A quick and effective leg workout that you can do anywhere with your bodyweight

I am back again with another great workout for you. You are going to start calling me your personal trainer soon with all my workout articles here on HubPages. That is okay though I don’t mind doing some personal training for people at the gym I workout at and I surely don’t mind helping you, otherwise why write these workouts right?

I was at the gym the other day to do a weight workout to exercise my legs. I wasn’t really into doing the leg press or squats so I decided I would do body weight exercises to work out my legs and while I was at it since I wasn’t using weights I would also make sure this workout was also a cardio workout. I seem to always get lots of weight training but cardio is the one thing I could use more of.

So what was I going to do, well since I was already changed and walking into the gym I had to think quickly. What was I going to do to train my leg muscles today? I really enjoy walking lunges and how they work my whole thigh and I even think they work my butt and calves a bit. What else could I add to walking lunges to give all of my legs a workout and also giving me some cardio at the same time? I came up with deep jumping squats which I would do immediately after a set of walking lunges. The deep jumping squats will work your quadriceps (front of thigh) hamstrings (back of thigh) and also the buttocks and calves. Doing the jump squats are hard enough when you do them alone but when you add them right after another leg exercise you are just asking to get your heart pumping hard and your thigh muscles pumped up also. These two exercises together will surely increase anyone’s fitness level.

When I do walking lunges I do them on the track at the gym I work out in so I go about 35 to 40 feet one way then I turn around and do another 3 to 40 feet back, this is one set. For this workout I would immediately start doing jumping squats when I finished one set of lunges, doing as many as I could until I couldn’t jump any more. That would be one set of jumping squats. If you do it this way your heart will be pumping big time.

Some people like to use weights when doing lunges. I usually do walking lunges as a warm up so don’t use weights but if I was doing just straight lunges and not walking lunges I would definitely use some dumbbells.

If you prefer to or just don’t have the room you can do regular lunges in one spot instead of walking lunges then you can just do your jumping squat right in the spot you did your lunges. Make sense?

Whether you do walking or lunges in one spot do them until your thighs are starting to burn or tire out whichever comes first. That usually happens at the same time though.

Then do your jumping squats until you try to jump and just don’t get air born.

Doing these exercises like this is called a superset. One set of lunges and then one set of squats together is one superset. If you do three supersets like this that should be enough to give your muscles and heart a quick yet great workout.

Standing with your feet pointed straight ahead step ahead with one leg leaving the other behind. Your forward leg should be far enough ahead of you but not too far. When in this stance after stepping forward with one leg you squat down and your forward legs knee should not go further ahead than your toes if there was an imaginary vertical line in the air. Keep your back straight at all times. After squatting down start to stand up and as you stand take your leg that was behind you and move it forward and perform the same movement. This is a walking lunge. If you are doing a stay in place lunge after squatting down you would push off with your front leg going back into the starting position and then repeating the movement with your other leg.

This one is pretty straight forward. Stand with your legs about shoulder width apart or maybe slightly narrower. Toes pointed straight ahead or slightly outwards. Position your toes so that you are comfortable.  Now squat down and try to touch your butt to your heels. It is important to squat this low so that you involve your hamstrings in the movement.

Now jump in the air as high as you can and on your way down drop right into the beginning position and repeatedly do this movement without stopping until you cannot perform another.

I find when I do lunges on a regular basis I notice more muscle development on the lower part of my quadriceps right above my knees. So if you want to look good in a pair of shorts make sure you include this exercise in your routine. Jumping squats I haven’t done much of but plan on including them more often in my workouts. They really get my heart pumping as I am sure they will yours.  That is your quick and effective leg workout. I hope it works great for you.