So you're probably wondering why we're starting off with a booty-popping exercise as our first leg workout -- and the answer is simple, really. Not only does the leg exercise get your butt one step closer to looking like the peach emoji, you're going to feel a serious quad burn along with it. How's that for a double win?
Step 1: Stand with your feet and legs together.
Step 2: Keeping your feet together on the floor, lower your hips down to squat.
Step 3: Place your right tip-toe next to your left ankle. Keeping your left leg steady (and still in the squat), tap your right toe as far back as possible, then tap it back next to your ankle.
Step 4: For a more advanced move, start with the toe off the floor and extend the leg back as far as possible without ever touching the floor.
Step 5: Complete 20-30 taps on each leg three times.
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Leg Exercise No. 2: Clockwork Lunges
You'll be counting down the time (quite literally) in this next leg exercise, as you implement various lunges in one sequence. To slay this leg workout:
Step 1: Stand with your feet and legs together.
Step 2: Step your right foot forward (12 o'clock) and lower into a front lunge. Come back up bringing your feet together.
Step 3: Immediately step your right foot sideways (3 o'clock) and lower into a full squat. Come back up bringing feet together.
Step 4: Immediately step your right foot back (6 o'clock) and lower into a reverse lunge. Come back up bringing feet together.
Step 5: Repeat 12 o'clock (front lunge), 3 o'clock (side squat), and 6 o'clock (reverse lunge) four times on each leg.
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Leg Exercise No. 3: Bulgarian Split Squats With Pulses
Why does the name alone strike fear into my quads?
Step 1: Stand with your feet and legs together, about 1-2 feet in front of a step or bench.
Step 2: Extend your right leg back and place the toe on the step. Keep your hands down by your sides.
Step 3: Bend both knees, going into a one-legged lunge. Come back up and, straighten both legs, with your back toe still on the step. Be sure to keep your left heel firmly rooted into the floor.
Step 4: Complete eight full split squats.
Step 5: After completing the eight split squats, incorporate eight pulses by performing the same move, just at a faster pace.
Step 6: Repeat eight full split squats, and eight pulses three times on each leg.
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Leg Exercise No. 4: Single Leg Jump Sequence
Who doesn't love bouncing around? This next leg workout requires some one-legged jumping, but be sure to keep the standing knee slightly soft the entire time, not locked or hyperextended. Mathews also recommends bringing the jumping heel down while performing each of the jumps.
Step 1: Stand with your feet and legs together. Raise one knee and balance on the other leg.
Step 2: Without touching your raised leg to the ground, jump forward and backwards ten times.
Step 3: Now jump right to left ten times (your lifted leg still not touching ground).
Step 4: Jump straight up and down ten times.
Step 5: Complete ten calf raises on the standing leg (the opposite still raised). To do so, go up onto your tip toes and then back down to a flat foot. Feel free to use a chair or wall for balance.
Step 6: Repeat entire sequence three times on each leg.
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Leg Exercise No. 5: Seated Straddle Circles
Don't let the "seated" name fool you. This leg workout will still have your pretty legs burning by the end. To sculpt your stems via straddle circles:
Step 1: Sit on the floor with your legs extended forward and wide apart.
Step 2: Place both hands close in front of you, fingertips touching the floor (for an advanced move, keep palms firmly planted on the floor). Keep your right leg straight with toes pointed as you raise the leg straight up off the floor.
Step 3: Perform 10 small circles with your toes clockwise and counter clockwise. Repeat the 10 small circles with the other leg.
Step 4: For those who want it more advanced, try to perform the circles with both legs extended up off the floor.
Step 5: Complete three sets for each leg (or together).
Wish you had legs like Taylor Swift or Kendall Jenner? Or maybe just legs you'd feel confident showing off in shorts or dresses this summer? Yeah, us too. That's why we talked to Yumi Lee Mathews, fitness expert and co-owner of the Reebok Crossfit Lab in West Hollywood, to give us the leg workouts for women that actually work -- and work fast.
So what did we find? Well, after having a candid conversation with the Crossfit queen, we were sold on these leg exercises. Yes, you can get your legs looking toned, lean, and dare we say it -- sexy -- in time for bikini season (reminder: girl, you always have a bikini body).
"I love these leg workouts because they can be done anywhere with no equipment, and each of them works every muscle in the lower body, all the way from your butt down to your calves," Mathews says. "They also get your heart rate up for fitness conditioning, which helps burn fat."
Ready to get the sexy legs of your dreams? Here are the six leg workouts that'll give you immediate results.
Image via Imaxtree
BY
KRISTEN OLDHAM GIORDANI, JESSICA AMARIS |
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