Tips for Thigh Exercises

Long, long ago, man would hunt eight or more hours a day for food, whether it be mobile and made of meat or stationary plant fibers. These people are called “hunter-gatherers”. They made their living by killing or collecting anything edible they could find and bringing it back to their families.

Now that we, as a species, have left the hunter/ gatherer phase and progressed all the way to the “Chinese take-out/ Walmart” phase, many of the muscles that our ancestors worked into perfection have become weaker at best, atrophied at worst. The hamstring muscle group is one such group, but thankfully there are a few simple thigh exercises that can be done to repair or maybe even prevent this.

The squat is an extremely easy exercise and can be improved with the use of a barbell once basic repetitions no longer yield noticeable results. Start by firmly planting your feet to shoulder width. Keeping your back straight and knees pointed in the same direction as your feet, bend your knees forward, lowering your hips as well. Keep this motion going until your knees are barely higher than the back of your thigh. Slowly stand and repeat. To add more resistance to this exercise, take a barbell and rest it high on the back of your shoulders, holding it at both sides.

If a squat puts you too far off balance, a good alternative is the “barbell straight leg dead lift”. This, obviously requires a barbell or other barbell-like heavy object. As intimidating as that may sound, it’s simply lifting a weight of your choice in a simple fashion. Adopting a stance that is slightly smaller than shoulder width, lift your weight to waist level. Keeping your legs completely straight, lower the weight to the top of your feet using your hips, then your waist once your hips are fully bent. Resume the original position and repeat.

As with all exercises. Remember that you should start of slowly and with as little weight as is effective, then increase the weight slowly as your muscles become more used to the exercise.

Hamstring Rehabilitation Exercises

Hamstrings are a tricky muscle to rehabilitate,  and in order to ensure that you do not repeat the injury you need to rehab it right the first time. There are a number of hamstring exercises that you can do, but it is essential to know what to do first.

When you get injured, there needs to be a period of rest. This is essential in order for the muscle to heal. If you do not give it this rest then it is likely that you will re injure it, and probably worse. Usually, you only need to give it three days f complete rest, anything more than that will actually become detrimental.

Sometimes a large problem that causes people to get injured is imbalances in surrounding areas. If you have a weak lower back, or a weak bottom, then your hamstring may have to take up the slack and do extra load. In this case it is very important in the process of rehabilitation, that you actually do a lot of leg workouts. Make sure that your glutes are strong and firing, and make sure that your lower back is strong and functioning correctly.

A lot of these injuries occur when sprinting. Running fast puts a  lot of stress on the hamstring during the deceleration phase, and it will mean that if you are weak in this area, or surrounding muscles, your hamstrings will overwork and get injured. In the process of rehabilitation, you must make sure that you slowly get back to running fast. it is very important that you go through this process, otherwise when you go to sprint again, you will just rip it again. Work up slowly through the paces, and if you feel any pain, stop. Depending on the severity of the injury it will usually take around 3 weeks to rehab from a tear in the muscle.

How to Do Muscle Workout to Your Benefit

Injuries to muscles can be painful and can take a long time to heal. Pain and healing time usually increase with the size of the muscle. Hamstring injuries can be particularly troublesome. A good way to avoid muscle injury is to take preventive measures.

Patience can play a big role in maintaining healthy muscles. Have you ever been at the gym and seen someone rush into the weight room and immediately begin lifting heavy weights. In this fast paced world, many of us are always in a hurry, trying to get in one more activity before we call it a day.

Well, with exercise as with most things, it’ll be better in the long run if we slow down. Before you jump into an intense workout you should allow your body to warm up, much in the way you allow your car to warm up on a cold morning. You wouldn’t think of starting your car, pulling onto the highway and pushing the speed up to seventy miles an hour without first letting the engine warm.

Injury to a muscle often occurs when the muscle is cold. If you are going to lift weights, plan to take an additional ten minutes to warm up. Simple stretches are good for starters and even better might be to go through the exercises you plan on doing minus the weight.

For example, if you are working on your hamstrings and plan to do squats then start by doing simple knee bends with no weights. This will allow your body to get prepared for what is about come. Once your body have gotten used to the simple workouts such as, walking, jogging and squats, you can add a more resistant option. The most important thing to remember is that it’s not how tense and hard you are doing your workout that give you the best results but how regularly you do it.

Hamstring Exercise Ideas at Home

There are several hamstring exercises and stretches that you can do in the comfort of your own home. These can be done without weights, with exercise balls, dumbbells, barbell, or simply using a bottled water to act as weights.

Do the ball curl by lying down and placing your heels on the edge just above the workout ball. With this position, your back should be slightly lifted on the floor. Slide your heels, curl your legs and bring the ball towards you. Repeat several times to work you hams and quadriceps.

Jogging, high jog, distance running, and marathon are also great workouts. These work out the muscles and tendons in your legs making them strong and susceptible from any leg and bone injury.

The thigh extension is done in a standing up position. Curl one of your legs backwards and hold it with the opposite arm. You will feel a pull in your thigh that warms up and prepares you thigh for a more vigorous workout.

Lunges and squats are workouts that you can execute with or without weights. From a standing position, stride one leg only and lean forward making sure your back is straight. You can stay in this position after 15 counts or you can pump or bounce up and down for a pumping style lunge. Squats, on the other hand, are a bit similar to the lunge. From your standing position, go down slowly by letting your legs curl as if you are about to sit. Do this at least 15 times. Most workouts work well when you go through the pain and resistance to build muscle, which can make your legs really super strong.

Another easy workout that can be done at home is running up and down the stairs. If you have long stairs at least about 10 steps, it would really work well. Make sure to run up and down the stairs at least 10 times one way. If you keep doing this at least three times a week, you will see great results in a few weeks.

