How To Tone Up Your Lower Body Muscles

One very effective method of toning the lower body muscles is to perform the leg press exercise. In order to be able to do this exercise, you must first find yourself a leg press machine, in a local gym or a purchased one. Sit on the leg press machine. Now make sure that as you are seated, both your feet stay rested on the foot rest. Maintain a distance between your feet that is approximately equivalent to your shoulder width. Now slightly tilt your feet outwards, so that your toes are pointing outwards.

Take support for your body by maintaining a tight grip with your arms on the handles on either side of your body. Keep both your knees bended. Now keep lowering the weight, as much as you can, without causing a shift in the original position of your hips. Keep in mind that you shouldn't be lowering the weight too far either, such that it causes your hips to curl off your seat, thereby causing a change in the original position of your hips.

Once you have reached down farthest, without shifting the original position of your hips, hold yourself in that position for a few counts. Now gradually release the tension in your body by using your heels to let the weight rise up all the way back to its original position. Make sure that the pressure is evenly distributed across both of your heels, and not on your toes.

Make sure that as the weight rises up, you do not lock your knees, but just before your knees can reach the locking position, you begin to slowly reverse direction and push the weight down, all the way again, in a controlled manner. 

Another set of exercises that is really effective on the lower body is the barbell squats. This is one of the toughest and also the most efficient of all lower body exercises, and really helps to give definition to the lower body muscles of the body. Take a barbell in your hands, and then slowly position the barbell on the upper side of your back. Beware of wrongly resting the barbell on your neck. 

Now make sure that you are gripping that bar from both the sides with both your arms, such that your hands are at a distance that is equivalent to twice your shoulder length. Also remember to stand on some sort of a declining surface, so that your heels are at elevation, while the balls of your feet, which are the front part of your feet, are at the bottom tip of the declining surface. The front part of your feet must be flat on the ground and not curled. 

Station your feet at shoulder width distance from each other. Slightly bend your knees, but do not let the position of your bent knees go ahead of the position of your toes. Maintain an arched back. Lower your hips; keep sinking without letting your knees go ahead of your toes, until your thighs form a parallel line with that of the horizontal floor. 

Hold for a few seconds and then push the weight upwards with the assistance of your heels, and rise back up, while maintaining a straight back, and ensuring your back doesn't curl for maximum effectiveness.

With these exercises, you will be all set to show the results on your lower body in a matter of 3 to 4 weeks.