In part 1 of this series of posts I listed some of the physical features that men and women find attractive in potential partners and described work out routines for developing the core muscles. This post looks at work out routines to improve the lower body of both men and women, in particular the buttocks, thighs and legs. As with the exercises in part 1 I have tried to minimise the amount of equipment you need and present exercises suitable for a beginners workout.
One of the best ways to warm up the lower body and increase your flexibility at the same time is to do leg swings. To begin, simply stand with your feet together, your core engaged, your pelvis in a neutral position (a mid position if you rotate it back and forth) and your shoulders pulled back and down. Make a mental note of how it feels to hold good posture with a naturally curving spine. Next smoothly swing your straightened right leg from the hip, your straightened right arm back and your straightened left arm forward. Your left foot remains solidly flat on the floor with the knee slightly bent to allow a slight bounce. Swing your leg as high as you can without disturbing your standing posture or feeling any pain in the hip or back of the leg. Repeat this for 20 repetitions and then swing your left leg instead and repeat the same movements but with the arms swinging in the opposite directions (i.e. left leg forward, left arm back and so on). The objective is to warm up your lower body and improve your poise and flexibility.
Your lower body muscles are the largest and most powerful in the body and this means that for any real progress in toning them they need to be overloaded as far as possible without using bad form.
There are two main compound lower body exercises that can be used as the basis for both a beginners workout and modified for more advanced workouts.
The first is the basic squat. As with the warm up this should begin by standing upright with good posture and the feet together. Then slowly bend your knees and push your buttocks rearward and downwards as if you are about to sit down on a seat. At the same time you can swing both arms forward to counterbalance your movement. You should feel the main load in the front of your upper legs (quads) and buttocks (glutes). Keep the feet flat on the floor and do not allow your knees to move above the ends of your feet. Slowly repeat for 20 repetitions.
When you have mastered the correct exercise movement or if this is too easy then you can carry some weight with both hands or in a rucksack. You can use anything as a weight (e.g. a 6 litre plastic water bottle) but dumbbells or a medicine ball are better. In all cases make sure that good posture (i.e. shoulders back and down and a naturally curved spine) is maintained throughout with or without weights.
The second is the basic lunge. In this exercise begin by lunging forward with one of your legs until the knee of your lunged leg is at 90 degrees and the upper leg horizontal. Meanwhile the knee of the other leg is bent at at 90 degree as well with the upper leg vertical. Your upper body should remain upright throughout the lunge movement. Return your lunged leg back to the starting position and repeat the movement for 20 repetitions and then do the same again with the other leg forward. As with the squat you can carry some weight and use modified variations to make this more difficult once you have mastered the correct lunge movement.
One of the most effective lower body isolation exercises for a beginner is the pelvic lift. If done correctly this will work your buttocks, core and legs. Begin by lying on your back with your knees bent and your arms relaxed by your side. Find the neutral position of your pelvis by rotating it forwards and backwards. When you find the mid position tense your abdomen and core to hold the pelvis in line with your upper body. Tense your buttocks and slowly raise your pelvis off the floor as far as possible, hold for at least 30 seconds and then slower lower (still with tensed buttocks). Repeat as many times as possible without losing the correct posture.
There are many advanced variations on all of these exercises and the great news is that the basic techniques are the same. You only need to buy more equipment (e.g. to introduce more weight or instability and balance) to make the exercises more intense and effective.
In my final post in this series I will be presenting some upper body exercises that you can use to improve your attractiveness to potential partners.
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