CHEST | SHOULDER | BICEP | TRICEP | LEG | BELLY FAT | NUTRITION
With that in mind , we’ve collected the best 10 leg workouts, but before we go through let’s go over why training legs are so important and why not to skip leg day. When it comes to training legs, you’re quads, glutes and hamstrings are made up of multiple muscles, which are responsible for multiple lower body functions, so it’s important to add this training in your daily routine. But why training legs is so important, Because some of your body’s biggest muscles like glutes are targeted by leg exercise. Training legs means burning more calories which helps to increase overall body strength, mobility, power and mass. Leg workouts are connected to brain and nervous system health. Neural cells ( essential for handling stress and adapting to challenges ) in particular during weight-bearing exercise that are produced by signals sent by your wheels to the brain. Skipping this exercise too much results in your body unbalancing and more susceptible to the injury.
The muscles targeted by leg workouts are:
Glutes – ( The glutes control the extension and external rotation of the thigh at the hip joint ).
Quads – ( Quads muscles, properly referred to as quadriceps, are the muscles in your leg that help you kick, run, cycle and jump ).
Hamstrings – ( Opposite the Quads, hamstring muscles run along the back of your thigh. These muscles help you bend your knees, tilt your pelvis, squat down and walk ).
Calves – ( Calf muscles are on the backside of the bottom half of you legs, below hamstrings. They are the muscles between the back of the knee and heel of your foot ).
Strong legs do more than they look. Even the simplest daily movements like walking require leg strength. Adding this workout in your daily routine is very beneficial to your health. An effective workout isn’t complete without a proper warmup and cooldown. For your warmup, aim to start with 5 minutes of light cardio to get your heart rate up and blood flowing for leg exercise. If you have time, hop on the foam roller for 5 minutes of soft-tissue release. Then, dive into a dynamic stretching routine, with the movements like leg swings, hip opener, bodyweight squats and lunges. Here are some best leg workouts and this article also include at home leg workouts , leg workouts with dumbbells etc.
10 Best leg workouts at the gym
1.) Barbell back squat
1.) Get into starting position. First set the barbell to just below your shoulder height and load weight according to your capacity. Then stand under the bar with your feet at about shoulder width apart. Place the bar on the top of your back, not on the top of your neck. The bar should feel comfortable.
2.) Take the barbell off the rack. Now take your hands over the back and grip the bar with a wide grip for stability. Straightening your back and bending at knees in preparation to take off the weight from rack. With face up and keeping your back straight, push up through the legs and take the weight off the rack. Take a small step back and stabilise yourself.
3.) Downward movement. Keeping your face forward slowly lower your body. Don’t allow your upper body to lean forward as you come down. Squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
4.) Back to starting position. When your thighs are parallel to the floor, then slowly raise your body back up by pushing through your heels. Do not lock knees at top.
5.) Repeat. Repeat this motion for the desired amount of repetitions until you feel tension in your targeted muscle.
Sets: 2–3
Reps: 8–15
Rest: 60 seconds between each set
Benefits of Barbell back squat
Barbell back squat helps to develop lower body strength and overall muscle mass. This is possible because squat is the only exercise in which you can handle such a heavy load that trains so many muscles groups. This killer leg workout trains the entire body. Obviously your legs do the lifting, but your lats are flexed, your abs and lower back contracted and arms are pulling against your traps. Everything is engaged. This is the best exercise to burn more calories, Because one movement can work the entire lower body and it trains many major groups. You can increase the intensity of stimulation, by adding resistance. Squats increase flexibility in lower body. Squats can improve your posture and performance ability on other exercises, also to perform many daily life activities. This leg workout at the gym improves heart and lung capacity. This will increase your performance to train harder on other exercises. With this exercise lower back become stronger and it also stabilise muscles of abdominal region, strengthens connective tissues and can safeguard your knees, ankles and back from injury. This is the best leg workouts.
