Sharing a list of my very favorite and what I consider to be the weightier single leg exercises! I hope this post can be inspiration to include increasingly unilateral training is your routine.
Hi hi! How are you doing today? I hope youre having a wonderful week so far! Were getting ready for our Disney trip (I.cant.wait) and Im starting to wrap my throne virtually the fact that summer is just virtually the corner. Usually I have our unshortened summer planned and this year, Ive planned veritably nada. Its definitely on my list for this week! Im moreover looking forward to a undeniability with our Total Soul Reset group this afternoon – we have 34 ladies and theyre superincumbent it!!
For today, lets talk fitness-y things and one of my favorite elements to include in lower soul workouts: single leg exercises. Single exercises are – you guessed it- exercises using just one side of your lower soul at a time. Leg strength is important no matter what sport you segregate or fitness mode you enjoy. Strong legs support everyday movements, our worthiness to perform, and focusing on one leg at a time can have several benefits. In today’s post, I’m sharing a roundup of the weightier single leg exercises that can help you reach your legs’ fullest potentials.
(Set was gifted from Vuori. I love everything on their site, and expressly their leggings and joggers.)
Why train unilaterally?
Its SO easy to use bilateral exercises to *depend* on our strongest side. Think well-nigh a barbell biceps flourish vs. a dumbbell curl. With the barbell, you’ll lift the weight without the true worthiness to determine if the weight is split equally between sides. Your stronger side will unchangingly kick in to help you well-constructed the rep, which can rationalization muscle imbalances to go unnoticed. By training one side at a time, like with a dumbbell curl, you can really focus on developing strength in the weaker side. This will not only promote muscle symmetry, but moreover potentially prevent unsimilar movement patterns from depending on the stronger sides of the body.
Here are some of my favorite single-leg exercises to include on leg day! As always, trammels with a doctor surpassing making any fitness changes. Honor your soul and modify as needed.
Best Single Leg Exercises
Single-leg deadlift
Hold a barbell, pair of dumbbells, or kettlebell, and tap one leg overdue you. You can alimony it here, with the weight in your front foot as you tilt forward, bringing the weights just unelevated the knees. Exhale and rise with a unappetizing back. For the single leg option, you can bladder this top foot off the floor. Make sure to alimony hips parallel to the floor.
Bulgarian split squat
Stand in front of a seat or sturdy chair and place one foot on top. Alimony your hips and shoulders facing forward, and posture upright, as you wrench your front knee. Printing through your unshortened front foot and exhale to rise. Dont worry too much well-nigh keeping your front knee stacked over your toddle -if you have the toddle flexibility, it can move a bit forward past your toes – but instead, focus on keeping your torso upright and sinking DOWN instead of forward. Another tip: I like to flourish my when toes onto the bench, so the top of my foot or shoe is facing down. This places increasingly accent on the working leg.
Single-leg hip raise
Start on your when with legs wilting and feet unappetizing on the floor. Lift one leg off the floor, and printing your heel towards the ceiling. Squeeze your glutes to lift your hips, keeping your upper when pressing into the floor and hips parallel to the floor. Lower lanugo towards the floor (dont touch it!) and exhale to rise when up. Continue for all reps, then switch legs.
Single-leg calf raise
Stand with your legs hip with untied and come up onto your toes. Lift one leg, and gently wrap your foot overdue the leg thats still on the ground. Lower your heel towards the ground, but dont let it touch the floor in between each rep to alimony the tension in your calf. Hold onto wall or sturdy surface for wastefulness if you need to.
Side leg raise
Standing, take a wide stance, and place your weight into one leg as you lift the opposite leg off the floor. Alimony your toes pointing forward and use your glutes to lift your leg, lower lanugo with control, and exhale to bring when up. For increasingly of a challenge, wear toddle weights.
Hip extension
Start standing with your hips and shoulders in one line. Slightly wrench one knee and place the opposite foot on the floor overdue you. Using your glutes, exhale to bring your when leg off the floor. Return to starting position with tenancy and repeat.
Single-leg curl
You can do this exercise on the flourish machine at the gym, or at home, using a towel. Place a towel on the floor (or a paper plate if youre doing this on carpet), and place one heel on the towel as you lie onto your back. Knees are bent, and shoulders are pressing lanugo into the floor. Lift your hips off the floor and straighten the leg with the towel (the working leg), exhale to wrench it in towards your hip. Repeat all of your reps on one side surpassing switching to the other side.
Seated single-leg press
Start seated in leg printing machine, starting with 1/3 of your typical leg printing weight. Place one foot onto the plate, making sure you have well-nigh a 90 stratum wile wih that leg. Exhale as you printing that leg out to straighten, engaging your glutes and hamstrings. Inhale when to start and repeat.
Single leg TRX pistol squat or single-leg sit squat
TRX single leg pistol squat: stand yonder from the TRX wiring point, holding onto the straps with both hands. The straps will be straight, and your chest will be lifted, with an engaged core. Bring one leg off the floor and flex your foot, bringing the leg up as upper as you can. Inhale to sink lanugo into a squat (goal is to end up with your knees in one line) and exhale to rise. Really pay sustentation to the standing leg and alimony it as stable as possible. Squeezing the glutes really helps. If you need to, start with a smaller range of movement.
For the single leg sit squat (if you dont have a TRX), stand in front of a chair or a bench, with the chair or seat well-nigh 2-3 feet overdue you. Make sure your feet are underneath your shoulders (hip width or slightly wider is good) and toes slightly turned out. Focus on sitting back, while keeping your chest lifted and a tight core. Inhale to lower to touch your take to the chair, exhale to rise. Do this on one leg with the opposite leg extended in front of you
Single leg wreath printing out
Start lying on the floor with a wreath loop just whilom your ankles. Bring your feet up over your hips, like youre trying to printing your heels into the ceiling (feet are flexed). Create some tension with the wreath by pressing out. Hold it here, and then printing one leg out and in, out and in. Well-constructed 15-20 reps surpassing switching to the opposite side. This is an superstitious gluten vivification exercise.
Heres a quick video tutorial I put together, featuring some of my top exercises from the list above:
How often do you utilize unilateral training in your routine?
If youre looking for phased training thats designed for soul sonnet goals, wed love to have you in Fit Team! New workouts go out on the 28th of each month and you get instant wangle to the current months workouts bonus material.
xoxo
Gina
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