4 home exercises for legs & butt
Training legs. A favorite for some, not a favorite for most. But secretly everyone, man or woman, dreams of those large thighs, massive calves or round buttocks. And of course something has to be done for that. So get moving! You don't even have to leave the house to make this dream come true. I have put together 4 fun home exercises for you, all you have to do is do them three to four times a week. It can be that simple!
Air squat
We start with the exercise of leg exercises: air squats. Air squats are squats without weight. A squat is a knee bend in which almost all thigh muscles (mainly hamstrings, quadriceps (front of your thigh) and gluteus maximus and gluteus minimus (butt muscles)) are trained.
How:
Place your feet hip-width apart and point your toes slightly outward. Make sure you are standing firm and upright. Now lower your legs by making a sitting movement: with your buttocks down. It is important that your knees do not pass your toes and that they move in line with your toes (so slightly outwards). In addition, it is important that your body remains upright. Keep your arms straight out for balance. Make sure your legs are at an angle of at least 90 degrees. From this position, slowly go up again to the starting position. From here repetition two starts by following the previous steps again. Make sure you stay upright during the whole execution!
Frequency:
3 sets of 15 reps, with 30 seconds rest between each set.
Split squat
The split squat is an exercise in which you mainly train the quadriceps and gluteus maximus and gluteus minimus.
How:
Put one leg in front of the other by taking a big step forward. Point your toes straight ahead. The important thing here is to have the feet in line. Keep your hands on your hips and do a squat motion: lower your knee down your front leg. This will lift the heel of your back foot slightly off the floor and make sure that the knee of your back leg almost touches the ground. Again, it is important that the knee of your front leg does not go past your toes. Return to the starting position by extending the knee of your front leg. Do not put the feet next to each other, but keep the distance between them the same. From here repetition two starts by following the previous steps again. Make sure you stay upright during the whole execution!
Frequency:
Each leg 2 sets of 15 reps, with 30 seconds rest between each set.
Lunge
Lunges are similar to the previous exercise, the split squat. However, there is one big difference: with lunges you step back to the starting position after one repetition and thereafter step out again. Also with this exercise you mainly train the quadriceps, gluteus maximus and gluteus minimus.
How:
Place your feet hip-width apart and point your toes straight forward. Now step out with one leg, another big step forward, and place the foot directly in front of the back foot. Keep your hands on your hips. Do a squat motion: lower your front leg through the knee. This will lift the heel of your back foot slightly off the floor and make sure that the knee of your back leg almost touches the ground. Again, it is important that the knee of your front leg does not go past your toes. In contrast to the split squat, you now do step back and place both feet next to each other at hip width. From here repetition two starts by repeating the previous steps again, but now with the other leg. Also very important here: keep your body upright!
Frequency:
3 sets of 20 reps in total, so 10 reps on each leg, with 30 seconds rest between each set.
Calf raise
We finish off with calf raises. Calf raises is an exercise specific to the calf muscles.
How:
Stand with both feet on a step or other firm elevation. The starting position is with the toes on the elevation and the heels down (possibly on the ground if height permits). Hold on with your arms and stand on your toes without using your arms. Then slowly descend to the starting position. From here repetition two starts by following the previous steps again.
Frequency:
Repeat this until you feel your calves burn slightly. You do this 2 sets. Rest for 30 seconds between each set.
For the tough guys among us
All home exercises can be made more difficult by performing them more slowly. In addition, you can of course increase the frequency by increasing the number of repetitions and / or the number of sets and / or you can shorten the rest. Make sure that the technique is correct at all times. When you have mastered all the exercises you can even combine them: a good combination is a lunge, followed by an air squat and that's how you complete the set. Muscle pain guaranteed!