Leg Day Workout
7 Exercises That Improve Your Leg Day Workout
Training legs is important if you want to obtain a balanced, aesthetic looking physique. You really don’t want to be that guy wearing shorts with the tiny looking legs, right?! We have put together one of the best leg day workouts that will build lots of muscle! Did you know that, training legs actually helps build muscle all over the body because when you do ‘compound lifts’ that targets big muscle groups, such as Squats, it increases your testosterone levels! This puts the body in an anabolic state, making it easier to build new muscle.
A recent study published in the ‘European Journal of Applied Physiology’ measured the body’s hormonal response during reps of heavy resistance exercise. They actually found that the most elevated hormone in the body was testosterone. The male hormone ‘Testosterone’ promotes muscle growth, which gives you even more reason to train legs!
To make the most of your leg day workout it’s important that you keep the workout intensity high and train to failure! In any leg workout, the key muscle groups that you should be hitting are, quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings & calves. You can see the below diagram which shows where each much group is, take time to review this because it will really help focus on the muscle contraction during each exercise.
Leg Day Muscle Groups
With that said, lets jump into this Leg Day Workout!
Before You Start Your Workout
Warming Up
It’s really important that you never skip a warm up before a gym workout for the following reasons;
Lower risk of injury. Warming up your muscles helps relax and loosen your muscles up, meaning that you are much less likely to strain them during exercise.
Increased flexibility. Being more flexible can make it easier to get the full range of motion on every exercise.
Increased blood flow and oxygen. Having more blood flow helps your muscles perform at their peak level because they get all the nourishment they need before jumping into an intense gym workout
Improved performance. Warming up gives your cardiovascular system a kick start and springs you into your workout at your optimum level, giving you better results.
Better joint range of motion. Doing light exercise before your workout will activate the synovial fluid in the body which acts as a lubricant for the joints.
The Warm Up
Warm up Part One. Steady State Cardio: 10 Minutes
Pick a piece of cardio equipment of your choice; Stair Master, Treadmill (incline walk), Exercise Bike, Cross Trainer etc.
Warm up Part Two. 2 sets of 16 x Reps
Use your first exercise as your warm up with a really light weight. Focus on the range of motion and the mind and muscle connection. of 16 reps to get the muscles warmed up. In this leg day workout, do 2 sets of 16 reps on the barbell squat before going into your actual working set.
Make sense? Great, Lets get started!
The Leg Day Workout
Exercise 1. Barbell Squat
Set One: 12 Reps
Set Two: 10 Reps
Set Three: 8 Reps
How to do a Barbell Squat
How To Do A Barbell Squat
Step 1. When you are in a squat rack, start by placing your feet shoulder width apart and have your toes pointing outwards slightly.
Step 2. Rest the barbell on your trapezius muscle, making sure it feels comfortable. You can use a Barbell Pad if you want to feel more comfortable.
Step 3. Keep your Abdominal muscles tight and slowly bend your knees whilst making sure your back doesn’t bend.
Step 4. Once you are at a 90 degree angle, push back up making sure you drive from your heels, to the starting position.
Tip. To avoid injury, be careful not to fully lock your legs out at the top as this will put too much pressure on the joints.
Tip. The bar should move up and down in a straight line.
Tip. Always look forward and focus on one point during the reputation.
Exercise 2. Leg Press
Set One: 12 Reps
Set Two: 10 Reps
Set Three: 8 Reps
How To Do A Leg Press
How To Do A Leg Press
Step 1. First of all, add some weight to the machine that you feel comfortable with and adjust it to suit your rep range.
Step 2. When the machine is loaded up, sit on the machine and place your feet shoulder width apart on the footplate.
Step 3. When you are happy with your foot position, push with your legs so that they are straight, creating a 90 degree angle between your upper body and legs. It’s important to not lock your legs out and remember to keep your legs very slightly bent at the top position to avoid putting too much pressure on the knee joints as this will help prevent injury.
Step 4. Disengage the safety latch and hold onto the handles at the side.
Step 5. Whilst your are feet still on the footplate, bend your knees, allowing the footplate to come towards your body. Once your knees are at a 90-degree angle, push through your heels and press the footplate up and straighten your legs, making sure you maintain a very slight bend in your knees to avoid injury.
