Best Leg Exercises For Bodybuilding

When it comes to building muscle and mass in the legs, everyone knows that they need to do it but many people neglect it. The reason why is because there is very little knowledge about effect exercises and it is one of the hardest parts of the body to build for many people. Training legs is also a demanding process as you probably have to use them the rest of the day after a workout. So what are the best leg exercises to build muscle?

Probably the most well-known leg exercise is the lunge. In this exercise, you will usually hold a set of dumbbells on each arm. With your feet together, you will lunge forward with one leg while the other holds the position. Then you'll go back to your starting position and lunge forward with the other leg while the leg you just used holds the position.

The best exercise out of all the leg exercises is probably the squat. This is the one exercise that will build the most the most mass out of all the leg exercises. It is also known to stimulate testosterone, improve your overall strength, and exercises the quads - one of the biggest muscles in your body.

To do a squat you should have a barbell on a squat rack and rest it across your shoulders, behind your head. When you have a good grip and balance of the bar, raise it up straight then proceed by bending your knees until your thighs are almost in line with the floor. Make sure that you move all the way up and hold for a few seconds before bending your knees for another rep.

Another exercise to build your legs is the leg press. You've probably seen it being used by many people in the gym. It is the machine in which you lie on your back and push up with your legs upwards the incline. Because there is back support available in this exercise, you should be able to press more than a regular squat. Simply lower the weight by bending your knees back then push it back up until the next repetition of the exercise.

While the mentioned exercises mostly focus on the quads, it's important to develop your calves as well. A good exercise is the standing calf raise. You'll find a machine in which you hold with a handle and your calf is isolate in a weight. To do a proper calf raise, you need to adjust your knee pads so they are snug. With your toes pointing forward, raise the weight as much as possible until you are on the tips of your toes. Hold this for a few seconds then release the weight slowly.

These four exercises I mentioned will help you build an overall balanced body and help your leg muscles grow. Remember, it's important not to neglect your legs as it can stimulate hormones that help your overall growth.

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Leg Exercises You Can Do at Home

I've said this before and I'll say it again, your legs are some of the most important body parts to train. Not only do you contain a significant amount of your mass in your legs but you also store quite a bit of hormones that are extremely beneficial to building muscle. Too many people neglect to train their legs and this is in my opinion because it is not "cool" to train legs at the moment. With that being said, if you're too lazy or too embarrassed to train your legs in public then train them with these 5 highly effective leg exercises you can do at home.

Leg Exercises You Can Do At Home

• LUNGES

Lunges are quite easy to do at home and work several muscle groups at one time. In order to do a lunge, step one foot forward and keep the front foot flat on the floor, as you lower your hips until the front knee is over the ankle. Keep the back knee form touching the ground and push up slowly with the front foot to the beginning position. Then, continue with another step with the opposite foot and keep repeating this process.

• HEEL RAISES

To strengthen your calves, simply stand with your feet shoulder width apart and lift your heels up so you're on your tiptoes for a few seconds. Lower your heels and then repeat slowly and methodically. I recommend doing heel raise on a step, extending your heels below the edge of the step with each repetition. Calf muscles respond well to strength training so keep doing heel raises and you will be sure to see some results.

• SQUATS

Squats are an awesome way to firm and shape your gluteal muscles and upper thighs. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and arms by your sides or crossed. Keep an upright posture and slowly lower buttocks as though about to sit down in a chair then slowly stand up.

• JUMPING SQUATS

Jump squats take regular squats to a new level. A level where you're definitely going to feel your quads being used. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, arms at sides. Start by doing a regular squat and then jump up as explosively as you can, and rise up reaching for the ceiling. When you land, lower your body back into the squat position to complete one rep.

• JOGGING/RUNNING/SPRINTING

In addition to the aforementioned exercises, running is a great leg workout and an awesome form of cardio. I know many people that don't do any other form of leg exercises, besides go running, and they have some really strong legs, and highly developed legs.

That's going to do it for this one. Remember, you don't have to go to the gym in order to get a good leg workout in, you can simply do it at the convenience of your own home. In addition to running, which requires only a good pair of running shoes, you can do some great exercises to build strong legs at home. As always be sure to maintain proper form and control through your exercises.

To your fitness success!

