Using just the five minutes before you go to bed can be a game-changer when it comes to your legs. Here are a few exercises you can do that transform your legs little by little each day.
Exercise #1
Lying on your back, arms down on both sides of the body. Raise your legs so that they make a 90-degree angle with your body. Don’t bend your knees. Pull your toes up. Bend your knees one by one, and return your legs to the initial position. Keep your knees together, and keep the front part of your thighs tensed.
Repeat: 10 times for each leg.
Self-check if you’re doing it right: Feeling hot in your muscles.
Important: In the initial position, your knees should be as straight as possible.
Exercise #2
Lying on your back, legs raised, toes pulled toward your body. Hold your knees together, and bend your knees one by one. Important: your toes should always be pulled toward your body, and your heels should reach your buttocks.
Repeat: 10 times for each leg.
Lying on your back, legs raised and a little bit bent at the knees. Make swings with both legs, raising your buttocks and keeping the upper part of your legs tensed.
Repeat: 20 times.
Self-check if you’re doing it right: Feeling the tension in the muscles of the back part of your thighs and feeling a slight burning.
Exercise #3
Lying on your back, keeping your legs raised and crossed with your right leg over your left leg. Both legs are tensed and pressed against each other. Bend your knees toward the sides to make a “plié” movement, and then return to the initial position.
Important: Your legs should always be tensed and pressed against each other.
Repeat: 10 times with your right leg in the upper position and 10 times with your left leg in the upper position.
Here are a few additional exercises that you can do once you’re out of bed the next morning:
Squats
1. In a squat rack, take a barbell off of the rack by placing it squarely on your traps and shoulders (not the neck) and grip the bar comfortably with your hands a little wider than your shoulders.
2. Carefully take a step or 2 back from the rack and get in a comfortable upright stance with your feet shoulder width apart or slightly wider. Your toes should be pointed slightly outward. They should NEVER