Exercise 3. Weighted Walking Lunges
Set One: 10 Reps Each Leg
Set Two: 10 Reps Each Leg
Set Three: 10 Reps Each Leg
How To Do A Walking Lunge
How To Do Walking Lunges
Step 1. Find a pair of dumbbells or a weight plate that you feel comfortable with and a clear walkway.
Step 2. Stand tall with your feet shoulder width apart.
Step 3. Engage your abdominal muscles, keep your chest up and tighten your glutes.
Step 3. Take one big step forward with the right leg until both legs are at a 90 degree angle and your front legs quadriceps (thigh) is parallel with the floor.
Step 4. With the back left foot, push off and go straight into another lunge by bringing the left leg forward and out in front of the body as you did in step 3 with your right leg.
Tip. To make this exercise easier, after each lunge you can reset back into an upright position before going straight into another lunge with the opposite leg.
Exercise 4. Romanian Deadlift
Set One: 12 Reps
Set Two: 10 Reps
Set Three: 8 Reps
How To Do A Romanian Deadlift
How To Do A Romanian Deadlift
Step 1. Hold a barbell with a shoulder width overhand grip while standing with your feet shoulder width apart with a slight bend in your knees.
Step 2. Keep your back straight & hinge forward at the hips, pushing your glutes out while keeping a slight bend in your legs. Remember to keep your abdominal muscles tight as this will give you stability
Step 3. Bring the bar down to your knees and then return back to an upright position by driving the hips back to the starting position.
Tip. Maintain the bar’s distance to your body during each repetition while keeping your shoulders back, chest out and your head looking forward.
Tip. Remember to keep your abdominal muscles tight during this movement, as this will give you stability and will help avoid getting injured.
Exercise 5. Leg Extensions
Set One: 12 Reps
Set Two: 10 Reps
Set Three: 8 Reps
How To Do Leg Extensions
How To Do Leg Extensions
Step 1. Select a weight that you feel will challenge you and then sit on the seat and place your hands on the hand bars at the side.
Step 2. Inhale & List the weight by extending your legs out in front of you so that your legs are parallel with the floor. Always keep a slight bend in the legs & do not fully lock your legs out because this will put too much stress on the joint and cause an injury.
Step 3. Exhale and lower the weight back to the starting position.
Tip. Keep your back against the backrest during the full movement and don’t arch your back.
Exercise 6: Hamstring Curls
Set One: 12 Reps
Set Two: 10 Reps
Set Three: 8 Reps
How To Do Hamstring Curls
How To Do A Hamstring Curl
Step 1. Start by lying flat with your stomach resting on the support bench. Set the pad on the machine to a comfortable setting, it should rest 2 inches under your calves. If the pad is too high, it will apply pressure on your calves and make it really unfordable.
Step 2. Grip the handle bars at the side of the machine, make sure you have a slight bend in your legs and inhale.
Step 3. Exhale as you curl both your legs up towards your glutes, making sure that your back is straight and your hips remain on the bench.
Step 4. Inhale and lower your legs back to the starting position, remembering not to fully lock your legs out as this will help avoid any injuries.
Tip. Keep this movement slow and controlled and really focus on the mind & muscle connection.
Exercise 7. Calf Raise On Leg Press
Set One: 20 Reps
Set Two: 20 Reps
Set Three: 20 Reps
How To Do Calf Raises on Leg Press
How To Do Calf Raises
Step 1. Start by adding a weight and then sit in the leg press machine
Step 2. Place the balls of your feet on the lowest point on the foot plate with your heels hanging free, this will allow you to get a full range of motion.
Step 3. Place your hands on the handle bars at the side of the machine and press all the way out with the weight. Remember to keep a slight bend in the knees here to avoid putting too much stress on the knee joint.
Step 4. Extent your foot so that your toes point out, this is called Plantar flexion.
Step 5. Slowly bring your toes back towards the yourself, this is called Dorsiflexion.
Tip. You can keep the safety lock on when performing this exercise.
To get optimal muscle growth, chose weight that will make you hit muscle failure within the rep ranges we have provided. Doing this will stimulate your muscles fibres to grow and you will get the best results by doing this.
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