Although walking is a great exercise to build up the strength of your leg muscles and its great for endurance too, you should also try leg exercises. The lunge is a great for strength training whether you use weights or not. It is also good for flexibility.
- In order to keep your balance you need to begin this exercise standing next to a chair or table.
- With one hand on the chair or table take a big step forward lowering yourself as you bend the leg you stepped forward. Don’t worry if you can’t lower yourself very much at first remember safety is always first.
- Return to the starting position and do 10 repetitions with each leg.
Remember to check with your doctor before starting any exercise program.
Probably the most common bodyweight exercise is the pushup. You probably remember doing them in school, probably doing more than you wanted to at the time. It is one of the best exercises you can do because it works so many muscle groups. Of course if you haven’t exercised in awhile and you are an older adult you may want to start out doing them with your knees touching the floor and then gradually build up strength where you can do them with just your hands and toes on the floor.
A good bodyweight exercise for legs would be the one leg squat. Simply stand on one leg and squat down as far as possible. If you are worried about falling stand in front of a wall so you can catch yourself. This is great for the upper leg muscles as well as the calves.
Walking lunges are also a great way to build leg muscles. Stand up straight with your hands on your hips and put one foot forward as far as possible. Bring it back and do the same with the other foot.
The Jumping Jack is another one that you might remember from school. It’s great for getting the blood flowing and working the legs.
Technically with pull-ups you do need a chin up bar, or something else to pull your self up with but it is still a great exercise for the back, shoulders and arms.
