When it comes to having a leg day at the gym, you want to be able to glute and quad workouts properly. Or, perhaps you’re working out at home and looking for new ways to keep things interesting and exciting.
We’re simplifying it for you with four proven quad exercises to improve your leg day.
The great thing about stronger quads is that they can help prevent knee injury. It also improves performance and flexibility in your legs. Those are results you’re looking for outside of muscle definition.
Tips For Effective Quad Workouts
Before working out your quads, we highly recommend you consider the following tips to help enhance your workout goals.
Pushing yourself to breaking point isn’t necessarily an effective way to work out. In the long term, you may hinder your workout efforts.
So, what do we mean by this? Well, to begin with, you should always warm up before trying any of today’s best quad exercises.
You might like to use a treadmill to get your legs activated.
This process allows your body to begin adjusting to the workout, reducing the risks of injury.
What’s more, warming up also gets your blood pumping around the body, which can help power your workout and increase your ability to exercise for longer.
During the workout itself, we recommend not adding too much weight too quickly.
Of course, adding weights can substantially increase the effectiveness of a workout – but if you include too many, you may find yourself doing more harm than good to your body.
4 Best Quad Exercises to Try
It’s tempting to rush straight into a workout, but the quality is always better than the quantity of exercise. To get the best workout results, targeted workouts and exercises are needed.
Unfortunately, this is a mistake that many new gym-goers make but not for long. Learning the safe way to workout is all part of your exercise program.
Whether you’re working out at home or in the gym, these simple exercises could substantially influence your final results.
1. Bodyweight or Weighted Squats
Bodyweight squats are one of the most effective ways to work out if you’ve been looking for an easy and effective way to tone quads.
These squats help tone the hamstrings, glutes, and even core muscles.
To complete a single bodyweight squat:
- begin with your legs about hip-width apart
- bend your knees slowly while pushing the buttocks backward; this movement should help ease your body down towards the floor
- try to get your legs as close to a ninety-degree angle as possible
- hold this pose for a few seconds before straightening up again slowly
- repeat
2. Single Leg-Raise
A single leg raise might be ideal for your quad workout. Check out the video to see how to do it effectively.
What’s more, this simple workout option is also easy to make a little more challenging with resistance bands if you’d like to increase your quad toning potential.
To start:
- lie on your back, ideally on an exercise mat
- bend one leg ensuring that the soles of your feet are placed firmly against the floor
- slowly lift the straightened leg without moving the rest of your body
- hold it for two or three seconds at a 45-degree angle
- slowly lower the leg again
- repeat for a set of repetitions before moving to the other leg.
3. Step-Ups
Step-ups are highly effective workout options for lower-body toning and working out the quads, glutes, hips, hamstrings, and even the core muscles.
Start by:
- stand with one foot elevated on a platform and the other on the floor below
- slowly raise your body until you are standing solely on the elevated foot
- hold the pose slightly, your elevated leg should roughly be in line with your hips, at this point
- lower back down
- repeat
4. Lateral (Side) Lunge
Side lunges are incredibly popular for quads and are simple to do. To make the lunge easier, you can add weight by using dumbbells.
To complete a side lunge:
- begin facing forward with your feet together
- keeping one foot still and in position, take a large step with the other foot to either your right or your left
- push your hips backward and bend the moving knee to perform a partial squat; the unmoving leg should be straight
- slowly straighten up
- repeat on the other side.
Try to avoid twisting throughout the movement, as this could result in strains or injuries.
Get Started on Your Quad Exercises
Toning your quads should be a tough but enjoyable part of your workout. After all, working out should be fun, varied, and engaging.
But, as we all know, results are the main goal. So, keep improving the quality of your quad workouts.