Precautions
Warp up is very important before performing any exercise but specially for those involving weights like for leg exercise. You can include running or light cardio for warm-up. Make sure to perform squat by moving your hips back and not moving knees forward. Otherwise it will increase the risk of knee injury and you will not able to hit the targeted muscle. Don’t lift too heavy, it leads to knee, ankle and lower back injury. So, don’t go beyond your capacity. If you do squats with heavy weights it is recommended that you hold your breath while rising and exhale when you’re fully upright. This helps core stability and protects the spine when holding heavy weights. Full range of motion is very important, avoid half reps. Avoid rapid execution in this exercise, make sure you are doing your reps slow and steady that will help you to get bigger muscle . Also, avoid swinging or jerking during upward movement, this will reduce effectiveness on the targeted muscles and it leads to spine injury.
2.) Barbell front squat
1.) Get into starting position. First set the barbell to just below your shoulder height and load weight according to your capacity before performing leg exercises at gym. Then stand close to the bar with your feet at about shoulder width apart. Then bring your arms under while keeping your elbows high and upper arms slightly above parallel to the floor. Rest the bar on the top of the deltoids and cross your arms while grasping the bar. The bar should feel comfortable.
2.) Take the barbell off the rack. Now by balancing the bar with your arms and grip the bar with a wide grip for stability. Straightening your back and bending at knees in preparation to take off the weight from rack. With face up and keeping your back straight, push up through the legs and take the weight off the rack. Take a small step backward and stabilise yourself.
3.) Downward movement. Keeping your face forward slowly lower your body. Don’t allow your upper body to lean forward as you come down. Squat down until your thighs are fully stretched.
4.) Back to starting position. When your thighs are parallel to the floor, then slowly raise your body back up by pushing through your heels. Do not lock knees at top.
5.) Repeat. Repeat this motion for the desired amount of repetitions until you feel tension in your targeted muscle.
Sets: 2–3
Reps: 8–15
Rest: 60 seconds between each set
Benefits of Barbell back squat
Targets the front of your body – especially your quads and upper back heavily. Glutes and hamstrings are also engaged. Front Barbell front squat helps to gain lower body strength like quads, glutes and hamstrings, which in turn attributes like speed and power. This is the leg exercises in which you can train so many muscles groups. Leg workout trains the entire body. Obviously your legs do the lifting. But your lats are flexed, your abs and lower back contracted and arms are pulling against your traps. Everything is engaged. This is the best exercise to burn more calories, Because one movement can work the entire lower body and it trains many major groups. You can increase the intensity of stimulation, by adding resistance. Front Squats increase flexibility in lower body. This workout for legs can improve your posture and performance ability on other exercises, also to perform many daily life activities. Leg day improves heart and lung capacity. This will increase your performance to train harder on other exercises. With this exercise lower back become stronger and it also stabilise muscles of abdominal region, strengthens connective tissues and can safeguard your knees, ankles and back from injury.
Precautions
Warm up is very important before performing any exercise but specially for those involving weights. You can include running or light cardio for warm-up. Make sure to perform front barbell squat by moving your hips back and not moving knees forward. Otherwise it will increase the risk of knee injury and you will not able to hit the targeted muscle. Don’t lift too heavy, it leads to knee, ankle and lower back injury. So, don’t go beyond your capacity. If you do squats with heavy weights it is recommended that you hold your breath while rising and exhale when you’re fully upright. This helps core stability and protects the spine when holding heavy weights. Full range of motion is very important, avoid half reps. Avoid rapid execution in this exercise, make sure you are doing your reps slow and steady that will help you to get bigger muscle . Also, avoid swinging or jerking during upward movement, this will reduce effectiveness on the targeted muscles and it leads to spine injury.
3.) Incline Leg Press
1.) Sit on leg press machine. First set up the seat of leg press for individual to comfortably sit without having their lower back and hips slightly lift up in the bottom of the press. To do this, perform light weight set to full depth, focusing on keeping lower back and hip in contract with seat. If you feel pain in lower back then adjust the seat.
2.) Placing feet. For overall leg development – place your feet shoulder width apart , For Inner thigh muscles – place you feet wider ( a wide stance ) , For outer thigh muscles – place your feet narrow , Placing your feet higher will work the glutes and hamstrings.
3.) Upward movement. Engaging your abdominal muscles, Exhale and push the platform with your heels. For good effect never use the front of your foot In order to push the pad forward. Keep your head and back flat against the seat pad.
4.) Hold at top. Hold for a second at the top of the leg press. Do not lock your knees and ensure they are not bouncing in or out.
