leg workouts on floor only question
- Thread starter Seymour42
- Start date
Nabbe47
Cathlete
Yes, you can absolutely build strength in your legs and rear at 60 using only floor exercises, but it requires consistency and progressive overload. Floor movements like glute bridges, clamshells, and straight leg raises build the stabilizer muscles necessary for balance and daily function:
Glute Bridges: Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Lift your hips, squeezing your glutes at the top. This is a highly effective movement for posterior strength. To increase the difficulty, try single-leg bridges.
Clamshells: Lie on your side with your knees bent at a 45-degree angle, keeping your feet together. Lift your top knee while keeping your core stable. This targets the outer glutes (gluteus medius), which are crucial for hip stability and walking.
Straight Leg Raises: Lie on your back, keep one leg bent and the other straight. Lift the straight leg to the level of the opposite thigh, engaging your quadriceps. This builds knee-supporting strength without putting body weight on your joints.
Donkey Kicks: Start on all fours (hands and knees). Keep your knee bent at a 90-degree angle and push the sole of your foot straight up toward the ceiling. This isolates the gluteus maximus (the largest muscle in your rear).
As these bodyweight movements become easier, you can steadily increase the resistance by adding ankle weights or hip resistance bands to continue challenging your muscles.
Wish you quick recovery!
nickisteen
Cathlete
Good information Nabbe47
Gosh, it's hard to maintain or build strength without lunges or squats for the quads, but not impossible. Hopefully you have consulted with a qualified physical therapist for ideas too- that's primary! Can you still do deadlifts and hip thrusts for the glutes/posterior chain? Hope so as I found glute work was helpful when I had a bad knee injury that limited my quad work. Also, I'm looking at the chapters in STS2 Leg workouts & recall Cathe said she was going to include only the most effective exercises in STS2. Well, there's Hamstring Hip Hinges, Firewalkers and Pizza Presses in the BP-Legs workout's bonus. In LB1 she includes Hamstring Roll-ins and a Straight-leg Quad Lift w/the Stability Ball (be careful to do these slowly so as to not overextended the knee). Can you do wall squats? They're in LB2 as well as Step-ups - which are great for quads altho you may have to use a lower step and you may want to try these without weights at first. I'd also look at her floor work in older workouts like Butts&Guts, Xtrain Legs, PureStrength Legs, BodyBlast Legs&Glutes (as well as the standing work w/ankle weights in L&G- those get the quads good), GymStyles Legs and ICE To the Mat. The newer LMR and LMRE both have exercises in them using loops that are good too. Then there's all the bonus barre/chair work in Kickmax, Lower Body Blast, Lean Legs& Abs, Great Glutes, Xtrain, & Killer Legs. FitTower and LIS TurboTower obviously also have barre/chair work. Be cautious of the quad work though in barre and be sure to only do min-squats/partial squats if you do the quad portions and keep your feet flat, not heels raised (I skipped them if my knee was bad that day). In addition, floor work that has you on all fours (like Pizza Presses) might be a problem too - I modifed these to standing as in barre exercises. Hope this gives you some ideas, but please be sure to get your physical therapist's okay with specific exercises before proceeding as you can cause further damage depending on the injury.
ETA: I was just looking at the chapters in BossLoops Glutes&Core for some glute activation exercises. She has a bit of floor work in there too that uses the fabric loop (a latex firewalker could be subsituted).
ETA again: just another plug for ICE To the Mat. A full dvd for LB with not one lunge or squat in sight. Lots of premixes.
Best wishes for your recovery!
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nickisteen
Cathlete
Debinmi, more good options!!
Nabbe47
Cathlete
Excellent suggestions using Cathe's available exercises in STS 2.0 Series. Didn't think of that since the request was for floor exercises and don't recall having floor exercises, for legs, in my Cathe's collection!. Wish you, however, quick recovery so that you'll enjoy non-restrictive exercising!
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You ladies are awesome! Thanks so much. I greatly appreciate this input.
One more idea but a different instructor. ... Tonique! Particularly the one "To (or On) the Mat".She can be tough! And all floor. You might be able to find them at totalfitnessdvds.com
Nabbe47
Cathlete
If you are still for floor exercises, you may find this YouTube 15 min Leg floor workout interesting:
Enjoy!