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Top 4 Dumbbell Exercises For Legs

LEGS

13. Squats. Grab a dumbbell in each hand and sit down, then stand up, and repeat! It's that simple. This compound leg movement with increase Quadriceps, Glutes and Hamstring Mass. It will also stimulate an increase naturally in your Testosterone and Growth Hormone levels. The result is a more Ripped Body fr Head to Toe! You can do variations in stance, depth, open area without bench, or squat to the bench. Here the most important thing to do is SQUAT!

14. Lunges. For leg and glute development, it is a close competition between Squats and Lunges as to which is the best. Both are great and worth doing in your leg workout. What I can tell you is that if I don't do one for a few weeks, when I bring it back into the workout it blasts my legs. For that reason I suggest Lunges AND Squats. As for the lunges you can do variations such as: Standing, Walking, Forward, Angled, et cetera.

15. Step-Ups. Here is a great exercise that takes your leg training to A New Level LITERALLY! The Step-Up done properly may be the best Glute Developer. Men may not worry about shaping their glutes as much as ladies do. Ask a woman though and I bet you she tells you, "WE SHOULD!"

16. Calf Raises. Pick up a Dumbbell or Two and get to Raising. Single or double leg variations are both great. Depending on balancing I ssues you can hold one or two dumbbells and work your way down to just bodyweight for a drop set thoroughly burning them out.

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The Best Leg Exercises for Big Wheels

There is nothing like a nice set of wheels. A tough body part to build but if you work hard the results are amazing, the legs respond best to heavy compound movements like the squat.
The upper leg muscles consist of;

Quadriceps : These are the large muscles in the front of your thighs. They extend your leg.
Hamstrings : The hamstrings lie along the back of your thighs. Its very easy to pull them unless you warm up fully and stretch them properly before doing any strenuous leg exercises.

Developing large powerful leg muscles require heavy compound movements such as the classic squat and the leg press.

The legs require a lot of hard work to bring them up to scratch but they do tend to respond well to exercise so its worth it in the end when you have large defined leg muscles.

The legs make up half of your body so they need regular attention and also being a large muscle group they need longer rest time than smaller muscles in order to recuperate.

IMPORTANT : always be sure to warm up and stretch your leg muscles well before giving them a workout, its very easy to pull a leg muscle and a little precaution before working them will be worth it. Also regular leg stretching is good for their flexibility.

10 minutes warming up and 10 minutes stretching would to the trick.
Here are the top exercises for the Leg muscles

Squat

The squat is one of the best exercises you could possibly do. The squat is an incredible overall leg mass building exercise and you should definitely include it in your leg workouts.
Face the barbell on the rack. Step under it so that the bar is resting across the back of your shoulders and on your trap muscle. Raise the weight off the rack and step back a step or two to clear the rack.
Keeping your head up and your back straight lower yourself down until your thighs are just below parallel. Push yourself back to the standing position from that point.
Always have a safety precaution in place when squatting, like a safety bar on either side to prevent you getting trapped under the bar when difficulty arises. Preferably work with a spotter when squatting also.
Variations include smith machine squats.

Front Squats

Front squats place extra emphasis on the outside sweep of the quadriceps.
Cross your arms under the bar and have the bar lie in the front across your shoulders with your arms supporting it.
Raise it off the rack and step away. With a straight back slowly lower down to just below parallel, stop and push yourself up again.

Lunges

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand up straight. Take a step forward with one leg. With your weight on the front leg slowly bend your knee and lower yourself so that the your back leg is almost straightened.
Push yourself back up to the start again and bring your feet together, repeat for the other leg.
Variations include lunges with a barbell across your back.

Stiff Legged Deadlifts

This variation on the deadlift works the hamstrings and also the lower back. Hold a barbell with your palms facing you. Stand up straight with the weight.
Keeping your back straight and a slight bend in your knees, bend forward at the waist until your upper body is almost parallel with the floor. Stand up straight again keeping your back straight the whole time.
You will use less weight in this exercise than regular deadlifts because your legs wont be helping as much.

Leg Extensions

Leg extensions define the front muscles of the leg. They are also a great way to “burn” the muscles at the end of a workout.

Sit at a leg extension machine. Position the pad so its just over your foot. Extend your leg fully and slowly. Squeeze your leg muscles at the top of the movement and return slowly to the beginning.

