Credit: Rex
Give these easy leg exercises a go and within a few weeks your legs will be more firm and toned. All the exercises can be done at home and you don't need any fancy gym equipment.
Leg exercises
Want lovely toned legs? You don’t need to spend hours in the gym or buy fancy equipment – just give these leg exercises a go! Make sure you complete all the stretches (to protect yourself from injury), then choose any of the exercises that follow. Do a leg workout 3 times a week and you should see results in 4-6 weeks.
Note: Listen to your body and never push yourself too hard. If something is painful, then stop and consult your doctor.
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Leg exercises: Stretch
Good for: Your hamstrings (the muscles that run down the back of your thighs).
What to do: Stand with one leg in front of the other, feet facing forwards. Bend your front knee and place your hands on that knee for support. Keep your knee in line with your toes. You’ll feel the stretch down the back of your back leg.
Hold for: 8-10 seconds.
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Leg exercises: Stretch
Good for: Your quads (at the front of your thigh).
What to do: Stand with your legs together, feet facing forwards and bring one foot up behind your bottom, keeping your knees together.
Hold for: 8-10 seconds.
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Leg exercises: Stretch
Good for: Your calf muscles (at the back of your shins).
What to do: Stand with your feet together, facing forward and bend down and try to touch your toes. If this is too difficult, you can stand with your feet apart a little bit. Try not to bend your knees – but don’t lock them back either. You’ll feel this stretch in your hamstrings too.
Hold for: 8-10 seconds.
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Leg exercises: Stretch
Good for: Your outer thigh muscles
What to do: Stand with your legs shoulder width apart, feet facing forwards, hands on your hips. Lean over to the left hand side – but don’t lean forwards or backwards. You’ll feel the stretch on the outside of your right leg. Repeat on the other side.
Hold for: 8-10 seconds.
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Leg exercises: Stretch
Good for: Your inner thigh muscles.
What to do: Stand with your legs shoulder width apart. Turn your left foot so it’s pointing out and have your right foot pointing forwards. Bend your left knee and lean left – but keep your body upright. You can rest your hands on your bent knee gently for support. Keep your knee in line with your toes. You’ll feel the stretch down the inside of your right leg. Repeat on the other side.
Hold for: 8-10 seconds.
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Leg exercises: Jogging
Good for: All of your leg muscles, and it’s a good cardio exercise too.
What to do: Jogging is a great way to tone up your legs – especially if you can find a route that includes a few small hills.
How long for: Start jogging for just 10-15 minutes – and build it up as you get fitter. Keeping it slow will make it easier to go for longer.
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Leg exercises: Step-ups
Good for: All your leg muscles – and great if you’ve only got a few minutes to spare.
What to do: You don’t need an exercise step to do step-ups – just use the stairs in your house. Stand in front of the bottom stair and step up, one foot first then the other. Then step back down. Keep repeating this – the faster you go, the harder it’ll be. It’s a good idea to wear trainers while you’re doing this to protect your ankles. You could also make more of an effort to walk up the stairs instead of taking lifts and escalators when you’re out and about – every little helps!
How long for: Start off doing just one minute of step ups and build it up. For just walking up the stairs, just fit it in whenever you get chance.
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Leg exercises: Lunge
Good for: The front of your thighs and your bum.
What to do: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Step forward with one leg and as you step, drop your back knee down so that you’re in a lunge position. Keep your back straight and your front knee inline with your toes. Don’t let your back knee touch the floor.
How many: Do 12 lunges (6 on each leg), have a rest for a minute and then do 12 more.
Make it harder by: Holding dumbbells (or tins of beans) in your hands, and curling your arms up to your shoulders on each lunge.
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Leg exercises: Leg raises
Good for: Your outer thighs.
What to do: Lay on one side with your legs stacked, one on top of the other. Raise the top one and then lower it – repeat, but don’t touch your legs back together in the middle.
How many: Do as many as you can for 30 seconds on each side – then have a break and repeat. Increase the time by 15 seconds every week.
Make it harder by: Add an exercise to work your inner thighs as well – cross your top leg over onto the floor and then do small ‘pulses’ raising and lowering your bottom leg.
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Leg exercises: Calf raise
Good for: Your calves.
What to do: Stand with your feet hip width apart and raise up onto the balls of your feet. Hold for a few seconds and then lower back down to the floor slowly.
How many: Start with 10 and increase each time you do them.
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Leg exercises: Donkey kick
Good for: Outer thighs plus your bum and lower back.
What to do: Kneel down and lean forward onto your elbows – with your arms shoulder width apart. Raise one leg at a time, as high as it’ll go, keeping your knee bent. Hold it for a few seconds then lower back down and repeat on the other leg.
How many: Start with 12 on each leg and increase over time.
Make it harder by: Wearing ankle weights.
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Leg exercises: Chair squat
Good for: Thighs, hips and bum.
What to do: Stand in front of a chair with your feet hip width apart. Bend your knees and squat down so you’re hovering just above the chair then raise back up. Keep your knees inline with your toes. The chair is there to help you squat to the right level, but you can use it for support if you need a rest too!
How many: Repeat 8-10 times and increase over time.
Make it harder by: Getting rid of the chair and squatting lower.
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Leg exercises: Jumping squat
Good for: Thighs, hips and bum.
What to do: It’s like a chair squat, but without the chair. In between each squat, jump up in the air.
How many: This is a very difficult exercise, so just start with 5.
Make it harder by: Adding weights onto your legs.