calves. And we can’t talk working the legs without also mentioning the glutes, which are crucial for performing any movement of the hips and thighs.
Each one of these muscles has different parts. Aptly named, the quadriceps are a group of four muscles that help to extend and stabilize the knee and are also vital to movements like jumping and running.
In the back of the body, the glutes and hamstrings each include three muscles. The back of the lower leg includes three muscles that are collectively called the calf muscle.
The inner leg muscles (the adductors) include four muscles that help you to close your thigh in toward the center of your body, while the outer leg muscles (the abductors) include parts of the glute and other smaller muscles that help open your leg away from the midline of the body.
Benefits of leg exercises
Our legs are the foundation of the body. In addition to the core, improving strength and muscle mass in the lower body creates a stronger and sturdier base for the body.
Which is important since we use our legs and glutes to perform every single movement during the day — standing up, sitting down, bending over, walking,…
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