Legs and Ass

As opposed to tits and ass... this post is dedicated to Legs and Ass :)

You know who's ass that is... don't ask, just enjoy it.

and if by chance your ass is that tiny... kiss my you know what
(however if you happen to be owner of said ass... call me ;))

So there's lots of muscles in the legs which means lots of different spots to tone... quads, hamstrings, inner and outer thighs, calves and glutes.


So how can we tone each of these muscles and what all women want to know particularly is how do we get rid of the cottage cheese around our thighs? Well I hate to tell ya there is no magic cure like hundreds of google ads claim there to be, the cure is diet and exercise ladies. Burn off the fat and tone the muscle underneath and you'll see definition in some areas and smooth curves in others. Slowly but surely I'm seeing definition in my leg muscles and my hips are becoming more trim. They're not where I want them to be yet, but I've learned a lot of exercises to help tone and trim.

First things first... make sure you warm up! You want to warm up before trying any exercise, it's important for several reasons:

A proper warm up can increase the blood flow to the working muscle which results in decreased muscle stiffness, less risk of injury and improved performance. Additional benefits of warming up include physiological and psychological preparation. (source)

Some warm up exercises you can do are a light jog on the treadmill for 5-10 minutes, or the elliptical for the same amount of time. If you don't have access to exercise equipment you can warm up with jumping jacks, running in place, mountain climbers, high knees, jumping side to side or front to back on your toes, or even a brisk jog around the block..what ever you do you want to move around, get your heart rate up and break a bit of a sweat first and then you know you're warmed up.

Ok, so here's some exercises so you can get those toned sexy legs! (rawr!)

Lunges:

Starting Position

Stand with your feet about 6 inches apart from each other toes pointed forward.

Action

INHALE: Step forward with one leg and lower your body to 90 degrees at both knees. Don't step out too far. There should be 2 to 2.5 feet between your feet at this point. Keep your weight on your heels and don't allow your knees to cross the plane of your toes.

EXHALE: Push up and back to the starting position to complete one rep. Repeat all reps on one leg, then switch to complete one set.

Special Instructions

Keep your back upright. The further you step, the more you work the glutes (buttocks) and hamstrings. The closer you step, the more you work the quadriceps muscles on the top of your thighs. Place your hand on a chair or wall or balance if necessary.

Muscles Worked: Quads, Glutes

If regular lunges are too boring for you, or you want to change them up and make them more difficult then here's a few things you can do to modify your regular lunge:

Add some weights

Add and oblique twist with a medicine ball

Add a step

OR use a paper plate and do a reverse lunge. Place one foot in a paper plate instead of stepping forward you will slide the foot in the plate back behind you doing a reverse lung. The paper plate will reduce any friction and you'll see that it works your muscles more trying to balance yourself and slide back at the same time.

Lateral Lunges.... for those thighs!

Starting Position

Begin by standing with your feet shoulder width apart, hands on hips.

Action

INHALE: Step out to the right and shift your body weight over your right leg, squatting to a 90 degree angle at the right knee. Try to sit down with your butt, keeping your back as upright as possible.

EXHALE: Push off and bring your right leg back to center to complete one rep. Finish all reps on this side, and repeat on left side to complete one set.

Special Instructions

Keep your weight on your heels and make sure your knees don't go over the plane of your toes. Hold your arms out in front of you to help with balance.

Muscles Worked: Quads, Glutes, Inner thigh

Here's some ways you can modify your lateral lunge:

Add a dumbbell press

Add a resistance band. We use resistance bands in bootcamp to increase the intensity of our leg exercises. You can get bands that comfortably strap on the ankle and don't dig into the skin for under $20.



With these bands you can increase the intensity of leg lifts or lateral lunges. They will definitely do a lot more to tone your hips and thighs! You can also do a standing oblique sit up with these to add a little ab action into the mix.

Squats!! (these also come in handy for when you need to do the drunk bar-toilet hover ;))


(image source)

Starting Position

Begin this exercise by standing with your feet wider than shoulder width apart and your toes pointed forward.

Action

INHALE: Slowly lower your body and remember to bend slightly at your hips. Keep your weight back on your heels and your back as upright as possible. Make sure your knees don't cross the plane of your toes. (don't extend your knee past your toes)

EXHALE: Straighten legs and come up to the starting position to complete one rep.

Special Instructions

Do not go past 90 degrees at the bend in your knees because this causes additional stress on your joints. If you feel pain in your knees, just go down to where you don't feel pain and come back up. If you have difficulty performing this exercise you can also use a chair or wall to help with balance and the movement until you build sufficient strength.

Muscles Worked: Quads, Glutes

Here's some ways to modify your squats...

Single Leg Squats (use a chair for balance)

Wall Squats with an Exercise Ball

Wide Leg Squat with a Dumbbell

Or you could do a squat but hold in the down position for ten seconds before coming back up.

Or... you're legs will hate me for this one... Do a wall sit. Trust me you use a lot of muscle control trying to hold your self up and sit still against a wall. Hold these for one minute...want to challenge yourself even more... Lift one leg off the ground!

Bridges... now these (when done properly) will tighten that ass! Bridges will also tone up your hamstrings and the back of your thighs.

Starting Position

Lie with arms at sides, feet on floor, knees bent. Press into heels.

Action

EXHALE: Slowly lift hips off of floor toward ceiling, squeezing the glutes.

INHALE: Return to starting position.

Special Instructions

Squeeze glutes through entire rep. Try not to let butt touch ground when lowering between reps.

Muscles Worked: Hamstrings, Glutes, Quads

Just remember to squeeze everything when you're doing these, suck your belly button down to your spine and tightened your glutes towards your belly button, nothing should be hang out loosey goosey.

If you want to modify this to make it more challenging.... lift one leg off the ground. Trust me your hamstrings will be screaming at you later for that ;)


So there's just a few toning exercises you can do to tighten up those legs, thighs and ass. Remember you want to keep doing cardio as well so you burn those calories. So go for a jog, use the elliptical, or play some soccer! Soccer (in my opinion) is the ultimate leg work out. You're constantly cutting, back pedaling, shuffling, shifting, turning, sprinting...basically you're going to work every single muscle in your legs playing this sport and get a great cardio work out as well.

No wonder soccer players have such sexy legs.

Mmmm Iker Casillas you sexy beast you... shame he plays for Madrid.

All images/exercises can be found on sparkpeople.com unless otherwise noted.


p.s. This post is dedicated to shoewhoreninja (holy crap look at the LAMB shoes she posted!!)... who will probably tell you that walking around in a sexy pair of heels will do wonders for your legs and ass as well... and guess what she's right, heels give your tush a nice lift.