Leg day gets mixed reviews: some love it, some hate, some skip it altogether. But whether you're a fan or not, the legs are the biggest muscle group in the body, so it's important to train them. Especially if you are a runner, cyclist, or footballer, you'll need strong legs to excel in your sport. Follow Sundried's leg workout routine with advanced exercises to get the most out of your training.

Warm up:

Jog on the spot

3 minutes, this is a light jog to start elevating your heart rate.

Pelvis and hip openers

This workout requires a lot from your hips and pelvis, so it’s important you warm up effectively. To wake up your hips and pelvis, we start by bending one leg to bring your knee up in front of your chest and then circle your knee out away from your body, opening up your hip flexors. Repeat this 10 times on each leg.

Deep squats

Start with your feet wider than shoulder width and point your toes out. Squat down as low as you can and hold for a few seconds. Feel the stretch in your inner thighs and hip flexors. Do 4 or 5 to warm up your joints.

Lunge with torso rotations

The final warm up exercise is a lunge with torso rotations. With each lunge forward, twist your body towards the outside of your hips. Complete 10 per side.

The Workout

Squat jump with floor touch

Start by standing with your feet together and jump both legs into a squat simultaneously, as you do, touch a hand to the floor before jumping back to the start position. Complete 20.

Jumping lunges

Jump into a lunge sinking down until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Explode up and switch legs so you land in a lunge on the alternate side. Do 10 reps on each side.

Front kicks

Facing forward, lift your knee up and extend the lower leg to snap into a front kick with your toes facing up, leading with the heel. Alternate between legs each time. Complete 20 reps, 10 kicks per leg.

Donkey kicks

Try this one standing up for an extra balance challenge and calorie burn. Bend your supporting leg to provide a bit of extra stability and then lift the other leg off the ground. Kick backwards, leading with your heel. You should feel this one in your glutes. Complete 10 reps on each leg.

Travelling squats

These are essentially side steps with squats included. Sink into a squat, rise back up, then step to the side and repeat. 10 each way.

Dumbbell swings

Grab one dumbbell and hold it in both hands, the heavier the better. Sink into a squat and swing the dumbbell through your legs and then up to in front of your face with your arms extended. As the dumbbell reaches in front of your face you should thrust your hips forwards, before returning to your squat position as the dumbbell passes through your legs.

Cool down yoga

Once you've completed the workout it's time for the cool down. Yoga poses can be a great way of relieving tired muscles and the following stretches will help prevent stiffness post-workout, although you should expect to ache when you’ve worked that hard!

Recline hero pose

The recline hero pose provides a deep stretch to the thighs, hip flexors and ankles and is an easy move to master. Start by kneeling on the floor with your legs pressed together and feet very slightly wider than your hips. Keeping the tops of your feet flat on the floor with your toes facing towards you, exhale and sit back in between your feet, without changing their position. From here you can then place your hands on the floor behind you and lean your weight backwards. Gradually lean back and shift your weight from your hands, down to your elbows and then lay back as far as you can. Continue to the next pose by supporting yourself back up onto your elbows and then hands.

Wide angle seated forward bend

In a seated position, open your legs as widely as possible, keeping your toes pointing towards the ceiling. Exhale and bring your torso forward, folding in half with your chest as close to the floor as possible. Hold for as long as is comfortable.

Thread the needle

Lay on your back, with your knees bent and feet on the ground. Cross one foot over the other leg so it rests on the thigh. Lift the other leg off the ground and feed your hand through the gap in your legs to pull your back leg up towards your face.

Whilst these stretches will aid recovery, it’s inevitable your legs are going to ache. Make sure you nourish yourself and hydrate properly to aid recovery.