Photo by Li Sun from Pexels. Whatever your reasons for working out – better performance in the pool, weight loss, muscle gain, or general wellbeing – it’s always crucial to work on the lower body.
After all, our largest muscle (gluteus maximus) is located in the lower body. So if we’re looking to build overall strength, be it for day-to-day tasks or competitive sports, we should be careful to never miss leg day!
So to help expand your exercise arsenal, we’re sharing 8 exercises that are excellent for building lower body strength. Enjoy!
It’s no secret that PIlates is an amazing workout. We’ve talked about it on the blog before. But, in short, it’s great for flexibility, posture, strength, and mental wellbeing.
We’ve also shared 5 Pilates moves for a killer core workout. But today we thought we’d provide some comprehensive, start-to-finish, full Pilates workouts that you can follow online, completely for free.
So lay out your mat, get your exercise gear on, and get ready for some Pilates!
30 MIN FULL BODY WORKOUT | At-Home Pilates
Core & Ab Pilates Home Workout | 20min REAL TIME Workout
15 Minute Full Body Pilates Workout | Good Moves | Well+Good
Total Body Pilates! 20 Minute Tone & Shape, Legs, Butt, Abs, Beginners Home Workout, Flexib
Pilates makes for a wonderful stand-alone workout, but it also combines really well with yoga. So for a little more of a stretch, why not check out these 10 yoga poses for increased flexibility.
30-day challenges are very popular. Whether it’s for getting fit, losing weight, or quitting sugar, there are countless online programmes designed to guide us through 30 days of change and transformation.
What’s particularly appealing about the 30-day challenge model is that it provides us with achievable and reasonable goals. It’s a big ask to commit to 20 push-ups every morning for the rest of your life. But 30 days? That’s doable.
When it comes to working out, short-term challenges also give us an opportunity to try out different types of exercise routines. And they can allow us to hone our attention on certain aspects of training that we’d like focus more heavily on. For example, if you feel that your abs training is a little bit lagging, then a 30-day challenge might be just what you need to supercharge your core.
Ultimately, though, 30-day challenges give us a sense of real achievement. Once you reach the final day you’ve done it. You’ve achieved what you set out to achieve, and that can have wonderful effects on your motivation and self-esteem.
So, with all that said, here are 5 brilliant and free 30-day workout challenges for you to get stuck into!
Darebee is an incredible resource, filled with a huge amount of free fitness programmes and workouts. This challenge consists of a mixture of leg raises, side bridges, and elbow planks, which increase in intensity each day. The last two days will see you doing 66 side leg raises, 66 side bridges, and a 3-minute elbow plank hold.
According to its description, this workout is designed to “strengthen your mind, increase your fitness level overall, and give you the satisfaction that you were able to complete a challenging program”. It may be more suited to the gym, or someone who has plenty of equipment at home, but if you have access to the right tools then this challenge will really get your upper body working.
This all-round challenge is designed to help you lose weight and burn fat. The exercises involved are very broad, and include lunges, push-ups, and side planks amongst others. One of the best features of this challenge is how varied the programme is day-to-day, making it a great choice for those who like to mix-up their workouts.
This is listed as a weight-loss, abs, and full body challenge. This is a perfect challenge for beginners or those who prefer guidance throughout their workouts, as each exercise in the challenge is accompanied by a tutorial video link.
When we lose focus, sometimes all we need is a little bit of motivation to get back into the swing of things. So for those times when you might lack confidence or feel overwhelmed and tired, we’ve rounded up 20 inspiring quotes to get you up and running again!
