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The quadriceps is a large and strong muscle that plays the role of the main extensor of the knee joint. Since the knee joint carries the bulk of body weight, the quadriceps is the main muscle of the lower part of the thigh. In fact, if this muscle was weak, people simply would not be able to keep an upright posture. The quadriceps muscle consists of the following parts: straight, internal, external, and middle. Despite this, the load during a variety of exercises falls entirely on this muscle. Workouts for Quads Of course, it is very important to strengthen your quadriceps, so let us take a brief look at some of the best exercises for these muscles. Barbell and dumbbell lungesLunges can be done in different ways - with a barbell, dumbbells, walking around the hall, or from a standing position. Consider options in which the athlete stands in one place, using either a barbell or dumbbells. It is similar to the position when squatting with a barbell on the back. Step forward with your right foot. The lunge should be such that the thigh of the working leg at the lowest point is parallel to the floor. At the same time, the knee of the left leg almost touches the floor and also forms a right angle. Return to the previous position. Swap legs - lunge with your left leg forward. Leg pressThe leg press eliminates the work of the back and buttocks as much as possible. At the same time, the simulator makes it possible to work with a much higher weight than in squats. In order for the load to fall on the quadriceps, you need to press when setting your feet shoulder-width apart. The execution technique is the following: the back and head are tightly pressed against the back of the simulator, the legs are almost completely straightened and rest against the frame, the hands firmly hold the handles. Bend your knees to form a right angle between your hips and lower legs. Return the legs to the previous position. One leg squatsCan't go to the gym? Squat on one leg. This is a great exercise for the quadriceps, with which you can load your legs without using additional weights. Start in a standing position, slightly extend one leg forward. Squat down, extending the leg forward and straightening it. Return to the previous position. Do at least 10 repetitions for each leg. Kick SquatStand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes slightly turned to the sides. Place your hands on your belt or hold them near your chest. The emphasis should be on the middle of the foot. Sit down in a horizontal position of your hips, do not forget to keep your back straight. Stand up and shift your weight to one side. Raise your knee to a horizontal position and kick. The kick should go in one motion. Fitball squatsPlace your feet slightly wider than your shoulders, turn your toes to the sides at 45 degrees. Take the fitball, keep tension and natural deflection in your lower back, your shoulders should be straight as well as your neck. Take a fitball and raise your arms to shoulder level. Along with inhaling, start to bend your knees to the sides, making sure they do not protrude over your toes. At the same time, your buttocks should go down first. The center of gravity lies on your heels. While squatting down, slightly get your back forward, with outstretched arms and raise the fitball above your head. Do 30-50 repetitions. Final Thoughts Everyone dreams of beautiful legs and, luckily, getting gorgeous quads is not that difficult at all if you know what you are doing. So why don’t you give these exercises a try?

The path to beautiful abs should not start with the question 'How to strengthen abdominal muscles?' The thing is that the visual image of a flat stomach depends on the percentage of body fat. This means that the way your abs will look not only depends on the number of crunches you do but on the quantity and quality of your food. So today we are going to talk about the tips for getting gorgeous abs. Abs vs Food Nutrition is extremely important for getting abs. In fact, your coach will probably give individual nutrition recommendations after testing, but there is one universal rule that everyone should follow - eat healthy food. In particular, you should avoid eating bakery, sugar-containing foods, and salty snacks. On the contrary, you have to eat more vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts and seeds, as well as meat or other high-protein foods. Getting Started Before starting a workout, it is important to obtain data on your body condition. This means that the best place to start is fitness testing. Your trainer will ask you some questions in order to learn about your lifestyle, test your ability to move, and measure you. Then the coach will recommend the activities that will be safe and effective for you. Popular Abs Workouts It is believed that the best ab exercises are the training of the rectus abdominis muscles, which perform the function of flexing the body and keeping it upright. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. You also want to work on the deep muscles, which are part of your core and include the muscles of the abdomen, back, thighs, and buttocks. Their function is to help the body maintain posture and balance in an upright position. As a matter of fact, if your core is not strong enough, you will most likely experience discomfort while doing other exercises. Strengthening the core should be your top priority and you can do that with the help of TRX loops, plank and its variations, as well other bodyweight exercises. Exercises for Strengthening Core and Abs As we have mentioned above, to have gorgeous abs, you have to make sure you not only work on your abdominal muscles but on your entire core. So here are some exercises for improving all these muscles: Diagonal twists Plank Pushups Plank push-ups Crunches Leg lifts from lying position Wrapping Up As you can see, getting gorgeous abs is totally possible if you know how to work on them. Healthy nutrition and regular exercises will help you sculpt the body of your dreams, so do not hesitate and start going toward your dream now.

