Enjoying a Strong Lower Body

According to research, the key predictor of whether you’ll need to live in an assisted living facility when you’re elderly is your leg strength. Here’s why you need to work on those glutes, quads, hams, and calves:

• Real-life benefits: When you take the time to strengthen your legs, you have more stamina for waiting in line at the post office, racing through the grocery store to catch a small child, climbing office stairs when the elevator is broken, and standing on tiptoe to paint the corner of your ceiling.
• Injury prevention: Strengthening your lower body muscles is a good way to preserve your hip, knee, and ankle joints — three joints that put in a lot of overtime and are particularly susceptible to injury. It’s true that many joint injuries result from torn ligaments or tendons (the connective tissue that holds your bones in place), but many of these injuries won’t occur in the first place if you have a strong army of muscles surrounding and protecting your joints. Often, lower body injuries result from a lifetime of repetitive motions such as walking up and down stairs. Weak muscles allow the bones to grind down the protective cartilage more rapidly and can’t support the proper alignment that is necessary for healthy joint function. By strengthening the muscles that surround the joints, you give them the support they need to do their job day after day. With strong lower body muscles you’re less likely to sprain your ankle by stepping off a curb because your joints have the strength to hold up even when they’re wrenched into positions they’d prefer to avoid. If you’re already at the point where you have bad knees or a “trick ankle,” it’s not too late to pump some iron with your lower body muscles.
• The “Feel Good” factor: When your lower body is strong, you feel confident because you know that you can lift that heavy item, you can walk up those stairs, and you can take care of yourself. Leg strength is the leading indicator of who will end up living in nursing homes. Be strong and feel good about you.

Understanding Butt and Leg Muscle Basics

You have several muscles that make up the lower portion of your body. Each muscle serves a purpose and works with the other muscles in your lower body to help you move around. Take a look at the breakdown of the muscles below your waist:

• Gluteus maximus (glutes): The glutes is the granddaddy of all muscles in your body and covers your entire butt — both cheeks. The gluteus maximus straightens your legs from your hips when you stand up and propels you forward when you walk or run.
• Hip flexors: The muscles opposite your gluteus maximus, located at the front of your hips. Your hip flexor muscles help you lift your leg up high so you can march in a parade or step up onto a ladder. You don’t need to spend much time working your hip flexors; they tend to be relatively stronger than the glutes in most people. When the hip flexors become disproportionately strong and tight compared to other muscles, they pull your pelvis forward and throw your hip and lower spine into an excessively arched position. This strength imbalance may contribute to poor posture and lower back pain. Keep in mind that balanced muscle development is as important as strong muscles.
• Abductors: The sides, or meat, of your hips: your outer thighs. Your outer hips move your leg away from your body, like when you push off while ice-skating. The main outer hip muscle is called the gluteus medius.Adductors: The muscles that span the inside of your upper leg or inner thighs. They pull your leg in toward the center of your body or, when they’re feeling ambitious, they sweep one leg in front of and past the other, like when you kick a soccer ball off to the side.
• Quadriceps (quads): The quads are located at the front of your thighs. Together these four muscles have one purpose: to straighten your leg from the knee.
• Hamstrings (hams): These muscles reside directly behind your thighbone. They bend your knee, bringing your heel toward your buttocks, and help the glutes do their thing.
• Gastrocnemius (gastroc): The gastroc is shaped like a diamond. The gastroc allows you to rise up on your tiptoes to see over your neighbor’s fence. Check out the calves of any competitive bicyclist, and you’ll see precisely what this muscle looks like.
• Soleus: Your soleus lies directly underneath the gastroc and helps out the gastroc when your knee is bent and you need to raise your heels up, like when you’re sitting at the movies and you realize that you just stepped in gum.
• Tibialis anterior: The partner to your calf muscles is your shin muscle, covering the front of your lower leg. Whenever you’re listening to music that makes you feel like tapping your toes, you can thank this muscle for allowing you to literally make this movement happen.

Roll down negative curl

The roll down negative curl focuses on the hardest part of the crunch — the lowering phase.
Pay special attention to your form if you have lower back or neck problems.

Getting set
Sit with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor hip-width apart. Reach forward and place your hands on the outside of your thighs. Slide your shoulders down and tilt your chin slightly so there’s a few inches of space between your chin and your chest. Gently pull your abdominals inward. See photo A.

The exercise
Tuck your pelvis and slowly lower back as far as you can go and keep your feet on the ground. Hold for a moment and then curl slowly back up. See photo B.

Do’s and don’ts

• DO keep your abdominals pulled in so that you feel more tension in your abs.
• DO curl as well as lift. For an explanation of curling., in which you find out common crunch mistakes.
• DON’T hunch or collapse your shoulders.

Other options
Hands on chest negative curl (harder): Fold your arms across your chest,
palms down and tuck your chin in slightly. This position increases the weight of your upper body.
Hands behind head negative curl (harder): Place your hands behind your
head without lacing your fingers. This version further increases the weight of your upper body.

