Firm & Tone Your Legs for Strength, Stability & Balance

Every woman wants to have firm, tone sexy legs, while every man wants to have muscular, strong legs. Our legs are the base support, which hold up the rest of the body. They provide stability, balance, strength, and functionality. Strong leg muscles allow for daily activity such as walking, stepping, lifting, running and sports. We take these simple abilities for granted until we are unable to do them. Therefore by keeping your leg muscles strong, you can support the weight of the body in a functional capacity. Additionally, symmetrical muscle strength in both legs is necessary for healthy neuromuscular activity. Daily leg activity and exercise will keep your legs strong and muscles tone.
The legs contain large muscle groups that require daily stimulation. Lack of leg activity will allow leg muscles to weaken. There are six major muscles that make up the thigh, knee, and calf. The thigh is made up of the quadriceps in the front of the leg, hamstring in the back and adductor on the inner thigh. The calf is made up of the gastrocnemius and soleus in the back and tibialis anterior in the front. The calcaneal attaches at the heel to the calf while the hip flexors, iliopsoas and gluteus muscles attach the thigh to the hip. All these muscles work in conjunction to bend the knee, straighten at the hip, and point the toes. If there is a weakened muscle along the way motion can be hindered.
When working on the legs there are two objectives to tone or to slim. Whether you want to tone your legs or slim your legs, there are two ways achieve both of these goals, lose body fat and firm muscles. Aerobic exercises along with a fat burning diet are necessary to burn calories and lose body fat. Strength and weight training firm and tone the muscles. The large muscles of the legs require hard work and need to be pushed to near fatigue. When the muscles are overloaded with stimulus they release the anabolic hormones testosterone and growth hormones, which help to firm and grow the muscles. Strength training also supports a healthy metabolism and helps to lose body fat.
Leg exercises should be completed 3 times a week allowing resting days in between to allow for recovery and growth. Exercises should include 8-12 repetitions and 2-4 sets with resting periods of 45-60 seconds in between sets. Both single joint and multi-joint exercises should be included to both isolate and work several muscle groups to tone, firm and slim the legs. Individual leg exercises such as lunges or squats are great for working the entire leg while an entire leg workout will completely work all the muscle groups in tandem. The legs will become firm and toned when the muscles are strong, healthy, and conditioned.