Muscle gain in legs

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bowdlill
bowdlill Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone!

I am looking for exercises which will help tone my thighs and calf’s, so basically my legs in general! “Never skip leg day!”. I don’t have access to a gym however do have a yoga mat and a motivation to get fit! I am aiming more towards my thighs to gain lean muscle! Any suggestions x?

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  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
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    Squats. Maybe lunges.
  • EmmieEatsEverything
    EmmieEatsEverything Posts: 15 Member
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    If you google bodyweight exercises, a large number of suggestions and programs come up. I’m sure a qualified professional will correct me if I’m wrong here, but just about any good exercise program with body weight movements will help your legs. You don’t need to -just- do a million squats and lunges. I’d look for a program with good reviews that works your whole body, too. I’d be wary of any program that promises to reduce fat in a specific area or a program that is very tough and ambitious if you’re starting out. (Looking at you, Pinterest.)

    If you can get equipment piece by piece, I’d start adding weights at some point. I saw the most change in my legs when I started doing barbell squats.
  • Eternally_Hers
    Eternally_Hers Posts: 26 Member
    edited December 2018
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    For thighs lunges are great. Do you have stairs at your place? For calves stand on the stairs with your heel off of the edge and raise your body up with your Calves. Then as you go down, the further down you go the more stretch you'll get in your calves. Googling home workout exercises works as well.

    On a separate note humans are quad dominant and having muscle imbalances can lead to injuries. A lot of people who have pain in the back of there knees actually have a hamstring injury. To avoid complications down the road, I'd really suggest working out your hamstring as well.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,399 MFP Moderator
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    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    There are some body weight programs in the above link.. but its going to be difficult to gain much muscle in your lower half with weights and will definitely be suboptimal. The key is progressive overload, and your legs can take a pretty good beating.

    And if you want to get lean, just diet down and cut body fat.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,982 Member
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    Eternally_Hers wrote: »
    For thighs lunges are great. Do you have stairs at your place? For calves stand on the stairs with your heel off of the edge and raise your body up with your Calves. Then as you go down, the further down you go the more stretch you'll get in your calves. Googling home workout exercises works as well.

    On a separate note humans are quad dominant and having muscle imbalances can lead to injuries. A lot of people who have pain in the back of there knees actually have a hamstring injury. To avoid complications down the road, I'd really suggest working out your hamstring as well.

    @bowdlill I see you have a yoga mat - how experienced are you? The Moon Salutation series uses the hamstrings a lot and Sun Salutations, especially as part of vinyasa/Power/Ashtanga, will give you a great workout.
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
    edited December 2018
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    Eternally_Hers wrote: »
    For thighs lunges are great. Do you have stairs at your place? For calves stand on the stairs with your heel off of the edge and raise your body up with your Calves. Then as you go down, the further down you go the more stretch you'll get in your calves. Googling home workout exercises works as well.

    On a separate note humans are quad dominant and having muscle imbalances can lead to injuries. A lot of people who have pain in the back of there knees actually have a hamstring injury. To avoid complications down the road, I'd really suggest working out your hamstring as well.

    Regarding the hamstrings, doing squats at proper depth (i.e. putting your hip crease at or just barely below your knees - for most this means that the top of your leg is basically parallel) do work your hamstrings well because they get extended on the way down and are active in the push back up. This is where leg presses and partial squats fall short. You don't have to do hamstring-specific exercises to get them good work. In fact, many folks complicate with hamstring injuries by overdoing the leg curl.

    So for squats specifically, make sure that you go fully to the proper depth, whether you are doing body weight squats, kettle bell, high-bar, or low bar. Your hamstrings will get positive effect from that.
  • Eternally_Hers
    Eternally_Hers Posts: 26 Member
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    Silentpadna wrote: »
    Eternally_Hers wrote: »
    For thighs lunges are great. Do you have stairs at your place? For calves stand on the stairs with your heel off of the edge and raise your body up with your Calves. Then as you go down, the further down you go the more stretch you'll get in your calves. Googling home workout exercises works as well.

    On a separate note humans are quad dominant and having muscle imbalances can lead to injuries. A lot of people who have pain in the back of there knees actually have a hamstring injury. To avoid complications down the road, I'd really suggest working out your hamstring as well.

    Regarding the hamstrings, doing squats at proper depth (i.e. putting your hip crease at or just barely below your knees - for most this means that the top of your leg is basically parallel) do work your hamstrings well because they get extended on the way down and are active in the push back up. This is where leg presses and partial squats fall short. You don't have to do hamstring-specific exercises to get them good work. In fact, many folks complicate with hamstring injuries by overdoing the leg curl.

    So for squats specifically, make sure that you go fully to the proper depth, whether you are doing body weight squats, kettle bell, high-bar, or low bar. Your hamstrings will get positive effect from that.

    Well that's really good information to know. I didn't know that. One question I would have is when doing lunges, if you go down far enough, would that also work the hamstrings?
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
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    Hill sprints, pistol squats.....use water jugs as weights for lunges and bulgarian split squats.

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