Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Bow Legs
No More
2
Copyright 2014 by BowLegsNoMore.com
All rights reserved. No part of this digital book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without written permission from the publisher.
No liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although
every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this digital book, the publisher assumes
no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from
the use of the information contained herein.
Trademarks
All terms mentioned in this digital book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have
been appropriately capitalized. The publisher cannot attest to the accuracy of this information.
Use of a term in this digital book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any
trademark or service mark.
The content of this digital book is based upon research conducted by the author and is being
presented to you for educational purposes only. The content of this digital book is not intended
to diagnose or prescribe for medical or psychological conditions nor to claim to prevent, treat,
mitigate or cure such conditions.
3
treating, operating or prescribing for any human disease, pain, injury, deformity or physical
condition.
The information contained in this digital book is not intended to replace a doctor or qualified
health care professional. This information is not intended as medical advice, but rather a
sharing of information from the research and experience of the author. The publisher and the
author encourage you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and
with the help of a qualified health care professional.
The content of this digital book has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) or any other medical organization. The content of this digital book is not intended to
diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
It is highly recommended that you consult with a doctor or qualified health care professional
before using any methods, third party products or anything mentioned in this digital book even
if you are 100% fit. You must also consult with your doctor or qualified health care professional
on the right dosages (if applicable). Any dosages mentioned in this digital book are purely
indicative and might not be the proper dosages for your individual case.
Moreover, by reading this digital book, you CONFIRM that you have READ, UNDERSTOOD and
ACCEPTED fully (without any exceptions) our Terms & Disclaimer found at:
www.BowLegsNoMore.com/terms-disclaimer.php
4
INDEX
Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................................. 6
Dedication in training.................................................................................................................. 7
How hard is this program? .......................................................................................................... 8
Gentle manipulation of the joints............................................................................................... 8
Chapter Two: Tracking your Progress and Maintaining Discipline ............................................... 10
Measuring your progress .......................................................................................................... 10
Meditation and Visualization .................................................................................................... 11
Dont train alone ....................................................................................................................... 12
Chapter Three: Defining Beautiful Legs, and Diagnosing problems ............................................ 13
Chapter Four: Preparatory Exercises ........................................................................................... 19
Preparatory Warming-up routines ........................................................................................... 19
Exercise 1 .............................................................................................................................. 19
Exercise 2 .............................................................................................................................. 21
Exercise 3 .............................................................................................................................. 23
Chapter Five: The Main Exercise to correct Curvature ................................................................ 25
Chapter Six: Exercises for x curvatures: ..................................................................................... 29
Exercise 1 .............................................................................................................................. 29
Exercise 2 .............................................................................................................................. 30
Exercise 3 .............................................................................................................................. 31
Chapter Seven: Exercises for o curvature .................................................................................. 33
Exercise 1 .............................................................................................................................. 33
Exercise 2 .............................................................................................................................. 34
Exercise 3 .............................................................................................................................. 35
Chapter Eight: Exercises to Shape the Legs ................................................................................. 37
Exercise 1 .................................................................................................................................. 37
Exercise 2 .................................................................................................................................. 38
Chapter Nine: Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 39
5
Chapter One: Introduction
This book is all about ways to deal with bow legs. Many more people than you might think
suffer from this affliction, and while it has a number of causes, it usually ends with people being
extremely self-conscious about how they look. Women are especially sensitive and you will find
women with bow legs doing their very best to hide them. They will usually wear loose lower
garments that prevent anyone from seeing the exact shape of their legs. While men are
generally less self-conscious about something like this, the fact is that many men and women
with bow legs go through life feeling extremely conscious about the shape of their legs.
If this is the case with you, you need to realize that bow legs are not necessarily something that
is permanent. With careful training, you can certain straighten the shape of your legs.
