When people add a leg day to their strength-training program, they often have an aesthetic goal in mind, like a or . But there are many benefits to strengthening your legs beyond looking good. The cultural trend of #legday (the hashtag that has billions of views on TikTok and millions of posts on Instagram) isn't just about attractive legs, but also about improving strength and to create a stronger and sturdier base for our movement.
And it’s important to know which muscles leg exercises to actually target to reap all the benefits. The leg muscles are some of the largest in the body, so in order to have a strong foundation, you need to work the , quads, adductors, abductors and calves. And we can’t talk about working the legs without also mentioning the , which are crucial for any hip or thigh movement.
In the back of the body, the and hamstrings each include three muscles. The back of the lower leg includes three muscles that are collectively called the calf muscle. The quads are a group of four muscles that help to stabilize and extend the knee — so they are vital to movements such as jumping and .
The outer leg muscles (the abductors) include parts of the glute and other smaller muscles that help open your leg away from the midline of the body. The inner leg muscles (the adductors) include four muscles that help you to close your thigh in toward the center of your body. Incorporating leg workouts into your routine is crucial for maintaining healthy movement throughou.