5.) Return to the starting position. After holding for a second, return back to the starting position by gradually bending the knees. Keep the feet and back flat throughout the movement.
6.) Repeat. Repeat this motion for the desired amount of repetitions until you feel tension in your targeted muscle.
Sets: 2–3
Reps: 8–15
Rest: 60 seconds between each set
Benefits of Incline Leg Press
One of the best benefit of this leg press exercise is that it allows you to targets multiple muscles by varying your foot positions. Leg press helps to build strength in your lower body and you can use it to overcome muscle imbalances, such as overlay developed hamstrings, compared to quadriceps. This leg exercise helps to develop gluteus maxima, hamstrings, quadriceps and calves ( full leg workout ). Leg press is risk free as compared to barbell squat, as in this exercise only your lower body works and the upper body remains stable throughout the movement. For good leg workout add leg press to your daily routine and performing it regularly will help to add volume to your quadriceps and other leg muscles without any risk on spine that loading a barbell on your spine. Performing leg press workout daily will help in strengthening your quadriceps, which can boost your squat performance. It increase your balance and stability. If your are not able to perform or you are beginner to squat, then you can increase your squat strength by performing leg press. At this exercise in your legs workout routine.
Precautions
You should not perform this exercise if you have ankle, kneecap and calves injury. Consult your physician before beginning this exercise. Your platform should be locked when you load the weight. Avoid rapid execution in this exercise , make sure you are doing your reps slow and steady that will help you to get bigger muscle . Also, avoid swinging or jerking during upward movement, this will reduce effectiveness on the targeted muscles. Keep your feet flat on the platform, while lifting the weight up never use front of your foot and knees and toes pointing in same direction (slightly outward). Avoid curling your lower back while lowering the platform, keep in contact with the support. Don’t lift too heavy, always lift the weight according your capacity and while performing leg press, your partner should be with you in order to prevent any injury. The incline leg press should not be your primary exercise because there are many exercises which are more beneficial like barbell squat.
4.) Leg Curl
1.) Adjust the machine. First pin the weight you want to lift. By adjusting machine lever to fit your height. Lay down on the machine with the pad on the back of your legs just a few inches under the calves, if higher then adjust the length.
2.) Get into starting position. Face forward and keeping your torso flat on the bench, grab the handles of the machine. Ensure your legs are fully stretched and kneecaps should not be in contact with bench for better lifting.
3.) Upward movement. Exhale, Squeeze the hamstrings and curl your legs up as far as possible without lifting quads. When you fully contract the upward position, hold for a second.
4.) Return to the starting position. After holding for a second, return back to the starting position by gradually extending your legs. Keep your torso flat throughout the movement.
5.) Repeat. Repeat this motion for the desired amount of repetitions until you feel tension in your targeted muscle.
Sets: 2–3
Reps: 8–15
Rest: 60 seconds between each set
Benefits of Leg Curl
Leg Curl exercise targets semimembranous, Biceps demurs, Semitendinous, Popliteus, Gracilis, Gastrocnemic ( medial head ), Gastrocnemic ( lateral head ). Leg curl machine targets hamstring, strong, flexible hamstrings are essential for overall strength with better sports performance. Strong hamstrings are not beneficial for gym but also in help you in daily life activities like playing outdoor games, yard work etc. This leg exercise helps to build size in hamstrings, it also works the glutes and calves. For stronger squats and deadlifts, you need stronger hamstrings. Many people feel this movement more easy than seated curl. Leg curl prevents the risk of knee injuries, knee, hip and lower back injuries by improving strength and flexibility. Leg curls helps you to cut fat from the thighs. Regular training your leg muscles improves cardiovascular health and enhances the function of luges. There is no such great alternative to leg curl.
Precautions
Avoid rapid execution in leg curl on machine , make sure you are doing your reps slow and steady that will help you to get bigger muscles . Also, avoid swinging or jerking during upward movement, this will reduce effectiveness on the targeted muscles. If leg pad is too high on calves, then it will reduce your range of motion. Always lift leg pad with your lower legs ( slightly above calves ), keep your quads in contact with the bench throughout the movement. Make sure you are inhaling during upward movement and exhaling during downward movement. Keep your hip, lower back and thigh’s back contracted. Don’t lift too heavy, always lift the weight according your capacity and while performing lying leg curl, your partner should be with you in order to perform drop set. Perform warmup set before beginning any exercise and always stretched after every workout.