However, like any training program, it is not going to be easy. Just as an athlete works hard to
build the right capabilities in his body, so are you going to have to spend time training with
I might just point out that many of the attitudes in modern society are rather superficial. That
is to say, modern society tends to lay a great deal of stress upon what a person looks like rather
than what a person is. It makes people spend rather more time upon their looks than wisdom
or logic would advise. Women go in for liposuction and cosmetic surgeries, people spend
thousands of dollars to correct largely superficial defects. People suffer agony and spend
fortunes to gain a few inches in height. And of course, people undergo surgery to cure bow
legs. While this books is all about curing bow legs, the author would just like to point out that
6
superficial appearances, including the appearance of your legs is not really as crucial as the
world would have you believe. There is no need to let some movie actress or model make you
Dedication in training
In any case, bow legs can be cured quite easily so long as you are willing to keep to a reasonable
training regimen. It is completely untrue that surgery is your only option. Perhaps your doctor
has told you so, yet just consider the risks. Anesthesia alone is a considerable risk, and there
are a certain percentage of patients every year who never wake up from anesthesia. Then,
theres the sheer expense of having the surgery done. In many cases, your medical insurance
will not cover what is essentially a cosmetic operation, so you will need to raise the funds
Besides the cost, there is also the pain and discomfort involved. Some methods of dealing with
bow legs, such as shin-implants, can keep you in agony for weeks. Besides all these factors,
there is also a possibility that the surgery may not be conducted optimally, or might even fail,
with your body rejecting the implants. If there is an alternative to all this risk and suffering, it
seems only right that you should explore it before you decide in favor of surgery, because
simple exercises, while they may act a little slower than a doctors knife, are also a lot safer.
7
How hard is this program?
Going about your training is not really very difficult. The exercise routines are not exhausting,
so if you have been doing a reasonable amount of training before, you should be able to do
them effortlessly.
You will find that training is merely habit. If you set yourself a regular regimen of training, and
keep to it, you will find that it becomes easier and easier to do your exercises. You need to plan
your whole life around your training regimen if you really want to straighten your bow legs.
The exercises are not exhausting by any means. Its just a question of making sure that they are
part of your pattern of your everyday behavior. You should become so habituated to doing the
exercises that it actually feels unnatural if you happen to skip them for any reason.
So, why is it so necessary to do these exercises regularly? Well, basically speaking, bow legs of
any kind (and there are many kinds) are generally a result of bad habits when you were young.
Perhaps your parents forced you to walk too early. This sometimes happens. A parent might
put a child into a walker before the childs leg muscles are actually strong enough to bear its
weight. If this is done, the weight of the childs body distorts the joints of the legs, creating
bow legs.
Now that the joints are set in one particular pattern, getting them to shift into another
alignment is not easy. It has to be a gradual process, because the joints are sensitive and
delicate and cannot be manipulated harshly or in the course of a few days. Any training
8
program that aims at correcting a joint issue needs to be very carefully designed and very
gentle.
It is precisely because the exercise routine is so gentle that it needs to be done absolutely
regularly if it is to have any effect at all. If you do these exercises in a lackadaisical manner, you
Success with this program depends on a gentle manipulation of the joints, day after day and
week after week, until the joints are brought into the correct alignment without any apparent
strain or pain.
I might mention over here that bow legs can also be caused by childhood illnesses. You might
even have inherited the curvature of your legs from your parents, that is to say, it might be
genetic. Any of these curvatures can be corrected by the exercises in this book.
However, if you have broken a bone of your leg in the past, and it has been set incorrectly, then
such a break might cause a curvature of the leg. In this case, you should not attempt any of the
exercises in this book, but instead, should go to an orthopedic specialist who will reset the bone
correctly.
It is important to correct an unnatural curvature of the leg because the shape of your legs can
affect the health of many other joints, and of the entire skeletal system at large. This is
because the shape of the leg, if grossly out of alignment, can affect the entire posture, and if
the posture is seriously affected, it can cause damage to the spine and other joints over the
long term.
9
Chapter Two: Tracking your Progress
and Maintaining Discipline
Just because the exercise program is so gradual, that does not mean that you shouldnt make
some attempt to measure your progress. Measuring your progress is very simple. Photograph
yourself using a camera with a timer, or else while standing in front of a full-length mirror. You
need to be wearing shorts or a garment that will actually show your legs, obviously.
Such photographs must not be taken every day, or even every week, as otherwise you may not
be able to see visible progress. Instead, I would advise that such photographs be taken once
every month or so. On this timescale, you should be able to see visible progress, month after
month. Remember to save the best pictures in sequence, to motivate you to train towards you
goal.
With a training program that promises results on such a long term, it is very easy to lose heart
and focus. And you will have to take specific steps towards combating this if you are to make
10
Meditation and Visualization
Meditation is an excellent way to keep yourself on track. You can start each training session
with a small period of meditation. Sit in a comfortable chair in a softly lighted and relatively
peaceful room, and close your eyes. Now, with your eyes closed, visualize a globe of light
floating in front of you. Now, compress that globe of light into an infinitely small, infinitely
bright point. Do this for a minute or so, and it will help you focus your thoughts and will.
