The Best Lower Body Exercises For Athletic Performance

Introduction

 Your lower body is responsible for a lot of the movement in your body, and it's important to train it properly if you want to perform at the highest level. These 6 exercises are great for increasing strength and power in your legs so that you can run faster and jump higher.

 

EXERCISE #1: LUNGES

Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart, and hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides.

 Take a large step forward with your left foot, keeping the toes of that foot pointing forward as you lower into a lunge until both knees form 90-degree angles (or close to it). Keep your right knee over your right ankle and don't let the shin extend past it; avoid locking out either knee or letting them move inward toward each other as much as possible throughout this exercise.

 Press through your heels to return to standing while driving through the hips fully, keeping them square with one another throughout this motion; don't allow yourself to lean forward or backward too much as you rise back up from the position where weight is mainly on one leg—if necessary, use weights in front of you for balance instead of lifting them overhead or behind during this sequence so that proper form can be maintained through every repetition without compromising safety!

 Repeat all reps on one side before switching over for equal sets on opposite sides

 

EXERCISE #2: Bulgarian Split Squats

The second exercise is the Bulgarian split squat. This exercise helps improve your lower body strength and endurance, as well as stimulate muscle growth in your glutes.

 To perform a Bulgarian split squat, start by placing one foot on a bench or box in front of you while you hold onto something sturdy like a wall or an elevated barbell on each side of your body.

 Slowly descend into the lunge position until your back knee almost touches the floor while keeping both knees slightly bent and hips level with each other throughout this movement (don't let them sink too far forward).

 When finished with one rep, alternate legs so that when you're standing up again one leg will be on top while performing another repetition with that leg then switching back to perform another repetition before switching again.

 

EXERCISE #3: Step Ups

  Step ups are one of the best lower body exercises for athletic performance. They can be performed with dumbbells or a barbell and allow you to work both legs individually.

 This exercise is great for when you’re in a hurry, because it involves minimal setup time before getting right down to business.

 You may want to start with something lighter (such as dumbbells) if this is your first time doing step ups, or just use your own bodyweight instead.

 

EXERCISE #4: Box Jumps

Box jumps are incredibly effective at building explosive power in your lower body, as well as helping with making you more jumpy and agile.

 Box jumps are done by stepping up onto a  Plyometric box or bench, then jumping down off of it onto the floor. You can do this exercise with both one leg and two legs at a time, which will work different muscles groups (quadriceps vs glutes). For example, if you choose to jump off of one leg only, then that’s going to improve your balance while also activating more quads than if you were using two legs.

 

EXERCISE #5: Single Leg Bridge

Single-leg bridges are a great way to work your lower body and core using your own body weight. They’re also challenging enough that you can perform them in almost any gym, so there’s plenty of opportunity for progress as you get stronger.

 The exercise is performed by lying on your back with both feet flat on the floor and knees bent 90 degrees (you should be able to comfortably slide a hand between your butt and the floor).

 Squeeze your glutes, push off through your heels, raise one leg up toward the ceiling while keeping it straight, then slowly bring it back down again before repeating with the other leg.

 The Benefits Of Single-Leg Bridges

 These exercises don't just build strength—they help improve flexibility too! If you have tight hamstrings or hip flexors (the muscles that run down each side of your legs), single-leg bridges will help lengthen them out so they're less likely to cause pain later on in life when doing sports like running or cycling

 

EXERCISE #6: Front Rack Reverse Lunge

Begin this exercise in a squat position with your torso straight, shoulders back and chest up.

 Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell at arm's length in front of you, resting on the top of your thighs.

 Lift one leg off the ground and step backwards as far as possible while keeping good posture throughout. Your other leg should remain in place until you've reached full extension before returning to starting position and repeating with the opposite leg.

 Use these 6 exercises as a cornerstone in your lower body training to maximize your athletic performance.

 The following five exercises are a good way to start with lower body training if you're looking to maximize your athletic performance. Some of these exercises can be done with just bodyweight, some require equipment.

 Conclusion

 These six exercises are some of the best lower body exercises for athletic performance and will be a good start. They will improve your overall strength, mobility and power in a way that will make you faster, stronger and more explosive. You can use them to replace any part of your current training program or even add on top of it. If you want to see results fast, then I recommend doing these five exercises two times per week with at least one day in between workouts so that they do not over-train the muscles involved (about 3 sets per exercise).