Everyone wants to have beautiful hips. Unfortunately, it's not that easy to keep it in a nice shape. We have some exercises that will definitely help you work your hips out. Best Workouts for Hips Beautiful hips require some effort, so let’s take a look at some exercises for hips. CrossingsThis deep inner thigh stretch will improve your hips and give you a boost of energy. Spread your legs wide with your feet facing outward. Bend your knees and lower yourself into a squat. Put your hands on your hips just above the knees, deepening the squat and stretching even more. Jump up and place your right foot in front of your left one, while landing, you should straighten and cross your legs. Return to the starting position and repeat the exercise with the other leg. Repeat the exercise, alternating legs, as many times as you can, for at least 40 seconds. Knee squatsSquats with knees together are much better than regular squats for strengthening the inner thighs, quads, and hamstring. And in order not to waste your time, you can work on your hands at the same time. Stand up straight with your feet together. Take dumbbells, bend your elbows and touch the shoulders with the dumbbells. Do a squat with your knees bent and your hips back as if you were about to sit in a chair. Keep your legs together during the entire exercise. The weight should be on your heels. Now stretch your arms up. Return to the starting position without putting your weight on your toes. Do 10 reps. Elbow plank with raising legsAdd leg raises to your regular elbow plank to improve the hips. Lie on your side, bend your right arm at the elbow and lean on it. Extend your legs so that your body becomes one straight line. Try to rest only on the outer edge of your right foot. Place your left hand on your thigh. Feel your spine stretch and your abs tighten, then lift your left leg just above your hip. Slowly lower it back down. Do not bend at the waist or lean on your shoulder, keep your weight on your elbow. Do about 15 reps for both sides. Swings with bent legsThis is one of the most popular exercises for strengthening the buttocks and hips. It is suitable for everyone, does not require additional equipment, and does not involve the spine. With the help of swings, the back, front, outer and inner thighs are worked out - combo. Start in plank, palms - under the shoulders, knees - under the pelvis, keep the position of the back. On the exhale, we swing our leg, pushing the heel up; we perform 20 repetitions on each leg and four sets total. Side lungesIf you are doing this exercise for the first time, you will not need dumbbells - first master the movements of the legs. Take a dumbbell in your right hand, lunge to the left, lowering your right hand to your right leg. Lower your hips as low as possible, resting on your heels. The toes are facing forward, the angle of the bent leg is 90 degrees. Pushing off with your left foot, go into a courtesy pose: the left leg goes back, and the right one goes forward. Raise your arm with the weight up. Both legs face forward. Keep your hips and legs taut. Repeat without returning to the starting position, but immediately moving from a squat to a side lunge. Do three sets of 10 reps, then switch sides. Final Word Beautiful hips are a reality if you know what to do, so why don’t you give these exercises a try and see everything yourself?

