Exercises to help improve and tone your lower body!

Special Report for Livinghealthy Newsletter Subscribers

model:shelly stewart
photographer:david grisaffi

Everyone had the ability and make up to have a great lower body. First we must have the drive to succeed and second the desire to follow through. To improve the appearance of your lower body and get those shapely thighs and firm glutes we have to understand some simple exercise and a good sound fat loss diet.

The equipment you need can be from a simple chair to a full gym. However, simple is sometimes better. You have to ask yourself how much time I have to follow through with the program. If you say 3 day per week at 7 am Monday Wednesday and Friday then that is great. But DO IT! If you know you will not be able to focus at that time then change the time to meet your needs for success. This program is basic but will get you moving in the right direction.

Exercises I have choosen are considered compound movement and they do not isolate the lower body. If you choose to do some extra exercises just e-mail me for a few more.

To perform the exercise to reap the best benefit perform each exercise for 10-15 repetitions and rest for 45-60 seconds between sets. If you do not know what reps and sets are here is an explanation.

Reps: This is the amount of muscular action you do within a set. When you can complete more then the described amount of reps with no muscle soreness increase the weight by five percent.

Sets: This is the amount of workload for a given exercise sequence. For example: if you see a exercise that says sets 1-3 then begin with one set of the exercise. You can add sets as long as you have no muscle soreness at the next scheduled workout date.

The following exercise routine would be performed after your five to eight minute cardio warm up session:

RULES TO TRAIN BY:
-Always train with perfect posture.
-Activate deep abdominal muscles by drawing in your belly button.
-Do not use a weight belt.
-Train muscle through a full range of motion.

Exercises:

Lunge-Static and Dynamic

The static and dynamic lunges are excellent interactive exercises for the core musculature and lower extremities. I chose these exercises because they are neurologically challenging to the entire body. To perform the static lunge (base level) place a dowel rod across your shoulder gripping it at shoulder width. Keep your elbows under your wrists, this aids in activation of the thoracic erectors and helps stabilize the core. Make sure your posture is upright with neutral spinal curves (no bending, shifting or leaning). Draw your belly button in and upward activating the inner unit. Slowly step forward with either leg until your shinbone is perpendicular to the floor. Once you have reached the lunge position with your upper body erect, allow your back leg to descend to the floor until your knee gently touches the floor making a special note to keep the shinbone on your lead leg perpendicular to the floor. Return slowly to the pre-descend position. Repeat lunge for eight to 10 repetitions with the same leg then repeat for the opposite leg. Slowly work up to three sets per leg.

The dynamic lunge is similar to the static lunge except for you return to the standing position after each repetition. Alternate legs until you have built up enough strength and stabilization to perform eight to 10 repetitions for each leg. After you feel comfortable doing the dynamic lunge alternating, kick it up a notch and do the desired repetitions for one leg at a time. Special note about the lunge exercise DO NOT SHORT STEP. Short stepping the lunge is when the shinbone moves forward and the knee moves past the ankle joint. Short stepping indicates a quad dominant neurological system. For women this can spell disaster! Women have a much higher degree of quad dominance indicating muscular imbalance in the lower extremities. This imbalance could be one reason why women have more orthopedic knee problems.

Front Squat

The front squat is an excellent exercise for developing lower body strength while increasing the integration between the core and the lower extremities. It also places less of a load on the spinal column thus reducing the chance of injury. You can perform this exercise with only your body weight until you reach a point where you can do three sets of 25 reps and have no muscle soreness. To perform the front squat stand tall with you feet slightly wider then shoulder width. You can turn your toes out up to 30 degrees depending on your comfort. I recommend about 15 degrees. Put the dowel rod high on your shoulders as seen in the picture and place your hands with palms facing up at shoulder width . Gently draw your belly button in and initiate the movement from the hips not the knees. Slowly descend to the bottom position with your gluteus maximus (bottom) gently touching the back of your calves. If you cannot descend all the way down without going on the balls the your feet, only go as far as you can before your heels begin to rise. This is an indication of a range of motion restriction in your calves. To increase the intensity of the front squat, replace the dowel rod with a barbell or dumbbells.

Supine Hip Extension
(Swiss ball needed)

Sit on the Swiss ball and gradually roll out so your trunk is parallel to the floor and your head and upper back are comfortably resting on the ball. Gently drop your pelvis towards the floor in a controlled manner keeping your shinbone perpendicular to the ground at all times. Gradually return to start position squeezing your butt muscles at the top end of the movement.

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