Hold Steady: The Ultimate Leg Workout

It’s hard to believe, but starting as early as your twenties, your sense of balance begins to decrease. That’s not to say you can’t slow down the process. “How rapidly the sense of balance diminishes depends on our genes, on the natural process of aging and, to a large extent, on how physically active we are and the types of activities we do,” explains health and science writer Scott McCredie in his book Balance: In Search of the Lost Sense.

The best exercises challenge your sense

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30-Day Beach Body Workout

This tone-all-over circuit takes six proven and powerful moves — lunges, planks, pushups, squats, crunches and dead lifts — and amps up their difficulty each week to keep your muscles challenged. Pair these exercises with active rest (keeping your heart rate up during your "rest" time between sets) and you'll be eager to jump into that bathing suit long before the fireworks start.

Do this workout three times a week for a month,

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Ultimate Leg Workout

Before you begin this legs workout, start with five to 10 minutes of cardio or stretching to warm up your muscles. Perform the exercises back-to-back, quickly moving from one to the next in 30 seconds or less. Do the whole routine twice, resting for two to three minutes between the first and second set.

LEG PRESS (machine) 10 to 12 reps Sit on a leg-press machine with feet hip-width apart. Set the weight on a challenging yet doable resistance. Bend your knees 90 degrees, keeping your

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Finding your form

We all know that strength training and weight lifting provides a huge benefit to your overall health. Improper form, though, can neutralize those rewards and, over time, even pose a few risks. According to weight lifting and strength training expert Mike Ryan, too often people focus on the amount of weight that they're moving instead of targeting specific muscle groups in a controlled manner. "We're not here to try and lift as much as possible," says Ryan, a Gold's Gym Fitness Institute member.

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