5.) Leg extension
1.) Get into starting position. First pin the weight you want to lift. You can adjust the back support for more upper body stability. Adjust the leg pad and position your legs under it. Grasp the side bar with your hands.
2.) Upward movement. Exhale and with chest up, back straight and face forward extend your legs until your legs are straight. Do not lock your knees. Do not arch your back, keep your back against backrest.
3.) Holding. When legs extended fully , hold for a second for better effect.
4.) Return to the starting position. After holding for a second, Inhale and slowly curl your legs in controlled manner to the starting point. Make sure your legs don’t cross 90 degree angle.
5.) Repeat. Repeat this motion for the desired amount of repetitions until you feel tension in your targeted muscles.
Sets: 2–3
Reps: 8–15
Rest: 60 seconds between each set
Benefits of Leg Extension
Leg extension on machine is an isolation exercise, which targets the quadriceps. It is the large muscles of the front thigh. Building quads helps in increasing performance in sports activities like soccer etc, where you have to perform kick movements. Leg extension machines increases overall lower body strength. Leg extension machine targets particular muscle, not like other exercise where many muscles are targeted at one time and this legs extension exercise can be performed after compound exercises like squat and deadlift. For beginners who are not able to set their posture and form, for them this leg extensions is great because in this you don’t need to worry about posture and form. This quad extension adds muscle clarity in your front thighs and there are no chances of injuries. Leg extension helps you to improve the technique of squat by adding strength and stability to the thigh muscles and knees. Front thighs are usually worked while performing leg exercises like squat and lunges. You can perform drop sets for more muscle break downs.
Precautions
Avoid rapid execution in this leg ext , make sure you are doing your reps slow and steady that will help you to get bigger muscle . Full range of motion is very important, avoid half reps. Also, avoid swinging or jerking during upward movement, this will reduce effectiveness on the targeted muscles. Always hold at contracted position and bring down in controlled form. Don’t lift too heavy, always lift the weight according your capacity. Avoid curling your back and locking your knees at full extension, keep slight bend. If you have any leg, lower back injury, Consult your physician before beginning this leg exercise. Proper warmup is very important in order to prevent any injury. Mind connection is very important while performing particular exercise in order to hit targeted muscle properly ( means perform exercise by feeling the muscle).
6.) Forward Lunges
1.) Grabbing dumbbells. First grab dumbbells with your both hands and place them to sides to your thighs. Your palms should be facing towards your thighs. This exercise can also be performed as kettlebell leg workout.
2.) Get into starting position. Then stand with the feet apart as your shoulders – with chest up , back straight and shoulders back to perform front dumbbell raise. This is your starting position.
3.) Bend the knees. Bend one of the knee and lower your body until the back knee nearly touches the floor. In lower position you’re front thigh will be parallel to the floor, the back knee points toward the floor.
4.) Back to the starting position. Then press into front leg to drive back to the starting position and then same process for another leg.
5.) Repeat. Repeat this motion for the desired amount of repetitions until you feel tension in your thighs.
Sets: 2–3
Reps: 8–15
Rest: 60 seconds between each set
Benefits of Forward Lunges
Forward lunges are leg workout with dumbbells, which helps to add size in your thighs. This exercise targets the large muscle groups I your legs, including your quads, calves and hamstrings. While performing this leg workouts engages your core and abdominal muscles. When you move your hip up and down, it helps to build stronger core stability. By making the core stronger it helps to prevent lower back pain. To perform this leg workout you need proper body balance, so lunges is the exercise which helps you to achieve this balance. Lunges are very effective exercise for strengthening legs. It boost your metabolism and helps you lose weight fast. This is the great workout leg for runners as the mechanism in the exercise is similar to running. Also as compared to squats, lunges are more effective in all perspectives whether it is leg strengthening, size etc. For those who want to burn calories fast, lunges are the best legs exercise. While performing forward lunges, our heart rate increase which helps to burn body fat. As we know that all other exercises put load on your spine, but lunges help in reducing the load. It gives the spine time for relax.
