https://medium.com/@gaurav133232/train-your-legs-a-better-way-1e4a9f576993
When it comes to training the lower body, most of us get scared, about the pain, we will experience, but why don’t you get scared the same way while training the upper body?
All men want big arms, a massive chest, a wider back, and broader shoulders but a major portion of them don’t want big legs, because according to some, it’s something that women must have.
So, this way men also shouldn’t have a big chest, because that’s something women have.
Training legs come with numerous benefits and prove a great add-on to the aesthetic look. Just imagine how you look when you have a massive upper body and chicken legs along with it.
It’s a big shame for each of the chicken leggers out there.
So, I have created a workout plan that any trainee, be it a beginner or an advanced one, can add to their regime.
- Squats
As Tom Platz said, “nothing can be ever compared to squats, leg presses can be done, but why do a movement which is inferior when you have a superior one”?
Now the tall guys may ask, what should we do then?
Those with long limbs, leg presses, and front squats come to the rescue. Since people with long limbs can’t back squat that well, front squats and leg presses help you train those legs and turn them into a tree trunk.
It trains your legs completely.
2. Lunges
When it comes to training legs individually, lunges are the best ones.
I am a big fan of king Ronnie Coleman, who used to do extremely heavy lunges and then scream Light Weight Baby. Though the king isn’t that strong yet, but lunges are a great exercise, and to those who can’t squat well, it’s a boon.
Lunges help you train your quads in a much better way, and performing it after doing squats will bring an absolutely awesome pump to your quads.
3. RDLs
Most of us think of legs as consisting only of quads, but they are much more than that.
Hamstrings are equally important for leg size. Training them helps prevent a majority of leg injuries as majorly, as the hamstrings are the muscles that get pulled.
Most sports injuries can be avoided if your hamstrings are strong. The best compound exercise to train hamstrings is deadlifts, majorly the Romanian deadlift which puts a significant emphasis on that.
4. Hip Thrust
For all the ladies wanting that big booty, here’s an exercise for you.
This is the biggest myth, I listen every day to in gyms. When spot reduction isn’t possible, how can you say that spot-gaining is possible? If there are any benefits via Hip Thrust, it will be to the whole leg muscles rather than just your booty.
The hip thrust is a good glute targetting exercise, and strong glutes help increase the bar load on the squats and to some extent on deadlifts as well.
5. Leg Curls
Isolation excercise to train your hamstrings, and leg curl is the best in the business(training).
Though an inferior one compared to deadlifts, for athletes recovering from injuries, leg curls are great add-ons.
Including this excercise in your regime can be of great benefit as well.
No excercise ever is complete isolation, it can train one part more effectively and the other less effectively. So, leg curls to some extent train other leg muscles as well.
6. Calf Raises
At the end of the list is the most ignored muscle and the least importance given to it, it’s nothing but our calves.
Calves are majorly genetically gifted but everything can be grown to some extent. Training calves is as important as training the arms because calves are involved in almost every excercise like running, hiking, etc.
Calves consist of 2 muscles which are named gastrocnemius and soleus. Both have different methods of getting trained.
Calf raises be it seated or standing train the calves, other exercises like jumping, hiking, etc also involve the use of calves, but to train them in an isolated manner, nothing is as good as compared to calf raises.
So, these were my top picks for leg excercise, you are free to follow whatever regime you want to, but having these exercises in the regime can make it a killer one. Rest in it’s your call always.
I have not included some exercises like leg extensions, leg presses, and training abductors/adductors on the machine but these excercise train all these parts a great way.
Final Words
Legs as I said earlier are almost half of your body, and it’s a muscle that almost every general trainee neglects. If you wanna get good at other lifts, training your legs can prove as a boon to them. Also, it increases your testosterone to a small extent as well which is the major muscle-building hormone.
Train Your Legs A Better Way was originally published in Game of Life on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.