Legs. Not the most flashy body part, but the foundation of your physique nonetheless. Squats have often been called the “king of all exercises”, and for good reason. Squats trigger the production of growth hormone and testosterone like no other exercise. If you are serious about developing a complete physique, an extensive leg routine should be the staple of your workout regimen. This is the best leg workout for mass which incorporates specific tactics to help you gain both size and strength in your lower body.
Power-Building Legs Routine
As with some of the other workouts I have put together in this series of best workouts for mass, this routine will span over two days. There is no better way to put on mass than by upping your training frequency. Also, the two days allow for each day to have a different focus. One day for strength training and the other for hypertrophy. Combining techniques from Powerlifting and Bodybuilding is the best way to boost your results. Legs have always been my lagging body part, but combining strength training with hypertrophy training has done wonders for me in terms of overcoming plateaus and gaining about 3 inches on my legs within 12 weeks.
Day 1
3 minutes rest in between sets
Barbell Squat: Warm up and 5 sets of 5, 4, 4, 3, 2 reps
Barbell Lunge: 5 sets of 5
Leg Press: 5 sets of 5 reps
Romanian Deadlift: 5 sets of 5 reps
Day 2
45 seconds – 1 minute rest in between sets
Goblet Squat: Warm up and 4 sets of 15, 12, 10, 8 reps
Leg Extensions: 4 sets of 10 reps
Leg Press: 4 sets of 10 reps
Lying Leg Curl: 4 sets of 10 reps
Seated Calf Raise: 4 sets of 10 reps
Calf Press: 4 sets of 10 reps
Day#1 – Strength Training
By its very nature powerlifting is the equivalent of training for strength. I have talked about this in a previous post, but powerlifting is essentially about getting your nervous system accustomed to dealing with heavy weight by becoming more efficient at recruiting motor units. A stronger muscle is not necessarily a bigger muscle. However, as you increase the weight you can lift in the lower rep range you will also be able to lift more weight when you train for hypertrophy.
The 3 minute rest may seem too long, but will help your muscles fully recover for the next set so that you can exert maximum effort.
Warm up
I have a very tight lower body and find stretching to be very beneficial in getting me ready for what lies ahead. A few warm up with light reps also gets the blood pumping. The following stretch is what really helped open up my tight hips and ankles.
Exercise#1: Barbell Squats – 5 sets of 5, 4, 4, 3, 2 reps
Whether you hate them or love them, squats are the key to massive legs. I remember a time when I used to hate doing squats. I used to skip out on leg day so often that it got to a point where I could bench more than I could squat; clear signs of a disproportionate body. It was only when I learnt to enjoy doing squats when my legs really started to grow. Form is especially important with a compound exercise like the squat. Bad form can result in lower back pain and even injury. Make sure you work your way up to your 2 rep max. Increase the weight after every set.
Some key takeaways for me were to focus all the weight on my heals and to look up when bringing the weight up. The Buff Dudes do a great job at explaining the mechanics of a squat.
Exercise#2: Barbell Lunge – 5 sets of 5 reps
Not enough people do lunges. They hit one leg at a time and are therefore great for bringing out muscular imbalances in your quads. I used to avoid them because I didn’t like the idea of walking around in the gym doing lunges. The tutorial video will show you how to do them in one place.
Exercise#3: Leg Press – 5 sets of 5 reps
The leg press will be great for adding that extra burn to your quads. Push with your heels and aim to get that full range of motion. Your quads will be extremely tired at this point. Don’t cut yourself short though. Lower the weight a little bit if you have to, but push through these 5 sets!
Exercise#4: Romanian Deadlift – 5 sets of 5 reps
All the previous exercises make use of the hamstrings, but the Romanian Deadlifts are great for isolation. Finishing your first day of this leg workout with Romanian Deadlifts will make sure that you work all parts of your lower body.
