Keeping your legs fit and strong requires doing a variety of exercises for the lower body. Almost all sports require that an athlete have powerful legs that can power them forward and back, side to side, and up and down. Many people stop participating in sports after adulthood and we notice that we have lost that spring in our step. To help bring some energy back into your legs, you could try doing some plyometric exercises (plyo for short), which simply are exercises that include some jumping off the floor. Not only does this work the fast twitch muscles of the feet, legs, and hips, it is also aerobic and burns more calories than slower movements.
For this article, I’ve shot video of three easy lower body plyo exercises. Because they involve some small hops, I recommend you wear good gym shoes and do them on a non-slippery surface. Warm-up with some light jogging in place for 1-2 minutes, and practice the non-plyo version of the movements first. Then perform just 8-10 reps of the plyo exercise to see how it feels. If it was okay, then try to repeat the exercise for 20-30 seconds. Give yourself ample time to completely rest between exercises.
Take care and stay active.
