Weights for the legs - this is an additional load during training and a great solution to improve results if you exercise at home. With their help, the effectiveness of exercises is increased, muscles are better worked out, endurance is increased, more calories are burned. In addition, the hip biceps (the back), which can be properly "obtained" only in the gym on a special simulator, are worked out perfectly.
Benefit
The benefit is to increase efficiency, especially while walking and running - the muscles of the hips and buttocks work better. This is an excellent endurance training, as you can choose weighting materials of different weights, adjusting the degree of load if you want to burn more fat. So, their advantages:
- accelerated muscle building;
- increased calorie loss;
- train endurance and strength of the body.
Harm
Wearing an overweight leg weight will injure your joints and spine, your choice and actions should be monitored by a professional trainer.
It is unacceptable to wear leg structures for more than six hours, as they compress key arteries and veins, causing swelling that affects mobility. Heavy lead cuffs can cause poisoning. Impact movements in heavy weighting compounds can lead you directly to the emergency room due to dislocation of the knee joint.
Wearing a weighting compound for legs with excessively large weight leads to injury to the joints and spine. Once again, you need to mention that your choice and actions should be controlled by a professional trainer. For example, the use of weighting materials is unacceptable:
- if you have varicose veins;
- with chronic diseases of the stomach and cardiovascular system, kidneys, biliary system;
- in those cases, if you survived any operation, the period from its implementation is less than one year ago.
Doctor's recommendations
Doctor's advice is needed anyway. Especially if you have problems with the back, muscle, joint and bone systems - in these cases, doctors do not recommend the use of weighting agents. Be especially careful and attentive to the choice of children's leg weights. In no case, without the approval of the pediatrician and the advice of a surgeon, it is unacceptable to allow the growing body to give continuous power loads and to squeeze the legs and arms for a long time with cuffs. For children, you need to choose designs from the best fabrics and with the most convenient mounts.
History
These useful designs train endurance well. Sports foot weights were originally designed exclusively for runners and other athletes. These athletes are unacceptable to work out muscles with a heavy barbell, because the runner does not need an increase in the volume of muscle fibers, which is achieved through heavy strength exercises, the athlete needs an increase in the amount of sarcoplasm, leading to increased leg endurance.
Kinds
Modern weighting materials for legs are presented in two varieties - lamellar and bulk. We consider them in more detail below.
Lamellar
The weight is adjustable using removable metal plates. This is such a designer model, the weight of which can be bought, so significant savings will be a plus (an additional plate costs less than an additional bulk model).
Bulk
Such leg weights weigh from 0.5 kg to 6 kg and are a bag of dense fabric with a filler, on which the weight and its tightness to the leg depend. It is equipped with a cuff with mounts that allow it to be fixed in different parts of the legs. There are quite a few types of weights with various types of attachment - some can be fixed below the calf muscle, others can be worn on the wrists, quadriceps, in the area of the shoulder joint in order to increase the leverage during specific exercises with weights for the legs and arms.
Goal Selection Criteria
There are three main types of weighting agents for legs: with lead (Soviet times, today they are practically not used, lead is toxic), with sand. There are also metal weights with weight adjustment plates .
The weights for legs to wear for every day should be invisible and small in weight, as well as comfortable for you. For cardio loads, choose weights with good fastenings so as not to provoke dislocations and injuries. For prolonged cardio loads, you need to choose weighting materials made of soft tissue so that they do not rub during a long workout. Small weighting materials are suitable for practicing coordination of movements (for example, in shock types of exercises). The different weight of the weighting agents for the legs is due to the different purposes of their use. Lungs are suitable for every day, they can be worn under clothes. Mediums are great for cardio loads and long-term power loads. Small weighting materials are suitable for practicing coordination of movements (for example, in shock types of exercises). Heavy can be chosen for basic exercises, as well as for walking.
Great job!
If you decide to use leg weights, you can work out lagging muscle groups:
- Hip biceps, which can only be used in a special simulator.
- The flexor muscle of the leg.
Cost
The cost of a bulk weighting compound for legs in Sportmaster ranges from 800-900 rubles, depending on weight, hand structures can be found at prices starting from 500 rubles. The cost of adjustable weighting agents is higher, but you can additionally purchase as many loads as you need (usually four loads are included). Weight starts from 0.25 kg. The cost of cargo (0.5 kg) is about 200 rubles, a cargo of 1 kg costs about 350 rubles., 2 kg - from 600 rubles.
Do it yourself
It is not necessary to spend money on the purchase of the necessary weighting agent. Be smart or use the tips on how to make them at home. There are two ways.
Method One: From Socks
We make manual and foot weights for the fair sex.
Get ready and stock up:
- elastic socks, not torn, from the most dense lycra;
- lend from your child balloons or use sturdy plastic bags;
- you will need clay or sand;
- durable thread and needle.
Step-by-step instruction:
- First of all, form the internal parts of the structure. Fill prepared bags or balls with sand, tie them very tightly. You should get a sausage. The number of dressings can be any, depending on the desired length of the compartment with the filler.
- Put the obtained stitched bag into the sock, cut off the excess on the edges, sew the edges of the sock itself firmly.
- Here is the finished product, you made it very quickly. You did not need to spend extra money to buy a weighting agent and time for shopping. Due to the elastic material of the sock, the weighting agent stretches perfectly, it can be worn on both the arm and leg.
Method two: from old jeans
How to make leg weights from old jeans? Take the old stretch jeans, they should fit well. You will also need dense plastic bags, you can take lockable packaging, sand and thread with a needle.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Take cellophane bags and fill them with sand, then tie them properly. Your task is to form elongated, not too voluminous sand cushions, their size should be the same.
- Determine the length of the bags to stitch the case in the correct size. Multiply the length by two and add two or three centimeters to the allowances.
- Measure the length obtained in step 2 on the jeans trousers, cut off this piece of the trouser leg, fold it in half.
- Place the pillows in the trouser legs, sew the jeans around the edges - you get a cover. You can use a sewing machine to make the seams more reliable.
- You can sew a weighting material to divide it into two parts. You adjust the number of parts yourself, as you distribute the bags, leaving the right space so that the structure is convenient to put on, wear and apply.
Homemade weights are fixed with straps. Take the old one from a bag or backpack and wash it on the resulting design. Have a good workout!