I can always feel it through the gait belt. For safety, we place one on every patient we plan to mobilize, to give us something to hold on to for patient stability. Once experienced, you can feel through the gait belt how confident patients are in their movements, how strong (or weak) their core musculature is, where weaknesses exist in their gait pattern, and their current degree of fatigue. I always strive to teach my students to be gait belt whisperers.
Many studies show the inverse relationship between a sedentary lifestyle and overall health, including life expectancy. While I feel that this is somewhat common knowledge for many of us, I also think that it’s quite easy to underestimate how much weak legs factor in the equation. Weak legs make you less able to do what you want to do, make you feel less confident, rob you of excellent cardiovascular benefits, and place you into a vicious cycle of ever-increasing weakness and inactivity that can ultimately decrease your lifespan.
Let’s change that.
5 Exercises for Strong and Sturdy Legs
Strong legs give you confidence and the ability to do what you love. Whether hiking, biking, dancing, or keeping up with the grandkids, a regular exercise routine for your legs will support your journey forward.These exercises work well for my patients and are quite manageable. However, I advise speaking with your medical provider to ensure that they are right for you.
1. Bodyweight Squat
What It Does: Bodyweight squats focus heavily on the gluteal and quadriceps muscle groups, strengthening the muscles you use to stand, sit, and climb stairs.Why I Like It: This exercise provides a fantastic amount of benefit for the amount of work you have to put in, and can be performed anywhere you stand.
Step 1: Stand with your feet hip-width apart, toes facing slightly outward, and your arms by your side.
Step 2: Slowly squat down until your knees reach 90 degrees of knee flexion. As you lower into the squat, move your arms up from your sides until they are straight out in front of you. Be sure to sit back into the movement to keep your knees from moving out in front of your toes.
Step 3: Rise back into a standing position as you lower your arms. Lowering down and then rising back up counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions.
Modifications: If squatting to 90 degrees doesn’t work for you, just do what you can at first and build up from there.
2. Bodyweight Lunge
What It Does: This delightful exercise strengthens the same muscles as the bodyweight squat while also maximizing balance and flexibility.Why I Like It: I find that the lunge movement not only strengthens the body, but also trains your balance.
Step 1: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms by your sides. You can stand next to a counter, chair, or table if you need to hold on to something to maintain your balance.
Step 2: Step straight forward approximately three feet with your right foot and bend your right knee while lowering down until your left knee almost touches the ground. From here, rise back to the starting position and repeat the movement. You can perform your sets on one side at a time or alternate legs.
Step 3: Lowering down and then rising back up counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
Modifications: As with the squat, if you can’t go low, just do what you can. Trust me, you will get better over time.
3. Squat Walk
What It Does: This exercise places your gluteal and quadriceps muscles under load while also introducing forward movement, making it highly dynamic.Why I Like It: Static activities are great, but adding dynamic mobility to your exercises is even better.
Step 1: Squat down until your knees are at approximately 90 degrees of flexion. Lace your fingers together and hold your hands just under your chin.
Step 2: Keep your head and posture upright and tall, and walk forward while staying in the squat position. How far? My standard therapist’s response is “three miles, or at least 30 feet.”
Step 3: Try to perform 5 sets of 30 feet, feeling free to modify sets and reps to suit your needs.
Modifications: You can shorten the distances if needed. Also, this exercise can be challenging for some to perform down low, so perform it in a shallow squat at first if needed.
4. Lateral Squat Walk
What It Does: In addition to working on your gluteal and quadriceps muscles because of the squatting position, this movement also increases focus on lateral musculature.Why I Like It: This exercise introduces strong left/right weight shifting to the squat walk movement, combining with the forward squat walk to create a whole package of balance and exertion.
Step 1: Start this exercise as you would the squat walk.
Step 2: Initiate movement by stepping approximately two to three feet to the left with your left foot, making sure that your foot lands flat when you put it down. Keep your back straight and your head upright while keeping your hands under your chin.
Step 3: Take approximately five steps to the left, and then the same amount to the right, being sure to not speed up.
Step 4: Moving one way and then the other counts as 1 set. Try to perform 5 sets, feeling free to modify sets and repetitions as you see fit.
Modifications: Take smaller steps if you need to. Also, you can put your foot down sideways when stepping and then roll it flat while transitioning over to it if you don’t quite have the balance to step flat-footed.
5. Calf Raises
What It Does: This exercise keeps your calf muscles from getting jealous of all the attention the gluteal and quadriceps muscles have been getting. Beyond that, it allows for specific training of your gastrocnemius and soleus muscles.Why I Like It: Calf raises make calves stronger, and strong calves lend more sure-footedness to your mobility.
Step 1: Start this exercise standing on a step, with your heels suspended in free space. Gently relax your heels down as far as you comfortably can.
Step 2: Initiate movement by slowly rising all the way up on your toes. Hold for one second before lowering back down.
Step 3: Rising onto your toes and lowering back down counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions.
Modifications: Perform these activities close to something you can hold on to for balance if you need to.
Combined, these activities can help increase the strength, flexibility, and mobility of your legs and make you safer and more successful with daily tasks. Add weights to make them more challenging if you wish to increase task difficulty. I suggest that you perform them at least three times per week. I hope that they work well for you.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here.