A lot of people want to develop their leg muscles without resorting to hours of heavy squats. While the squat is a great exercise, there are ways to greatly improve the muscle mass and conditioning of your legs without lifting any heavy weights. If you've ever seen the thigh muscles of a professional kick-boxer or MMA fighter, you know these professional athletes have some of the best developed legs on the planet. When you kick people for a living, your legs have to be strong, flexible and resilient. What a lot of people don't know is that many of these professional fighters rarely lift any heavy weights for their leg workouts.
If you want to develop the legs of a kick-boxer or MMA fighter without having to get in the ring and fight like one, here are some kicking exercises that will boost your leg development in a flash.
Heavy Bag Kicking – If you have access to a heavy bag, either freestanding or hanging, you can get in a fantastic workout like the professional fighters do. The best kick to workout on the heavy bag with is the roundhouse kick. To do a roundhouse, turn your hips into a kick so that you make contact with the bag using the front of your shins. The real key to a powerful roundhouse kick is to pivot on your supporting foot so that your hips turn quickly and powerfully into the kick.
Start off with a few light rounds of these kicks. When you get winded, throw a few light jabs to keep your heart rate high. As soon as you catch your breath, start throwing hard roundhouse kicks for all you're worth. This is a phenomenal way to develop muscles in your legs and hips that you didn't even know you had.
Stretching Your Legs – After a hard kicking workout, you will want to spend 10 to 15 minutes stretching your legs. There are lots of stretches you can do. One of the best stretches is to sit on the floor, with your legs spread as wide as you can and reaching to alternating feet and pulling your torso into that leg. Do each leg three to five times, holding each stretch for about 30 seconds.
To get the best results you should do each of these kicking workouts for your legs two to three times a week. After a few weeks you should see some definite improvement in your leg conditioning.
Article written by Joesph Jackson.
