leg exercises

If you haven't already, learn to love lunges. They are the ultimate exercise; you can do them anywhere, anytime and see (bikini bottom) results fast. This compound exercise works your entire leg and is an easy addition to both your cardio and weight workouts. Once you've mastered the basic lunge, speed up the process to long, lean legs with the addition of a BOSU.

Here's how:

• Standing it front of the BOSU, engage your core. Keep your upper body straight with your shoulders back and relaxed.
• Similar to the position of a basic lunge, bring your right leg behind you, placing it on the BOSU.
• With control, lower your hips until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Make sure your front knee is directly above your ankle and your right knee doesn't touch the floor. Keep the weight in your heels as you push back up to the starting position. This completes one rep.
• Do two sets of 10 reps on each side.

Don't waste precious time squeezing your legs together on the boring adductor machine. Instead, opt for these three effective exercises that require no equipment whatsoever.

Pilates Side-Lying Leg Lifts

This Pilates move will help tighten up and tone your inner thighs for bathing suit season:

• Lying on your side, lengthen your bottom leg and cross your top leg over it. Rest either your knee or foot on the floor. Prop your head up with your hand, or rest your head on your arm.
• As you exhale, lift your bottom leg up, and inhale as you lower it back down. Your torso should stay still while you do this.
• Do as many reps on one side for 30 seconds, and then repeat on the other side for an additional 30 seconds.

Keep reading for two more equipment-free inner-thigh moves.

You probably can't wait to get out of all those Winter clothes and into shorts, skirts, and dresses. But are your legs ready? Incorporate these three moves into your strength-training routine to sculpt sexy, gorgeous calves you can't wait to show off.

Wide Squat With Calf Raise

• Stand with your feet about three to four feet apart, toes turned out. Bring your hands together in front of your chest and squat down so your thighs are parallel with the floor, knees over the ankles.
• Raise your left heel off the floor and begin to pulse the hips up and down, isolating the left calf.
• Continue pulsing for 30 seconds and then switch sides for another 30 seconds.
• Repeat two more times on each side.

Squat Jumps

• Begin in a squat position with the feet slightly wider than hips-width distance apart.
• Push off the balls of the feet and take an explosive jump into the air, straightening the arms and legs.
• Land softly, returning to the squat position.
• Continue for one minute.

Mountain Climbers

• Begin in plank position with the shoulders over the wrists.
• Bring your right foot forward, bending the knee into the chest.
• Quickly switch legs, bringing the left knee forward while moving the right leg back.
• Continue switching from left to right for one minute, popping off the balls of your feet as if you're running in place in a plank position.

Whether you're toning your tush to pump up hills faster or to look incredible in Summer shorts, squats are a must-do move. Make your squat time count with these techniques and variations.

1. Feel the heel, feel the toes: Try varying where you place your body weight in order to work different parts of your lower body. Shift weight back into the heels so that you can give your toes a little wiggle — this will target the butt and backs of the thighs. To isolate one leg at a time, do one set with the right heel raised and then repeat with the left. If this is easy, try extending your leg all the way back (a favorite exercise of Cameron Diaz). Then try lifting your heels as high as you can, balancing on the balls of your feet as you raise and lower. This will work your shins and calves, which is great for runners who want to prevent shin splints and other injuries.
2. Vary your stance: Doing squats with your feet hips-width apart is traditional and effective, but you can better target your inner and outer thighs by widening your stance. Try lifting one heel at a time as you raise and lower, or do a calf squeeze by lifting and lowering both heels at the end of each rep. Also experiment between having your feet parallel and pointing your toes out wide.
3. Slow it down, speed it up: Instead of raising and lowering at the same pace you always do, try slowing down the movement to ensure you're using your muscles and not momentum to move your hips up and down. Then remain in the lowered squat position — this is a major thigh and butt burner — and quickly pulse up and down.
4. Grab a set: . . . of dumbbells, that is. Adding weights makes the squat even more challenging. Either hold dumbbells beside your torso or rest them on your shoulders while doing squats; you can also just add a biceps curl or shoulder press to make this a multitasking move.

Source: Megan Wolfe Photography at J+K Fitness Studio

If you're looking for one move that will whip your lower body into shape, it's time to try gate swings.

This deep inner-thigh stretch tones your glutes, quads, and both your outer and inner thighs, and it also gets your heart rate up! The cardio element comes from a little plyometric jump that helps you transition between the two positions of this move. The directions seem straightforward, but trust me, you'll feel the burn with this one.

• Start with your feet in a wide, second-position stance with your toes pointed slightly outward. Bend your knees and lower into a squat, using your hands to help push your knees wide apart to deepen the inner-thigh stretch.
• Push off your knees to get leverage, and jump your right leg in front of your left, landing in a standing "cross-legged" stance.
• Immediately jump your legs back out to a wide squat with your hands at your knees.
• Push off your knees and jump your legs together, crossing your left leg in front of your right.
• Repeat as many times as possible for at least 40 seconds.

This move is great to use as a dynamic warmup before strength training.

Photo: POPSUGAR Studios

Love them or loathe them, squats are one of the most effective exercises you can do. It's very important, however, that you do them just right to maximize effectiveness and prevent injury.

Squats are also highly versatile: you can do them anywhere, even while brushing your teeth or filling your glass at the water cooler. Multitask by adding bicep curls and other moves to make them harder.

Since we're all in backside-toning mode for beach season, here's a primer on how exactly to do the perfect squat. Keep reading for step-by-step instructions.