Finding Fitness: Two great leg workouts

Hello everyone and welcome back to your shortcut to new fitness and health habits. 

This week I will be guiding you through a quick leg routine to get the calories blazing. Following that, we will look at muscle recovery and what happens when we build muscle.

Building muscle can be tough, but for beginners it is an easier process. A great place to start with muscle synthesis is in your legs. The legs hold some of the largest muscles in the body, so they burn many calories and energy when put to the test. 

I’ll guide you through two great leg workouts that target your quads, hamstrings and glutes. To begin, we will talk about the lunge.

Start by stepping forward with one leg, trying to keep your feet flat on the floor. If not flat, make sure that your front foot stays flat and just the heel lifts on the backside. Lower yourself by bending the front leg until your back knee almost touches the ground. 

Then push yourself back up using the front leg. Then switch legs and repeat on the other side. I would begin with four sets of 10 reps on each side (add weight as you feel comfortable). To really exert yourself between sets, lay flat on your back with your feet flat and knees bent. Then push your pelvis upwards and squeeze your glutes. 

This movement is called a glute bridge and will help give you a complete lower-body workout. Aim for four sets of 10 reps to really give yourself a challenge.

Following any intense workout, it is important to hydrate and help your body recover. Muscle recovery is a lot like the recovery of any part of the body after injury. As we lift or cause strain in the muscle it causes damage. 

This damage then causes the body to release inflammatory cells to the site of the injury, resulting in swelling. Therefore, after a nice workout, your muscles look bigger and might feel a little more sore than normal. The body starts to rebuild the muscle itself and uses proteins to form new fibers and increase the mass. 

It’s important for a person to consume the appropriate amount of protein daily, otherwise our body will run out of fuel to form these muscles which can lead to recovery problems. Protein shakes and protein bars are a great way to ensure you are hitting your daily protein goals.

As you achieve your diet and exercise goals, you get one step closer to becoming the healthy and thriving individual we all aim to be. Next week we will examine pull-up variations and methods.

We will also look at easy ways to use fruits and vegetables to increase the nutritional value of our meals while not sacrificing taste.