Legs Tone Up Exercise

Fitness Expert Estelle Mathews shows new mums how to tone up the legs in the comfort of their own home.

Estella Mathews: Hi there, I am Estella Mathews Welcome to my 10 minute workout program. Toning the leg muscles, which, of course, will then have a great effect on everyday life. You will be much better at coping and taking the kids to school and back and also being able to carry those heavy bags shopping on the way back from the supermarket. So, needing to get strength in the legs and in the back of the legs before you do that you need to warm-up when you have get straightened to this workout and try keep it up once twice a week. Now then let's get going, so what we are going to do first of all is make sure our quadriceps are really warm. So you lift up one leg, heel into the bottom, bend the knees, that's it and if you need a bit of support, just grab onto a piece of furniture front. Hey, then onto the other side, keep yourself plenty of time to get thorough quadriceps stretch there, heel into the bottom, the knee go straight down towards the floor, that's it. Calves and hamstrings, just shift around and take the heel down, you press the weight back over the supporting leg, take the hands on the leg, you will feel the stretch all the way through the calf and up in to the hamstring in fact if you take it a little bit deeper you will feel the deepest stretch. Hold it there, its good to stay there for about 20 seconds, that's it, pulling that front foot up towards you. Good, now turning around to the other side, sit back into and get comfortable, that's it. I am going to be doing some pretty thorough squat for lunges and so you prepare your legs for the action. Remembering to bring those toes in towards you, feel the stretch all the way up to back of this leg. Right, when you feel you are done enough make sure it's a thorough stretch just shake the legs out, hip flexors, if we turn one way you lift the arms up in the air, feet are parallel, must make sure that pointing forwards, squeeze the heel back then you lift up, look up towards the hands and squeeze back down. Let's repeat those, lift up heel down and lift up, heel down. Hey, just bend the back knee while with it as preparation for the lunges, don't go too far down, hold it there, you might feel slight shake in that back leg, don't worry, it's a healthy sign, shake the legs out coming around to the other side of the hip flexor you lift up, reach towards the hands, squeeze back hands coming towards the waist, lovely, reach up and sit back. Try not to kind of make it a collapse, it's got to be a squeeze back to get the heel back into the ground and lift up and heel down. A couple of more times - lift up and heel back. Once more lift up, give its real energy even though its stretched and then bend the back knee down, again preparation for your lunges, knee doesn't need to go down too far that will happen in a moment and if you feel like it will now wait for few minutes and you will be begging me to get on those lunges okay and shake it out hands as well. Now probably good idea is to bit of upper body warm-up before you go into these but lets get on with the legs, so feet parallel, shoulder width apart or hip width which ever way you like to measure it and beginning to squat, we just going to take the knees over the toes and reach the hands forward gives you a counterbalance for those hands forward, keeping - that's brilliant if you want to plunge them in agony you can, take it forward 2, 3, 4, lift up; 2, 3, 4, and as you feel the legs warm-up you can go bit deeper. Lift in, 2, 3, 4, and breathe through it, feeling it at the right places, 1, 2, 3, speeding out down on 1, 2 lift up 2 good, just check your feet are parallel because you don't want to turn out yet that will come in a minute, make sure it's a full turnout when we do sort of those knees were correctly, good down and down, up, up, down, down, up couple of more sets, that's warm and that's too now that I am going to get you stay down there press the hands and we pulse, best off the weight right over the heels here, dropping your shoulders you feel the bottom starting to work as well as these quadriceps. So, everything in play, can you feel it. That's it; try not to make it more than a pulse. Stay down there, squeeze, very visible those pulses although plenty, down you go and let's hold it on a count of 8. Now try keep the backs fairly straight here, hands feel slightly opened, stay down another 8, 7, 6 make it look relaxed; 3, 2, 1, and you may need to get half of them. Check it out, just do a few heel digs on the floor, brilliant, squat now they were parallel squats, now we are going to try some turned out ones now, think belly, legs apart wider than shoulder width now, you want to take the knees directly over the toes to 10. So take the arms forward and lift out to the side, drop the shoulders, keep the posture and think about isolating just in those legs. Taking it down on a two count, 1 2 and up, plenty of weight through the heels and again, smooth as you can lift say feel your knees, lets feel already and again, push down and down up just like the other squat as you feel warmer as you feel like you are getting into this you can go little bit deeper, down, up last one and stay down there, good now take the hands on the waist. This one looks fantastic for those bottoms and everyone want to target that area, squeeze the knees back, not to especially pleasing but I think you can feel the work that is doing on those bottoms, squeezing back and back. Good, 4 don't want to do too many of these because I do 8. Last little set here, you lift right heel and left heel trying to maintain that kind of nice deep movement and asking me impossible that's it, heels squeeze to the floor, 4, 3, two more sets to go, 2, keep the upper body nice and still, good, now work with the feet together, release them, feel a bit of an ache in the cords, good, taking time for lunges okay so then using your right foot first place the foot straight in front of you quite a big gap in between those feet and arms to the side. Now very effortlessly she says go down for 4, 3, 2, 1, and up its got to be smooth as you can make it for those knees down, down, down and up 2, 3, 4, and down 2, 3, 4, and now lunges can be pretty dangerous if you are not careful and by that time in the wrong technique can really hurt your knees so you must keep those knees going over the toes never turn the back leg out, good. Ready to do the other leg but before we do just coming down lets squeeze the hands together, hands again holding it tight, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and come back. Shake the legs out, as we got more leg to do. Lunges and squat together, what a recipe, feeling it yet comes out to the side. Here we go 6, 7, 8, down on 4, 3, 2, 1, and up. Good, watch this back feet check it and turn out, fantastic for strengthening those legs 4 and up lets do one more set to its down 2, 3, 4, lift up, now then lets go down and stay down. Hands, you got them in the prayer position for me too, it's not quite though there is it. Hold it still, that's it, looks good on your faces, hiding a multitude of sins hold there 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and pretty much feel it in your legs I think that works both the cords and the hands really thoroughly but don't forget you need to combine this with another workout of aerobics or lot of stretch conditioning but do get those legs moving.