5 Best Leg Workouts You Can Do with the Gorilla Bow
Many people dread leg day because the same workouts can start to feel stale after a while. Plus, it’s hard to see results in your leg muscles in the same ways that you can with upper body workouts.
Gorilla Bow will make your leg workouts tougher and more dynamic and open up new opportunities for you to modify old classics. Not to mention, you can do them from anywhere at any time.
Changing up your routine is a great way to build leg strength and prevent a plateau. Let’s look at some of the best leg exercises that you can do with the Gorilla Bow to make leg day your favorite day of the week.
1. Squat
We’ve all done squats before. The tightness in your glutes and the burn in your hamstrings can be unmatched. But doing squats over and over gets old fast. Here’s how the Gorilla Bow can squash your squat hesitancies:
- Place your feet shoulder-width apart, standing on the resistance bands of your bow. Bring the bar up to the top of your chest as if you were about to do a shoulder press.
- Bend your knees and drop your glutes toward the floor. Try to get as low to the ground as possible without losing form.
- Using the strength from your legs, push yourself back up to starting position. Repeat.
The resistance bands will really make the squat feel much more challenging yet natural, especially when compared to using dumbbells. You can also place the bow on the back of your shoulders to challenge your quads a little bit more.
When doing a squat, always try to drive your glutes back and try not to bring your knees past your toes. It’s a tough movement to do correctly, and it requires a lot of strength in your legs. Master a bodyweight squat before you use the Gorilla Bow for added challenge.
2. Split Squat
While it still has “squat” in its name, a split squat is really an entirely different workout that gives some attention to your core and helps improve balance. Here’s how it’s done:
- Stand with your left foot in front of you, knee slightly bent. Place the resistance band underneath this foot while your right foot sits behind you, knee slightly bent. Put the bar on the back of your shoulders and hold it steady.
- Lower your body, bending your right knee, so it’s at a 90-degree angle with your body. Try not to extend your left knee past your toes.
- Lift your body back to the starting position. Repeat, and then switch legs.
You can vary split squats by raising your “down” leg onto a bench, which will help hone your core for added balance. You can even incorporate a bow twist at the peak of your split squat for an oblique workout.
Split squats aren’t to be confused with reverse lunges. The main difference is that in a reverse lunge, your back leg remains fairly straight. Master the split squat without any added resistance before you move onto more of a challenge.
3. Good Mornings
Good mornings are a challenging exercise that will make your hamstrings feel that healthy burn. However, they also help activate your core muscles and your erector spinae, which runs along your spine.
To do good mornings with the Gorilla Bow:
- Stand on the resistance band with feet shoulder-width apart. Place the bar on the back of your shoulders.
- Hinge your hips behind you, only slightly bending your knees. Then, push your glutes back as far as you can, trying to get your back parallel to the floor.
- Slowly return to the starting position. Repeat.
Good mornings are one of the best exercises for the posterior chain, but they’re also dangerous when done improperly. It’s important to master the form before adding too much resistance. Also, make sure your lower back is never doing any heavy-lifting -- this is all in your hips and hamstrings.
Romanian deadlifts activate similar muscles, but they may be a bit easier to complete. You can use the Gorilla Bow for RDLs as well, so consider starting with these before moving into good mornings.
4. Calf Raises
It’s not all about your quads and hamstrings. Your calf muscles in the lower portion of your leg are one of the first leg muscles that many people notice, so you want to make sure you’re working to tone and strengthen them accordingly.
The Gorilla Bow can help. To do calf raises:
- Feet shoulder-width apart, standing on the resistance bands. Place the bar on your shoulders behind your neck.
- Standing straight, lift your feet off the ground, so you’re standing on your toes. Be sure to tighten your calves at the top of the movement.
- Hold for a moment and then slowly lower your body. Repeat.
You’ll probably want to use quite a bit of resistance when doing these for an added challenge, especially because this movement can feel fairly easy. With that in mind, adding weight or increasing the number of reps can have you feeling the burn very quickly.
5. Lunge
To round out your leg day, let’s take it to one of the classics. Lunges are great workouts for your quads and hamstrings. The Gorilla Bow can add some resistance to get you working up a sweat. To execute lunges:
- Stand with one foot out in front of the other, about three feet of space between them. Place the resistance band underneath the foot in front, then hold the bar up against your chest.
- Bend both knees, lunging slightly forward so your front knee is slightly past your toes.
- Slowly lift yourself back up. Repeat.
Why is Leg Day Important?
Leg day feels like a necessary evil for most people. We get it, trust us. You can shift the perspective by fully understanding the importance of lower body workouts, especially when it comes to holistic health and wellness.
Your legs are home to some of the biggest muscles in your entire body, and they require more energy to work. So when you do leg exercises like the ones above, you’re working harder and burning more calories.
Do you huff and puff when you reach the top of the stairs? Having strong leg muscles can enhance your performance in everyday activities too. By strengthening your quads, hamstrings, and calves, you may notice that you’re able to run faster or for longer periods of time.
On top of that, there are aesthetic improvements too. Some only work out their upper body at the gym. Of course, working your upper body is important, but making sure your entire physique is well-balanced can help to improve your self-confidence and self-image.
Finally, the most important benefit of exercise is that it can help reduce the risk of injury. Building up muscle to protect your bones can mean the difference between a broken leg or a tiny sprain.
The Cool Down
Leg day is possibly the most important day of the week, but it’s often forgotten in the sea of upper body exercises. Rejuvenate your leg day by using the Gorilla Bow to turn your everyday workouts into dynamic feats of resistance training.
Squats and split squats are the way to go to get your quads burning immediately. These movements are challenging on their own, but the added resistance of the bands makes them even more challenging.
Good mornings are a challenging addition to your leg routine and are made even tougher with the Gorilla Bow. When your upper legs are begging for air, give them a break while working on your calves with some resistance band calf raises.
For even more leg, upper, or total body workouts, the Gorilla Bow All-Access membership is your one-stop-shop for pre-recorded and live fitness classes that will teach you new ways to use your Gorilla Bow. With fitness and nutrition tips at your disposal right from home, you’ll never need to set foot in a gym ever again.
Sources:
Strengthen Your Legs | Duke Human Resources
