Trainer-Approved Fitness Tips for Sculpting Strong and Lean Legs

Your lower body is home to over 200 muscles, including the largest muscle in your body, the gluteus maximus. Building lean muscle in this area can easily and quickly be achieved with strategic exercise and healthy food choices. Here are 30 tips approved by trainers to strengthen your legs, build lean muscle, and define your lower body as soon as possible.

To begin with, your lower body can be worked during every movement by simply asking more of it. For example, one can stand on one leg during shoulder presses or squat during bicep curls. The more you work your lower half, the faster results will be seen whilst correctly executing the moves.

It is impossible to work on core strength without involving the legs. Thus, skip boring crunches and try out core training such as Michele Olson's Perfect Legs, Glutes & Abs DVD which recommends working on your weaker side first. Lunges are an excellent exercise to get lean and strong legs. However, adding a ballet-inspired move to the lunge routine will shape those legs in half the time according to Laurie Alfano, director of education for Xtend Barre.

To take your leg routine to the next level and achieve strong and lean legs, try plyometric moves such as jump squats or single-leg lateral ski hops. Not only do they get the heart pumping, but will also burn calories faster which is beneficial in developing lean and strong legs.

Steady-state cardio exercise aids in the regeneration and condition of muscle. Add an incline on the treadmill or bike during cardio to further strengthen glutes and hamstrings. When attempting to reduce the appearance of cellulite, focus on back leg exercises that work on hamstring, glutes, and abductors. Additionally, deadlifts are particularly effective.

Lastly, ankle weights may cause stress on joints when not used correctly. It is best to consult a fitness professional before starting to use weights.

To maximize the benefits of ankle weights, it's important to know how to use them properly. Keep the weight light, or consider using a weighted vest or walking poles to concentrate the weight where your body can support it better and increase the intensity of your walks.

Commuting to work by walking, running, rollerblading, or cycling can help you save money, speed up your results, and support the environment. An easy 30-minute 'active' commute to and from work each day can burn extra calories and exercise your legs, which can help you arrive at the office with endorphins flowing.

While you can't spot-reduce fat in specific areas of your body, you can try to develop lean muscle in a targeted area by incorporating exercises that strengthen your inner thighs, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and core into your workout routine. Additionally, fill your plate with healthy food to ensure your body has the nutrients it needs to perform well during your training sessions.

Using functional training and free weights can be more effective at burning calories and working more muscles at once than weight machines at the gym. For example, a side lunge can work your adductors and other muscles in your legs, including the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves, while strengthening the ligaments of the knee.

Your smartphone can track pretty much everything, including your steps. Try to walk 10,000 steps every day and add more daily activity to help you achieve results faster without logging additional time at the gym. Walking regularly can also benefit your overall health and improve your mood, blood sugar, blood pressure, and sleep quality.

Allow your muscles to recover for 48-72 hours after intense, high-level exertion workouts to prevent delayed onset muscle soreness. During this time, consider doing cardio or focusing on another type of workout. Sprints are a great way to get leaner legs and boost metabolism by bringing the heart rate up fast and then letting it come down in between.

To avoid knee pain, use proper form when exercising and adopt good running technique if you run. Aerobic exercise can help lower inflammation and resistance training can support the knees and the muscles surrounding them. Additionally, getting out of your chair more frequently and standing up for at least 15 minutes out of every hour can help work your legs, shrink your waistline, and improve your overall health. Consider investing in a standing desk or setting up an ergonomic home office environment to support your efforts.

Think about it this way: When your jeans first come out of the dryer, they are hard to move around in comfortably, right? Tight muscles feel the same way. Foam rolling acts like a deep tissue massage that can help release adhesions in your muscles that may be limiting your range of motion or performance during your workouts. 'Iron' out the kinks in your legs before your workout for better exercise performance and ultimately, better results.