Precautions
Keep your body straight upward throughout the movement. Avoid lean forward too much. Don’t extend your front leg too much it can cause back arch. Keep your core engage throughout the movement. Don’t lift too heavy, lift the weight according to your capacity and your torso and hips should be straight down. You should not perform this exercise if you have ankle, kneecap and calves injury. Consult your physician before beginning this leg workout. Proper exercise technique is required for safety and effectiveness of this exercise. Avoid rapid execution in forward lunges , make sure you are doing your reps slow and steady that will help you to get bigger muscle . Also, avoid swinging or jerking during knees bending, this will reduce effectiveness on the targeted muscles. Proper warmup is very important in order to prevent any injury. Mind connection is very important while performing particular exercise in order to hit targeted muscle properly ( means perform every exercise by feeling the muscle).
7.) Sumo Squat
1.) Grabbing dumbbell. You need only one dumbbell to perform this exercise. First grab dumbbell in your front and hold it with your palms from one side. Your palms should be facing opposite to the floor ( Facing upward ).
2.) Get into starting position. Then take step to the sides with your both foot until your stance is 3-4 feet wide ( wider than hip width ) – with chest up , back straight and shoulders back to perform sumo squat and your toes should be pointed outward. This is your starting position.
3.) Bend the knees. Lower down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. You can go more lower if you can maintain your leg alignment. Then hold for a second, when tension is created in your glutes and thighs.
4.) Back to the starting point. After holding for a second, press up engaging your glutes, driving through your heels.
5.) Repeat. Repeat this motion for the desired amount of repetitions until you feel tension in your thighs.
Sets: 2–3
Reps: 8–15
Rest: 60 seconds between each set
Benefits of Sumo Squat
Sumo squat is the best dumbbell leg workout in building lower body strength. When performed with proper form, it targets quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes muscles, adductors, calves and hip flexors. The muscles that run along your inner thighs are called adductors. Sumo squat increase activation of the adductors. This leg exercise also challenges your core muscles, but in different ways which are activated in conventional squats. Sumo squats helps to improve stability and balance, because you have to perform each rep in control form. These type of movements are known as compound leg exercises, it activates the muscle used in everyday activities such as walking, running, jumping and climbing the chairs etc. Also used in picking heavy objects. The main benefit of this legs exercises is that it is a body weight exercise and require no equipment. You can perform this exercise anywhere, you just need one dumbbell. Increasing strength in sumo squat also helps in many other exercise like deadlift, barbell squat etc.
Precautions
Avoid to move your hips backward during downward movement. Keep your hips straight down through out the movement. Don’t lean forward too much. Your foot should not be extra wide, place your foot in the position in which you are comfortable and where all the tension created in your targeted muscles. Avoid lowering beyond your capacity, otherwise when you lower too much your knees bend forward and it increase the risk of injuries and your targeted muscle will not develop properly. Don’t lift too heavy, lift the weight according to your capacity and your torso and hips should be straight down. You should not perform this exercise if you have ankle, kneecap and calves injury. Consult your physician before beginning this exercise. Proper warmup is very important in order to prevent any injury. Mind connection is also very important while performing particular exercise in order to hit targeted muscle properly.
8.) Barbell stiff leg deadlift
1.) Get into stating position. Start with your feet, your feet should be placed parallel to the width of shoulders. Your shins should be touching the bar. Make a double-overhand grip slightly wider then your feet, you can switch to reverse grip when the weights get heavier.
2.) Lift the bar up. By squeezing your shoulder blades together and with chest up, Bend your waist down and butt back to grab the bar on either sides of your feet shoulders. By driving your heels into the floor lift the bar up ( at glutes level ) and straight your back.
3.) Downward movement. With your back straight, chest up and shoulders back, Breathe in and slowly lower the bar in controlled form slightly lower than your knees. Your shins should be upright and you should feel the weight in your mid foot, without allowing your toes to lift off the ground.
4.) Back to starting position. Keeping your back straight slowly lift the weight upward to the starting point. Means reverse every part to lower the bar towards floor. Ensure your back and legs straight. Then hold in the contracted position for a second.
