Leg Lifts

Leg Lifts

Lie on your right side with your hips stacked. You might be comfortable propping your head on your right hand, or you might prefer to extend your right arm out and cushion your head on it. To work your outer thigh, bend your right leg to a 45-degree angle from your body for stability. Raise your left leg from the hip until it is parallel to the floor and then lower it to the starting position. When you are ready for a slightly more advanced exercise, straighten your knee while your leg is raised, bend it, straighten it,and then lower it. When you can easily do two or three sets of each of these, you can add a set of small pulses and hold your leg up at the highest part of the lift for a count of eight and release. Switch to the other side.Leg lifts tone your gluteal muscles, but be sure to keep your back flat, not arched.To work your inner thigh, lie on your right side with your hips stacked. Cross your left leg over your right and place your left foot on the floor. This moves it out of the way of the right leg, which will be your working leg for this exercise. Lift and lower your right leg. When you are strong enough, finish with small pulses and then contract your muscles to hold your working leg at the highest part of the lift for a count of eight and then release. Switch legs. (The movements of these exercises are the same as for the outer-thigh leg lifts and inner-thigh leg lifts described in Chapter 7, but here, you are using just the weight of your own legs to provide resistance.)
This is another form of leg lift to tone your glutes and quads; be sure to keep your elbows on the mat to protect your back.