Regular training is essential for building strong muscles. Serious bodybuilders often focus on their upper bodies and lower bodies on alternating days. Making a training plan can be motivating and help each day go more smoothly.

Before you choose a machine or start stacking those weights to work on your quads, though, make sure your first step is a great warm-up for leg day.

Reasons You Need a Solid Warm-Up for Leg Day

Jumping right into a heavy lift or another intense activity is not a good idea. There are several reasons that personal trainers and other exercise experts recommend warming up before any workout:

• To improve blood flow to your muscles and brain
• To loosen joints for increased mobility
• To raise body temperature and prepare your whole system for work

You can't do it halfway, though. Warming up insufficiently or not getting the right type of preparation can still put you at a higher risk of injury or hurt your performance during strength training. Use the best warm-up for leg day to get yourself ready.

How To Warm Up for Leg Day

This vital first step makes a big difference, but that doesn't mean you're committing a lot of time to it. It only takes about ten minutes to complete a good warm-up for leg day. You can find online videos that take you through a basic sequence, or you can create your own by mixing different types of movements. Several exercises help prepare you for a successful lower-body strength session.

Cardio

Any move that gets your heart pumping is going to warm up your whole body and get more oxygen to your brain and muscles. This is why many people like to start their strength workouts with a little bit of cardio.

Where you work out may determine the kind of cardio you do. If you have a home gym, take a brisk walk or jog around the block to get your blood flowing. If the weather is bad or you are working out at a public gym, you can start with a series of jumping jacks or run in place. In just 5-10 minutes, you are going to get your heart rate up and notice the difference in the way your legs feel. 

For a moderate challenge during your warm-up for leg day, use a treadmill to increase your speed. You can also set a steeper incline for your walk or run, which stretches out your calf muscles and gets them ready to work. 

Mobility

To get the most out of your weight routine, you need not only warm muscles but flexible joints. The best warm-up for leg day includes some mobility moves to help you maintain good form without having to compensate for stiff hips, knees, or ankles.

Leg swings are a great way to loosen up your hips. You can do 10 repetitions of forward leg swings and switch to a set of lateral ones, or you can alternate for a challenge. If balance is an issue, use a TRX to help stabilize yourself. You don't need a lot of space to do a basic leg swing:

1. Stand with your weight evenly spaced and hip-width apart.
2. Brush one leg in front without forcing it.
3. Let it swing up and back ten times.
4. Repeat with the other leg.

Lateral leg swings follow the same basic form, except you are swinging each leg out to the side. Don't push it beyond your natural limits. The point is not to get your leg to a certain height but just to warm up your hip flexors.

A machine that helps you limber up all your lower-body joints is the air bike. As a bonus, it combines mobility with cardio. Riding at moderate speed for 5-10 minutes not only gets your heart rate up but also gets all your muscles and joints working together smoothly.

Stretching

If you ask most personal trainers how to warm up for leg day, they will tell you that stretching is a key component. Nothing will slow your progress to reaching the goals you're tracking in your favorite app faster than an injury. Stretching is one of the best ways to prepare your muscles for the hard work of strength training.

Yoga not only provides stress relief but also is a great warm-up for leg day. Start by choosing a sequence of moves and move slowly through it:

• Downward facing dog
• Cobra
• Warrior 
• Glute bridge 
• Waterfall 

Any lunge is going to help lengthen your leg muscles. You can do a traditional lunge or try a Spiderman lunge with a twist. You can also engage your core with your lower body with thoracic twists. To get the most out of these exercises, keep your hips stable and facing forward.

Stretching doesn't have to be complicated. Listen to your body and assess how it feels. If your hamstrings or quads feel particularly tight one day, give them more attention before you start your weight routine.

Targeted Moves

The last part of your warm-up for leg day is a few low-impact moves that target different parts of your lower body. These moves use your own body weight to acclimate your legs to strength training.

Any type of squat or lunge is going to test your balance and engage your whole leg. Abductors and adductors target your outer and inner thighs, respectively. Calf raises are excellent moves to loosen up the back of your lower leg, and you can strengthen your shins with toe raises. Finally, holding your favorite plank for 45-60 seconds is a great reminder of the importance of engaging your core throughout your workout.

Warm-Up for Leg Day as Part of Your Overall Fitness Plan

When you are focused on building muscle and getting stronger, it's important to use every tool available to your advantage. You need a great warm-up for leg day to help keep you injury-free, and you need a way to track your progress. The ZOZOFIT app is a great way to do that.  You can try out either our one month or three month subscription plan and you'll even receive a 7-day free trial to get you started today!