Lower Extremity Exercises You Can Do at Home
You don’t need a gym membership or high-end equipment to improve your lower body strength! Follow along with Andrea Pohlman, MSAH, AT, as she guides you through this series of exercises that uses common household items and can be done anywhere!
See detailed instructions below. Please excuse any sound quality issues as our team practiced social distancing during filming!
Exercise #1: Bodyweight Squats
Perform 10 reps per set. 2 sets for beginners, 3 sets for advanced.
Exercise #2: Lunges
Perform 10 reps per set. 2 sets for beginners, 3 sets for advanced.
Exercise #3: Romanian Dead Lift (RDL)
Perform 10 reps per set. 2 sets for beginners, 3 sets for advanced.
Exercise #4: Wall Sits
Use this method to determine your sets and reps for any isometric holds.
- First, start by holding the exercise as long as you can and time it
- Next, take that time and multiply it by 0.7
- Now complete 3 sets at 70% of your max. Example, if you can hold a wall sit for 30 seconds, complete 3 sets of 21 seconds (30 x 0.7=21)
- The following week, try to add 5 seconds onto each set
- After a few weeks, try the max hold again to see if you have improved and readjust your hold times accordingly
Exercise #5: Heel Raises
Perform 10 reps per set. 2 sets for beginners, 3 sets for advanced.
Key Considerations for Success
- Muscles need 48-72 hours between training sessions to fully recover. Use this time to take rest days or perform exercises that target other areas of the body.
- If you experience pain during or after performing a specific exercise, stop the activity.
- If pain persist, seek advice from a healthcare professional.
If you have questions the team at Orthopedic ONE can help! Click here to learn more about our Sports Medicine specialty and for a list of our Sports Medicine physicians. If you have questions or want to learn more ways to stay healthy, active and strong, consider connecting with one of our Certified Athletic Trainers through our Sports Medicine Hotline.