Of course, everyone who is familiar with running knows the importance of strengthening the ligaments of the foot and ankles. Another thing is that sometimes it is hard to spend 5-10 minutes on training for ankle exercises: we dress, tie our laces - and run out into the street. That’s sad. After all, the good condition of the elastic ligaments reduces the risk of pain in the feet. And strong ankle muscles improve the power of the lower back and even the shoulders while running and just walking. Best Exercises for Strengthening Your Ankles Of course, there are plenty of good exercises that will help you work out your ankles, so without any further ado, let us have a look at those. Stretching towardsSit on the floor and straighten your legs in front of you. It is important to ensure that your thumb, little toe, and heel remain in the same direction as you pull the foot over. Only under this condition the muscles will be strengthened and stretched in a balanced way, which will prevent collapse on the outer or inner part of the foot while walking and running. When pulling the foot away from you, try to stretch your toes, as if you are making them longer and do not twist them under the foot. Repeat 15 times. RollingFrom a seated position with your feet in front of you, pull your feet as close to you as possible. Put your knees sideways, keeping your feet together. Keeping this position of the legs and resting with your hands on the floor, lean your body forward and raise your pelvis above the floor, trying to stay in position for a while. If you feel the potential in yourself, you can roll left and right, touching your feet with your palms. Ups and downs exerciseTraditionally, they are offered to be done on stairs, but slow doing on a flat surface will give an excellent result. Rise on your toes as high as possible, keep your heels in weight, and then bend your knees, pushing your heels forward. Place your heels on the floor, and only then straighten your legs. It is very important to make sure that your knees and ankles do not roll or fall. Dumbbell squatsSquats are good for developing your ankles and combined with dumbbells or a barbell (if you're already trained enough), this exercise becomes even more effective. Start with those dumbbells that you can lift 15 times without having to put them on the floor. For beginners, a weight of 2-3 kg is suitable. Bodybuilders need to lift more weight to build leg muscles. Perform squats as follows: stand straight, feet shoulder-width apart, arms with dumbbells at your sides and if you are doing an exercise with a barbell, hold it on your chest or behind your head. Sit down, bending your knees and lowering your buttocks to the floor. Keep your back straight and squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor. The knees should always remain directly over the feet; do not push your knees further than your toes. Push yourself back to the starting position. Do 2 sets of 10-15 squats. LungesKeep your torso straight and your shoulders back. Step forward and lower yourself until both your knees are at the 90-degree angle. Make sure that your knees do not protrude over your toes. Do two sets of 10 repetitions for each leg. Final Word Strengthening ankles is extremely important for both professional athletes and sports enthusiasts, so no matter if sport is your life or you work out just to keep in shape, you still need to work on your ankles.

The oblique muscles are several groups of abdominal muscles located on the sides of the core. The external oblique muscle lies on top and the internal oblique is underneath. Functional exercises for their training are inclinations, turns to the sides, and other rotating movements. However, in order to properly build lateral muscles, you need to remember that most oblique exercises involve the other abdominal muscles, in particular, the internal transverse muscles. That is why it is necessary to be able to consciously involve certain areas of abs. Best Exercises for Obliques 1. Side crunchesThe basic exercise for the oblique muscles of the abdomen is the lateral twisting of the lying. Starting position: lying on your side, an arm bent at the elbow supports the head. Slowly stretch your elbow towards your legs, making a movement to deliberate contraction of the oblique abdominal muscles. 2. Side crunches on the backThis exercise is useful for developing the neuromuscular connection between the abdominal muscles and the brain. Lying on your back, slowly stretch your left elbow towards your right knee. Do 12-15 repetitions for each side, trying to achieve a particular burning sensation. 3. Side crunches on the fitballThe benefit of this exercise lies in the wide range of motion achieved by slowly and controlled bending of the body on the ball. While lifting, feel the twisting of the side press, while lowering, feel the stretch. Keep your hands behind your neck and do not spread them apart. 4. Cross contactsFirst, lie on your back with both legs extended upward. Your hands should be placed on the back of the head, slightly raise your head and shoulder blades. After that, do the twist, reaching the leg with a straight opposite hand. Repeat the same steps for the other side. Do at least twenty repetitions. 5. Hips liftingLie on one side and make sure that you are lying straight. Your legs should lie on top of each other and your free hand is fixed on the belt. Your task is to raise the body so that at the peak amplitude the body line is fully straightened. At the top point, a small pause is made to emphasize the work of the oblique muscles. When lowering the torso, the thighs only lightly touch the floor, the muscles do not relax completely. Final Word Developed oblique muscles frame your abs and make them look simply stunning, so if you really want to have a gorgeous abdomen, you have to work on both your abs and obliques.