Day#2 – Hypertrophy Training
The focus of this day is around training in the higher rep range. The higher reps focus on the build up of lactic acid (the pump) in your muscles and force expansion. When incorporating this two day workout into my routine I aim to get 3 days of rest in between.
Aim to get 45 seconds to a minute of rest in between sets for every exercise.
Exercise#1: Goblet Squats – 4 sets of 15, 12, 10, 8 reps
I like Goblet Squats because they force you to perform the movement in an upright position. The upright position works to decrease the recruitment of the posterior chain while increasing the recruitment of the quads. Pyramid sets will be great for overloading your muscles while you increase the weight on every set.
Exercise#2: Leg Extensions – 4 sets of 10 reps
Leg extensions are great for quad isolation. I have heard people complain about leg extensions causing knee pain, but that is only because they use too much weight forcing their knees to do a lot of the work. Keep the weight at level where you are comfortable lifting it up but feel the burn at the same time. Make sure to adjust the machine so that you are pushing with the outside part of your ankles. Also work on developing that mind-muscle connection with your quads so that they are doing most of the work.
Exercise#3: Leg Press – 4 sets of 10 reps
Your quads will be on fire at this point, but push through these 4 sets. Keep the vision of your future quads in mind to help keep you motivated.
Exercise#4: Lying Leg Curls – 4 sets of 10 reps
These 4 sets of Lying Leg Curls will be great at bringing out definition in your hamstrings. Not enough people train hamstrings because they are not really visible in a mirror. But if you want a fully developed lower body do not neglect this exercise. Scott Herman does a great job in explaining the set up for this exercise.
Exercise#5: Seated Calf Raise – 4 sets of 10 reps
They say that, ideally, your calves should be at least as large as your arms. This has never been the case for me, but I continue to strive for bigger calves. Keep in mind that you use your calves everyday. When you walk each calf sustains your entire body weight for the moment that you land on it. This makes them a stubborn body part to grow. I have added these last two calf exercises for the sake of completeness, but if you are someone like me and have bad calf genetics you will have to hit them more frequently. I have been training calves every other day for the past 6 months now and they have barely put on an inch. I will have to keep at it. Nonetheless, the following video demonstrates a great technique for seated calf raises.
Exercise#6: Calf Press (On Leg Press Machine) – 4 sets of 10 reps
The good thing about this exercise is that you can add a lot of weight. Focus on pushing out with the balls of your feet and feeling the contraction in your calves.
To Sum Up
Do this leg workout for 8 weeks. Keep before/after measurements as to keep track of your progress.
Day 1
3 minutes rest in between sets
Barbell Squat: Warm up and 5 sets of 5, 4, 4, 3, 2 reps
Barbell Lunge: 5 sets of 5
Leg Press: 5 sets of 5 reps
Romanian Deadlift: 5 sets of 5 reps
Day 2
45 seconds – 1 minute rest in between sets
Goblet Squat: Warm up and 4 sets of 15, 12, 10, 8 reps
Leg Extensions: 4 sets of 10 reps
Leg Press: 4 sets of 10 reps
Lying Leg Curl: 4 sets of 10 reps
Seated Calf Raise: 4 sets of 10 reps
Calf Press: 4 sets of 10 reps
This two day workout is intense and if legs are your lagging body part, the first few weeks of this will not be very pleasant. Keep your future vision in mind to keep yourself motivated. Make sure you are getting in quality protein (lean meats, whey, egg whites), complex carbs (oats, brown rice, quinoa), and healthy fats (egg yolk, fish oil, avocado) to ensure your body’s sufficient recovery. On the training side of things, this routine has you covered.
As the old saying goes “Nothing worth having is ever easy”. This especially applies to getting the body of your dreams. You want it to be hard, otherwise everyone would be in top shape. That wouldn’t make it special. Big legs are the staple to any great physique. This is the best leg workout for mass to help you build MONSTROUS quads! As the featured image of this post says “NEVER SKUP LEGS”.
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