By Femi Paseda
Loving your body means doing everything you can to take care of it. One of the best ways to take care of your body is to exercise.
Exercising can be likened to oiling a generator and its moving parts preventing corrosion. Obviously, we do not rust as humans, but we definitely will find it difficult to use certain parts of our body as easily as we ought to.
On Iya magazine health and fitness this weekend, we will be looking at exercises that can help tone your legs. Why is this important?
● Strong legs help you with everyday activities like walking and running
● Strong legs help you carry yourself irrespective of your size etc.
You need strong and fit legs – no questions asked – if not, you’ll find yourself in a situation where you might just need to run or climb somewhere high, and your legs will simply give way without even trying.
Want to tone those legs, ladies? Here are some of the best exercises that can help you achieve this.
Squat
As you must know, squatting is great for your legs, but it is also excellent for your hips and your butt.
This is a simple remedy that has tremendous effects on the body.
See, when you squat, you give your back that extra balance which allows you easily carry your weight, so when you want to enter your car, a bus, or climb a high ledge, you’re not forced to ask for help as most women do.
For starters, you can start squatting by holding a wall. Avoid doing too much at the start to prevent getting overly tired of the routine.
Bridge
The bridge exercise is another exercise that helps tone your thighs. It also helps strengthen your hips, your core as well as your butt. Don’t know how to do a bridge?
Here are some simple steps:
● Lie on your back on your mat with your hands flat on the floor and your knees facing up.
● While those knees are up, ensure your leg is flat on the floor
● In this position, raise your hips up, ensuring that your body is straight.
● Tighten your abdominal muscles while stretching, and then relax.
● Do this for a few reps and relax.
If you want more pressure, you can use a resistance band between your legs.
Standing lunges
If you want to develop strong legs as a woman, then the standing lunge is the right routine for you.
This is a stationary lunge that strengthens your hamstrings as well as your glutes. As you can see from the image above, lunging involves placing all your weight on the leg right in front of you while the leg you leave behind stabilizes the rest of the body.
This gives the core of your legs the right amount of strength required for everyday activities.
Bottom line
Fitness and exercise are essential elements of a fit and strong body. We need strong legs to survive and move, work, play, raise kids, and, of course, navigate when we’re a lot older. These simple routines can become part of your fitness lifestyle, allowing you to move freely without any pain.
