The best exercise you're not doing

Ever wonder why six-pack abs and bigger arms are considered trophy muscles while legs, quads and calves are hardly, if ever, spoken about at all? The answer is simple: while muscle groups in the upper body give us ample opportunity to show off our physiques, our legs don’t. As a result, you’ll find a vast majority of fitness fanatics with great torsos and weak legs. This, in my opinion, is a cardinal sin!

Our leg muscles form the single-largest muscle group in our body, and ignoring them only means we’re heading towards disproportion. A weak lower body is ill-equipped to complement a well-built upper body. On the other hand, strong legs can burn more calories than all the other muscles put together. So, irrespective of whether you ever wear shorts or not, do make it a point to work out your legs at least once a week. No, running doesn’t count!

Perform two or three sets of the following four exercises, resting 60 minutes after each set. In just four weeks, you’ll begin to see better results than you could ever imagine!

Exercise 1
Dumb-bell Romanian Deadlift
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a pair of dumb-bells in front of your thighs. Keeping your knees slightly bent and your back arched, push your hips back and bend at the waist until your torso is almost parallel to the floor and the weights reach mid-shin level. Pause, then press your heels into the floor and stand. Do eight to 10 reps.

Exercise 2
45-degree Travelling Lunge
Stand holding a pair of dumb-bells at your sides. Take a large step out at a 45-degree angle, until the lunging thigh is parallel to the floor, with your knee over (not past) your toes. (Your back foot should point forward.) Bring your back leg forward and repeat with that leg angled in the opposite direction. Do six to eight reps with each leg.

Exercise 3
Single-leg Bulgarian Split Squat
Stand with a bench about 3 feet behind you and hold a pair of dumb-bells down at your sides. Place one foot on the bench so the top of the foot faces the floor. Keeping your torso upright, lower your body until the thigh of the front leg is parallel to the floor, then press yourself back up to the starting position. Do six to eight repetitions per leg.

Exercise 4
Calf-raise Farmer’s Walk
Grab a pair of heavy dumb-bells and rise on the balls of your feet. Walk as far as you can until your grip or calves fall.