Muscles of the Lower Leg

The 45 degree leg press is a great way to work the muscles of the hip and thigh. You might see 45 degree leg press machine referred to as a "hip sled." This exercise is commonly used as an alternative to the squat. Instructions for the 45 degree leg press are as follows: Firs ...more

The stiff leg deadlift is a great exercise for the hamstring and glute areas. The movement is relatively easy to perform. The key is to keep the lower back flat as you bend at the waist. Do not round the back on the way down. The preferred feet position is about shoulder width ...more

If you are looking for an easy way to work the calf muscles, consider this exercise. The calf is scientifically known as the gastrocnemius (upper portion). The soleus or bottom half of the calf works as a synergist during this exercise. First, sit in the leg press seat and po ...more

This how-to shows a great muscle combo workout: legs and abs. Men's Health, the preeminent source for fitness videos, breaks it down for you. Loop resistance tubing around your ankles and pull it up your legs until the loop is just above your knees. Place your feet more than ...more

We know, we know: squats hurt. Like, really bad. But when it comes to exercise, the more a workout hurts the more effective it is at toning up those trouble areas. Take this dumbbell squat, for instance. It's a basic squat modified by you holding a dumbbell in each hand. Incr ...more

If you want killer abs, then you have to work on them. Men's Health gives you the expertise advice on improving your abs. Try this "pulse up" exercise that helps beginners strengthen their core muscles. Lie with your hands under your tailbone and extend your legs straight up ...more

The calf muscles at the back of the lower leg are important to target when strength and weight training for speed and agility. Learn how to do calf muscle exercises in this strength training video. Take action: use platform or stairwell, stretch calves before flexing muscles, ...more

In order to do the resting crocodile pose, you will need to lie on your stomach. Separate your legs. Space your legs greater than hip distance apart. Your toes should be pointed. Cross your arms. Your arms and chest should form a triangle with the floor as the base. Rest your ...more

Learn how to exercise by doing the 1 leg bridge and straight leg raise with ankle weight. EXERCISE DETAILS: Primary Muscle Group: hip flexors Secondary Muscle Group: abs and obliques, glutes, hamstrings, lower back, quads Base Movement: bridge, leg raise Equipment: ankle weigh ...more

Doing a low back relief exercise can make your body feel more relaxed, and stretch out your muscles. First, lay down on your back with your arms at a T, and cross your right leg over your left. Deep inhale and when you exhale, let your knees drop to your right. As you are doin ...more

Learn how to exercise by doing the bent over glute kickback with ankle weight and support. EXERCISE DETAILS: Primary Muscle Group: glutes Secondary Muscle Group: hamstrings, lower back, quads Base Movement: hip extension Equipment: ankle weights Training Type: weight training ...more

The "wood-chopper" isn't just for lumberjacks. You can get the full woodsman workout yourself, without the axe! Men's Health shows you how to do the wood-chopper exercise, and when you power through this move, your upper and lower body, along with your core muscles, are workin ...more

Learn how to do power hang knee tucks. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. enefits Hang knee tucks are tough. You'll need all the strength in your abs and upper body to bring your knees up over your head in a tuck, and even more to lower them back down. For this ...more

Learn how to do hang knee tucks. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits If you think hang knee tucks sounds like an easy exercise, you would be wrong. You'll need all the strength in your upper body to bring your knees up over your head in a tuck, and even ...more

Good mornings are used primarily to work the lower back muscles. The hamstrings and gluteus muscles are also involved in the movement. This exercise is not without controversy. Some maintain that good mornings can lead to lower back injuries. While this might be true in rare ...more

This fitness how to video demonstrates beginners level cobra poses. Standing poses along with cobra poses are great for opening the muscles in the lower body. Boost your energy level in the morning with a sun salutation that incorporates the cobra pose. COBRA POSE Lie flat on ...more

Learn how to squats and plyometric jump squats. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits This combination exercise alternates body weight squats and plyometric jump squats to give your legs and body a maximum workout. Plyometric jump squats provide many of th ...more

Learn how to do knee tuck floor crunches. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits Many people overwork their upper abs while neglecting their lower abs, which are weaker and harder to target. Knee crunches work both together, developing your upper and lower ...more

