Your Personal Trainer

Leg Exercises

You will not need to join a gym in order to perform any of the exercises I will be describing. They can all be done in the privacy of your home. Neither will you need to purchase any expensive equipment. All that will be needed for the most part are a pair of dumbbells.

Squats. The name of this exercise is descriptive as it describes how it is to be performed. One merely squats. The squat is the basic movement to build and strengthen the upper legs.

Legs are a large muscle group. The upper leg known as the thigh is composed of four muscles in the front and muscles in the back. The front thighs are known as quadriceps. The name is derived from the prefix 'quad' which means 'four.' The quadiceps is composed of four separate heads.

The back of the thigh is known as the hamstring. Bodybuilders sometimes refer to it as the leg bicep. Both groups of muscles come into play in the squat.

Purpose for squats. Unlike bodybuilding, we are not looking to build massive legs. Rather, squatting is for the purpose of strengthening your legs so that they may continue to support your body weight. You will be able to carry your groceries to the car and up a flight of stairs well into your senior years. They will also enable you to maintain your balance.

Unfortunately, many senior citizens often lose their balance and fall. This can result in a broken hip. Squatting will prevent this. The resistance used will strengthen the bones. This will result in dense bones preventing osteoporosis, or reversing its course.

The movement. You are first going to learn how to perform the squat correctly. Until you can comfortably do the movement, and in good form, no weight will be used.

First thing I want you to do is stand in front of a chair or even your bed. Face away from it as though you were going to sit down.

(2) Next either hold your arms straight out in front of you, or fold them across your chest. Now lower yourself as though you were going to sit down. (You are not though.)

(3) Lower yourself under control. Just as soon as your butt touches the chair or sofa, reverse direction and stand again. You have just successfully performed one squat.

Practice until you can perform 5 squats (known as reps or repetitions.) Once you are able to do 5 without resting, practice until you can do 10.

Practice your squats 2 to 3 non-consecutive days of the week. See you next week.

NOTE: It is very important that you do not sit down. (If you do sit by mistake, don't worry about it. Get up and practice until you can do it without sitting.) The purpose of starting off this way is to train you how far to go down in a squat. You go down only until your upper legs are parallel to the floor. Do not go down any further!

Leg Exercises (using weights)

By now you should be accustomed to doing squats. After practicing with a chair and no weights, you have perfected your technique. It is now time to graduate to using weights (dumbbells.)

You do not need the assistance of a chair or a bed anymore. Grab a pair of dumbbells. Stand erect with your feet shoulder width apart or slightly wider. Hold the dumbbells at your sides, arms straight down.

With your head erect and staring straight ahead, squat until your thighs are almost parallell to the floor. Keep your abs tight and back straight. Now come up out of the squat by pushing through your heels with feet flat on the floor. This is 1 rep.

Perform 10 reps; rest no more than 1 minute and do another set of 10 reps. Do 3 sets.

Your legs are large muscles. Working them this way benefits the entire body. You'll also find yourself breathing rather hard. This is good.

The squat is the basic leg builder. It not only works your quadriceps (your thighs), but your hamstrings (the back of your thighs), and your butt.