ANDexercises and advice to have toned legs there are many, but how and which ones to choose to avoid mistakes that could lead to unwanted effects? He tells us about it Paola Mirettapersonal trainer, Yoga and Pilates director and founder of Fitness Boutiquebased in Piacenza and followed by a large audience of students from all over the world on Zoom.
Legs and muscle tone
Legs are notoriously a target for women, primarily from an aesthetic point of view. Having shapely and compact legs, without blemishes, is one of the female goals par excellence. Aesthetics is a great motivational boost but it’s not everything. Let’s start with it dispel the myth of tonicity: Muscle tone refers to the amount of active muscle fibers at rest. That is, it is the reflex and constant muscular action of the body, necessary to counteract the force of gravity. Therefore, the Muscle tone has more of a postural value which is purely aesthetic.
Why train your legs?
The legs are the main support of the body, they allow us to stand upright and guide our daily movements. They are among the parts of the body with the most muscle masses. Precisely for this reason, training your legs means giving one training stimulus for the whole body, contributing to the increase in hormone production linked to the increase in lean mass. Training your legs with basic exercises, with high muscular synergy, gives a stimulus to the whole body, increasesneuromuscular activation general e increases calorie expenditure.
The benefits for the back
On top of that, having strong legs (and butt) helps support your back. We often think that to support the back it is essential to have a strong core (which is true) but we often forget about the foundations, i.e. the legs, which support the body all day. Have strong and flexible legs, well balanced posteriorly and anteriorly, relieves the back. We often talk about aesthetics but forget about them functionality: if you train functionality you are on the right path to also obtaining a valid aesthetic result.
Healthy legs, healthy feet and lymphatic system
Last but not least, move your legs and work on feet (the root that keeps us anchored to the ground) is fundamental to stimulate the lymphatic system And circulatory. Let’s remember that the number one lymphatic pump is found under the feet: being barefoot, correctly stimulating the plantar fascia, walking, jogging, running are all activities that help bring the lymph from the legs to the upper part of the body, improving circulatory problems which afflict more and more people due to a sedentary lifestyle and a diet rich in salt and fat.
How to train your legs? 5 things to start with
First, some practical advice to apply to daily life.
- Avoid sitting or standing for more than 20 minutes consecutively can already be a turning point. Get up from your chair, move from where you are, remember to move as much as possible, take the stairs, go to work on foot or by bicycle, insert more dynamic moments into your life.
- Drink at least 1.5/2 L of water a day.
- Reduce your intake of salt and packaged foods.i
- Include it in your workout routine at least two stretching, Pilates and/or Yoga sessions per week so as to lengthen the muscle groups and promote tissue hydration.
- Discover themyofascial training with foam roller or balls (also tennis) to stimulate the feet and relax the lower limbs: this will allow you to act directly on water retention and recover better after training.
What leg exercises
Increasing lean mass is possible focusing on basic exercises with high muscular synergy as deadlift (deadlift), squats, lunges. Don’t be afraid to work on strength, increasing the loads and decreasing the number of repetitions, always under the careful supervision of an expert coach, at least for the first time and if you’re starting from scratch.
Do I have a risk of having overly muscular legs?
Women are often afraid to approach strength training because they say they “get bigger” and their legs feel “swollen” after training. In my experience as a Personal Trainer I can say that I have never seen any natural woman have immediate muscle growth after a few strength training sessions (I wish it were so!). There feeling of swelling that is felt after training is given by a temporary edema post exercise that disappears after a few days.
What is the “Peripheral Heart Action” method
An interesting method for having efficient legs, reducing the feeling of “heaviness” is PHA. The Peripheral Heart Action method is a type of circuit training, developed in the 1950s by Dr. Arthur H. Steinhaus. Doctor Steinhaus hypothesized to use consecutive exercises on body areas as far apart as possible (quadriceps/shoulders, pectorals/calves, glutes/biceps), alternating the upper body with the lower body or vice versa.
Water retention and cellulite
This is in contrast to the “classic” method which proposes consecutive exercises (in supersets or trisets) on muscle groups close to each other. A global workout is especially suitable for those who suffer from water retention and cellulite and allows you to obtain excellent results on the legs without weighing them down too much. Moving the blood masses from bottom to top and vice versa is an excellent strategy to stimulate the body also from a cardiovascular point of view.
Watch out for your cardio
Beware of extreme and logical cardio. It’s necessary Always monitor your heart rate to prevent the effort from depleting lean body mass and increasing water retention. Prefer the medium/low intensity And complements swimming or other pool activities to give a cardiovascular stimulus and at the same time drain liquids using the water massage.
Who is Paola Miretta
Paola Miretta she is Personal Trainer, Yoga and Pilates Director and founder of Fitness Boutiquebased in Piacenza and followed by a large audience of students from all over the world on Zoom.
Paola Miretta, personal trainer, Yoga and Pilates director
I have always loved movement, understood as physical and mental change. I associate sport with the figure of my father, who took me to the pool as a child, saying that swimming would give me an “appetite” and strengthen me. My first element, in fact, is water. Competitive swimming characterized my adolescence.
I go from swimming to asphalt, always thanks to my father, who gives me my first running shoes, a pair of white and yellow Mizunos. I dedicate myself to endurance running, at least until my twenties. I discovered the world of fitness during functional recovery from an injury: first the weight room, then the group courses.
I am passionate about musical fitness, energy in time with music, sharing movement, joy and fun, things that I miss in individual resistance training, in the water and on the road. My journey as a fitness and personal trainer begins here.
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