A Great Weight Loss Exercise To Tone and Strengthen the Legs
Posted Sep 13 2008 11:41pm
I train with my fiance now and then and we usually go to the gym. At the gym is a pretty large flight of wide stairs in the weight room. We train our legs a lot as we both want to lose weight and strengthen our legs. Leg training is a great way to speed up the metabolism! Now she does not want big legs, she just wants a little muscle so she gets some nice lines. I on the other hand want big strong legs but what else is new?
To achieve our weight loss and aesthetic goals, we do the usual squats, lunges, single leg squats and the like to strengthen the legs but one day I had an epiphany of sorts. We grabbed some weight and went over to the stair case. I held 45 lbs in each hand and she 25 lbs. We then proceeded to walk up and down the stairs as many times as we could while holding the weight. Once we could not do any more weighted climbs we dropped the weight and kept going, running up the stairs this time. You would not believe how great of a workout it was! We were both panting, sweating and our heart rates were through the roof! We were just totally exhausted after only several minutes! This ladies and gentlemen, is how you elevate the metabolism for a long time after the training session.
The farmers walk is an exercise used by strongman competitors, and is essentially the same thing we were doing here. The athlete takes a weight in each hand and walks for distance. Anyone who has done this will tell you that it pushes your heart rate through the roof and is extremely challenging! It is that kind of effort that is required for fat loss. You have to push your body hard! The version of farmers walks we do is simply adapted for regular people trying to lose weight and will put more focus on the legs.
To recap, grab a pair of dumbbells and find a stair case. Now walk up the stairs. Turn around at the top, then come back down. Repeat to exhaustion. Pretty simple right? You can do sets if you wish. I usually do 4 sets of as many weighted stair climbs as possible. It gets me sweating like crazy and really works my whole body especially the legs. What muscles will it work? Well, the calves, butt, hamstrings and thighs for sure. But also the grip, back and abs believe it or not. Just try it and tell me what is sore tomorrow!
If you don't have a stair case at the gym, get some weights and go outside to a hill or stair case. A hill will put more focus on the calves and ankles if you need it. Stair Case Farmers Walks are a great exercise for fat loss and toning those legs so give them a try today!
To achieve our weight loss and aesthetic goals, we do the usual squats, lunges, single leg squats and the like to strengthen the legs but one day I had an epiphany of sorts. We grabbed some weight and went over to the stair case. I held 45 lbs in each hand and she 25 lbs. We then proceeded to walk up and down the stairs as many times as we could while holding the weight. Once we could not do any more weighted climbs we dropped the weight and kept going, running up the stairs this time. You would not believe how great of a workout it was! We were both panting, sweating and our heart rates were through the roof! We were just totally exhausted after only several minutes! This ladies and gentlemen, is how you elevate the metabolism for a long time after the training session.
The farmers walk is an exercise used by strongman competitors, and is essentially the same thing we were doing here. The athlete takes a weight in each hand and walks for distance. Anyone who has done this will tell you that it pushes your heart rate through the roof and is extremely challenging! It is that kind of effort that is required for fat loss. You have to push your body hard! The version of farmers walks we do is simply adapted for regular people trying to lose weight and will put more focus on the legs.
To recap, grab a pair of dumbbells and find a stair case. Now walk up the stairs. Turn around at the top, then come back down. Repeat to exhaustion. Pretty simple right? You can do sets if you wish. I usually do 4 sets of as many weighted stair climbs as possible. It gets me sweating like crazy and really works my whole body especially the legs. What muscles will it work? Well, the calves, butt, hamstrings and thighs for sure. But also the grip, back and abs believe it or not. Just try it and tell me what is sore tomorrow!
If you don't have a stair case at the gym, get some weights and go outside to a hill or stair case. A hill will put more focus on the calves and ankles if you need it. Stair Case Farmers Walks are a great exercise for fat loss and toning those legs so give them a try today!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=29AX59AYvKI