Strengthening your legs is a goal of most people when starting the gym. To know how to do it, the first thing you should do is try to achieve muscle hypertrophy.
You must complement adequate nutrition with exercises with machines, bars, and dumbbells to strengthen the legs.
Read on to learn about the best methods to strengthen your legs.
How do you strengthen the legs?
The key to strengthening your legs is consistency in training. This process takes time. You need proper nutrition.
Exercise exercises to increase the volume of the buttocks and the muscles of the back of the legs are essential to strengthen them.
For best results, they should combine a caloric surplus with exercise. To strengthen the legs, basic multi-joint activities are one of the best.
In addition, you must alternate gym days with cardio days; this allows you to work the different types of muscle fibers.
Exercise routine to strengthen the legs
A leg-strengthening routine should begin with comprehensive exercises such as lunges, squats, and the barbell deadlift. These are the best leg exercises for bulking.
Then you should finish the routine with lighter exercises with body weight. This is a way to flush the blood into your muscles and improve gym results.
Here is an example of a routine to strengthen the legs:
- Physical warm-up exercises – 3-4 minutes
- Barbell squats – 2-3 high weights, four sets of 5-7 reps
- Quadriceps on the machine: 3-4 moderate weight sets of 10-12 reps
- Deadlift – 2-3 high weights 4 sets 5-7 reps
- Abductor machine: 3-4 moderate weight sets of 12-15 reps
- Lunges: high weight 2-3 sets of 5-7 reps
- Machine leg press- 3-4 sets moderate weight 10-12 reps
- Cardio running the elliptical – 15 minutes
If you don’t feel that your legs are more muscular after this routine, you are doing something wrong.
Leg Muscle Anatomy
Let’s put the magnifying glass on and see the legs from the anatomical point of view. The leg muscles are divided into dozens of muscle groups, large, medium, and trim.
The legs are the most complex and interconnected muscular system in the body. The largest groups of leg muscles are the quadriceps, and cycling and squatting them is one of the best ways.
Small leg muscles lie at different depths, so leg training is so difficult. To strengthen your legs, walking alone is not enough.
Which exercises are better for strengthening the legs – machines or barbell squats?
As we mentioned earlier, barbell squats are crucial for strengthening your legs. Machine exercises are unlikely to replace squat work, such as glute-bulking exercises.
However, supplementing the routine with machine exercises is ideal for working the muscles of the back of the legs.
Ideally, a routine should begin with squats and transition to machine exercises at the end.
Beginners are encouraged to begin with a weightless squat warm-up to hone the biomechanics of the movement. Follow with barbell squats and combine them with machine exercises to strengthen the legs.
Leg muscle fibers
The muscle fibers of the leg muscles are mainly of the slow type. The biological task of the legs is not only to make explosive efforts but to carry out a work of support and balance.
The primary function of the legs is to walk, run or keep the body upright.
Alternate between repetitive cardio exercises and strength exercises to strengthen your leg muscles. A good exercise routine to improve your legs involves alternating training techniques.
Start with exercises to achieve muscle hypertrophy with a few repetitions; up to high-intensity routines focused on the highest number of repetitions, like HIIT routines.
Is it dangerous to do barbell squats?
The squat bar executed with proper technique is not dangerous to the joints. The key is in the method. Any exercise to strengthen the legs incorrectly can cause injuries.
When doing squats, it is essential to feel the constant tension in the abdomen muscles. When going up and down, you should always be aware of the work of the leg muscles. The movement with the bar should begin with the elevation of the pelvis without exerting force on the spine.
It is necessary to reach a stable position in which the knees point outwards in the starting position. The bar should rest on the musculature of the shoulder blades; the hands should only be used for support. They must not bear the main load.
Physical warm-up before the routine
The main rule of thumb when doing leg strengthening exercises in the gym is to start with an excellent physical warm-up. In no case should you begin by doing barbell squats without adequately preparing the joints?
Preliminary warm-up exercises should never be lacking in a routine to strengthen the legs.
In addition, planks are an excellent exercise to activate the middle zone. With 4 minutes of abdominal planks, it is enough to prepare your body for the routine.
ABSTRACT
- The best exercises to strengthen your legs are squats, barbell deadlifts, and lunges.
- Before a leg routine, you should start with a physical warm-up. Running 5-8 minutes or exercising with bodyweight is sufficient.
- Strength exercises should be complemented with muscle recovery methods, such as active recovery, to develop leg muscles.
- Missing or avoiding leg days will not only cause weak legs but will also mean less development of the rest of the muscles.
