What Lower-Half Exercises Can We Do at Home Except for Squat

Lowe half mobility and strength are crucial for individuals because they are originally what keep your body balanced and function well beyond getting you back in shape. More importantly, they provide significant supports for many basic daily activities like bending down to pick up something from the ground, standing up from a chair or listing up an object.

The most significant parts of the lower body are glutes muscles, thigh muscles and hamstring, which not only help to maintain overall body balance control when walking or jogging, but also take charge of distributing power and strength to all parts of the body. Besides, great lower body strength could provide more support for the back to reduce the possibility of back injury and back pain.

The squat is known as one of the most common and popular lower-half exercises for its great practicability but with a certain risk of injuries when performed incorrectly. Therefore, the following are exercises specifically designed for building up lower mobility and strength without concerns about getting injured.

1. Lateral Walk with Resistance Band

This move engages the muscles of glutes and calves and improves the lower body mobility from side to side.

To start, stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, your knees slightly bent and a latex resistance band around your calves and a few inches above ankles. Moving the side with your right foot stepping out to the side first and then followed by the right. Take three steps for each foot and then reverse the move to return to the starting position. That’s one repetition. Have 3 or 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps per side and then take a break.

2. Yoga Ball Bridge

While a general bridge exercise engages the hamstrings and glue muscles, the yoga ball bridge will be more challenging and efficient in improving the strength of them.

To start, lie on your back with arms by sides. Bend your legs at 90 degrees with your feet right on the edge of the yoga ball and your calves parallel to the ground. Push down your feet, upper back, and arms against the floor to lift hips off ground until tight back and thigh. Return to starting position. That's one repetition. Do three or four sets of 10 to 12 rep.

3. Step-ups

Step-up is a fantastic way to engage all the major muscles that are in charge of maintaining the overall dynamic balance when performing upright moves. If a step board is not available, simply doing step-ups on a box or a chair also helps you to reach the same results.  

To start, Lift your right foot up to the step board and push your foot into the box to step up. Lift your left knee up into the air until your left thigh parallel with the ground. Return the left leg and repeat the whole move, and then repeat on the other side. To add intensity and tone muscle more quickly, try to hold dumbbells in your hands during the movement.