Hamstring (Leg) Curls

This exercise works the hamstrings at the back of the legs.
Position yourself on a leg curl machine. Place your foot comfortably under the pad. Curl your legs as far as you can. Squeeze at the top of the movement and return slowly to the beginning.

Leg Presses

There are literally dozens of different leg press machines out there. But when it comes down to it they all perform the same basic function. Leg presses allow you to work the legs with very heavy weights without the added pressure the squat puts on the body.
Position yourself on the machine and place your feet comfortably on the foot stand. Push the weight forward until your legs are fully extended. Stop, then lower the weight back to the starting position, repeat for the next rep.
Variation include leg press machines that you start of in the extended position, with those simply lower the weight slowly and the push the weight back with your legs to the starting position.
Remember, be sure not to lock your knees when your legs are fully extended as this puts pressure on the joint and could cause an injury.

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Top 5 Bodybuilder Leg Workouts for the Pro

People work out almost every muscle in the gym but usually leave one part of the body for granted – the legs. The legs serve an important function of the body it supports the weight of the upper body. Even if it isn’t exercised, it is important to keep it healthy to avoid knee injuries and other injuries of the lower extremity.

When exercising the upper body, it is also important to include the legs as well. A defined upper bod would be nothing with flimsy or thin legs. The exercises listed below are some of the simplest leg exercises one can do at home, with or without equipment.

Squats

There are many variations to the leg squats but it is a great full body exercise that targets specifically the thighs, the hips, the butt, the quads, the hamstrings, and even bones, ligaments, and tendons of the lower body. Starting position is standing near a wall, bent knees behind toes with dumbbells handing from hands. Stand slowly or roll up slowly along the wall, doing this smoothly until knees are nearly straight. End the exercise by going back to the original position. Important note is to never lock the knees. Don’t sit back down on the stool or bench but just barely touch it before doing the exercise again. Completion of this exercise can strengthen muscles and increase its size. This can be done in three sets of 6 to 10 repetitions.

Leg Extensions

Leg extensions are an isolated exercise which means that it targets the quadriceps group of muscles only. Starting position involves sitting on a multipurpose bench with leg attachment. Position the ankles behind the leg attachments. Lean on the bench using both hands but do not lie on the bench. Slowly lift up the weight to a horizontal position. Hold this position for a second then lower the legs back again to starting position. Completion of the exercise strengthens and tightens the quadriceps which helps in overall leg strength and preventing lower leg injuries. For best results, do 3 sets with 6 to 10 repetitions.

Calf Raises

Calf raises strengthen the calf muscles or the calves. Specifically, it targets muscles such as the gastrocnemius, soleus, and tibialis posterior muscles. Equipment needed is a set of dumbbells and a calf raise stand. Starting position is to place the ball of the foot just over the edge of the calf raise stand. Lower the heel as far as tolerated but don’t overdo it to avoid injury. End the exercise by raising the heel as high as tolerated in a slow and smooth motion. Three sets of calf raises of 6 to 10 repetitions are good. High repetitions can be done of up to 50 because the calves are composed of slow twitch fibers that respond best to lower weights and high repetitions.

Lunges

Lunges are great for exercising the butt and the quads. Starting position is to stand observing a natural stance with weights hanging from each hand. To start the exercise, take a big step forward onto a stepstool. End the exercise by pushing off from the stepstool and returning to starting position. Do not extend the knees forward of the toes to minimize knee strain. Lunges are great for strengthening and tightening the quads and butt for that firm and tone look. Three sets of 20 to 30 repetitions is a good start.

The Romanian Deadlifts

Muscles targeted for this exercise is the hamstring. Healthy quads are nothing with spindly hamstrings and can cause knee or leg problems. To strengthen the hamstrings, Romanian deadlifts are a good but advanced exercise that needs to be done properly. Starting position is to stand with legs locked and arms holding a barbell using opposing grips and the back in neutral position. 

Slowly drop down gently, feeling the stretch. Keep the torso fixed, avoiding to droop the shoulders. Keep the abs flexed to support the back. Keep the barbell close to the legs as possible to reduce pressure on the lower back while going down. End the exercise at the lowest comfortable position with the knees still locked and start to go back up. Avoid sudden jerking upwards. The number of repetitions depends on the amount the individual is able to do without frying the muscles.

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