5.) Repeat. Repeat this process for the desired amount of repetitions until you feel some tension and fatigue in your muscles.
Sets: 2–3
Reps: 8–15
Rest: 60 seconds between each set
Benefits of Barbell stiff leg deadlift
Muscles targeted by straight leg deadlift are Hamstrings, Erectors, Lats( snatch grip ), Glutes Maxima. In this barbell stiff leg deadlift you use your glutes, hamstrings and back to lift the weight. As a result, you not only train your leg muscles but also whole back to lift the weight from the floor. With proper form, your back and hamstrings will increase in size and strength. Barbell stiff deadlift builds size and power by engaging your glutes, hamstrings and calves, which set off the quadriceps training you do with regular squats and deadlifts. Training you posterior chain will benefit you whether you are athlete or not. This leg workout will help you to perform daily life activities for lifting like grocery bag, lifting dining table and bucket of water. By increasing the strength of your muscles it can help prevent injuries. Strengthening the back of your body will help you to lift heavy weight in squat and deadlift. Deadlift is the cheaper exercise you just need a bar to perform this activity and it also helps in increasing testosterone level and growth hormones.
Precautions
Maintaining a good form is very important in all exercise but this is especially so with the T-bar. Make sure to keep your spine straight through out exercise. Rounded spine is dangerous and could lead to injury. Don’t bend your upper torso too down, if you feel pain in your lower back then try to keep your torso slightly up. Full range of motion is very important to get full tension on targeted muscles, avoid half range motion. Muscle connection is very important in every exercise, if you feel your muscle you are training then it helps to achieve results fast. Avoid rapid execution in this leg exercise , make sure you are doing your reps slow and steady that will help you to get bigger back . Also, avoid swinging or jerking during pulling, it leads to spine injury. Don’t lift the bar from far away, the bar should be touching your shins. In every exercise warm up is very important.
9.) Seated Calf Raise
1.) Get into stating position. Sit down on the calf-raise machine, placing your toes on the foot-pad. Load weight according to your capacity. With chest up , shoulders blades pulled tightly and squeeze your back. Make sure to adjust the knee pad of the machine to fit your hight, which will help you to hit your targeted muscles.
2.) Upward movement. With your toes, push the weight upward by lifting your heels. Place the knee pad just above your knees. Maintain upright torso and neutral spine and look straight ahead.
3.) Hold. With your heels up,hold the weight for a second until you feel tension.
4.) Back to the starting point. After holding for a second, slowly lower the weight by lowering your heels to the starting position. Means reverse every part to lower the weight towards floor.
5.) Repeat. Repeat this process for the desired amount of repetitions until you feel some tension and fatigue in your muscles.
Sets: 2–3
Reps: 8–15
Rest: 60 seconds between each set
Benefits of Seated Calf Raise
The main benefit of this leg exercise is that it’s also an bodyweight training. You can perform this exercise anywhere without any equipment in standing position. Calf raise helps to build larger calf muscles. It targets the back muscles of lower leg, specially the gastrocnemius muscles that runs down your leg. With calf raises you train your calfs, which improve ankle stability and mobility. This exercise increase power in your legs to perform activities need heavy movements like jumping and sprinting. In calf raises there are very less chances of injuries as compared to other exercises. Calf raises increase your leg strength, which helps to lift heavy weight in activities like deadlifting and squat etc. Sprinting and Running depends on the posterior muscles, but calves also add some muscular output. When running, calves muscles also help to create ground force.
Precautions
Avoid rapid execution in this exercise, make sure you are doing your reps slow and steady that will help you to get bigger muscle. Also, avoid swinging or jerking during upward movement, this will reduce effectiveness on the targeted muscles. Most of the people rush to get out of gym. As a result, don’t do full range of motion. Always perform full range of motion to hit the muscle your are training. Try to perform more reps for getting blasting pump in calves, don’t load more weight beyond your capacity. Place your foot properly, don’t place it forward, place only your toes at the back end of the footpad. Always check the weight pin, before starting any exercise.
10.) Dumbell Front Squat
1.) Get into starting position. First Grab two dumbbells and hold it to the sides of your thighs, then with force raise dumbbells up to the shoulder level and hold them on your shoulders ( Dumbbells one end facing forward ). Then stand with the feet apart as your shoulders – with chest up , back straight and shoulders back to perform dumbbell front squat. This is your starting position.
