Into That Dress: Leg Toning Exercises

by Tim Mugabi

In the second part of a series in which I focus on a specific area of your body, I’m going to show you a series of exercises designed to give you luscious legs. Toning your legs is so important because working on them has a positive effect on the rest of your body.

This is because the muscles in your legs are the largest in your body so demand you place on them with exercise places a demand on the rest of your body. Simply put, if you work on your legs, you’ll burn fat from all over your body. Here are a few great exercises to get you started, enjoy!

Squat

The squat is the essential exercise for toning the legs; helping to shape the front of your thighs and your bottom. To get the most from the squat, stand with your feet shoulder width apart and make sure they stay on the ground for the entire movement. In particularly, avoid your heels coming off the ground as you lower your body. In addition, keep your chest up and look up during the movement as this takes the pressure off your lower back.

Bridge

The bridge is a great exercise for really honing in on the back of your thighs and your bottom. It’s also highly effective at strengthening and toning your lower back. There’s two ways to perform the bridge: The first is that you slowly raise and lower yourself repeatedly from the ground for a predetermined number of repetitions or amount of time. The other way is to hold the position for a certain amount of time. In either case, clench your buttocks at the top of the movement to really increases its effectiveness.

Lunge

The lunge is a great alternative to the squat which works the front of your thighs and bottom. Alternate which leg you step forward with each repetition. Be sure to tense your stomach muscles as you carry out the lunge as it you to balance whilst moving backwards and forwards.

Side Lunge

The side lunge is an excellent exercise for targeting the inside and outside of your leg; areas that are often difficult to tone. Like the lunge, alternate which leg you lunge into with each repetition. At first, you’ll find you can only go so far into the movement, but this movement is also a kind of stretch so you’ll find you’ll be able to go further into the movement each time.