Muscle Development: Legs

The legs consist of;

1. The quads (pushing)

2. The hamstrings (pulling and controlling negatives),

3. The glutes (Thrusting and hip hinge)

4. The calfs.

A leg routine needs to have pushing, pulling, Thrusts and some calfs for good measure. Keep it simple!

Everyone and i mean everyone needs a version of squats. I have 2 herniated disks so i use front squats but if you have a healthy back then you have tons of options!

- High Bar Back Squats

- Low Bar Back Squats

- Front Squats

- Box Squats

- Pin Squats

And there are so many more! This gives you no excuse not to squat. If you need more variety look up some of West Sides Squat Variations!

Ok guys i know this sounds weird but stay with me on this one. Last week on my Back article i discussed that i don't train traps on upper days but i save it for my leg days when I'm fresh. Think about it you just did your squats. Your already at a squat rack. Just set the pins to the lowest setting and start the shrugs! The reason why i do this on leg days is because my upper days already long enough and i don't want to have to throw traps on the end of them. Also by the end of an upper session your energy is at it's lowest point. Does it really make sense to train what is lagging for pretty much every guy when your at your weakest? I think not! I have added inches to my traps by putting them on leg day to have more focus on them. Remember this - BIG TRAPS EQUAL - YOU LOOK BAD ASS AND BIG NO MATTER WHAT. Train those traps! You won't regret it. However if you are able to deadlift then barbell shrugs are not needed. When i used to deadlift 2 times a week i never had to shrug and my traps were developed pretty well. 

while squats and leg press do work hamstrings a little in the negative part of the exercise I recommend you have both a hip hinging movement like straight leg deadlifts and also a knee flexion exercise like leg curls. You can rotate on your leg routines if you want as well. You don't need both in every leg session.

While you have hit your quads already in all the squats and leg presses i personally always do some leg ext as well just to work all parts of the quad. Leg extensions are meant to be a lighter exercise tho keep reps at 12-20. Going heavy on leg ext is not needed nor recommended for knee health.

If you can deadlift then good on you. Pick a version sumo or conventional and get to it. However if you can't deadlift like my self anymore then Hip thrusts are your next best exercise. Many guys don't do this exercise because they are afraid it will ruin there masculinity and that to me makes no sense. In fact think about when you are in the bedroom with your girlfriends or wives - What is your job? LOL to thrust!!! So to me when i here guys say this is a girl exercise - I am completely puzzled. Plus loading 300-400 pounds on your lap and thrusting it is no easy feat. Wussy exercise? I think not! Plus having some powerful big strong glutes is never a bad thing and can tremendously make you stronger at your squats, plus i have heard that women like guys with big glutes so there is that as well! Don't be a flat ass LOL. For sets and reps on hip thrusts i like working up to a top set of 3-5 reps and then doing back off sets for 8-12 reps for about 4 back off sets total.

People struggle with calfs. A lot of calf development has to do with genetics but you can build your calfs no matter your genetics you just have to know how to train them. I recommend you use both variety's of seated and calf raises on a leg press. You can rotate them through your leg routines through the week. When doing calf raises each rep should be a 1 second pause at the top and bottom of the motion - do not bounce reps! Do calf raises slow and control and really focus on the negative and the stretch, that is what i have found to do wonders for total calf development. For reps and sets i like 3-4 sets and strength days i will train them in the 8-12 rep range and for hypertrophy days i will train them in the 15-30 rep range.

We already discussed the types of exercises i recommend for lower days but how many exercises is sufficient for one leg day? Most people i recommend having 2 lower days a week. For most people i have found that one heavy day and one light day works extremely well. So for example a good set up for 2 lower days a week could be;

Lower day 1

- squat

- barbell shrug

- leg press

- straight leg deadlift

- leg ext.

- leg curls

- calf raises on leg press

Lower day 2

- squat

- barbell shrug

- leg press

- Hip thrust

- leg ext

- leg curls

- seated calf raises

In my opinion legs need there own day. I never pair legs with anything other than shrugs for traps.

Here are 2 Leg Routines for you;

Single Sets

- Squat variation of your choice 4x3-5

- Barbell Shrugs 4x6-8

- Leg Press 4x6-10 

Superset 4x10-15

- Leg Ext

- Leg Curls

Superset 4x8-12

- DB Straight Leg Deadlift

- Calf Raises on Leg Press

Single Sets

- Squat variation of your choice 4x6-8

- Barbell Shrugs 4x10-15

- Leg Press 4x10-15

- Hip Thrusts 4x8-12 

Superset 4x15-20

- Leg Ext

- Leg Curls

Single Set 4x15-30

- Seated Calf Raises

When it comes to legs i approach this different than the other muscle groups since the legs are actually 4 parts. You need to be honest with yourself and see what you lack. Legs completely depend on the individual. If you are happy with your legs then only one day a week for legs is enough but if your like most people then u need at least 2 leg sessions a week to build some quality strength and size.

Talking now about sets and reps per exercise i have personally found that legs need a variety of rep ranges. Strength days for me are usually 3-5 sets of anywhere from 1-6 reps on main exercises and accessories lifts like leg ext and curls i like to keep in the 10-15 rep range. Occasionally i will take hamstring curls to sets of 8. For hypertrophy leg days i keep reps in the 6-12 range for main movements and i occasionally take some exercises like leg press and machine work anywhere from 12-30 reps depending on the exercise and the day and how i feel. For hypertrophy days i like to keep at 4 sets per exercise. Experiment on yourself and find the rep ranges that work best for your own leg development.

When it comes to lower body warm up this is very individual. I know people who can go right and warm up with the bar. I also know others that like riding the bike for 5 min before going to the bar. Then there is myself and i found for me doing some quad stretches against a wall (no more than 20-30 seconds a side) works great, as well as some hip openers and leg swings. I also like using Mark Bell's Hip Circle for some warm up sets on squats as well to really help me open my hips. Some static stretching is not bad just don't overdue it. The studies that showed static stretching were bad for strength were done in extreme measures. They had the study subjects holding static stretches for 10-15 minutes!!! yes that will weaken you for your lifting but doing 20-30 seconds of quad stretching won't harm you so do what you need. If i don't stretch my quads out some before i squat i get terrible knee pain, So figure out what works for you. There is no one proper way to warm up for a leg day. Warm ups should however be no more than 15 minutes tho.

Here is my exact lower body day warm up

- quad stretch against wall

- deep quad stretch

- Fire Hydrants also known as hip circles while on hands and knees

- upward and downward dog rotating a few times through

- Sit in a deep wides leg hip stretch and bounce around and move around in the position to loosen up

- Leg swings side to side and forward

- band stretches (to loosed the shoulders and chest for better mobility in squats)

- Then i put the hip circle on (Mark Bell's Hip Circle) and use that for my first 3-5 warm up sets of squats. Then i take the hip circle off and continue climbing up in weight.

When it comes to working Legs there are quite a few things i recommend to have a more efficient session.

- Knee Sleeves - If you squat in knee sleeves i promise you will never squat without them again! These can save your knees!

- Possibly a Belt? - If you like wearing a belt then that can be useful to have.

- Squat Shoes - If you don't own squat shoes then use a shoe like a converse. No Tennis shoes or running shoes!

- Versa Grips - Since we are doing shrugs on leg day then these are very helpful.

- Leg Wraps - you can use these for your blood flow restriction exercises.

See my full article on everything i keep in my gym bag here.

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