Effective Lower Back Exercises

When it comes to lower back workouts there is no shortage of options. Some good, some not so good, and some are just better than others. Below you will find a list of a few that known to be effective.

Good Mornings – Stand and place a barbell across the back of your shoulders much like you would to do squats. With your legs straight, keep your head up and bend forward at the waist until your upper body is parallel with the floor.

Dead Lifts – Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and a barbell on the floor in front of you. Keep your back straight and bend at your knees to pick up the barbell. Raise the weight using your legs and back until you are fully upright. Complete this by rolling your shoulders back and sticking your chest out. For effective dead lifts keep your head up during the movement and be sure to keep the barbell as close to your body as possible.

Back Hyperextensions – While laying face down, raise your arm and head simultaneously with the opposite leg. If correctly done you will feel a stretch in your lower back. To end the repetition, lower your arm and head with your opposite leg. Alternate each side of the body until the amount of repetitions you wish to do is reached.

These are just a select few of effective lower back exercises. When planning your workout routine you should keep in mind that the main function of the lower back is to pull and since the average person does a fair amount of pulling each day priority should be placed on the training of the lower back.

So aside from improving your back body, effective lower back stretches will dramatically lower the risk of injury to the area. For your safety be sure to remember to do proper stretching before this and any other physical activities.

Tips on Easy Hamstring Workouts

It is advisable to begin with stretches before working out the hamstrings. This is to prevent and avoid possible injuries that could happen after or during your workout.

Try these easy leg stretching techniques and exercises along with the proper breathing.

Standing up, extend one of your legs by striding forward to make a lunge. These work the muscles and tendons at the back of your thigh before proceeding with your barbell or dumbbell lunges.

For the dumbbell lunge, do the similar procedure by extending the other leg in front of you while holding a dumbbell on both arms. A barbell positioned behind the neck can also be used.

The leg curls can be done in a standing, seated or lying position. For the lying position, lie on your belly using a machine and position the dumbbell-like weight above your calves. Curl you legs backward then to the original position. The seated leg curl is done by placing your calves above the dumbbell-like weight and curling or pulling your legs towards you in a sitting position.

You can also do squats to warm up your legs. From a standing position, act like if you are about to sit in an invisible chair. Do these for several times to loosen up those muscles and tendons before going on a barbell dead lift exercise. This physical activity will set you up for the more tense leg movement you plan on doing.

Do the barbell or dumbbell dead lift by executing a squat while holding a barbell or dumbbell in front of you.These will add weight that could increase the pressure on your hams to build muscle. If you don’t have a barbell or dumbbell available, use water bottle while it has water in it. The weight should be ok if are a beginner. Once advanced though you may want to own the actual equipment.

Simple Hamstring Exercises Without Equipment

It is possible to exercise your hamstrings without holding any equipment. These exercises are also good for strengthening your leg muscles and complement your other cardiovascular exercises like walking and running. Here are some hamstring exercises without equipment.

One-Legged Squats. This hamstring exercise also works out your gluteus and front thighs. Stand facing a wall, at a distance of an arm’s length. Extend your arm out to the side, just under your shoulder height and put your palm against the wall, as if pushing it. Place your foot at a 45-degree angle and farthest from the wall. While keeping your body upright, lower your body until the non-weight bearing knee is close to the ground. Support yourself by pushing against the wall. Then, return to the starting position by pushing yourself up. Repeat this exercise for 6-8 times.Upper Body Exercises without Equipment

Donkey Leg Lifts. Start with a kneeling position. Raise your leg out the back, keeping it straight. Lift the same leg as high as you can without tilting your hips. Squeeze your hamstring and butt at the highest position of the leg. Lower your leg but do not let it touch the ground. Repeat this exercise for 6-8 times. Do the same with the other leg.

Basic Hamstring Exercise. This exercise is also a good way to cool down after a few rounds of other hamstring exercises. It is also important to take note that you must first get your stomach in contact with your thighs before your head does. Doing it the other way around will end up the exercise stretching up your back, not your hamstrings. Start by sitting up with your legs straight out in front. Try to sit ahead of your tail bone. Bend forward at the hips and try to rest your body against your thighs. Stretch out and try reaching your toes. If you are unable to reach your toes, then your shins will do.

Squats – Great Leg Exercises

In the summer of his tenth grade year of high school, Tim decided that if he wanted to make the varsity basketball team the upcoming year, he needed to increase his vertical leap. His ball handling skills were impeccable and he was the best shooter on his junior varsity squad, but he knew if he wanted to compete with better and older athletes, he had to be quicker and he had to jump higher.

Never one to spend much time in a weight room, Tim wanted one exercise that would work the right muscles in his legs and help them develop over a short period. When he asked around, the advice he got more often than any other was, try doing squats.

Squats are great leg exercises because they work several muscle groups and multiple joints. This type of movement increases core strength, improves muscle balance, enhances stability and strengthens joints. Compound skills such as this also require less time and less repetitions to reach the desired result.

This lower body exercise primarily works the quadriceps and the glutes. However, other muscles groups such as the calves, hamstrings and back muscles are also worked. While this is a relatively simple procedure, proper form is essential to avoid injury.

Exercise:

• With barbell and weight on a squat rack at shoulder height, step under the bar so that it rests on your shoulders. The feet should be at shoulder width.

• Grasp the bar with your hands for security and lift, and then take a step back. Bend your knees until your thighs are at least parallel with the floor.

• Lift back to the standing position and you have completed one repetition.

If you have never tried this exercise before, start with light weight and limit the repetitions. The effects (in the form of soreness) will probably be greater than expected the next day.

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