Wellbeing
“The reason I exercise is for the quality of life I enjoy.” – Kenneth H. Cooper
“When it comes to health and well-being, regular exercise is about as close to a magic potion as you can get.” – Tich Nhat Hanh
“If you don’t make time for exercise, you’ll probably have to make time for illness.” – Robin Sharma
“Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
“Exercise is a celebration of what your body can do. Not a punishment for what you ate.” – Women’s Health UK
“To enjoy the glow of good health, you must exercise.” – Gene Tunney
Mental fortitude
“Whenever I get down and catch myself with negative thoughts, I pretend I’m saying those things aloud to another person. I ask myself, would you ever say, ‘Well, it looks like you’re really blowing up, your day is over,’ to a training partner who is struggling? Of course not! You’d tell him, ‘Keep pushing and just make it through the next five minutes.’ Or maybe you’d say, ‘Eat, drink, and hang in there until the next aid station.’ Going through this exercise helps me replace negative thoughts with positive ones.” – Rebecca Rusch, world-champion adventure racer
“There is such a difference between asking yourself, ‘Oh gosh, can I do it?’ and saying ‘I’m going to do this.’ The former breeds self-doubt and almost always stifles performance. The latter sets you up to go all-in and have no regrets, even if things don’t pan out.” – Sarah Piampiano, triathlete
“If you ever lack the motivation to train, then think what happens to your mind and body when you don’t.” – Shifu Yan Lei, Master from the Shaulin Temple
Sleep
“Sleep is a part of my job; I take it very seriously.” – Brenda Martinez, Olympic middle-distance runner
“Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” – Thomas Dekker
“Sleep is an investment in the energy you need to be effective tomorrow.” – Tom Roth
“I drink a ton of water a day and try to get as much sleep as possible. Sleep is the best way to restore your health. Never skip on sleep; it’s crazy important.” – Brittany Howard
Perseverance
“No matter how slow you go, you’re still lapping everybody on the couch.” – Elite Daily
“You can either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.” – Jim Rohn
“If it doesn’t challenge you it doesn’t change you!” – Fred Devito
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotle
“The difference between try and triumph is a little umph.” – Marvin Phillips
“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.”– Bruce Lee
“A year from now you may wish you had started today.” – Karen Lamb
Some time ago we shared our pick of ten fantastic books on swimming, sports, and fitness.
But books are a bit like grains of sand — there are lots of them out there. And really there’s no end to the amount of excellent sports and fitness books to choose from.
So, to help keep your library filled with practical and inspiring reads, we thought we’d bring you 7 more books on fitness and sports (presented in no particular order, of course).
Eniola Aluko has achieved some incredible things in her life. First class honours law degree, 102 appearances for England women’s national football team, UN Women UK ambassador to name but a few.
The book deals with themes of dual nationality and identity, race and institutional prejudice, success, failure and faith, and aims to inspire confidence in a new generation of women.
This is an excellent book for anyone with an interest in (but not necessarily an understanding of) sports psychology.
The core message of the book is wrapped inside a fable, and is designed to build the reader’s self-confidence and mental resilience. Great for anyone with lofty goals!
Tim Grover has worked with some of the world’s greatest athletes, including Michael Jordan Kobe Bryant, and shares his thoughts on how to achieve mental and physical dominance.
This is a book designed to show you what it takes to reach your goals and achieve your dreams.
This book is a must-read for anyone looking to improve their mental performance. In a nutshell, it’s a mind training book with the goal of boosting your athletic potential beyond the realm of the purely physical.
Providing a window into the minds of champions, and offering science-backed tips and techniques, Jim Afremow’sbook is there to help you excel to new heights.
A book that does exactly what it says on the tin. If you’ve ever found yourself frozen on the sofa with indecision, straining over whether or not to get up and go to the gym, then consider giving this one a read.
It’s the perfect companion for anyone who, from time to time, needs a firm push in the right direction, just to keep themselves on track.
Neila Ray, who is involved with Darebee (an amazing free online workout database), has authored a very practical book, filled to the brim with great workouts that can be performed pretty much anywhere.
Another book that delivers exactly what the title promises, this is an excellent option for those who are less worried about theory and personal stories and more interested in bare bones workouts.
Being stuck inside the house all day can be a challenge. And it’s just as hard for children as it is for adults. So finding things to keep ourselves occupied, whether we’re young or old, is very important if we’re to stay happy and healthy.
So for the little ones in your life, we thought we’d share these 6 child-friendly workouts that the whole family can enjoy together.
From Yoga to Zumba, we think there’s something here to keep everyone satisfied. So get your exercise gear on and get moving!
