The city of Sydney has about 4,926,000 people as of 2020. Many of the 4,926,000 love doing sports such as netball, rugby, tennis, basketball, soccer, and many more. These kinds of sports require you to use your body to its full capacity. In some instances, some people do it too much to a point when they start experiencing leg muscle pains and aches.
Fortunately, Sydneysiders can remedy this problem through several leg exercises to ensure they won’t experience the same pain anymore. It’s worth noting that these exercises will only work if done correctly and routinely. Experts in exercise physiology sydney area-based will give you different leg exercises, especially if you have chronic leg muscle pain and aches.
After consulting with a physiotherapist, they may give you a list of exercises you need to do in a given time. The only way these exercises can help you is if you do them routinely as the physiotherapist prescribed. Failing to do so can potentially cause more discomfort for your legs in the long run. With that said, these are the most common leg exercises that physiotherapists recommend.
Single-Leg Squats
For Sydneysiders that have a hard time balancing themselves on one leg, you can try single leg squats. As the name suggests, it’s basically doing squats while standing only on one leg. This leg exercise works by stabilizing muscles such as the quadriceps, gluteus maximus, and hamstrings. You need to keep in mind that single leg squats require serious balance on your part. It may take some time to do the exercise perfectly.
Hamstring Curls
If you wish to focus on your hamstring, doing hamstring curls is the best exercise. Your back thigh-muscles operate to lift your lower leg. The recommended reps for hamstring curls are at least 8. Doing more than that may cause more damage than improving. This is only recommended for people who are still starting to work out their hamstrings. For professionals who have years of experience working out, they can bump it up to 10 reps per set.
To do the hamstring curls, you initiate by lying down on your front on the hamstring curl machine with the pad placed on the lower back of your calves. Make sure your body stays flat while holding the handles to keep your upper body stable. Bend your knees toward your posterior until it reaches a 90-degree angle. Hold it for 1 second and then repeat until you finish your reps.
Bridges
This form of exercise may seem awkward at first, but it can definitely get you benefits such as reduced back and knee pains, strengthen the core, improve balance, etc. Most people in Sydney do bridges when they’re improving their muscle around the buttocks area since it targets the gluteus maximus.
You begin by lying flat on your back, keeping your arms to the side, and then placing your feet close to your glutes. Doing so will lift your knees up. Once you feel comfortable, slowly lift your hips while making sure your arms, feet, head, and rear shoulders are flat on the ground. Your knees and thighs should be parallel as well. When you lift your hips, make sure to straighten it as best as you can and finally hold it for at least a second or two.
Consulting a highly-skilled physiologist can help you perform better at sports or doing your usual daily activities through leg exercises. To get the best exercise routine for your legs, it’s best to get in touch with an expert in exercise physiology sydney area-based.