Bent knee side crunch

The bent knee side crunch challenges your obliques to work together with all of your abdominal muscles.

Getting set
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet hip-width apart and flat on the floor. Drop both of your knees to one side and keep your legs stacked together. Place both hands behind your head without lacing your fingers. Place thumbs at base of skull. See photo A.

The exercise
Curl straight upward keeping your legs together and drawing your ribs toward your hips. Lower back down. Do all the repetitions on one side and then switch to the other side. See photo B.

Do’s and don’ts

• DO keep torso rotated at the waist and legs together.
• DO keep your head, neck, and shoulders relaxed.
• DO move slowly and take the time to feel your abs working.
• DON’T pull on your neck or touch your elbow to your knee.

Other options
Weighted bent knee side crunch (harder): Hold a lightweight plate or dumbbell
on your chest, or for an even greater challenge, hold a weight on top of or behind your head. Just don’t press the plate down too hard.

Oblique abdominal crunch

The oblique crunch works all your abdominal muscles with an emphasis on your obliques.
Pay special attention to form if you have a history of lower back or neck discomfort.

Getting set
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet hip-width apart and flat
on the floor. Place your left hand behind your head so your thumb is behind
your left ear. Place your right arm along the floor beside you. Bring your
elbow out to the side and round it slightly inward. Tilt your chin so your chin
and your chest are a few inches apart. Pull your abdominals in. See photo A
.

The exercise
As you curl your head, neck, and shoulder blades off the floor, twist your torso to the right, bringing your left shoulder toward your right knee. (Your elbow won’t actually touch your knee.) Lower back down. Do all the repetitions on one side and then switch to the other side. See photo B.

Do’s and don’ts

• DO concentrate on rotating from your middle instead of simply moving your elbows toward your knees.
• DO keep both hips squarely on the ground as you twist to protect your lower back.

Other options

• Legs-up crunch with a twist (harder): Lift your bent knees off the floor and cross one ankle over the other.
• Straight-arm crunch with a twist (harder): Reach for your opposite knee with your arm straight rather than your elbow bent. Reach past the outside edge of your knee.

Reverse abdominal crunch

The reverse crunch emphasizes the lower portion of your main abdominal muscles (the rectus abdominis). Use caution if you’re prone to lower back discomfort.

Getting set
Lie on your back with your legs up, knees slightly bent, and feet in air. Rest your arms on the floor and place your fingertips behind your head. Rest your head on your hands, relax your shoulders, and pull in your abdominals.

The exercise
Lift your butt one or two inches off the floor so your legs lift up and a few inches backward. Hold the position for a moment, and then lower slowly. See photo A.

Do’s and don’ts

• DO keep your shoulders relaxed and down.
• DO keep the crunch movement small and precise; you don’t have to lift very high to feel this exercise working.
• DO use a minimum of leg movement.
• DON’T thrust or jerk your hips.
• DON’T involve your upper body at all.
• DON’T cross your feet at the ankles (see photo B).
• DON’T roll your hips so your buttocks and back come way off the floor. This type of movement involves your front hip muscles more than your abdominals.

Other options
Modified reverse crunch (easier): Hold onto the back edges of an exercise mat or stable object such as the underside of a couch or stuffed chair to help stabilize your upper body. Perform the reverse crunch.
One-leg reverse crunch (easier): Lift one leg at a time. Bend your other knee so your foot is flat on the floor. Avoid pushing on your foot. Use your abs to lift your hips.
Incline reverse crunch (harder): Place three risers underneath one end of a step bench and one riser underneath the other end. Lie on the step with your head at the higher end of it. Stretch your arms out behind you and hold on to the undercling of the step directly behind your head. Perform a reverse crunch by lifting your hips up. This version of the reverse crunch is more difficult because you’re working against gravity.

Basic abdominal crunch

The basic abdominal crunch is the fundamental abdominal exercise that works all of your abdominal muscles.
Pay special attention to your form if you have lower back or neck problems.

Getting set
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor hip-width apart. Place your hands at your sides. Keep your head upright and don’t press it into your chest. Gently pull your abdominals inward. See photo A.

The exercise
Curl up and forward so your head, neck, and shoulder blades lift off the floor. Hold for a moment at the top of the movement and then lower slowly back down.

Do’s and don’ts

• DO keep your abdominals pulled in so you feel more tension in your abs and so you don’t overarch your lower back.
• DO curl as well as lift. For an explanation of curling, in which you ascertain common crunch mistakes.
• DON’T pull on your legs with your hands.

Other options
Cross-arm crunch (easier): Fold your arms across your chest, palms down, and tuck your chin so it rests on your hands. This position saves you the effort of having to lift the weight of your arms. Legs-up crunch: Keeping your knees bent, pick your legs off the floor, and cross your ankles.
Weighted crunch (harder): Hold a lightweight plate on your chest, or for an even greater challenge, hold a weight on top of or behind your head. Just don’t press the plate down too hard.