Search "Pilates animation" on Wonderhowto for other more videos by this user. If you are looking a for a quick pilates reference, take a look at this pilates animation. This a quick & easy, clearly explained diagram of the pilates mat exercise: Classical Pilates for Beginners ...more

Learn how to do seated one leg presses. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits The seated one-leg press is a safe and effective way to focus on building the leg muscles without putting extra stress on the lower back. Leg presses build strength and increase ...more

Learn how to do single leg knee extensions. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. enefits These extensions will help you strengthen and bulk up your quads. Important note: Do not do this exercise if you have any knee pain or injuries. Muscles Worked Legs (quads) ...more

Squats are probably the most useful exercise you can do at the gym—no other single exercise encourages more muscle growth. With a range of motion that incorporates many different muscle groups in the legs, core and upper body, squats strengthen not only those muscles, but also ...more

Squats are probably the most useful exercise you can do at the gym—no other single exercise encourages more muscle growth. With a range of motion that incorporates many different muscle groups in the legs, core and upper body, squats not only strengthen those muscles, but also ...more

Men's Health is the perfect place to get workout advice for toning your abs. The "medicine ball chop" exercise will work all of your muscles as you rotate and move through the full range of movement, giving a great abs workout. Stand holding a medicine ball with your arms str ...more

What's a great way to work out your abdominal muscles without hurting (or possibly injuring) your back? Hanging knee raises are perfect, because they isolate and work out the rectus abdominis muscles and obliques with little or no strain on the back and neck. It requires a ver ...more

Learn how to do single-leg twisting dumbbell curls. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits Balance is everything in this combo bicep curl, which combines a one-legged stance with a hammer curl on the upswing and a regular curl on the way down to add a twist ...more

Learn how to do dumbbell swings on single leg. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits This combination exercise mixes dumbbell lateral and front raises with a one-legged support to train your shoulders, legs, balance, and coordination. You'll use your entir ...more

Learn how to do dumbbell walking lunges. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits Walking lunges give the muscle-building benefits of traditional lunges with the additional benefit of balance and control training. Add the weight of dumbbells to increase the d ...more

Learn how to do chin ups on a Smith machine. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits We'd all like to be able to bust out a set of chin-ups, but the reality is that many of us have to work up to it. This exercise introduces the chin-up and makes it manageab ...more

The crossover lunge is an advanced exercise that is used to build strength and improve flexibility in the muscles that act on the hips and thighs. The crossover step is often used as a warm-up to prepare for more dynamic exercises or sports conditioning drills. The following ...more

The step-up is a great exercise for the muscles of the upper leg. It effectively works the thighs, hips, and butt. The calf muscles work as synergists during the step-up exercise. They assist with balance. The step-up exercise can either be done one leg at a time or alternatin ...more

This is a common embellishment for back ochos and takes a little practice to work up the speed to do it but once you do you'll find lots of places to fit it in. During back ochos, beat your free foot in front as it passes the other on the "&" count (halfway through the beat), ...more

Search "Pilates animation" on Wonderhowto for other more videos by this user. If you are looking a for a quick pilates reference, take a look at this pilates animation. This a quick & easy, clearly explained diagram of the pilates mat exercise: Classical Pilates for Beginners ...more

Search "Pilates animation" on Wonderhowto for other more videos by this user. If you are looking a for a quick pilates reference, take a look at this pilates animation. This a quick & easy, clearly explained diagram of the pilates mat exercise: Classical Pilates for Beginners ...more

Save yourself back pain and injury by learning the correct way to pick up heavy objects. Watch this video to learn how to lift a heavy object. You Will Need * Common sense * Good posture * People to help * A dolly or mechanical lift WARNING: If you have a history of back pr ...more

The largest muscle in the back is scientifically known as the latissimus dorsi. You might see it referred to as the "lats" or "wings." The lats are used any time you pull something. For example, when you open a fridge or a car door, you are primarily using your lat muscles. Th ...more

The prone hip extension exercise is used to target the gluteus muscles. It is relatively easy to perform. This exercise is sometimes called the reverse hyperextension. To begin, lie down on a stability ball. Ensure your stomach is on the ball, and then place your elbows and f ...more

