I’m looking for bodyweight leg exercises to make strong legs. Something to do aside from lifting heavy weights.
The only exercises i know to build strong legs are the Squats.(Regular, pistol and lunges) I try to also use jumping squats and vertical jumping.
Are there any other good leg exercises out there. I’m also interrested in fun and new stuff, maybe something you invented yourself.
Why body weight only? single leg squats and deads if you must.
Plymetrics/jumping are the only BW stuff that come to mind that will actually improve strength.
I am only doing this for fun, and also as a variation in my training.
As i already stated in my first post, i’m doing this aside from heavy weightlifting.
I’m planning on incorporating stair runs tomorrow, if i feel like it. Heavy Submission Wrestling hours tomorrow, and after that i’m squatting, DL’ing and doing weighted and BW pull-ups.
Ham raises I would imagine.
[quote]utHAUS wrote:
Plymetrics/jumping are the only BW stuff that come to mind that will actually improve strength.[/quote]
Weighted plymetrics. I try to add that as much as possible. Since i do this aside from weightlifting my legs are always tired WHEN i do this. 
[quote]GrayCrane wrote:
Ham raises I would imagine.[/quote]
Tried them today and yesterday.They take a while to get used to, so i’ll probably, maybe start using them in a week or two.
They do seem fun and challenging.(maybe i just have weak hamstrings)
[quote]silkyhorse wrote:
utHAUS wrote:
Plymetrics/jumping are the only BW stuff that come to mind that will actually improve strength.
Weighted plymetrics. I try to add that as much as possible. Since i do this aside from weightlifting my legs are always tired WHEN i do this. :)[/quote]
This is retarded, and is excusable only because you’ve probably never been told how to use plyometrics or what to use them for.
The point is SPEED. You don’t ADD WEIGHT to PLYOMETRICS.
Also, due to the demands they place on the nervous system, you don’t do them when you’re FATIGUED.
It sounds like you honestly suffer from training ADD and are just looking to make it more fun and interesting. If that’s the case, I apologize, and please be about your business. But if you intend to gain anything in terms of being able to perform better, stronger or faster from this… don’t.
[quote]Otep wrote:
silkyhorse wrote:
utHAUS wrote:
Plymetrics/jumping are the only BW stuff that come to mind that will actually improve strength.
Weighted plymetrics. I try to add that as much as possible. Since i do this aside from weightlifting my legs are always tired WHEN i do this.
This is retarded, and is excusable only because you’ve probably never been told how to use plyometrics or what to use them for.
The point is SPEED. You don’t ADD WEIGHT to PLYOMETRICS.
Also, due to the demands they place on the nervous system, you don’t do them when you’re FATIGUED.
It sounds like you honestly suffer from training ADD and are just looking to make it more fun and interesting. If that’s the case, I apologize, and please be about your business. But if you intend to gain anything in terms of being able to perform better, stronger or faster from this… don’t.[/quote]
I agree with Otep here. There are probably better ways to add progressive resistence to plyos or plyo-like movements. Doing band resisted jumps is an example. I have also seen some great results from sprinting, bounding and jumping uphill on a sledding hill.
well, why arent you deadlifting? infact, id say deadlift builds more useful athletic weight, and a nice ham hang is something worthwhile.
somethin i feel may have helped (and i do have big legs on a small person) is always runnin, leaping, or lunging up every stair i come across.
What’s the mission? If its for sport, do sets of 100 BW squats as fast as you can and throughout the day.
Professional dancers do hundreds of reps per day. Speed skaters do likewise, probably in the thousands.
Speedskaters also do a hell of a lot of Step-Up Reverse Lunges and Heart Attacks (bodyweight only) in the off season…
Roundhouse, side, and back kicks against a heavy bag.
Ryan Englebert
Bro if u want strong legs then bodyweight stuff isnt gonna make your strength go up. Your endurance will go up from many reps using body weight but u wont get “stronger” If u wanna increase strength then stick with the squats but go with heavier weight and less reps.
Your original question is dealing with 2 different things that dont work together.
Hill running, cross country running.
Bulgarian split squat with a speed skater variation.
[quote]Otep wrote:
silkyhorse wrote:
utHAUS wrote:
Plymetrics/jumping are the only BW stuff that come to mind that will actually improve strength.
Weighted plymetrics. I try to add that as much as possible. Since i do this aside from weightlifting my legs are always tired WHEN i do this.
This is retarded, and is excusable only because you’ve probably never been told how to use plyometrics or what to use them for.
The point is SPEED. You don’t ADD WEIGHT to PLYOMETRICS.
Also, due to the demands they place on the nervous system, you don’t do them when you’re FATIGUED.
It sounds like you honestly suffer from training ADD and are just looking to make it more fun and interesting. If that’s the case, I apologize, and please be about your business. But if you intend to gain anything in terms of being able to perform better, stronger or faster from this… don’t.[/quote]
I fully agree with you Otep. Weighted plyometrics are as stupid as they sound, I hope you don’t plan on walking very much in a few years, the cartilage in my knees would be completely gone if I did that.
[quote]Otep wrote:
silkyhorse wrote:
utHAUS wrote:
Plymetrics/jumping are the only BW stuff that come to mind that will actually improve strength.
Weighted plymetrics. I try to add that as much as possible. Since i do this aside from weightlifting my legs are always tired WHEN i do this.
This is retarded, and is excusable only because you’ve probably never been told how to use plyometrics or what to use them for.
The point is SPEED. You don’t ADD WEIGHT to PLYOMETRICS.
Also, due to the demands they place on the nervous system, you don’t do them when you’re FATIGUED.
It sounds like you honestly suffer from training ADD and are just looking to make it more fun and interesting. If that’s the case, I apologize, and please be about your business. But if you intend to gain anything in terms of being able to perform better, stronger or faster from this… don’t.[/quote]
Erm, well, right,… WHY THE FUCK would you do weighted plyo? I know, that is something of a standard answer of mine, but… if you’re actually adding weight to your plyo you’re not doing it right.
Back to the original question… no one here mentioned isometrics, so I’ll do. Since most movement doesn’t require you to constantly produce force but is limited by one or two moments that I call “control points”, you could mix in specific isometrics. Let me give you an example here (I’m a fighter so sorry if that’s the wrong board for that example):
When punching, you don’t want to “push” your punch all the way to the target. You wnat to generate an impulse that catapults your fist to the target. Only if your arm is relaxed can your fist gain speed. So basically all the force you need is produced at moment 0. Well, not exactly. When you made contact, you need to contract your whole body and start retracting that fist of yours. So here’s “control point” 2. Those are the moments when you actively need to produce force.
I’m sure you’ll find the same concept applying to whatever sports you do. So basically the idea is to find out which angles are relevant for you “really gaining strength” and work them isometrically. You can do that every day… and hell, yes, it works.
Thib wrote an article on isometrics some time ago, check that out. You can find find loads of isometric bodyweight exercises for the legs - just keep them specific.