What are some body weight leg exercises?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “jackknife squats convict conditioning“
About Vivian
Written by: Vivian
Published on:
What are some body weight leg exercises?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “jackknife squats convict conditioning“
About Vivian
My bread and butter are hindu squats and hindu push ups (a.k.a. Dand-Bethak)
They keep me strong even when I am not doing heavy squats at the gym, and develop real explosive power in your legs that transfers to other activities.
The key is (one you are conditioned) to do them as fast as you can, in high numbers and go ALL the way down getting the full range of motion of motion in your legs/knee joint.
Once you are good at them, you can’t start doing jump squats as well.
One side effect is that you will be able to jump higher on those box jumps people seem to love at the gym, without ever doing a single box jump.
I don’t do much single leg squats (pistols) as they are much harder, and fatigue your legs pretty quick. Still worth learning though.
There is LOADS of free stuff on the net. If you want paid stuff, and more advanced whatever, it is out there, but expensive and not much use to you until you have mastered the basics with several months, if not a a year or more of training.
Having said that, here are some sources of paid products I have used for years and recommend:
*Matt Furey’s “Combat Conditioning” Page on mattfurey.com
*Elastic Steel Splits Flexibility, Stretches for Splits, Martial Arts Side, Front Kick Stretching Technique DVD
*Combo set of books (cheaper than individual books, I LOVE these books, worth their weight in gold)
Total Body Conditioning Training Program, Bodyweight Exercise Resistance Training Routine
Dragon Door also have some excellent products, (books, DVDs, equipment etc) their specialty is Kettle bell products and exercises, but they also have BW exercise stuff too
Books | Dragon Door
I recommend any of these (two of those bruce lee ones are personal writing, not training, but I figure training and inspiration go together)
Amazon Basics 14-Piece Kitchen Knife Block Set, High-Carbon
My bread and butter are hindu squats and hindu push ups (a.k.a. Dand-Bethak)
They keep me strong even when I am not doing heavy squats at the gym, and develop real explosive power in your legs that transfers to other activities.
The key is (one you are conditioned) to do them as fast as you can, in high numbers and go ALL the way down getting the full range of motion of motion in your legs/knee joint.
Once you are good at them, you can’t start doing jump squats as well.
One side effect is that you will be able to jump higher on those box jumps people seem to love at the gym, without ever doing a single box jump.
I don’t do much single leg squats (pistols) as they are much harder, and fatigue your legs pretty quick. Still worth learning though.
There is LOADS of free stuff on the net. If you want paid stuff, and more advanced whatever, it is out there, but expensive and not much use to you until you have mastered the basics with several months, if not a a year or more of training.
Having said that, here are some sources of paid products I have used for years and recommend:
*Matt Furey’s “Combat Conditioning” Page on mattfurey.com
*Elastic Steel Splits Flexibility, Stretches for Splits, Martial Arts Side, Front Kick Stretching Technique DVD
*Combo set of books (cheaper than individual books, I LOVE these books, worth their weight in gold)
Total Body Conditioning Training Program, Bodyweight Exercise Resistance Training Routine
Dragon Door also have some excellent products, (books, DVDs, equipment etc) their specialty is Kettle bell products and exercises, but they also have BW exercise stuff too
Books | Dragon Door
I recommend any of these (two of those bruce lee ones are personal writing, not training, but I figure training and inspiration go together)
Wanbasion Black Stainless Steel Knife Set, Sharp Kitchen Knife
Body weight leg exercises range from easy and doable for most people to ridiculously hard and challenging. Let’s start with some easier variations.
The Jackknife Squat
As with all squats, don’t let your knees ride out in front of your toes*, and press through the heels when getting back up. Over time, increase the height of the object you’re holding on to.
Half Squats
With half squats, you’re handling your entire body weight only with your legs, but not going through a full range of motion. They’re great for building the mobility you need to full squats. Simply try going lower in your workouts over time, and you’ll get there eventually.