Visualization is also an excellent way of strengthening your resolve. As soon as youve finished
the meditation described above, visualize yourself with legs that are of the shape that you
desire. Now, visualize yourself in accelerated time see yourself with bow legs, and then
visualize yourself doing the training week after week; then visualize your legs straightening out
until they are in perfect alignment. Doing this meditation and visualization together will go a
It goes without saying that you need to make each training session pleasant. Theres no need
to conduct this training in a Spartan atmosphere. Instead, do the exercises in some pleasant
place, either a favorite room in your house, or else in the midst of nature, in some lovely park
or garden. You can play some nice music as you do the exercises. Even the clothes that you
11
Making the exercise sessions so pleasant will go a long way towards creating positive
associations with them in your mind, and that, in turn, will help you to keep training regularly.
Finding partners in training is also a wonderful way to keep moving forward. If there are other
people you know who have the same problem that you do, and who would like to reach the
same goal, then it can be a wonderful source of strength to ally with them. When you train
together in a group, you laugh and joke, you strengthen each others determination and you
Spirits are always high, and so long as the whole group trains at a regular time, the chances are
that you would be far less likely to skip any training session because you know that all of your
Lastly, let me reinforce what Ive already said, about tracking your progress with the help of
photographs, month after month. Tracking your progress, in combination with the above
methods, should ensure that you stay with the training program until positive results are
achieved.
12
Chapter Three: Defining Beautiful Legs,
and Diagnosing problems
Human standards of beauty are very flexible, and while you may be quite sure that the shape of
your legs are ugly, I would just like to point out that many human standards of beauty are mere
social programming. As a matter of fact, you will find that the standards of beauty today are
quite different from what they were even a few centuries ago.
The painter Rubens, for example, painted women that he obviously considered attractive, yet
today the physical form of these women would be considered anything but attractive. Most of
them have ill-defined features and are heavily obese, besides. Yet, in another time, these
women were obviously considered beautiful. My point is simply that that standard of beauty
has changed, and while I encourage you to use the techniques in this book to correct a real
problem with bow legs that you might have, I also ask you to bear in mind that there are
different standards of beauty and if your legs have a natural alignment that you happen not to
be satisfied, to remember that a healthy pair of legs is a wonderful gift, and you should be
happy that you can run and walk and jump, and do all the things that a basically healthy person
can.
What Im trying to say is that you should only use the techniques mentioned in this book if you
only have a genuine and serious problem with bow legs. You must not, under any
circumstances, perfect the alignment of normal, healthy legs. Do not try to meet some
standard set to you by society or fashion if you are already blessed with a sound pair of limbs.
13
That said, let us go on to discuss the different forms of bow legs that can occur. It is very
important to diagnose your particular kind of bow legs precisely, because the therapy and
exercises required for each kind is completely different, and it is essential that you make the
right diagnosis, because if you use the wrong set of exercises to treat your bow legs, it can
actually make the condition much worse. I would actually advise, based on the images and
descriptions below, that you not only diagnose yourself but get one or two close friends or
family to make independent diagnoses of what kind of bow legs you have as well. Only if at
least three diagnosis match, should you go ahead with a treatment regimen for that particular
kind of bow legs. Alternatively, an even safer approach is to consult a doctor or specialist, and
have him define your particular kind of bow legs before you start a training regimen to try to
The figure below, shows a natural pair of legs. If you observe them, youll see that while they
touch at the thighs, knees, calves and ankles, there are also certain spaces, again, at the thighs,
This mixture of positions where the legs touch and where there are spaces between them is
14
Now, we come to the kinds of bow-leg distortions that can occur.
Yes, there are a few different kinds of bow legs, and they are generally defined by the way in
15
In the image below, you will see illustrated, what is generally known as an x curvature, in
which the upper portion of the leg (that is to say, the thighs) are pressed together, and then the
legs divulge together outwards under the knees, to create a spread-legged look.
However, that is just one of the kinds of distortion of the legs that can occur.
16
Another kind of curvature is called the o curvature and is generally defined by the legs
spreading outwards from the crotch, to the knees, and then converging again towards the
ankles. This creates a diamond-shaped gap between the legs when the feet are placed
together. The image below, will show you what an o curvature should look like.
Besides these actual defects, there are also defects that are actually defined more by society
and fashion than by any real deficiency in the body itself. Some people have thigh muscles that
17
are too thin, or calf muscles that are too thin, or legs that are too thin as a whole. In these
cases, certain exercises can shape the leg muscles, leading to beautifully shaped legs.
We will be going into exercises that can help you shape up the muscles of your legs, and these
exercises can be done along with the exercises for correcting x curvatures and o curvatures
so that not only will you correct the curvature of your legs but you can ensure that you have
18
Chapter Four: Preparatory
Exercises
There are certain exercises that you need to do in the beginning of your session, and certain
other exercises that you need to do in between each session. These exercises will ensure that
there is no damage to the joints as a result of the body being insufficiently warmed up.