'Rather than spend hours on the elliptical, cut your workout time down with high-intensity intervals,' says Geoff Bagshaw, area group fitness manager and instructor for Equinox in Vancouver. 'Intervals, short bursts of maximum effort cardio followed by rest periods, along with resistance training, will elevate the rate you burn calories, helping to torch fat, and increase lean muscle to give you the tone and definition you're looking for.'

No equipment? No problem. That's right: By using your body weight, you can get a killer HIIT workout anytime, anywhere.

'Be sure to train from all angles,' says Bagshaw. 'Often we get stuck in a rut and use the same exercises over and over again. Mix up your leg training to target all those lower body muscles from different angles.'

At a loss for ideas? 'Book a session with a trainer to have them develop a program you can work with that has you lunging and squatting through all planes of movement.'

'At the end of every set, try to hold a contracted position (like the bottom of a squat) for as long as you can. This is called an isometric contraction and will help you get stronger through the toughest parts of range of motion,' says Jeff Dolgan, former clinical exercise physiologist at Canyon Ranch in Miami Beach, Florida.

'The lowering phase of leg exercises such as squats and lunges (the eccentric contraction) is the period when strength gains typically will occur. This is often referred to as a 'negative' load because although you are not 'pushing' weight, your muscle fibers are still contracting,' says Dolgan.

'Many people make the mistake of moving through the eccentric phase too quickly. The maximum speed you should lower your body is 4 seconds from standing to full bend,' according to Dolgan.

To promote muscle growth and make your exercise routine more efficient, do some drop sets. 'Start your set with a weight that is approximately 30 percent more than you would normally lift,' says Dolgan. 'Complete 4-6 repetitions at this weight.'

'Quickly drop the weight to 30 percent less than you would normally lift and finish your set with 8-10 more repetitions. This essentially pre-fatigues your muscles and makes them think that you have completed more work than you actually have.'

'We don't typically use our body in full range of motion (ROM) in everyday activities like we do in the gym. Try to complete one repetition with only 25 percent ROM, one repetition with 50 percent ROM, one repetition with 75 percent ROM and one set with full ROM. Vary these range of motions randomly within each set,' suggests Dolgan.

Not only can they help you get over a fitness hump, but half or partial reps like these can also improve your form and help heal from an injury.

'The lowering speed should always be fairly slow; however, changing the speeds of your pushing phase will help you mimic real life,' explains Dolgan. 'Try one repetition slowly, one at a medium pace and one explosively fast.

Randomly mix different speeds into your pushing phase.' This is a great way to incorporate power training into your strength training routine and speed up your results.

... and you'll stretch your results. 'Studies have shown that stretching can help decrease muscle soreness, limit imbalances, and even help maintain strength when resistance training is not an option,' says Richey.

'The bottom line is with less soreness and fewer imbalances, you can continue working out those legs and speed up your results.'

'Squats are a great lower body exercise, but only if your glutes fully engage,' says Richey. 'Here's a great trick to make sure the butt is burning during your squats: Do a set of lying glute bridges before your squats to activate your rear. (Be sure to focus on squeezing your backside during the bridge).'

Once your glutes are fully 'activated,' perform your set of squats for double the results!

Fatigue your stronger leg muscles with an isolated exercise before using the legs in a compound movement (one that uses the legs as a whole) to help strengthen the weaker muscles in your legs, says Adam Wegner, a certified personal trainer.

'For example, if hamstrings are the weaker muscle group in your legs (vs. your quadriceps), you can do several sets of leg extensions and then immediately switch to a squat or a lunge. Your quadriceps will be so tired from the extensions, your body is forced to engage the fresher muscles, like your hamstrings.'

If they're not already lodged in the back of your closet, toss any toning shoes back there. Then, to add an extra challenge and fire up the balancing muscles in your lower body in a safer, natural, and effective way, try walking on an uneven surface such as sand at the beach.

Live near the mountains? Go for a vigorous hike or really amp it up by going for a trail run.