The Full Squat
Here, you’re handling all of your body weight and going hamstring to calf, pausing for a moment, then pushing back up. Most healthy young people should be able to do these fairly easily, provided they are limber enough.
You can probably go even a little deeper than this guy. However, do not allow your back to round. Keep it flat or slightly arched.
Close Squats
Now things start getting interesting. A close squat is performed with your legs together and toes pointing out slightly.
These build some decent strength in the medial head of the quadriceps, an essential part of being able to asymmetrical and unilateral squats of any kind.
Lunges
Lunges and reverse lunges are a great first step into loading your legs differently. There is a ‘working leg’ and a ‘supporting leg’. Here too, make sure to keep your knees behind your toes.
Bulgarian Split Squats
BSS are a great exercise, standalone or with weights. They teach you balance, train your stabilizer muscles, and strengthen your legs further, making the single leg squat and variations beyond that more and more attainable with every workout.
I really like her form (The exercise, not her body, well, actually… never mind) The main point is: She keeps her back straight, and the knees behind the toes. She could allow herself to lean forward a little more, however. Gets you strong glutes and hamstrings.
Single Leg Squats/Pistol Squats
Assuming you’ve paid your dues with the previous exercises, you are now ready to train for the pistol squat. Take it away, Al:
Keep your knees behind your toes* here too, although it’s a whole lot harder. Don’t flex your back too much either. Also remember to not let your knees cave in towards the center, as that can lead to knee problems. Maintain form and respect your body.
You can take it further by doing walking pistols, which require balance and strength in equal amounts:
The Shrimp Squat
Shrimp squats are a fiendishly hard type of single leg squat, and you shouldn’t even try one if you can’t do pistols confidently (for at least 8 reps on either leg). The difference between the pistol and the shrimp squat is the following: A pistol squat is a knee-dominant exercise, the shrimp squat becomes more hip-dominant, which will train your hamstrings and glutes more than your quads.
First a video showing an intermediate step:
Here’s the full shrimp squat:
You’ll notice that the knee is riding out in front of the foot. Don’t worry too much about it, but try to keep the under control, and don’t just let it go out all the way.
To make shrimp squats harder, stand on a bench or other elevated platform, so the back leg can travel even further down. This is sometimes called the ‘Jumbo Shrimp Squat’.
The above exercises alone will take anywhere from a few months to a few years to master. When you get to that level, you can confidently claim to have extraordinary skill, balance, and strength.
There’s more to leg training than squats and lunges, however, so let’s also talk about those exercises we ignored.
Calf Raises
Calf raises are a nifty little exercise for those people who want to develop that area a little more. Calves tend to respond well to high volume training, so shoot for 30-50 reps in your sets.
Doing them on an elevated platform and allowing your heels to travel below your toes drastically improves tendon strength. Over time, you can switch to one-legged variations to increase the challenge.
Rope Skipping
Rope skipping isn’t necessarily a strength exercise, but it’s a great conditioning tool, and also puts a lot of focus on the calves. It’s a great basic power exercise, and also improves your aerobic conditioning. Using it as a warm up is also an option. It’s definitely a lot more entertaining than calf raises. Rope skipping can be made harder by increasing the speed of the skips and going on one leg or switching between legs.
Glute Ham Raise
The glute ham raise is an amazing exercise to test and increase your hamstring strength, and it also trains your glutes and back. You can do them on a machine ( Glute Ham Raise Exercise Guide and Video ), or on the ground with a buddy (or your couch) holding you down ( Floor Glute-Ham Raise Exercise Guide and Video ). Tuck a cushion under your knees, they’ll thank you for it. When you get to doing the floor version with a full range of motion without using your hands, your hamstrings are truly strong. My only complaint is that the floor version doesn’t train the hamstring in hip extension, just in knee flexion. Still a great exercise, though.
You can make it more of a hip extension exercise by bending at the hip rather than straightening the knee. Keep your back straight throughout this movement.