Exercise 1
Stand in a natural, straight posture, with your legs about a foot apart. Place one foot in front of
the other so that its heel is in line with the toes of the other foot. Now, give a little skip, and
pull the foot that is in front, back; and bring the foot that is behind, forward. Do this again,
thus, returning the feet to their original position. Count this as one, and do twenty.
19
This exercise not only stretches the muscles and ligaments of the legs slightly, but also warms
up all the muscles and joints, right from your toes up to your thighs.
20
Exercise 2
Sit on the ground with your legs stretched out in front of you, and your feet together.
Now, bend forward slightly and stretch out with your hands to catch your toes. If you cannot
Over time, you should attempt not only to catch your toes, but also to touch your face to your
knees.
21
Be very careful not to push too hard or strain too much while doing this exercise. You may not
have much flexibility at first, but it will come with time so long as you do the exercise regularly.
Pushing too hard, or forcing your body to do what it cannot, will only cause you pain, and may
22
Exercise 3
and point your feet outwards, away from the center of the
spread your feet apart, sliding them away from each other
the hamstrings, a long muscle that reaches from the top of your thighs down to the backs of
your knees.
23
Once again, I must emphasis that this exercise is also to be done in a very relaxed manner. This
exercise is unlikely to cause injury, but it must nevertheless, not be pushed too far, especially
as, regularly doing this exercise, preferably daily, will be far more beneficial than trying to force
24
Chapter Five: The Main Exercise to
correct Curvature
As I have clearly explained earlier, there are two main kinds of curvature of the legs, viz., the x
curvature and the o curvature, and they need specific exercises for each. However, there are
some exercises that you can do to correct just about any curvature. You may have to take
some trouble to set up the right environment for these exercises, but trust me, it is worth it.
You will need a small stool or a couch for this exercise. You will also need a piece of wood that
is about two inches high, two feet long, and about six inches wide. Place just the front your left
foot (the ball of your foot) on the plank, with the heel of your foot resting on the floor. Place
your right foot on top of the stool or couch, as shown in the image below. This should cause
25
Now, making sure that your leg remains absolutely straight, slowly raise your heel off the
ground and as high as you can, as shown in the image below. Essentially speaking, when your
heel is at the highest point off the ground, you should, for all practical purposes, be standing
only supported by the toes and the ball of your left foot. Do this exercise slowly, and do around
26
Now, place the ball of the right foot on the plank, and place your left foot on the box. Raise
your right heel off the floor, while supporting yourself only on the toes and ball of the right
foot. Again, do this twenty-five times. Count the repetitions with both feet as one set. You
should do at least three sets. You should find that a considerable strain falls upon your calf
muscles, and perhaps even upon the muscles of your thighs close to the end of the third set.
27
Just make sure that you get enough rest every night and your body will quickly adapt to this
exercise routine. If you reach a point where you can effortlessly do all three sets without
feeling any strain at all, it is time to up the game a bit and add some weight to this routine. You
can hold a five-pound dumbbell in each hand. If this is too heavy for you, feel free to lessen the
weight. If this is too light, feel free to increase it. You should adjust the weight so that you
always feel a slight strain near the end of the third (last) set.
This was one specific exercise that works to correct just about any curvature of the legs.
Besides this, if you can avoid elevators for a few floors in each building that you visit, climbing
all those stairs will also work in correcting the curvature of your legs. Walking is a great
combination with the above two exercises, because while those exercises work to correct the
curvature of the legs, walking will actually work to shape the muscles of the legs and make
28
Chapter Six: Exercises for x curvatures:
The x curvature involves knees that are slightly bent outwards. This can be corrected by
Exercise 1
One of the finest exercises involves sitting cross-legged on the floor like an eastern yogi. Now,
take a deep breath and rise smoothly from the floor to a standing position while breathing out
29
After that, while breathing in deeply, and again, without taking the support of your hands,
lower yourself back down into a cross-legged position. This places an x curvature-correcting
pressure on the knees through their entire range of movement being involved.
However, you need to be a little careful when you do this exercise at first, because the knees
are one of the most delicate joints of the body. I would suggest no more than five repetitions
on the first day, ten repetitions for the next three days, fifteen repetitions for the next week,
twenty-five repetitions for the week after that, and then thirty repetitions in the weeks that
follow. Please remember that since this exercise is extremely gentle, it might take up to three
months before you see results. However, when you do achieve those results, they should be
permanent.
