10 Exercises to build massive legs
Among purists, a “top 10” of leg exercises would include only one entry:
the classic barbell squat. And why not? The exercise is devastatingly
simple and effective. You place a heavy barbell across your back, then
bend at the hips and knees to descend as far as you can (as those same
purists might tell you, “glutes to grass” if you can stomach it). Then you
stand up
This movement not only rocks your quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes but
also kick-starts a cavalcade of responses throughout your body as your
core and upper body tighten and stabilize while beneficial,
growth-promoting hormones are released in response to the major
stressor
In our eyes those who love the squat are 100 percent correct, so we’ll
save you the suspense: It’s No. 1 in this ranking. However, we contend
that the nine other moves featured here are great in their own right.
They’re all proven muscle builders and should be rotated through a proper
leg-training program over the course of a training cycle to maximize your
development
Here, then, are our 10 favorite leg exercises of all time. Feel free to
debate their merits, quibble over their placement and lament those we’ve
forgotten on the Muscle & Performance Facebook page
(facebook.com/MuscleAndPerformance). Just don’t argue that the squat is
overrated, or you may be quickly overrun by the true believers. And trust
us: If they’re avid squatters, their legs are huge, so that’s a stampede
you want no part of
Leg Press
First, let’s talk about what many trainers hate about the leg press: It
can cause lower-back injury when done incorrectly.
And when guys load every last plate in the gym on the sled and try to
half-ass a few reps out, with their lower back disengaging from the pad on
every rep in part due to woefully inflexible hamstrings and glutes, that’s
about as incorrect as you can get.
It’s true that it’s one of the most abused exercises in the gym —
probably because you can feel like a big shot and handle much more weight
than you can on a squat — but used carefully, the leg press can be very
beneficial.
And just as important, it helps provide variety in what might otherwise
be a very squat-centric leg program
Main Areas Targeted: Quadriceps (emphasized with feet lower on
platform and closer together), glutes and hamstrings (emphasized with feet
higher and wider on platform)
Strengths: The leg press is a closed-kinetic-chain exercise, which
simply means your feet are planted rather than free. A closed chain
provides for a stronger base of power without as much shearing force on
the knee joint as can occur in an open-chain exercise like the knee
extension, which didn’t make the list for that very reason
How-To: Sit squarely in the leg press machine and place your feet
shoulder-width apart on the sled. Keeping your chest up and lower back
pressed into the pad, carefully unlatch the sled from the safeties. Bend
your knees to lower the platform, stopping before your glutes lift off the
pad. From there, powerfully extend your knees to press the weight up (but
don’t lock them out at the top)
I don’t train on the leg press, but the machine does offer the benefit of
targeting different muscles through foot placement and eliminates the use
of stabilizers. This could be good for increasing volume in the
workout
Step-Up
This is arguably one of the more functional exercises on this list. After
all, you probably walk up stairs on a fairly regular basis, right? Being a
unilateral exercise, it also means a stronger leg can’t compensate for a
weaker one, with each leg taking its turn absorbing the full brunt of the
motion
Main Areas Targeted: Quadriceps, glutes
Strengths: The step-up comes in all sorts of variations and can be
adjusted to challenge beginners and advanced athletes alike.
To provide the resistance, you can hold a barbell, dumbbells or
kettlebells (either at your sides or racked at shoulder level), wear a
weight vest or just go with your own bodyweight.
Step up onto a platform ranging from a height halfway up your shin to
where your thigh is parallel to the floor in the start
position.
Not only does this develop power through the glutes, hips and thighs, but
it also helps you practice balance and jumping force, which is helpful if
you’re in a sport that requires vertical hops
How-To Hold a dumbbell in each hand in front of a knee- to
hip-high step, bench or platform.
Starting with your feet in a shoulder-width stance, step forward with one
leg onto the platform and drive through that thigh to propel your body
upward.
Bring your trailing leg up and stand atop the platform, then step back
with either leg to return to the floor.
You can either repeat with the same leading leg for all reps and then
switch or alternate your lead leg from step to step
This is a fantastic unilateral exercise. I like performing the concentric
portion of the exercise with explosiveness. It has built my quads,
improved my balance and increased my vertical leap
Pistol Squat
Admittedly, you’ll probably feel like an idiot when learning this move.
You’ll fall on your can in the bottom position and likely lose your
balance repeatedly. You won’t even be able to get all the way down into a
full squat at first. We can only urge you, however, to not give up: Those
who master this exercise have a tremendous weapon in their leg-training
arsenal, and it doesn’t require a lick of equipment
Main Areas Targeted: Quads, hamstrings, glutes
Strengths: Sure, this is more about dynamic performance than pure
muscle building, but no matter. Consider this the functional cousin of No.
