Many women ask me why they gain weight on their legs. The answer is simple, the butt and thighs are the primary fat storage areas. If that's the case, how can you keep your legs tones? 

Focus on movements that use a natural downward force of gravity, instead of machines that imitate this movement. Working with gravity that is driving straight down is called a "structural exercise" and it actually helps build and support the structure of your entire body.

Lately, there have been questions about whether or not this type of weightlifting can build bone density, but it still helps reduce the effects of osteoporosis and bone brittleness as you age. At the very least, these types of exercises dramatically improve your physical capabilities and strength, so you're far less likely to fall and a lot tougher if you do. They're like a fountain of youth.

One thing I'll note is that what I'm about to recommend is pretty intense , but it gets results. If you're a rookie, be sure to get proper training. I don't recommend hiring a trainer at a commercial gym. I believe that many of them aren't well-trained and have their sales quotas top of mind, instead of your training and wellbeing. I'd suggest, you find a trainer with a degree in exercise physiology.

 Here is what you need to do to build strong and sexy legs, in rank order of importance:

Squats: You knew I was going to write that, didn't you? This is a natural movement that you make all the time. Being able to do it well not only makes those legs look better, it makes your entire body more powerful from head to toe.

Deadlifts: This is old-school, hardcore, bad-ass kind of lifting I want you to do. This one and squats both really require proper technique to get the benefits and prevent injury, so remember what I wrote about qualified instruction.

Lunges: There are lots of different ways to do these and mixing them up is always good. Again, a good trainer can show you a variety of types of lunges.

Calf raises: You could stand in a machine, sit in a machine, stand on a step and just do one leg with your body weight while holding a railing, or do that last one with a dumbbell in the other hand for added weight.

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