7 Best Leg Exercises for Female Athletes

Leg exercises are extremely important for improving athletic performance, agility and movement patterns.

As a matter of principle, athletes need to build strength, endurance and muscle in their lower body. That can be achieved through many leg exercises, but the question remains: what kind of leg exercises are best for athletes?

Leg exercises that work out a bunch of muscles together and in coordination, while at the same time building functional strength, are best for athletes. Such leg exercises can improve athletic performance and decrease the chances of injury, two requirements that are important for athletes.

Best Leg Exercises for Female Athletes

Check out these seven best leg exercises for female athletes:

1) Walking Forward Lunges

This leg exercise strengthens the quads, hamstrings and glutes while improving balance and stability.

Here's how you do it:

Maintain an upright, hip-width stance. For improved balance, place your hands on your hips or hold your arms out to the sides.
Activate your core. Take a large step forward (about two feet), and lower your hips till your front thigh is parallel to the ground or as far as you can comfortably go.
Your back knee should not make contact with the ground. As you move, be conscious that your front knee does not extend past your toes and that your knees do not fold inward.
Each of these movement patterns is associated with knee discomfort.
From this position, push with both legs, bringing the rear leg forward to meet the front leg, and then stepping forward to alternate legs with each stride.

2) Goblet Squat

The Goblet Squat is a great beginner leg exercise for developing fundamental squat technique and engaging stabilising muscles via the glutes and core. As the Goblet Squat is a ground-based, free-weight exercise, it directly translates to athletic movements.

Here's how you can perform this exercise:

Vertically grasp the dumbbell with both hands just below the weight's apex. Maintain the weight close to your chest during the entirety of the exercise.
Your knees should be facing the same direction as your toes.
Inhale, and squat while seating back in your hips, maintaining a firm core and an erect torso.
If your level of flexibility permits, move your elbows between your knees till they contact. If touching your elbows to your knees leads you to lose good form, avoid doing so.
Utilise your heels to return to the starting position.
Begin with two to three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions.
Between sets, take 30 to 60 seconds of rest.

3) Sumo Squat

The sumo squat strengthens your glutes, quads, hamstrings, hip flexors and calves, as well as the core along with your hip adductors, a muscle group that is often overlooked.

Here's how you can do sumo squats:

Start with your feet approximately shoulder-width apart and toes pointing forward. Interlace your hands at your chest.
Take a step to the right till your stance is three to four feet wide or wider than hip width.
By laterally rotating at the hip, angle your toes out and away from the centre of your body by approximately 45 degrees. Ensure that your knees are aligned directly above your toes.
Lower your thighs till they're parallel to the floor. Go as far as possible for you.
Hold the squat stance for several seconds. Press up to standing by driving up through your heels while engaging your glutes.
Begin with three sets of 8–12 repetitions.

4) Glute Bridges

Glute bridges are an excellent leg exercise that strengthen your glutes, hamstrings and lower back.

Here's how you can do glute bridges:

Lay flat on your back, with your feet hip-width apart on the floor.
For support, place your arms at your sides and palms down.
Engage your abdominals, and clench your glutes while pressing down through your heels to lift your hips off the ground.
Continue elevating your hips till your knees reach a 90-degree bend or as high as is comfortable for you.
For one repeat, slowly drop your hips to just above the floor, and repeat.

5) Box Jumps

Box jumps strengthen and build explosive power in the quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves and core.

Here's how you can do this leg exercise:

Face a box while keeping your feet hip-width apart.
Start with a short box, and gradually increase its height.
Engage your core; descend into half squats, and slightly lean your torso forward.
Extend your arms behind you, and swing them forward as you jump and fall on the box to generate momentum.
If you land on your forefeet, choose a shorter landing box. From this point, step down from the box for your initial circuit.
As your comfort with the exercise increases, return to the starting position for one rep by jumping backward and down.
Try to land as lightly as possible; using your leg muscles to absorb the shock provides superior training and reduces joint tension.

6) Hip Hinge

The Hip Hinge is a crucial movement required for loading securely before jumping, lifting and picking up objects.

The ability to maintain a neutral spine when the hips bend backwards is essential for back health. It's also important for athletes' jumping mechanics and hip extensions while sprinting, throwing, kicking and other athletic actions.

Here's how you can perform this leg exercise:

Start with your feet somewhat wider than shoulder-width apart and toes slightly pointing outward.
Place the dowel vertically on your back, and grab one end in the natural curvature of your neck and the other end in the small of your back.
While bending forward at the hips, shift your weight to your heels, and push your hips back towards the wall behind you.
Consider extending your butt behind you. The dowel should not lose touch with these three locations when it 's hinged. If so, you're doing the manoeuvre wrong.
Reduce your torso to a position halfway between vertical and parallel to the ground, and pause.
Maintain a modest knee bend during the descending and rising phases.
To return to the starting posture, reverse the movement by clenching your glutes and thrusting your hips forward and upward.

7) Calf Raise

Athletes require strong calves, as a general rule. This exercise strengthens your calves in isolation.

Here's how you can perform this leg exercise:

Stand on the ground or on your toes, with your heels dangling off a step.
If necessary, grasp a wall or doorframe for balance, but avoid using your hands for upward support.
Engage your calf muscles, and press through your toes to raise your heels as far as possible.
Return your heels to the starting position carefully for one rep.
Utilising a step, move your heels through a full range of motion from as low as possible to as high as possible.

Edited by Bhargav