Get your legs in better shape with cardio
Your legs get far more out of cardio when you don’t do exactly the same easy rhythm every time. Here are five simple ways to make the treadmill, bike, stepper and spinning work so that your thighs, glutes and calves really feel the training load.
Follow one of these tips to bring variety to your next cardio workout. The original idea comes from Muscle & Fitness Hers, but the principle is timeless: cardio training doesn’t have to be just huffing and puffing. The right incline, resistance and pace give your legs a completely new stimulus.
Why your legs need variety in cardio training
If you always walk at the same speed and the same incline, your body adapts quite quickly. That doesn’t mean the workout is useless. Progress just slows down. Your thighs, glutes and calves get a training load, but no longer a signal strong enough to make anything change.
To get your legs in better shape, you don’t always have to do heavy barbell training. Cardio can wake up the muscles too, especially if you play with incline, direction, resistance and intervals. A simple truth: the body responds to what it hasn’t had much of lately.
Michelle Olson recommends raising the incline on the treadmill and changing your direction of movement. It’s a good example of how a small change transforms the whole feel of a session. Walking backward or sideways isn’t just a gimmick. These make the lower-body muscles work from angles that ordinary straight walking touches less.
How to make your legs work harder on the treadmill
Set the treadmill to a steeper incline. Ordinary walking on the treadmill is already beneficial for the quadriceps, glutes, thighs and calf muscles. When you add incline, each step gets harder and the glutes have to do more of the work.
Don’t start too aggressively. Set a moderate incline and watch whether your stride stays controlled. If you start hanging onto the handrails, the training load is too high. Then part of the work is done by the upper body, not the legs.
For variety, try walking backward. Do it slowly and only if you feel secure on the treadmill. Sideways movement works too, but here it’s important to keep the pace low. The goal isn’t to show off agility but to give the inner and outer thighs a different kind of load.
Honestly, this kind of workout can feel rather awkward at first. That’s normal. Slip a few short segments in between your usual walking rather than doing the whole workout backward or sideways.
Bike, sprint and stepper: your legs get a training load
When cycling, increase the resistance. This forces the thigh and glute muscles to work harder. At the same time, pedaling shouldn’t turn into slow jerking. Michelle Olson notes that your cadence should stay fairly high, around 90 revolutions per minute. That way the session remains cardio training rather than just slow pressing.
So what actually happens? Higher resistance makes each revolution harder, but a fast enough rhythm keeps the heart and breathing working. This combination is a good fit if you want your legs to get more tone without the workout dragging into dull sitting.
Sprints suit almost any cardio machine. It makes no difference whether you run, cycle or use an elliptical stepper. Professional fitness competitor Beth Horn uses intervals like this: 1 minute at a steady pace, then one 30-second sprint, and you keep going like that for the set period.
As your strength grows, you can increase the duration of the high-intensity bursts. Do it sensibly. A sprint has to be fast, but not so fast that your technique falls apart and your knees start to feel uncomfortable.
The stepper is good for the legs and glutes, says Beth Horn. If you want to increase the training load even further, Olson recommends stepping more steeply. In practice this means you don’t just press the steps down with a short, nervous movement but use a longer, stronger stride.
Legs and spinning: what to watch for in your workout
Beth Horn likes spinning because you can easily monitor the training load yourself. You can raise or lower the bike’s resistance and set up the workout to match your goal. On some days a longer steady pace suits. On other days short, harder segments do the job.
A good sign is when you feel the work in your thighs and glutes, but your lower back doesn’t tense up too much. If you have to twist in the saddle or your shoulders rise up to your ears, reduce the resistance. Cardio doesn’t have to look heroic. It has to be doable and repeatable.
For your legs, it’s especially useful to alternate three things: incline, resistance and pace. In one workout you can focus on the treadmill incline. In another, do resistance segments on the bike or in spinning. In a third, add short, harder sets to the stepper. That way the training doesn’t become routine, and your lower body gets a slightly different task each time.
Start smaller than your ego would like. If you add a steep incline, heavy resistance and sprints all at once, the workout can become too hard. One strong variable at a time is the better choice. That also lets you see more clearly what suits your body.
FAQ: legs and cardio
Does cardio make your legs stronger?
Cardio can improve the muscular endurance and tone of your legs, especially if you use incline, resistance and intervals. However, strength training is better for developing maximal strength.
Is sprinting suitable for a beginner?
It is, if you start gently. Do short accelerations and keep your technique under control. If sprinting causes pain or excessive breathlessness doesn’t ease, choose a more moderate pace.
How often should you do this kind of cardio?
For most people, starting with a couple of times a week works. If you’re also doing heavy leg training, leave room for recovery and don’t put all your hard days back to back.
Choose the right cardio equipment HERE
Source: WHO – physical activity.
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