Any athlete dreams, first of all, of a beautiful torso, muscular arms, a strong back, and sculpted abs. But for some reason, not every one of them pays due attention to leg training. Needless to say, a strong guy with thin, expressionless leg muscles looks ridiculous, even, at times, ugly. As for girls, they pay much more attention to their legs, knowing how it attracts men. In order for athletes of both sexes to look harmonious, you must not only know how to pump up your legs, but also train them regularly.
How to pump up a girl’s legs at home
Pumping up legs for girls is not fundamentally different from regular men's workouts. The difference is as follows:
- Less projectile weight.
- Fewer sets and more reps.
Reference. The squat should be at full amplitude, this is what develops the gluteal muscles - girls pay special attention to them. As for male athletes, they prefer to do half squats precisely for this reason - it hardly develops the buttocks.
Thin girls should pay more attention to working on mass, and fat ones - on relief. Those who have too much distance between their thighs should pay more attention to the hip adductors.
Alexander Shestov
TRX Certified Trainer
Ask a Question
If a girl wants to lose weight, in addition to pumping up her legs, she also needs to run. It is during running that all unnecessary fat is burned in the best way.
Strictly speaking, knowing the principle of pumping up your legs, you can optically correct their unevenness by pumping up the necessary muscles.
It seems that everything is simple, but each person has his own tastes and preferences: someone simply does not like to do certain exercises - for this there are all kinds of auxiliary ones, which also give a certain effect. For example:
- All types of “scissors” - lying on your back, reclining, lying on your side, etc.
- Exercises using a ball. For example: squeeze it with your knees while lying on your back, do the same while standing, in a half-squat.
- Side leg lunges.
Any girl wants to see her butt perfect - there are many reasons for this, including male attention. A great exercise for this is “butt walking.” “Steps” are taken while sitting on the floor or bench, alternately. Thus, the athlete slowly moves forward or backward with the maximum amplitude of “steps” - this is very important. You can make auxiliary movements with your hands (in the air) with turning the body.
Reference. This exercise is beneficial not only to those who care about a beautiful butt. For men, it will help not only strengthen the gluteal muscles and remove excess fat from them, but also maintain the prostate in a healthy state or even cure it in this way, if necessary.
Prevention of varicose veins
Leg training is an excellent prevention of vascular diseases of the legs, which can develop due to an inactive lifestyle. By training your legs, the following positive improvements occur:
- the tone of the veins increases;
- normalization of arterial inflow;
- improving physical endurance;
- improvement of venous/lymphatic outflow;
- improvement of peripheral circulation.
For those who have varicose veins, heavy physical activity is contraindicated. They need to be replaced with leg exercises and moderate strength training. For unhealthy vessels, you should not apply excessive tension, which can only aggravate the problems.
For those who have not yet combined bodybuilding with running
Running is necessary for any bodybuilder: both girls and men. Positive points when running:
- Metabolism increases.
- The removal of waste and toxins from the body is accelerated.
- The prerequisites for the growth of muscle tissue are given.
- Accelerates muscle fiber growth.
- Blood flow and cardiovascular system return to normal.
- Recovery processes are accelerated after shock training.
- Excess calories are burned faster.
- The central nervous system responds beneficially to strength training.
During the period of building muscle tissue, a bodybuilder should reduce running to a minimum, or even stop it altogether. If the athlete’s goal is to lose excess fat tissue and work on relief, then such exercises should be longer and more intense.
After running for even a week, the athlete is pleased to discover that his stomach has become smaller and his abdominal exercises have become more effective.
Warm-up
Before starting any workout, you should warm up well to protect yourself from cold injuries. Warm muscles have greater elasticity and are therefore less susceptible to injury. As warm-up exercises, use various circular movements around the joints and circular movements of the torso. A good warm-up allows you to get more effect from each exercise performed. Professional athletes often face this problem, but in our article we are talking about amateur training with the goal of growing muscle mass, and not setting records. Always control the load you give. In any exercise, technique should come first. The weight you lift should not contribute to poor technique.
How to pump up a man's calves at home
The calves (shin muscles) belong to the category of the so-called “stubborn muscles”, or, as they are also called, “lazy”. They are quite difficult to inflate, since they only work fully when the knee is fully extended.
While studying at home:
- In a standing position. You need to take some object on which you can stand with your toes so that your heel hangs down. For example, it could be a rolled up rug or a thick board - other options are possible. When rising on your toes, in the upper phase of the exercise you need to fix the position of your legs for a few seconds.
- Performed in a sitting position. The socks are still on the same mat, and some kind of weight is fixed on the knees - for example, a container of water.
You can also use a backpack with books as a load - in the first case it will be behind your back, in the second - on your knees.
Number of approaches – 4, repetitions – 15-20. This is how the calf muscles develop in most cases.
Reference. This is not suitable for some athletes, meaning they need to do low reps with high weights. But this is rather an exception to the rule.