FitSaxe
Cathlete
My answer may not please the OP but hopefully we are entitled to give our opinions here.
It takes a lot of work to build overall strength/muscle. I mean it by a lot There is no short cuts. That said there are numerous study to prove that floor stuff are not significant enough to build, increase and develop muscle mass. Let's remember, glute is referred to as a lazy muscle. A newbie will need high reps to start from building muscle-mind connection, then build up strength for real work. Floor exercise still has it's own place : building muscle-mind connection, rehabing body part, shaping muscle, targeting small muscles.
Ideally, one should mix both. Solely relying on floor workout will not prevent the glute from sagging.
Fact: Many used to be "cardio queens" or runaway babes are now facing the brutal fact probably not pleasing their ears! LIFT HEAVY regardless of your age! Move smartly. Solely, excessively running a marathon is not the answer either.
It takes a lot of work to build overall strength/muscle. I mean it by a lot There is no short cuts. That said there are numerous study to prove that floor stuff are not significant enough to build, increase and develop muscle mass. Let's remember, glute is referred to as a lazy muscle. A newbie will need high reps to start from building muscle-mind connection, then build up strength for real work. Floor exercise still has it's own place : building muscle-mind connection, rehabing body part, shaping muscle, targeting small muscles.
Ideally, one should mix both. Solely relying on floor workout will not prevent the glute from sagging.
Fact: Many used to be "cardio queens" or runaway babes are now facing the brutal fact probably not pleasing their ears! LIFT HEAVY regardless of your age! Move smartly. Solely, excessively running a marathon is not the answer either.
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Nabbe47
Cathlete
Hate this blunder, calling it opinion! The OP didn’t ask for an incoherent contradictory lecture, only suggestions to be safely active with an injured body part until recovery.
Yes, she does it a lot ...lectures, calling things "facts" whike saying it's an opinion to avoid criticism & not really reading the original question properly where an injury is involved & someone needs an alternative to lunges and squats. She also belittles people, assumes they are ignorant beginners, calls them names, etc. She harasses people. She PMs people & chases them away from the forums. She can really be annoying under the guise of thinking she's "helpful. She should take her own advise and MYOB & BO! That's why I have her on "ignore".
FitSaxe
Cathlete
I think you are a bully!!!! What you are reading through my post is entirely up to your own mental state and understanding. Leave me alone!
I think you have been around here for very long, you can not fool anyone!
FitSaxe
Cathlete
Here below are various articles on glute muscles. For a rehab purpose, floor do help.
cathe.com
You searched for Building glute • Cathe Friedrich
If It Doesn't Challenge You It Doesn't Change You
cathe.com
This is an interesting topic that Seymour brings up. I started lifting heavier over the Winter and did increase my strength. That's what the experts tell us. As we age we need to lift heavy. Blah, blah. Blah. Well, I'm actually rethinking things. Along with increasing weights, the aches and pains started. My back started giving me a little grief and I would take a few days off from working out and just walk. Never had back problems before. Since May, I started doing shorter workouts and using moderate weights for my lower body strength and doing more metabolic leg work. I feel much better. I started incorporating more barre and band work. I find those workouts quite fatiguing. I'm really enjoying the workouts I choose.
I remember my dad, when he was my age, always telling me I'm going to wear out the parts. I use to chuckle to myself and think, yeah, right. Well, I already have had neck surgery and more and more, I realize my dad was right. I don't want to wear out anymore parts. I'm 62 and I'm not trying to conquer any records. So, my attitude is screw the experts. You do you is what I'm living by. I have really become a more open minded exercise and do a little of everything and my back and knees are loving it.
So after my long winded post, Seymour, do what you can and want to do. And as long as you enjoy it, that's all that matters.
I remember my dad, when he was my age, always telling me I'm going to wear out the parts. I use to chuckle to myself and think, yeah, right. Well, I already have had neck surgery and more and more, I realize my dad was right. I don't want to wear out anymore parts. I'm 62 and I'm not trying to conquer any records. So, my attitude is screw the experts. You do you is what I'm living by. I have really become a more open minded exercise and do a little of everything and my back and knees are loving it.
So after my long winded post, Seymour, do what you can and want to do. And as long as you enjoy it, that's all that matters.