In time, thirty repetitions of this exercise may become too light for you. In this case, you could
add a little weight in each hand, starting with two-and-a-half pounds, upto a maximum of ten
pounds in each hand, but no more. Try not to increase the weight too quickly, as this might
place an excessive strain on the knees. Also, remember that the weights should be held in mid-
air (that is to say, off the floor) before you start to rise from the floor.
Exercise 2
This is an ancient eastern exercise that has a host of beneficial effects. Stand with your feet
about two-and-a-half times your shoulder-width apart. Gently move down to a half-crouch.
Your position should be virtually the same, as if you were sitting in a chair. Do not crouch down
30
completely. Now, retain this position for at least three minutes. Yes, you should remain in a
While you retain this position, you should breathe in deeply filling your lungs completely, and
then breathe out emptying your lungs completely. You should do this exercise once a day.
Exercise 3
Stand with your feet parallel to each other and shoulder width apart.
31
Now, gently sway the body from the waist, first left, then right, as shown in the images below.
32
Chapter Seven: Exercises for o
curvature
Exercise 1
This first exercise is a staple exercise for training agility in Japan, but it is also eminently suited
to correcting an o curvature. You should do this exercise on a very smooth floor and should
have a wall in front of you for support. Now, start with the legs about two-and-a-half times
your shoulder-width apart. Both feet must be facing directly forwards, that is to say, they must
be exactly parallel to each other. Please be careful of the position of the feet it is crucial to
33
Now, slowly begin to slide the feet further away from each other while keeping the knees
straight. You will begin to feel a pull on the insides of the thighs. You will also begin to feel a
pressure on the knees. Do not allow, either the pull on the muscles or the pressure on the
knees to become unbearable, but only move the legs wide enough apart that you feel a slight
Over time, you will be able to move your feet further and further apart. This is perfectly natural
and shows that you are making progress. You should do this exercise no more than twice daily,
Exercise 2
on the left.
34
The right leg should be extended straight out to where your right foot rests on the couch, and
the right knee should remain completely straight and must never bend at any time during this
exercise. Now, keeping the right leg extended, crouch down completely on the left leg, as
shown below. Do three repetitions of this exercise every day, with each leg.
If you cannot crouch down completely then crouch down part-way, and slowly increase the
extent that you crouch down over time. Power the crouching leg up to the standing position.
Exercise 3
This exercise involves lunging forward, as shown in the image below. Start with the feet
shoulder width apart, and then lunge forward, first with one foot and then with another. You
must not bend the knee forward leg more than a right angle. This is important.
35
Please note the foot positions, as shown in the image below. You will notice that your foot
This is of crucial importance in correcting an o curvature you must not under any
36
Chapter Eight: Exercises to Shape the
Legs
Exercise 1
There are two exercises you can do to shape the muscles of the legs.
The first is the weighted half-squat. Simply hold a dumbbell in each hand (ranging in weight
from about ten to thirty pounds) and squat down halfway as if you were sitting in a chair, as
37
Exercise 2
Sit in a chair with a short barbell resting on your ankles, and between ten to forty pounds on
the barbell.
Now, while remaining sitting, straighten the legs out, lifting the barbell from the floor, as shown
Both of the above described exercises, in conjunction with first curvature-correcting exercise
38
Chapter Nine: Conclusion
Diet is crucial when training the body, the more so because you are placing considerable stress
upon your limbs and joints. While you need to take in a healthy portion of proteins and
carbohydrates, what you really need for this training regimen is cartilage.
Cartilage is usually found in ox- and goat-trotters, which should be boiled well, and the soup
drunk, as well as the jelly-like cartilage of the trotter eaten as well. If you do not like trotter,
many jelly mixes contain animal cartilage, and if you can find this in the list of ingredients,
eating a few jellies can ensure that your joints remain healthy while you engage in this
program.
While much of this training is not that strenuous, you might become a little dehydrated while
using weights. To prevent this happening, make sure you have a bottle of water standing by
Do bear in mind that taking the dietary advice here, simple as it is, can go a long way towards
39
Just remember all the things Ive said about mental focus, dedication and regularity in training.
Follow the regimen I have outlined in the schedule, and remember that this training program
will take between two to three months to show results. You should continue the training
program for around a year, or at least until the shape of your legs is exactly what you desire it
to be.
If you do all the exercises Ive outlined correctly, and couple that with the correct diet, there is
no reason why, a few months from now, you shouldnt be looking at the legs of your dreams.
Confidence and dedication the right mental attitude, are actually all you need to realize just
about any goal you might have, and this one is no exception.
40