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Get Great

legs!
womeN’S
FITNeSS

By Caroline Sandry Photography Neil Francome

With spring finally here and summer approaching, now’s the time to get to work
on your legs, as you ease them out of hibernation from under track pants and
leggings! The workout involves some great yoga and Pilates moves, to work on
your balance and stability, as well as the deep core muscles of your hips, torso
and pelvis, whilst of course shaping great legs.

thewarm-up
Leg training – add
running and other exercises
Adding running and other selected workout
options to your workouts will specifically
shape your legs.

1. Steady running
If your goals are toned and shapely legs and
to improve your fitness and stamina then get
your trainers on and head out for some long
steady runs – running will burn calories and
build strong lean legs. The pace will target ski warm up
your slow twitch (endurance) fibres and Targets: all the muscles
increase their oxygen processing ability. involved in the workout
2. Sprints and faster running
If your goal is to build shapely legs with good
definition, try some sprint training, plyometrics
(jumping and leaping type exercises) or studio
cycling, as these will fire up your fast twitch
muscle fibres which will hypertrophy (increase ✱ Stand tall, inhale and
in size) to give you athletic legs. stretch your arms up
beside your ears
The workout ✱ Exhale, lean forward and
Pay attention throughout the exercises: use bend your knees as you
slow, controlled movements and focus on the swing your arms back
muscle groups working – for example, for the behind your bottom
knee raise (exercise 1) focus on the glutes in ✱ Inhale and stretch up tall
✱ Repeat, breathing deeply
your standing leg, as they will be working hard
for 1 – 2 minutes
to stabilise your pelvis.

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theexercises

womeN’S
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1: Knee Raise
Targets: stability, ankles, hips, glutes and thighs
✱ Stand on your right leg, draw your right knee cap up and squeeze your
right glute. Keep your hips level
✱ Bring your hands out in front of you at shoulder-height
✱ Raise your left knee in front of you, lower without touching the floor
✱ Repeat 15 times on each leg

2: Knee Pump
Targets: hips, glutes and hamstrings

✱ Stand on a step with feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand, elbows bent, palms facing in.
✱ Shift your weight onto your right leg, and step back into a reverse lunge with the left leg, simultaneously
lifting the left dumbbell forward as in the photo.
✱ Keep both knees at right angles – don’t let front knee pass in front of toes.
✱ Drive the left leg up towards your chest as you raise your right arm
✱ Perform 15 reps moving smoothly from one position to the next
✱ Repeat on the other side

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3:
One
and
womeN’S

a Half
FITNeSS

squat
Targets:
quads, glutes
and hamstrings

✱ Stand on step with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand, arms by sides, palms facing in.
✱ Squat until thighs are near parallel to floor, keeping knees behind toes and back straight.
✱ Rise halfway and hold for 2sec before lowering back into full squat.
✱ Return to start – this is 1 rep
✱ Perform 15 reps.

4: Yoga ‘Utkatasana’
(Awkward Pose) series
Targets: quads, glutes, core and shoulders

1. 2.
✱ Stand with feet slightly apart and parallel ✱ Now rise up on onto tiptoes – heels as high as possible
✱ Raise your arms out in front of you at shoulder height, ✱ Again, sink down into the seated position thighs parallel to
palms down and arms strong the floor
✱ Sit down in an imaginary chair, keeping your heels down ✱ Keep your shoulders away from your ears and your arms strong
and shoulders away from your ears ✱ Hold steady and breath keeping heels high for 30-45sec.
✱ Hold this position and breathe steadily for 30-60sec (Performing this series without your trainers will make work
✱ Slowly return to standing your feet and ankles work harder)

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5: Yoga ‘Tuladandasana’
(Balancing stick Pose)
Targets: back, glutes, hamstrings, core and shoulders

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✱ Stand with your arms stretched up beside your ears
✱ Take a big step forward with your right leg as you
simultaneously stretch your arms up and forwards
and take your left leg out and up behind you,
hinging at your hips to lower your body
✱ Continue simultaneously stretching arms forward and
leg back as you bring your body parallel to the floor
✱ Keep your standing leg straight and your quads
tensed for support
✱ Hold steady for up to 30sec, remember to breathe
✱ Repeat on the other side

6: Pilates side leg lifts


Targets: hips, legs and bottom
✱ Lie on your right side with your body supported on your elbow (elbow directly
beneath shoulder and head and shoulder ‘lifted’ away from the floor)
✱ Keep your waist still as you lift and lower your left leg 15 times
✱ Keep your leg up, and circle 10 times each way
✱ Repeat with right leg

7: scissors
Targets: hip flexors, quads and core

✱ Lie on your back with both knees drawn into your


chest and your head up
✱ Straighten one leg up towards the ceiling and
scissor the other towards the floor. Your hands
should guide your top leg - do not pull as this will
reduce the effort in the hip flexors
✱ Exhale as you scissor legs apart, inhaling quickly
between each movement
✱ Keep your legs straight and fully extended and
your spine in neutral on the floor (never arched)
✱ Repeat 20 scissors

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