Easy Leg Workouts that Will Tone, Firm, Burn Fat

I'm a certified personal trainer and have some simple leg workouts that will burn fat, shape and firm your legs.

The first fat burning leg workout is "retro walking." For people who like walking on a treadmill, try walking backwards. Different muscles are recruited, and the body is totally unaccustomed to this. And what happens when the body is thrown a curve ball? It reacts by burning more fat to accommodate the new training stimulus. Walking backwards also improves balance and strengthens ankles.

Holding onto the equipment while walking backwards defeats the entire purpose. Start out with a very slow speed, even if it must be only 1 mph. Emphasize good posture and a gentle arm swing. Backwards-walking on a moving tread is foreign territory for the body, and it needs to make sense out of it. People may need to watch their feet until their body adjusts and figures out what's going on.

When this all becomes easy, increase speed by one-half-mile- to one-mile-per-hour increments. If you feel off balance, fight back with the legs and stable posture, while maintaining a rhythmic arm swing. Slow, backwards walking, without relying upon the side rails for support, will produce superior improvement in balance and coordination, compared to holding on at a faster speed. A lot of muscles are working to keep you balanced; balancing burns fat.

Leg hinges will tone. Here's a great stability ball exercise. Lie on back and place ball between feet. Make sure that inner sides of feet contour firmly against the ball; there should be no airspace between any part of inner foot and ball. Ball should be halfway between feet so that one end doesn't pop out from between the feet.

Position legs, ball between feet, straight up so that soles of feet are facing ceiling. This is the base position. Place hands on floor, chest or behind head. From here, bend only the knees, keeping thighs perfectly vertical. Do not move thighs!

This is not an abdominal routine, even though some people report "feeling it" in their abs. Only the lower legs move, in a hinge fashion. This is a knee flexion/extension exercise. Flex (bend) knees all the way and then straighten legs so that, once again, soles of feet face ceiling -- all the while holding the ball in place. Go for 30 reps.

Tips for agility drills for maximum fat burn. Don't dive into agility drills without first conducting a warm-up that includes cardio and stretching. Warm-ups should include activities that resemble the actual agility drills (e.g., cones, stutter-stepping, box jumping).

Once ready to start the drills, do them at full speed, as though in an actual game or competition. Keep rests in between drills to a minimum in terms of time. Don't sit during rests. Keep moving, but the moving needn't be breath-taking; simple marching in place or walking about the area is perfectly fine. Don't let feet become idle.

Sometimes, a light jog initially after an all-out drill is most appropriate, then followed by walking around. Make sure the training surface is not slippery or conducive to twisting ankles or stumbling.

Transitioning from walking to jogging. Have you been walking a while and are now eager to start jogging? Good for you, as jogging burns more fat and is a step-up for toning the legs. Always warm up with a brisk walk. Then start jogging, but slowly. You can maintain this gentle jog for as long as you feel comfortable. It's okay to be breathing heavily, as long as you don't feel any muscle or joint strain coming on.

You may be tempted to increase speed. For beginning joggers, that's fine, as long as you keep the duration short. Jogging too fast, too soon in your training, can result in hip strain, shin pain or strained muscles. A short burst here and there is fine, as long as you don't overdo it.

The best way to transition into jogging is to simply mix periods of jogging with walking. As you become more conditioned, the walking intervals will become shorter as the jogging intervals become longer, until you are jogging the entire session-or, if you prefer, you can stick to alternating walking with jogging, but over time, you should increase the speed of your jogging intervals to continue progressing.

Be sure to vary the format of your jogs: treadmill, indoor track, outdoor paths, cement, grass, and even hiking trails with varying inclines and surfaces.

Incorporate all these workouts and strategies in your leg training, and your legs will become firmer, more toned, and you'll burn more fat.