Beef up your tree trunks

Go and check out memes on social media, there is nothing worse or queerer than seeing a buff guy with skinny legs. No matter how hard you can punch, if you lack vigour and power in your lower body, then you’re going to be missing a very imperative piece of the puzzle. Men tend to concentrate on mirror muscles - chest, arms, shoulders, abs - and often wear pants to cover up their legs.

Leg exercises aren’t just for quads and hamstrings - these exercises will work on your core muscles, ameliorate your balance, and grant you the added benefits like grip power.

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The largest muscles in your body are in your legs, so you want to work them hard. Working on your lower body is tough. The movements that train your quads, glutes, and hamstrings - like squats and lunges - require a lot of effort and a lot of determination.

Here are six significant exercises that will help you develop a strong, healthy lower body. This training routine will make your lower half look and perform like a fighting champ.

Leg press machines furnish a substitute to the conventional squat by fetching the weight to you. These machine types feature either a 45-degree tilted ‘sled’ that boasts a platform and moving weight rack or a lever platform that moves horizontally from a seated position. The leg press machine has some distinctive rewards over other exercises and machines like it, particularly for its muscle targeting purposes.

Now it’s time to get some cardio into your lower body workout with sprints. Sprinting uses the same muscles as running, but requires that they are substantially more limber for short bursts of speed while avoiding injury. Running is powered by the legs, hips and glutes, so training the same muscles with a stress on speed will make you for sprinting. While training, avoid raising on the toes or pumping too high with the arms. Let the primary muscles used for running to supply power to sprint.

The Pistol or One Legged Squat is the ultimate king of lower-body exercises. The traditional barbell back squat just doesn’t hold a thread to the pistol. The pistol is a very tough exercise and those who can carry out the exercise with ease have startling leg strength as well as balance and elasticity. Start working on one leg like with one-legged squats. They may guard leg ligaments as well.

Leg extensions are a no-brainer inclusion to any lower-body workout. The leg extension is an isolation exercise that targets your quadriceps, the muscles on the front of your thigh. It is a simple movement, which occurs at only one joint - your knees. The leg extension fortifies your quadriceps and if done precisely, is not hard on the knee joint.

Squats are an important exercise to include in your workout plan. Whether you`re a guy looking to gain lean muscle mass, bulk up, or you're just trying to get in better shape and lower your body fat percentage, squats are one of the most effective exercises a man can do for those purposes. Even though squats primarily work the muscles in a man's lower body, they also help by stimulating a large growth-hormone release, ameliorating the development of your upper body at the same time.

A true gym rat won’t shun deadlifts. Deadlifts work your back, butt, arms, forearms, legs, shoulders, traps, and abs. Not bad for one exercise. Oh, and it also pumps up your whole body and can even release extra testosterone, which will help you in your muscle building.

From the August 2017 issue of FHM India.