The standing leg increase tends to get overshadowed by showier workouts like hip thrusts and burpees — however if you wish to construct up a sturdy decrease half, it’s time to familiarize your self with this straightforward however efficient transfer.
It’s simple to do standing leg raises virtually anyplace — so even should you can’t make it to the gymnasium, you may nonetheless knock out a couple of units proper in your lounge.
Standing Leg Raise Exercise: Step-by-Step Instructions
- Stand tall together with your palms in your hips and toes shoulder-width aside.
- Shifting your weight to your proper foot, slowly elevate your left leg straight out in entrance of you, as excessive as you comfortably can. Keep your core tight and your left foot flexed; don’t bend your knees, and keep away from rotating your ankle outward.
- Lower your foot again right down to beginning place. That’s one rep. Complete all reps on one facet earlier than switching to the opposite.
What Muscles Do Standing Leg Raises Work?
The standing leg increase train targets and strengthens your hip muscle groups. Specifically, the adductors alongside your interior thighs and the gluteus medius on the higher, outer fringe of your pelvis.
Because you utilize your hip muscle groups for strolling, operating, and balancing, this train is very useful for holding you secure throughout cardio and energy strikes like sprints, squats, and lunges.
Standing leg raises additionally work the rectus abdominis muscle (a.ok.a. your “six-pack”). The cross-body motion within the facet variation lights up the obliques (the muscle groups on the perimeters of your waist).
Standing Leg Side Raise Variation
One variation of the standing leg increase incorporates hip abduction, or shifting the leg away from the physique. Here’s the right way to do it.
- Stand tall together with your palms in your hips. Cross one ankle over the opposite so your high foot hovers over or frivolously touches the ground.
- With your foot flexed, elevate your high leg out to the facet as excessive as you may with out bending your knee. You ought to really feel a slight squeeze in your working hip. Be cautious to not rotate your foot outward as you elevate — your foot ought to keep parallel to the ground with toes going through ahead all through the transfer.
- Lower your foot again right down to beginning place. That’s one rep. Complete all reps on one facet earlier than switching to the opposite.
Ready so as to add the standing leg increase to your subsequent leg exercise? Hannah Viva, NASM-certified private coach with Fit Body Boot Camp recommends sticking to a daily tempo so you may full each rep with management and consistency.
And if you wish to make standing leg raises more difficult, add a resistance loop or ankle weight round your ankles.