Contents
1. Warming Up
2. Work Your Quadriceps
3. Hit Your Hamstrings
4. Remember the Smaller Thigh Muscles
5. Workout Program
It’s hard to find an athletic activity that doesn’t involve your thighs. The large muscle groups in your thighs -- the quadriceps and hamstrings -- are primarily responsible for moving your knees. A series of small upper-thigh muscles, including the hip flexors, are involved in numerous hip movements. Perform exercises for all these muscles, large and small, in a simple but complete thigh workout.
Warming Up
Even a simple workout requires a good warm-up. Jog in place or take a brisk walk to raise your core temperature and prepare your muscles for action. Once your muscles are warm, a dynamic stretch or two will ensure that you’re prepared to exercise. Run with high knees to stretch your quads. Perform walking lunges to target your hamstrings and the hip flexors in your upper thighs.
Work Your Quadriceps
You can work the quadriceps group with a wide variety of exercises. To keep it simple, perform squats and lunges without any equipment. Although both exercises target your quads, they also work the hamstrings and the hip adductors within your upper, inner thighs. Perform squats by standing erect and squatting straight down, as if you were descending toward an imaginary chair. Stop when your thighs are horizontal and then rise to the starting position. 고스톱사이트 Do a lunge by striding forward until your lead knee forms a right angle while your back knee hovers just above the floor. Step back to the starting position and then repeat the lunge with your opposite leg. Increase either exercise’s intensity by holding dumbbells in your hands or placing a barbell across your shoulders.
Hit Your Hamstrings
As with the quads, hamstring workouts offer plenty of exercise choices. Leg curls, for example, are common hamstring exercises you can perform on a variety of machines. Alternatively, do curls by lying on the floor with your calves on top of an exercise ball. Raise your hips so your body forms a fairly straight line. This is the starting position. Flex your knees and use your feet to roll the ball toward you, while simultaneously lifting your back off the floor so your torso and thighs are close to vertical. Return to the starting position to complete one repetition. The exercise also works the adductors and the sartorius, hip flexors that stretch from your hips to your knees.
Remember the Smaller Thigh Muscles
Target the hip flexors and adductors across your upper thighs by performing the leg raise, another exercise that requires no equipment. Lie face up on the floor with your legs straight. Place your hands beneath your hips and then pull your knees as close to your chest as you can. Flex your hips and knees but keep your torso still throughout the exercise. Add intensity, if you wish, by holding a weight between your feet.
Workout Program
Perform 10 to 20 repetitions of each exercise if you use your body weight alone. Perform an equal number of reps on both legs when you do lunges. For weighted exercises, do eight to 12 reps with enough weight to make your final reps a real challenge. Do two thigh workouts per week with at least 48 hours between sessions.
