· By Tiara Hoquee
Best Exercise Equipment for Leg Day
Why should we do #legday?
Leg Day gets a bad reputation. Many people are quick to exercise their back, shoulders, and arms because we usually see progress in these muscles much faster than in our lower body.
There are several reasons why it’s essential to keep up with leg day, and we lay them out for you:
- Boost Stamina. Better stamina is directly linked to the muscles in our lower body. For all activities, from running to bringing groceries home, we count on the power of our legs to carry us.
- Improves Bone Health. The effects of osteoporosis and arthritis can be lessened by strengthening our lower body muscles.
- Good Body Symmetry. We want to exercise our bodies in a balanced way. Let’s face it’s weird if you have a strong upper body and little to no strength in your lower body.
- Develop Better Agility and Balance. Big stabilizing muscles can be found in our lower body that, when well developed, help us reduce the risk of injury and improve athletic performance.
Think about it: legs are the pillars of the body, literally. We want to include leg workouts and have the best leg exercise equipment for home right here.
We don’t always have time or money to make it to the gym and want to get our workouts in. This is why we present you with the best leg exercise equipment for home.
Best types of leg exercise equipment for home use
All the equipment we list below is excellent leg exercise equipment for home use.
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are useful for exercises like crab walks, glute bridges, and squats. They are convenient since they are compact and portable. Integrating this into your workout helps build endurance and tone muscles.
Ankle Weights
These are another excellent option for leg exercise equipment for home since they take up very little space and can make any bodyweight workout have more of a challenge to it. Exercises like side leg lifts and donkey kicks will leave your legs burning with these.
Step Machines
Get your steps in from the comfort of your living room. Step machines are a pretty straightforward piece of equipment. It’s good to use while you watch TV or read a book.
Stationary Bikes
Cycling can help tone the leg muscles and get the heart racing when we hit certain speeds. Stationary bikes are excellent leg exercise equipment for home. However, it is pricier and takes up more space than other options.
Treadmills
The good thing about treadmills is that they hit the cardio sweet spot regardless of your level. Depending on the model you get, you can play with the speed and inclination to suit you best. That is why treadmills make it part of our best exercise leg equipment for home. Like stationary bikes, they are more expensive and take up room.
Water-filled weights
Last but not least, we have water-filled weights or aqua bags on our best leg exercise equipment list. This equipment is made of durable PVC that is 100% leak and burst-proof. They have a competitive price and are convenient for a variety of exercises.
Benefits of using water-filled weights for leg exercises
Now that we have established that leg exercises are important, it’s all about choosing the right equipment.
Water-filled weights are some of the best leg exercise equipment for home because of their:
- Adjustable Weight. You fill them with water depending on your fitness level (we recommend starting halfway), and add more water when you want a more significant challenge!
- Portability. It can go with you anywhere. If you are traveling or want to work out in the park, you just need to pour the water out, fold it and pack it.
- Low Impact. The aqua bags, with their soft and bouncy body, are safe and friendly for low-impact exercises.
- Strength and Cardio. With the aqua bags, you can not only put more water for strength exercises like back squats and chest presses, but with less water, you can fill your cardio quota with ice skaters and power jacks, among many more exercises.
Examples of leg exercises using water-filled weights
Squats
- Hold the aqua bag with one hand on each side.
- Keep feet flat on the floor and a straight back.
- Squat down as if sitting down on a chair.
- Avoid leaning forward too much.
- Keep the chin and chest up.
Lunges
- Place the FX comfortably behind your head, resting on your shoulders.
- Chest upright.
- Place your feet shoulder-width apart and brace your core.
- Take a step backward with one foot.
- Return to standing by pressing your right heel into the floor and bringing your left leg forward to complete one rep.
- Repeat on the other side.
Single Leg RDL
- Holding the aqua bag with one hand.
- Slowly hinge at your hips, bringing the same leg up behind you.
- Keep the hips and shoulders square.
- Press your right foot into the floor as you extend your hips to return to standing.
- Repeat on the other side.
Hip Thrusters
- Lay down on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground.
- Place the aqua bag on top of your hips.
- Squeeze your glutes and your abs as you start to lift your hips toward the ceiling.
- Raise your hips as high as you can go without arching your back.
- Slowly lower the hips down to the floor, keeping tension in the glutes and abs as you lower down.
Best Exercise Equipment for Leg Day
Water-filled weights or aqua bags are an excellent choice for leg exercises at home. You can work on strength or cardio. You can work on the lower body or upper body. You can work out at home or in the park.
When you are practicing any leg exercise at home with or without equipment, remember to use proper form and regressions when necessary to avoid the risk of injury and work out in a way that is best suited to you.