Oh man, I’m so tired, I’m unable to walk are some reasons we don’t want to put weights on our legs. Or one of the worst things you can do in the gym is to follow bro science and only train the upper beast of your body and neglect the lower. The main reason behind this that people usually are afraid of lifting weights because leg workout takes a lot of energy from you. But to create testosterone levels in your body(if your male) you have to build those powerful, and one of the biggest muscles of your body. To build a strong lower body we have to train quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves all four muscles but today we focus on quad exercises without weights.
If you want to build great hamstrings then consider reading this – Hamstring exercises without weights
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Quads Exercises Without Weights
Jumping lunges
One of the best exercises that target three different muscles of your body i.e quads, calves, and glutes. This exercise is great to build quads without any weight.
How to perform
● Place your right leg forward and left behind you.
● Now, bend the knee of your left leg in a way that it touches the ground to perform the movement.
● Next, switch your legs while you get up after performing one rep. Do, the same movement with the opposite leg.
● In starting you may get imbalanced but you will catch the coordination after 2, 3 sets. That said, do 10 reps for 3sets and 20-second rest in between sets.
Jumping squats
If you want to really experience the pump and pain in your quads then include jumping squats in your work routine. That said, not only it helps in building great quads but also targets your core.
How to perform
● Stand straight with your feet wide to match the shoulder width. Foot placement is very crucial in squats so, make sure to not place them too close because your knees will come into play when your feet stance is narrow. And if you place it too wide then your quads do less work and glutes become dominant.
● Now, bend your knees, and push your hips backward to perform the squat, get down deep to put tension on quad muscles.
● Next, push yourself up with force to perform the jump. When you jump you make your quads work hard. In your first time, you will feel uncomfortable and weak as this exercise will take most of your energy.
● Do 8 to 10 reps for 2 sets minimum, you can go for 3 sets when you develop the muscle mind connection and comfort.
Box lunges
Box lunges target your glutes and quads at the same time. This exercise is one of the hardest to do on this list. That said, do this exercise after jumping squats or lunges because after performing this exercise your quads get tired and pumped, makes it difficult to jump.
How to perform
● Take any box or Bench of your knee height.
● Place box just behind you so that you can put your left foot on the box. But also make sure that the distance between your right leg and box is wide enough to perform the lunges.
● To perform the movement come down to the depth, where your left knee just touches the floor. Now push yourself back up and again do the same movement for 10 reps.
● After 10 reps switch the legs and do the same 10 reps for the other leg.
● Do 10 reps for each leg counted as one set for 3 sets.
Chair leg extension
This is the easiest, yet effective version of leg extension. As it seems easy but you will feel difficulty in performing the movement after other exercises. That said, do this exercise at last when you have done all quad exercises in your routine.
How to perform
● Grab a chair or bench with height so that your feet not touch the floor. Or you can put bricks under a bench or chair to increase its height.
● Perform the movement by extending your knees to full. Make sure to squeeze quads when you extend the knees and hold them for 2 seconds up and then bend the knee.
When you perform the movement, your legs should be tight and assume you are lifting some weight.
● Do 13 to 15 reps for 3 sets of this exercise and take 15 to 20 seconds to rest in between each set.
Walking lunges
If all the exercises above are not enough, then including this exercise in your routine will make a lot more difference. These are not easy whether you do it with weight or without weight. It really makes your quads to work hard until they give up.
How to perform
● Stand straight and take the one long step forward with your right leg.
● Now, bend your knee so that it makes a 90-degree angle and your left knee touches the floor.
● Then take your left leg forward for the second step, without putting the leg to rest (skip the standing position, just do this in form of walking one step forward with one leg at a time).
● Make sure to keep your body straight when you bend the knee, don’t lean forward.
● Do 10 steps in one direction and 10 in the opposite, counted as one set.
● Walk 20 steps as 1 set for 2 sets minimum.
● Take 30 seconds to rest between during exercise, between sets.
Squats
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You can do anything, but can not keep squats out of your leg routine. Whether you want to target your glutes or quads, squats should be in your routine. Besides that, squats also target your core, lungs, and help in burning a lot of calories.
How to perform
● Stand straight with the shoulder width gap between your feet. Now, you can place the position of your toes inward, straight, or outward, depends on what muscle you want to target.
For example- if you want to train the outer muscles of your quads then move your toes inward, if you want to target the whole quad muscles then keep your feet straight parallel to each other, and to train inner muscles of your quads, move your toes outward.
● Do the squat by pushing your hips backward and bend your knees so as much as you can to make the deep squat.
● Next, hold the squat position for 3 seconds and then come back up with decreasing the bend in your knees.
You can also do the quick squats if you need the pump. To perform this movement you do squat without any hold and then come back up while keeping the slight bend in your
knees. This position is a real killer for your quads, and you start feeling pain in your quads after a few reps.
● Do 25 to 30 reps for 3 sets with 30 seconds rest on every set.
In and out squats
Best aesthetic exercise to build really strong lower legs and quads at the same time. You can really push your limits with this movement.
How to perform
● Do the squat with bending your knees. Make sure your feet are parallel to each other, no inward or outward toes placement because when you jump it put pressure on your knees and you may get an injury.
● After performing the squat, push yourself hard to lift your body in the air with your feet becomes close to each other. Then come back down to squat position immediately. Repeat this for 10 reps to complete 1 set.
● Do 10 reps for 2 sets minimum with 25-second rest between sets.
Box jump squats
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Hardest exercise to perform even if it’s in your every leg routine, and yet one the best quad exercises without weights. Now, if you are new, you may feel uncomfortable or even not able to 1 rep, but that’s normal. You can always reduce the height of the box in the beginning if it gets hard.
How to perform
● Take a square box of your knee height or you can increase the height if you have faith in your legs.
● Now stand in front of the box with a normal distance stance between your feet.
● Push yourself hard by performing the squat and make a jump on the box.
● Next, come back down from the same position and do squat to make another jump. Don’t take rest in between the reps, do with a normal speed.
● Do 6 to 8 reps in starting for 2 sets minimum because it’s the hardest exercise to perform and you will start feeling pain in your quads and calves after a few of your first set.