2.) Downward movement. Keeping your face forward slowly lower your body. Don’t allow your upper body to lean forward as you come down. Squat down until your thighs are fully stretched.
3.) Hold. When feel that you are fully stretched, hold for a second in this position.
4.) Back to starting position. When your thighs are parallel to the floor, then slowly raise your body back up by pushing through your heels. Do not lock knees at top.
5.) Repeat. Repeat this motion for the desired amount of repetitions until you feel tension in your targeted muscles.
Sets: 2–3
Reps: 8–15
Rest: 60 seconds between each set
Benefits of Dumbell Front Squat
Include this exercise in your leg workout routine. It Targets the front of your body – especially your quads and upper back heavily. Glutes and hamstrings are also engaged. Dumbell Front Squat helps to gain lower body strength like quads, glutes and hamstrings, which in turn attributes like speed and power. This is the leg exercise in which you can train so many muscles groups. Leg workout trains the entire body. Obviously your legs do the lifting. But your lats are flexed, your abs and lower back contracted and arms are pulling against your traps. Everything is engaged. This is the best legs exercise to burn more calories, Because one movement can work the entire lower body and it trains many major groups. You can increase the intensity of stimulation, by adding resistance. Squats increase flexibility in lower body. Squats can improve your posture and performance ability on other exercises, also to perform many daily life activities. This exercise improves heart and lung capacity. This will increase your performance to train harder on other exercises. With this exercise lower back become stronger and it also stabilise muscles of abdominal region, strengthens connective tissues and can safeguard your knees, ankles and back from injury.
Precautions
Warm up is very important before performing any exercise but specially for those involving weights. You can include running or light cardio for warm-up. Make sure to perform squat by moving your hips back and not moving knees forward. Otherwise it will increase the risk of knee injury and you will not able to hit the targeted muscle. Don’t lift too heavy, it leads to knee, ankle and lower back injury. So, don’t go beyond your capacity. If you do squats with heavy weights it is recommended that you hold your breath while rising and exhale when you’re fully upright. This helps core stability and protects the spine when holding heavy weights. Full range of motion is very important, avoid half reps. Avoid rapid execution in this exercise, make sure you are doing your reps slow and steady that will help you to get bigger muscle . Also, avoid swinging or jerking during upward movement, this will reduce effectiveness on the targeted muscles and it leads to spine injury.
Is 4 exercises enough for legs?
It is recommended to perform 8-12 reps of 3-5 sets of each workout. You have to break the muscles to help them grow, but overtraining them will give you no result. Give your muscles time to rest and repair. You need to train your leg muscles at least 2-3 times a week, but no more than 4 times.
Are squats enough for leg day?
It depends on what you are training for, example for bodybuilding or for powerlifting. For strengthening your legs squats and deadlift are enough. But if your goal is bodybuilding then you have to train each muscle of your leg by performing different leg exercises.
Q.) Exercises for your leg workout ?
. Barbell back squat
. Barbell front squat
. Incline leg press
. Leg curls
. Leg extension
. Forward lunges
. Sumo Squat
. Barbell stiff leg deadlift
. Seated Calf Raise
. Dumbell front squat
How can I build big legs fast ?
Yes, Here are some key points which helps you to build legs fast :
Avoid swinging and momentum – Avoid rapid execution while performing this exercise , make sure you are doing your reps slow and steady that will help you to get bigger leg size .
Don’t lift too heavy – Keep in mind not to lift too heavier than your capability, as it affects your posture and form and you will not able to activate your targeted muscle.
Try to complete whole leg workout within 40 min, By completing in 40 min you will feel great pump in your legs.
If you are beginner to the leg workout, first consult your physician for proper technique before beginning any leg exercise.
How can I get bigger legs naturally ?
Your diet is very important to get bigger legs naturally. Here are some calorie-rich foods you should add in your diet.
Proteins: Red meats, pork, chicken with skin on (roast or broil don’t deep fry for your health), salmon or other oily fish, beans, whole milk, eggs, cheese, full-fat yogurt.
Carbohydrates: potatoes, brown rice, whole grain pasta, whole grains, whole grain breads.