Hyperextensions
Going on with the theme of glute, hamstring and back strength, hyperxtensions are also great. You can do the standard version ( Hyperextensions (Back Extensions) Exercise Guide and Video ) or the reverse variation ( Reverse Hyperextension Exercise Guide and Video ). As you wish to train your legs, I’d advise you to stick with the reverse version.
Glute Bridges and Hip Thrusters
A lot of people underestimate the importance and value of their glutes and hamstrings, when in reality, they are key to having strong legs. Glute bridges and hip thrusters train the hamstring, glutes and back.
Glute bridge
Hip thrusters
Both of these can be made significantly harder by doing them with only one leg and/or elevating the legs.
Step Ups
Step Ups are a decently challenging exercise, especially when done for a high number of target reps in a short time. They could also be considered a precursor to the single leg squat.
Notice the knee behind the toes and the relatively straight back.
Stair Walking
Climbing stairs the usual way is not very hard for most healthy people, but what if you skip a stair step or two? Your entire leg gets to work harder and gains strength as a result. In a way, this is a ‘real world’ step up series.
Leg Strength and Power
The exercises shown hitherto build strength, but that is only side of the coin when it comes to leg training. You also want your legs to be explosive and fast, for when you have to catch the bus, or the love of your life is in a running train holding his hand out for you (Indians will know). To turn that raw strength you have built into power and speed, you will need exercises that require you to be explosive. Many of the above mentioned exercises have a plyometric counterpart of some sort, and I’ll show you some of my favorites.
Sprinting
There’s nothing more specific to running fast than running fast. Sprinting is a great full body exercise, it speeds up your metabolism and teaches your legs to move quickly and forcefully.
Alternatively, you can look up SpeedEndurance for some great info on sprinting, jumping and strength work.
Sprinting up a long flight of stairs or a up a hill is also a great workout!
Jumps
There are tons of jumps of all different types out there to boost leg power, and I find this video to be a great collection of the most important ones:
Here you have another set of great jumping and other leg dominant exercises:
Be sure to also check out part two and three on YouTube.
All of that said, if you can, you should integrate some weight training into your workouts, as building strong legs is a lot easier with weights than without. If you don’t have access to weights, or can’t afford them, take a look at this site out for a bunch of great ways to make your own weights, almost for free:
How to Make a Homemade Weight Set
*This is not a completely hard and fast rule, especially if you’re tall and/or have long thighs, your knees will go a little beyond your toes. However, if you wish to develop the muscles at the back of your leg as well, do try to limit the extent to which your knees jut out.
All the best.
Images taken from Google , videos from YouTube .
Chicago Cutlery Belden 15 Piece Premium Kitchen Knife
The best body weight leg exercises are lunges and squats.
There are many variations you can do with them and you can up the intensity and burn by adding jumps, pulses, holds, and kicks.
If you are interested, I have a very intense leg focused workout and it doesn’t use weights at all but you will notice the burn in the legs for the next couple days:
Authentic XYJ Since 1986,Outstanding Ancient Forging,6.7 Inch Full Tang
See Convict Conditioning for the definitive book on bodyweight exercise.
There is a section on squats, but look at the rest of it; well worth reading and doing.
Convict Conditioning
Also look at Matt Furey’s Hindu Squats
Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops SWA24S 7.1in S.S. Folding Knife with 3.1in
Hi how are you? I heard that you are looking for the best ways to lose weight. I know something that can help you obtain the perfect body you always wanted. People today wants to have a firm, healthy and fit body. It does enhances self esteem and of course keep your vital organs function properly. if you want to learn more, let me know. I can give you more info 🙂
imarku Japanese Chef Knife – Pro Kitchen Knife 8 Inch Chef’s Knives
Here I recorded some body weight leg exercises and I hope you will find them helpful 🙂
Spring Assisted Knife – Pocket Folding Knife – Military Style