Building your lower body strength is just as important as your upper body strength, but it can get a bit boring sometimes. The best and most fun way to do that is to take up sports. This way you can enjoy the game and develop lower body strength at the same time.
Why Look to the Best Sports for Building Lower Body Strength
If you ask anyone at the gym which workouts they loathe the most, it’s nearly always leg day. Working the muscles in your legs and glutes is tedious and difficult. It can feel like it’s going to go on forever and you often don’t get that same great powered up feeling that is more common after cardio workouts like running.
Therefore, using the best sports for building lower body strength can help to support your efforts to build those leg muscles without having to do as many “leg days” at the gym. Being able to skip the tedious in favor of enjoying what’s fun will help you to put more into your workouts, perform better, support your mental health, and ensure that you’re more motivated to complete your exercises instead of skipping them because they’re not fun.
After all, there is something to be said about exercises you’ll actually enjoy. It’s far easier to push yourself to do them in the first place when you know you’ll like them. It’s also easier to push yourself to pour everything you’ve got into your performance when you’re enjoying it. Think about it. What would drive you more, finishing that last rep to complete the set, or giving that winning performance to support your team and win the game?
Examples of the Best Sports for Building Lower Body Strength
Here are some of the best sports for building lower body strength:
Soccer
Soccer is known throughout the world as football and for good reason, too. This game is all about the lower body since the players get to do a lot of running. Constant sprinting up and down the field while controlling the ball with your feet is not easy to do. This helps strengthen the lower body because all required moves, like passing and shooting, are done with the legs. Even though goalkeeping is an important position, just make sure that you don’t end up as goalkeeper if you are concerned about building lower body strength. It is the only position that will require you to stand still most of the time.
Gymnastics
One thing that all gymnasts have in common is incredible body strength, both upper and lower. The maneuvers they have to perform require that they have strong legs. The fast run-ups, the jumps and the landing all require that a gymnast has excellent body balance, something that cannot be achieved without strong legs. This makes gymnastics one of the best sports for building lower body strength.
Basketball
Basketball players require great lower body efficiency for quick starts and stops, changing directions, blocking and shooting and, perhaps most importantly, jumping for the dunk. This game is both fun and physically demanding with the physical aspect tending toward the lower body.
Track and Field
Whether you are running, jumping or throwing, you need to prepare yourself for an intense lower body workout. All of the disciplines in track and field are excellent ways to strengthen your lower body. Sprinters need explosive lower body strength to start and jump over hurdles for their 100m to 400m races. All jumping events start with the athletes running to gain the momentum and relying on their strong legs to get the boost for the jump. Even when it comes to throwing, though the athletes use their hands to throw, it requires lower body strength from the glutes to help generate the power required.
Swimming
Swimming is one of those rare sports where your entire body gets a workout. It requires pulling and pushing, utilizing both your upper and lower body. While you pull ahead with your hands and arms, you have to use your legs to push yourself forward. There are different strokes in swimming with different types of leg movements, something that makes swimming one of the best sports for building lower body strength.
Where to Find the Energy for the Best Sports for Building Lower Body Strength
Though you may be inclined to look to an energy drink to power up before diving into the best sports for building lower body strength, that might not be the best idea. Don’t forget that the stimulants in those drinks aren’t the only ingredients. They’re typically packed with artificial colors and flavors and contain either a ton of sugar or artificial sweeteners – neither of which is great for you.
Instead, many people find that – especially when they’re first becoming active after a time of being sedentary – some of the best diet pills that work through energy boosting are their best bet. These not only help to power them up, but also help to support any fat burning efforts they’re making through their workouts and through their healthy diets.
Final Thoughts on the Best Sports for Building Lower Body Strength
Taking up sports is a fun way to strengthen your lower body. You can try your hand at any of the sports mentioned above. Keep in mind that these are only some of the options you have. Choose whatever makes building lower body strength easier for you.
