Your best legs and butt: Here's one foolproof move for a stronger, shapelier lower body - Do it Right

Shape, May, 2002

RIGHT

THE MOVE One-legged squat

THE PAYOFF Thanks to the one-legged challenge to your balance, this move forces all of your lower-body muscles - plus your abs - to work harder for better, quicker results.

THE RIGHT WAY

* Stand on your left foot, holding dumbbells at sides.

* Lift right knee up to hip level so that right heel hangs in line with right knee.

* Contract your abdominals throughout the entire exercise as you sit back into left heel, bending left knee and lowering hips as much as you can while staying balanced, torso erect.

* Straighten your left knee as you contract buttocks to press up to starting position. Repeat for all reps; switch legs.

WORKOUT SCHEDULE

Do this move 2 or 3 times a week as part of your regular lower-body strength program. Starting with 5- to 10-pound dumbbells, do 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps with each leg (complete reps on both legs for 1 set).

EXPERT ADVICE

"Lift your toes slightly inside your standing shoe, which automatically shifts your body weight back toward your heel," says Jon Giswold, New York City-based trainer and author of Basic Training (St. Martin's Press, 1998). "This ensures that you target your buttocks and hamstrings and don't stress your knee."

WRONG

MISTAKES TO AVOID

* Don't round upper back as you squat; this causes torso to collapse forward and abs to relax.

* Don't let your standing knee travel in front of your standing toes; this can place stress on knee ligaments and tendons.

* Don't lean back into the squat; this can put excess strain and pressure on your lower spine.

RELATED ARTICLE: MUSCLES WORKED

1. hamstrings: semimembranosus, semitendinosus, biceps femoris

2. gluteus maximus

3. quadriceps: rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, medialis and intermedius