Friends Don’t Let Friends Skip Leg Day: How to Build Big and Strong Legs
My friends!! Every guy who works out aspires to building a powerful “Alpha” physique. A physique that alerts everyone to know when you walk through the door. Chris Jones of Pumpchasers (one of my favorite YouTube channels) calls this “Hoe Ready”.
Every woman that hits the gym aspires to developing a “tight” and “toned” body. You know a body that’s lean enough to show some definition but not so muscular that they appear to have “man-ish” features.
S/N – I hate when women say they are trying to tone up… Its either losing fat and/or building muscle. Its either you want to be lean…. Or you don’t!
… Anyway, in order to achieve either of these goals you have to build a solid base. A solid base means developing a well-balanced set of wheels. This means absolutely never, ever skipping a leg training session.
It’s an unfortunate fact that many people beginning their fitness journey in the gym focus primarily on their upper body, however this inevitably leads to slow or next to no progress in changing the composition of their bodies.
It’s very important to not attempt to “spot build” and instead focus on developing an impressive base and foundation to receive the maximum anabolic response, and build lean muscle mass head to toe.
Many people don’t train their legs because they are not concerned with how their lower body looks and are only concerned with their “beach body” muscles. Let me explain what I like to call the Super Hero Syndrome.
The Super Hero Syndrome
Many of you should remember these guys from childhood cartoons. If anyone was like me, you wanted to have a body just like one of them. Well, let me show you what Batman looks like in real life when he hits the gym. Remember this meme…
Not very appealing, huh. If for some odd reason this look works for you, go ask any woman and watch her giggle when she says it is… (she’s lying to spare your feelings bro). If you don’t train your legs, you are ultimately setting yourself up for failure.
Lack of focus on your leg development will minimize your anabolic hormone release. Your anabolic hormones are the most powerful thing that can sky rocket your lean muscle building capabilities and consist of hormones such as testosterone, human growth hormone, insulin, and IGF-1.
One of the proven ways to increase the amount of anabolic hormones your body secretes is through heavy- intense compound exercises that work your body’s largest and strongest muscle groups, the quadriceps and hamstrings. If you neglect these muscles, you are really cutting your muscle building potential short because you will not be secreting the maximum number of anabolic hormones. There is a direct relation to lifting heavy weight and increasing these vital anabolic hormones.
Because many guys are only concerned with developing their chest, shoulders, biceps and abs they often neglect leg day – but this is taking them farther away from their goal physique.
Even if your primary focus is how your biceps, abs and pectorals look, you still need to perform 1 maximum intensity leg day per week. This can be as simple as working in 5 heavy sets of squats and deadlifts per week.
For many training that way will give some gratification but if you want maximum results you need to blast through leg day with conviction and passion, hitting your quads and hamstrings like it’s your last day to workout ever. When I played football, we called in leaving it all on the field.
3 Rules to the Best Leg Training Workouts
- Heavy Lifts on Compound Exercises
The 1st rule is that you must put a lot of overload on your leg muscles because they will only hypertrophy and respond to an increase in overload. This means that you need to perform the major leg exercises like the SQUAT (8-12 rep range), and also stiff legged deadlifts and leg presses in the 6-8-repetition range.
While your favorite bodybuilder may do high repetition leg workouts on YouTube, you should keep in mind that there is a decent chance that they are likely on steroids and will respond to any type of overload and stimulus. Even if they are not – at some point in their training career they put the maximum amount of overload on their leg muscles with heavy squats and deadlifts – then once they hit their ideal lean body mass number they dialed it back and performed more high repetition leg exercises.
The moral of the story here is: for a natural bodybuilder, DON’T BE AFRAID TO SQUAT HEAVY! SKIP THE MACHINES!
- Progressive Overload
One of the best strategies for maximizing your lean muscle building capability is the concept of progressive overload with your leg workouts. This means that you will accurately track your workouts from week to week and write down your weight and repetitions.
Say for example you did the barbell squat and you did 225 lbs. for 7 repetitions. The following workout you will note this before you start and you will make sure you push yourself to do 230 lbs. for 8 repetitions or 225 lbs. at 8 repetitions.
This lays the foundation to progressive overload and will assure that you are getting bigger and stronger legs. Aim to make a little progress every workout. You don’t have to make major jumps in numbers. Little increases of 5-10%, it will add up over time.
- Changing it Up
Some advanced weight lifters may disagree but I’m going to include it anyway. Just like when you work out your biceps, chest or shoulders – your leg muscles need a change of pace ever so often, I’d say every 4-6 weeks..
Your body is really stubborn and will find any reason not to build itself to be bigger and stronger. Unfortunately for those that love to move some heavy ass weight, this means you have to give your muscles a de-load or simply change it up. The best thing that you can do to make sure your body never completely adjusts to the workouts you are placing on it is to change it up, especially if you are a natural athlete (No Knock on the enhanced, it’s just not a way of life I choose to follow).
This means that you are not only changing the exercises – but also your weight, repetition schemes and rest time between sets. This doesn’t mean that you should change your routine every week.
What it means is that after a few weeks, let’s say 4-6, of solid training if you notice progress slowing then maybe it’s time to try something new.
The overall strategy ultimately remains simple: lift heavy, hit the gym with intensity, aim to best your previous workouts in some way. Below is an example of a leg workout that has yet to disappoint any gym junkie it has been introduced to.
Leg Workout: Progressive Overload/Purgatory
The Best Leg Workout you will ever come across
The first 4 weeks is designed for progressive overload. Every leg workout you aim to try and increase poundage by 5-10%. If you are unable to increase the poundage that frequently, then every time you can complete the total number of work sets and reps, increase your weight by 5-10%.
- Barbell Squat
Sets: 5
Reps: 5
Percentage: 75-85% of a training 1rm
Rest Time: 120 Seconds
- Stiff Legged Deadlift
Sets: 4
Reps: 8-12
Rest Time: 90 Seconds
- Single Leg Leg Press
Sets: 4
Reps: 12
Rest Time: 90 Seconds
- Leg Extension
Sets: 5
Reps: 20
Rest Time: 60 seconds
- Hamstring Curl Machine
Sets: 5
Reps: 20
Rest Time: 60 Seconds
- Dumbbell Lunges
Sets: 3
Reps: 10
Rest: 90 seconds
Purgatory
Yes, this workout feels as bad as it sounds. While it does give your joints and ligaments a rest from the heavy pounding they have taken the previous 4 weeks. The Pump your legs will experience will provide more pain than anything you have felt in recent weeks. Good luck!!
- Leg Extensions
Sets: 4
Reps: 75
Rest: 90 seconds
Pick a weight that is heavy enough for you to complete 25 reps. Complete the following:
- 20 reps – rest 10 seconds
- 18 reps – rest 10 seconds
- 15 reps – rest 10 seconds
- 12 reps – rest 10 seconds
- 10 reps – 1 set complete
- Leg Press
Sets: 4
Reps: 25
Rest: 45 seconds
- Smith Machine Squats (Yes, I said Smith Machine)
Sets: 4
Reps: 40
Rest: 90 seconds
Start with a 25-lb. plate on both sides of the bar. Perform the following
- 10 reps wide stance
- 20 reps single leg (10 each leg)
- 10 reps close stance
If you do this right, you should have an insane leg pump, nauseous, making life decisions. Let me know how you like the workout