There are a number of unconventional training methods which can be used to improve strength. The truck pull is one of them. When performing this exercise, the speed at which the vehicle can be pulled is very slow. Thus, it is ideal for building strength in the lower body. The ...more

Learn how to do low cable bent bar squat and curl holding the bar high. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits The constant cable tension in this combo bicep and leg exercise serves a dual purpose, providing excellent resistance for both your curls and you ...more

Learn how to do single leg cable curls. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits A cable curl is an excellent resistance exercise for targeted bicep work; a cable curl on one leg is a core exercise you won’t soon forget. You’ll need to work to maintain your ...more

Search "Pilates animation" on Wonderhowto for other more videos by this user. If you are looking a for a quick pilates reference, take a look at this pilates animation. This a quick & easy, clearly explained diagram of the pilates mat exercise: Classical Pilates for Beginners ...more

Those stretches you learned as a kid – called "static stretching" – can actually weaken muscles before exercise. Learn how to warm up the right way, with "dynamic" stretching. Watch this video to learn how to warm up and stretch correctly before exercise. You Will Need * Wel ...more

Learn how to do a floor bridge hold. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits The floor bridge hold is an excellent core-strengthening exercise. Starting position In a prone position (face down), position yourself on the tips of your toes and elbows so that ...more

Learn how to do step-ups. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits The one leg step-up is a simple and effective leg exercise that strengthens leg muscles while building balance and leg-muscle control. Muscles Worked Legs Starting Position Stand facing a fl ...more

Back pain is a common discomfort that women experience during and after pregnancy. Though a short, effective standing and seated series, this yoga how to video concentrates on alleviating some of these common aches and pains. Side bending poses help release lower back pain by ...more

Learn how to do dumbbell step-up with shoulder press. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits The one leg step-up is a simple and effective leg exercise that strengthens leg muscles while building balance and leg-muscle control. In combination with the dumb ...more

Learn how to do floor crunches. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits Unless you let your gym membership expire 15 years ago, chances are you know what a crunch is. But knowing what a crunch is and doing a crunch properly are two different things. A well- ...more

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to perform a sumo squat. It is the same as a regular squat, except the legs are extended more wider. The bar should be setup a little bit below your shoulder level. Go into a split stance when picking up the bar. Keep your core muscles ...more

Dale Warner shows us how to get rid of PMS cramps in about 10 minutes. It's an easy, natural, effective and free approach. When it's that time of month, the bloating and cramping can be serious. This solution only takes about 10 minutes to practice. He uses a Jin Shin Jyutsu ...more

The Swiss ball brings an element of instability to basic exercises like the straight leg bridge. This stimulates and conditions your deep core muscles improving spinalstability. In addition to these small but important joint stabilizer muscles the Straight Leg Bridge also targ ...more

If you're planning to become a veteran yogini, you'd better start practicing and loving the up dog pose now, because you'll be spending the greater part of your yoga flow doing up dogs and down dogs. The up dog targets the muscles of your upper and lower back as well as your ...more

Michelle Berger explains how to do a Bulgarian or single leg squat. Have a bench behind you and step forward 2-3 ft. A good way to start is to have something to hold onto in the beginning. Simply place your leg behind you on the bench, lower yourself down, lower down perpendic ...more

Learn how to do narrow grip seated rows. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life. Benefits Seated rows develop the entire complex of muscles in the upper back. Success depends on isolating those muscles to perform the row—your lower back would like to arch, and your ...more

Dips are great exercises, in or out of the gym, and are easily done. They're the perfect exercise for working out your triceps brachii and pectoralis muscles. This also works out a secondary muscle— the deltoids. THe beginner to intermediate exercise is a great way to work all ...more

In this video, you are shown, you are shown how to properly do a concentrated hip extension. You are instructed to lay on the floor, supported on your elbows. With one knee on the floor, you are then told to life the opposite leg off the floor, completely extended, to form a h ...more

Improve your cardiovascular system and tone your legs with help from Men's Health. With this leg workout exercise, you'll work on many muscles of the body and improve your cardio system. The exercise is called the "dumbbell corkscrew to single arm Cuban press". Stand holding ...more