Gym Equipment For Legs
There are many machines in the gym that will help strengthen your legs. This could include an exercise that concentrates on the quads based on where your feet are positioned or an abductor for the hips which targets the thighs' outer edges.
If you're just beginning they can be intimidating pieces of equipment. But don't fret, they're extremely simple to use.
Leg Press
Leg presses are a staple part of the gym that helps build key muscles of the lower body. It is typically used in a leg strengthening workout or machine circuit. When done correctly it can increase your strength and help build the quads, hamstrings, and gluteus of your legs.
The most basic leg press machine comes with a seat for positioning your body, and flat surfaces for your feet, which you can push away from your body. The platform is typically supported by a stack of weights of varying resistance levels. Different gyms may offer horizontal leg-press (where you sit up straight and push the platform forward) or a 45-degree leg-press that lets the seat recline at an angle, as opposed to a vertical motion.
A 45-degree machine will place a little less emphasis on the quads and a bit more on the glutes than a horizontal leg press, but both can be effective for building strong legs. Regardless of which type you choose, it's important to start out with low-weight plates and gradually increase your weight as your fitness improves. It is also important to avoid exaggerating your legs while you push the footplate, because this puts too much strain on your knees and can result in injuries.
Leg presses are a great exercise to build strength however, they can be difficult for those who are new to the sport. They can be done safely at a higher weight than other exercises, and have an added benefit of increasing bone density to stop osteoporosis from occurring.
Leg press is a great exercise to strengthen the legs. Combining it with other compound movements like squats or deadlifts will aid in building strength and bulk. Leg-press records set by Ronnie Coleman and William Cannon have inspired athletes all over the world to test their limits.
Hip Abductor Machine
The hip abductor machine is a popular piece of equipment used in gyms for creating a shapely inner thigh. The hip abductor machine is designed to target the muscles of the hip adductors. These muscles run from your outer hip to your inner thigh and are responsible for the ability to move your legs away from your body. Strong hip abductor and adductor muscles are crucial to maintain balance, stability and lower-body strength.
However, there are other ways to work these muscles without the aid of a hip abductor machine. Aaron Brooks, biomechanics specialist and the owner of Perfect Postures in Newton, Massachusetts, suggests that you stick with functional movements such as lunges and Squats. Brooks advises that if you take a lunge or an squat both of these exercises work the abductor muscles and adductors in a natural manner. "There's more of an active load that comes into play with these exercises, which is going to help prevent injuries."
In addition being capable of walking on one leg, having a strong set of hip adductor muscles helps you perform a variety of other daily and athletic moves. They are needed to do a sidestep, lift your leg to perform a squat or climb stairs. They are also required when you sprint and push off with your legs. A weak hip adductor and abductor muscles can cause instability in the pelvis and lower back.
Although it may seem counterintuitive, it's also a bad idea to do hip abduction exercises solely for the sake of getting larger thighs. While read more can help, it's more effective to focus on strengthening the glutes and increasing hip stability.
The hip abductor is a large triangular muscle that runs along your inner thigh bone, and then up to your knee. It's vital for hip movement and stability but it's also involved in lateral knee flexion thigh abduction, hip rotation, and supporting knee flexion and rotatation. Hip abduction is also assisted by several small muscles including the piriformis, tensor facia latae and abduction of the thigh.
Calf Raise
Calf raises are a simple exercise that can be performed in many ways. This allows you to target various muscle groups or increase the intensity. Although it's more of an isolation exercise than a compound exercise (which is a way to work multiple muscles at the same time) however, calf raises still help improve strength, balance and posture.
Standing on your toes and raising your heels and pushing off the ground is the easiest way to do the calf lift. It's a simple, low-impact movement that's great for beginners and those recovering from lower leg injuries.
When performed using a full range of motion standing calf raise helps strengthen the muscles of the lower leg and helps ensure proper gait and running efficiency. The exercise also targets muscles that provide stability and balance, which is important for preventing injuries. You can increase the intensity using a step, or lifting your heels with free weights.
As you gain strength, the calf raise can become a necessary exercise for recovering from running-related foot and heel injuries, such as Achilles tendinitis and plantar fasciitis. Calf raises are usually recommended after a run, because they aid the muscles recover from the stress and strains that were imposed.
The calf raise block is a versatile piece of gym equipment that permits you to perform standing or seated calf raises in a more safe and stable way. It can help you avoid a common mistake exercisers make when doing standing calf raises that is shifting their weight around or bending their back or forward while they lift and lower their heels. By keeping your knees in alignment with your feet the calf-raise blocks reduce the risk.
You can also add some resistance by doing calf raises using a barbell across your traps on an Smith machine. The addition of weight can increase the intensity and test the muscles even more. Advanced training techniques like adding a pause to the top of a movement or a slow descent can intensify the movement and allow you to achieve the best outcomes.
Leg Extension
Leg extension machines are a second lower body machine that can help build great quads. This isolation exercise works the quads directly by moving a padded lever with your lower legs from a sitting position. This will work the vastus muscle (passes over the knee joint) and the rectus fascia muscle (passes over the knee joint and hip).
It is important to maintain good form when extending your leg. It is essential to maintain a good posture during the leg extension. Sit upright and grip the handbars (if installed) tightly to reduce this. Keep your back firmly against the seat and your knees aligned with the fulcrum of the lever. Extend your knees until they are straight, then slowly return them to the starting position.
If you're doing a high volume of leg extensions, be sure you add some rest pause repetitions into the mix. You can do several more repetitions after you have stopped for a few seconds and rested for 2 or 3 seconds. This will help you improve the quality of the sets as well as increase your recovery time between sessions.
The quads are a very strong group of muscles and the leg extension is a fantastic exercise to include in your strength training routine. It increases power and size in the quads that will result in better performance in sports such as running and basketball football, cycling and so on. Strong quads will also increase the strength and endurance of your lower body as well as function. This is particularly beneficial for those over 50 who wish to keep their strength and stability as they get older. Stronger quads can help improve hip and knee stability as well as increasing lower-body coordination.