Military Muscle: 4 ways to build leg strength — without weights - Off Duty, Military Health and Fitness - Navy Times

Military Muscle: 4 ways to build leg strength — without weights

The following exercises can be accomplished with nothing but your own body weight, making this a truly mobile workout.

Perform five repetitions with each leg and work up to 20-25 reps with each leg. Do these three times a week for a few months and you will see a huge difference. If you want to really kick it up a notch, go to the beach and try these in the sand.

In-place lunges

Start with erect posture and feet together. Step forward with either leg about 3½ feet. Keep your other foot anchored. Touch the knee of your anchored foot to the ground. (Your forward leg should bend about 90 degrees). When you rise, try to keep your upper body completely vertical — don’t push back toward your rear foot. This keeps the pressure on the quad. Bring your feet back together and either continue with the same leg or change to the other leg.

Jump lunges

In addition to working your quads, this is a great metabolic exercise. Start with erect posture and feet together, stepping forward with either your right or left foot and keeping the other foot anchored. Instead of simply stepping back with the lead leg and initiating a step forward with either the same or the other leg, come up out of the kneel by jumping, and switch legs in midair so that you come down in the kneeling position with the opposite leg forward.

Body squats

Start with your feet a bit wider than shoulder width and your toes turned slightly out. Slowly lower into a “sit on the stool” position — it helps to touch your butt to a low chair or stool — with your head forward and your back in a neutral position. You’re in the right position if your shoulders are just behind your knees. Try to lower slowly and rise a bit more quickly. Try to get to at least 90 degrees with your quads. If you have any issues, stay above the “hurt zone.”

Jump squats

Lower into the squat in the same manner as the body squat. When you rise, jump explosively, rising to a few inches off the floor. As you land, let the force of your body take you right back into the squat.

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Bob Thomas is director of the Navy Wellness Center in Pensacola, Fla. E-mail him.