Lower body Workout - Glutes,Quads, Hamstrings, Calves - For Male or Female

Gymstick is the most innovative tool to hit the fitness industry in a very long time.

This small versatile exercise tool can challenge even the fittest individual.

It is basically a pole with fitness bands attached, these bands come in different resistance levels to cater for the beginner to the most advanced athlete.

GREEN is light aiming at rehabilitation & seniors, BLUE is medium for rehabilitation, women & young athletes, BLACK is strong for junior athletes, fit women & men, SILVER is extra strong for men & athletes &GOLD is super strong for fit men & athletes.

To increase resistance simply roll the bands around the pole, you can do this in the middle of a routine if required. The more you roll the bands, the shorter the bands become & the greater the resistance. Take care not to roll the bands around the soft part of the bar.

The squat is an exercise that trains primarily the muscles of the thighs,hips & buttocks. Squats strengthen your legs by working them through a full range of motion. Squatting correctly will strengthen your knees by strengthening their surrounding muscles.

Squat with Gymstick

Place the foot loops around each foot & place the bar over the back of your shoulder. Bend the knees slowly & imagine you are sitting back on a low stool. It is very important that your knees, feet & hips stay facing forward & your knees do not go beyond your toes. Look forward at all times (not down at the floor). Hold at the lowest point for few seconds & push up slowly through your heels back to the standing position. Repeat 10 times & aim to increase to 3 sets of 10.

To make the squat slightly harder, you can place the pole above your head with your hands placed at a wider angle. Squat as low as possible whilst maintaining a good form as described above.

The leg extension targets the quadriceps muscle in the legs. This is also a great exercise to tone the buttocks.

Leg Extension with Gymstick

Place the foot loops around each foot, kneel on the ground with the pole in front of you level with your shoulders, push the band away slowly until your leg is fully extended return to kneeling position but without placing your knee back on the ground. Repeat 10 times on each leg & aim to increase to 3 sets of 10 on each leg.

Increase Intensity

Once you have reached 3 sets of 10 on each leg, increase the intensity by pulsing for 10 lifts after the last of the 10 extensions on each set, ie at the end of the each set of 10 extensions when leg is fully extended lift leg up from the heel for 10 lifts & then return to kneeling & repeat on other leg, 10 extensions then 10 pulses.

The adductor longus is a muscle located in the inner thigh & the abductor in the lower body is the muscle found beneath the glutus maximus in the buttock.

These muscles are often missed when exercising the lower body but are an important muscle group to keep working, particularly the inner thigh in ladies, as this can be a problem area for many.

Abductor & Adductor with Gymstick

Place one foot in the foot loop & angle the pole at a 45 degree angle on the outside of the opposite leg. You may find it easier to place the end of the pole against a corner of a room for stability. Lean slightly into the pole while lifting the leg slowly away from the body & then return slowly to the start position, repeat 10 times, this position works the abductor in the buttock. To work the inner thigh pass the same leg slowly across the front of the body towards the pole & return to start, repeat 10 times. Change to opposite leg & repeat both of above. Aim eventually to do 3 full sets of 10 on each leg.

The lunge is a an exercise used to strengthen the quads, glutes & hamstrings.

Rear Lunge with Gymstick

Place both loops around one foot with the pole over your shoulders. Step back with the other leg about 3 feet. Slowly lower your body taking care to keep the front knee at a 90 degree angle & not allowing it to protrude past your toe. You should aim to keep your back straight whilst looking forward, return to standing slowly & repeat 10 times. Change legs & repeat. Aim to eventually do 3 sets of 10 on each leg.

Once you have perfected the Lunge above & able to do 3 sets of 10 on each leg, add a body rotation when you lower your body.

Lunge with body rotation

Follow the same instruction as for the lunge above but as you lower your body turn the opposite shoulder towards the direction of the bent knee whilst maintaining a straight back, taking care not to extend the knee beyond your toe ie keep the knee at a 90 degree angle & lower straight down. Repeat 10 times on each leg & eventually work up to 3 sets of 10 on each leg.

No prizes for working out what is being exercised here.

Calf raises exercise the gastrocnemius, tibialis posterior & soleus muscles of the lower leg. The movement is performed by plantar flexion.

Calf raises with Gymstick

Place one foot in each foot loop with the pole over your shoulder. You will need to wrap the straps around the pole a few times at least for this exercise to achieve a good resistance. Raise your heels off the ground & balance on your toes, repeat as many times as you can until you feel the 'burn' on your calf muscles. Rest for 1-2 minutes & repeat up to 3 times.

Increase intensity

To increase intensity place one foot in front of the other in a split stance & as you rise up rotate the body with the same shoulder turning inwards as the front leg. ie if your left leg is forward rotate your left shoulder towards the right.

The dead lift is an overall lower body exercise but it is solely a concentric movement, beginning at its most difficult point and without stored elastic energy, and therefore considered by some to be a more true test of total strength.

It predominantly works the quads, glutes & hamstrings.

Dead Lift with Gymstick

Place feet through foot loops & roll the straps around pole so they are quite short, you need to be standing with your legs shoulder width apart bending forward with a straight back & abs engaged. Look forward & slowly rise to a standing position, return to the bent over position & repeat 10 times - aim to eventually repeat up to 3 sets of 10.