Caviar for girls
You should start training your calves with a simple warm-up exercise called the “wave.” While standing, on your entire foot, you need to shift from toe to heel like a paperweight in the greatest possible amplitude. This will prepare the muscles for work. Further:
- Starting position: standing, holding dumbbells. Feet shoulder width apart. Raising on your toes
- Same thing, only heels are together and toes are apart
- Now toes together, heels apart
- Sitting on a chair, dumbbells on your knees, toes resting on a thick book. Heel raises
- Same, but standing
- You can increase the load by training each leg separately.
You can do it without weights if you press your palms against the wall so that your torso is at an angle (about 45 degrees).
The number of repetitions is more than ten.
Training order
Perform one basic leg exercise on one training day. For example: Mon. – chest, cf. – deadlift, pt. – squats. All other exercises should only complement the basic ones. Perform 3-4 different exercises in one workout and always start with the basic one. Make sure that the break between workouts is at least 24 hours. This is the minimum period for complete restoration of damaged muscle fibers. After you have built a base and your muscles have become stronger, after a few months you can begin to introduce the use of exercise machines into your training program. There are excellent units that can be used to supplement the basic exercise. Exercise machines are used to draw muscles. But for this there must be something that can be drawn. Therefore, start using exercise equipment no earlier than after 2-3 months of regular exercise. Don't forget about quality rest and healthy sleep. Muscles grow when we rest after a hard workout. Therefore, try not to do heavy physical work between workouts. Sometimes this is unavoidable, so in such cases, plan your activities in accordance with your training schedule.
How to quickly pump up your legs: there is no third option
In order to pump up your legs, you don’t need to philosophize. What is the principle itself:
- Squats. This exercise will pump up the hip extensor - quadriceps.
- Leg bends. Here it is appropriate to work on a special simulator, on the bench of which the bodybuilder lies face down, loading his legs with a special device, and extends his legs. However, the exercise machine can be replaced with a simple bench, and the necessary weights can be fixed on the legs in any available way - this has already been mentioned.
In addition to the listed muscle groups, there are also the so-called adductor muscles of the thigh. To pump them up, you just need to move your toes before squats, or vice versa, spread them to the maximum.
This is all. No one has invented anything else, and, knowing the principle, you only need to select the exercises you need for yourself. By the way, many famous athletes themselves came up with these for their training and achieved unprecedented success. Knowing this, you can pump up every muscle in your legs.
Of course, a bodybuilder will get the greatest effect from training in the gym under the guidance of an experienced trainer. The gym, of course, has more favorable conditions for pumping up your legs than at home.
Calf muscles
These body muscles also need additional exercise. The essence of each exercise is to raise your toes with weights. You can use machines and free weights for this. The weight you lift determines the degree of stress on your calves. The number of repetitions for this exercise is unlimited. You need to do each set until complete failure.
To summarize your leg muscle training, write down the following training plan:
- deadlift: 4x8-10;
- squats: 4x8-10
- weighted calf raises: 4 to failure.
Spread these exercises over different training days. Calf training can be combined with deadlifts and squats in one training day.
Nutrition
How to quickly pump up your legs? Fast - no way, but you can speed up this process with the help of a properly selected diet. In building muscle mass, 50-60% of success depends on high-quality and timely nutrition. You will have to seriously reconsider your diet depending on your body type. If you look like a thin stick with knots, then you will have to eat for two. Your body is very energy-consuming, even during rest. You should increase your calorie intake by eating various types of carbohydrate foods: cereals, pasta, nuts, dairy products, eggs, bananas, etc. Don't forget about the source of protein - eat lean poultry and beef. If you're more like Winnie the Pooh, you'll have to eat significantly less flour and make protein-rich foods the basis of your diet. Don't try to eat everything at once. Eat 5-6 times a day: pay maximum attention to a powerful breakfast, don’t skip lunches and don’t forget to have dinner after your workout. To reduce the load on the gastrointestinal tract from a large meal, you can include sports food concentrates in your diet: protein, gainer, amino acids, etc.
Motivation
Knowing how to pump up your legs, you need to maintain your results and gradually increase your working weights. For this to happen, you need to regularly engage in self-motivation. The main thing is to hold on for the first few months and not give up on training. To maintain your own spark, motivate yourself with energizing music. Even when you don’t want to go to the gym, turn on the tunes that turn you on, and before you know it, your legs and a surge of adrenaline will carry you to the gym. Don't forget to watch motivational videos with famous athletes. To make your workouts as effective as possible, you will have to meet someone at the gym. A partner will help you lift the weight for those critical reps when you can no longer do it on your own. This will help to fully engage muscle fibers. Having a partner's help will allow you to focus on the technique of performing the exercise, and not on lifting the weight haphazardly. Ask him to encourage you during rejection. Your partner's motivational phrases will help your body produce extra adrenaline to perform a few more repetitions.