Fats: Nuts and nut butters, olives, avocado, butter, salad dressings, mayonnaise, high-fat cheeses.
Can you build glutes with just squats?
Yes , sumo squats is very effective if you are performing this exercise with proper technique. First make sure that the weight is distributed equally on both sides engaging your entire foot. With one movement squats work with all glutes muscles. Perform 10 -1 7 reps of each 3 – 4 sets of sumo squat. For getting full effect of this exercise, make sure your foots should be wider than shoulder width and toes should be facing to sides and performing each rep in control manner.
Why is it so hard to train legs?
This is because legs are the half part of our body and they hold the whole body weight. Training legs increase your heart-rate and it also works on your upper body. Another reason is that people are afraid of leg injury or pain. For this reason many people shy from leg exercises and they only perform those exercise which are comfortable like upper body exercises.
How can I exercise my legs at home?
You can perform body weight exercises for leg workout at home. Here are some exercises you can perform :
. Bodyweight Squat – You can perform squat without barbell, for this increase your reps like 3-4 sets of each 50-60 reps, you will feel blasting change in your thighs.
. Jumping squat – This exercise is same as normal squat, but there is little change while rising upward perform a jump with the force of your both foot.
. Side leg raise – This exercise is performed by lying to the one side of your body and then raise the leg upward.
. Glute bridge – This exercise performed by lying on your back, in this exercise lift your hip, squeezing your glutes and after holding for a second at top, slowly lower down to the floor.
. Forward to reverse lunges – Step forward with your one leg and then bend down until your thigh at 90 degree and then reverse the same leg back. Then same with another leg.
. Side step squat – First stand straight with your legs at shoulder level, then move your right leg outward to get into sumo squat position and the back the starting position. Same with another leg.
. Calf raises – Stand straight with your foot at shoulder level, by balancing your body lift your heels up and by standing on your toes hold for a second at top, then return to the starting position.
Does walking strengthen your legs?
Walking or running is great for your legs, it strengthen all your leg muscles. Muscles target by running are : The quadriceps , hamstrings , gluteal , hip flexors , calves , tibialis anterior , peroneal.
There are many benefits of walking :
. Helps lose fat
. Shapes the butt
. Boosts testosterone levels and growth hormone
. Increase strength
. Strengthens the core
. Improves functional movements
what area of the body is most targeted during the single-leg squat to row exercise?
Single-leg squat generally primarily targets muscles in upper and lower part of body. Main muscles groups targeted by single-leg squat are Legs, Glutes, Abdominals, Obliques, Rhomboids, Trapezius, Rear Deltoids and Biceps.
which of the following is a leg exercise? a. lunges b. lat pull-downs c. upright rows d. dips
Lunges are a leg exercise. It primarily targets muscles of lower body such as calves, hamstrings, glutes and quadriceps.
Q.) How many calories u need Daily ?
First you’ve got to understand (Calories) – What are calories , Why do we need them and How calories help us to maintain weight .
Calories are unit of energy that a food or drink provide us . The calories in food come from (Carbohydrate , Protein , Fat and Sugar). Let’s deciding out how many calories u need daily to maintain weight . Calories intake totally depends on individual goal , like (want to do Cutting or Bulking) . Hence , you consume more calories in bulking phase than in the cutting phase . First you have to calculate your maintenance calories for that grab a calculator – and your most recent weight and height in kilos and cm . We’ll start by calculating BMR .
Men: BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (years) + 5
Women: BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (years) – 161
After calculating BMR multiply it with Activity level .
| Physical Activity Level | Physical Activity Ratio | Description |
| Sedentary | 1.55 | . Sitting job without any exercise |
| Moderately active | 1.85 | • Sitting job but with 1 hours of exercise |
| Vigorously active | 2.2 | • Sitting job but with 2 hours of exercise |
| Extremely active | 2.4 | • Training quite than 2 hrs per day |
Multiply your BMR x Activity Factor = Maintenance Calories
Let us take your maintenance calories are – 2600 . Now , if you would like to gain weight your calories intake should be more than maintenance calories and to loss weight decrease your calories intake.
Our goal is to loss belly fat, So our calories intake should be less than maintenance calories.