9 above and remember: The more functional you are, the better you’ll be at
mastering any exercise or physical activity. You may find that your quads
burn deep for days after you first try the pistol squat, which is a sure
sign that you’ve been shortchanging your range of motion on traditional
leg exercises for years
How-To: Begin in a standing position.
Extend one leg straight out in front of you, balancing on your other
foot.
From here, squat all the way down by lowering your hips and glutes
straight toward the floor, bending your knee until your working thigh is
below parallel.
At the bottom, your nonworking leg and arms will be out in front of you
for balance with your planted foot flat on the floor.
Drive through that heel to return to a standing position, making sure to
never let that heel come up as you rep
The exercises we don’t like doing are often the most effective. I perform
these non-dominant side first, and let that dictate the number of reps I
do on my dominant leg. It’s a great way to even out any asymmetries
Glute-Ham Raise not shown
Chances are, your gym won’t have Louie Simmons’ Westside Series glute-ham
developer. It’s rare unless the place where you train is the type
patrolled by beefy powerlifters and chronically hazy with chalk dust. But
if it does, or if you can get your hands on one, do so because the
glute-ham raise on this apparatus is one of the very best strength- and
muscle-building exercises you can do for your lower body. “We do no less
than 600 [reps] per month just for maintenance, and at other times we use
135 pounds of heavy weight,” Simmons says, the “we” referring to the
select group of powerlifters and athletes who train at his exclusive
Westside Barbell gym in Columbus, Ohio
Main Areas Targeted: Glutes, hamstrings
Strengths: From a muscle-stimulation perspective, the glute-ham
raise has been found to be on par with an exercise higher on our list, the
revered Romanian deadlift, as reported in a small comparative study of
hamstring exercises published in the June 2014 issue of The Journal of
Strength and Conditioning Research.
With the specially designed Westside bench you’ll get support in all the
right places, but don’t let a lack of equipment dissuade you.
You can alternatively do glute-ham raises with a partner holding your
legs (kneel on the floor and keep your hands out in front to catch
yourself as you lower your torso to the floor) or kneel on a lat-pulldown
station seat so your heels are under the knee pads, placing a barbell or a
sturdy stick on the floor that you grasp for balance (lower yourself via
the power of your hams and glutes, then reverse)
How-To: Get into position on the bench, securing your ankles
between the rollers, your knees on the pads and your feet on the
platform.
Start with your torso and thighs aligned and perpendicular to the
floor.
Cross your hands over your chest.
Slowly extend your knees by lowering your torso as far toward parallel to
the floor as you can go.
Flex your hams to bring your body back to vertical. Note that when
performing reps correctly, the calf/ankle area will alternate between
touching the bottom and the top roller
This exercise is most effective when the knees are the lever for the
movement. Keep your hips, back and shoulders in line, and pull yourself up
with your hamstrings and glutes. To make the exercise more challenging,
hold a plate or use resistance bands
Walking Lunge
Lunges come in more varieties than Taylor Swift breakup
songs.
You can do stationary lunges in any direction — front, side, backward or
any point in between — and have a damn fine exercise on your
hands.
But walking lunges ultimately made our list because a) they’re slightly
more functional since you continually move forward instead of standing
still and b) they provide an excellent finisher to any leg
workout.
No less than eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman used to take a loaded
barbell outside and lunge through the Metroflex Gym parking lot in the
Texas heat to cap his leg day, which with thighs as big as 36 inches
around in his heyday was a sight to behold
Main Areas Targeted: Quads, hams, glutes
Strengths: “The walking lunge is a dynamic movement, requiring
coordination and muscle recruitment to perform correctly,” explains Gene
Flores, CSCS, a physical therapist and orthopedic clinical specialist at
Vargo Physical Therapy, an outpatient clinic in Reseda, Calif.
“This exercise is predominantly a unilateral activity no matter which way
it’s performed, with emphasis on the front rather than the back
leg.
You’ll get a good amount of co-contractions from above and below the knee
joint, from the hip and core to the ankle and foot
How-To: Holding dumbbells in each hand, step forward with one
foot.
Bend both knees to lower your torso toward the floor, making sure
your front knee doesn’t pass your toes at the bottommost position.
Stop just short of your rear knee touching the floor, then drive
through the heel of your front foot while bringing your rear leg forward
until you return to a standing position.
Then step with the opposite leg into a lunge, repeating the pattern.
Continue alternating down the floor. “The cues I utilize when teaching this movement are to always have your core engaged, with a neutral spine or slight lordosis (extension),” Flores says. “Most important, do not let the front knee turn in or out excessively
Continue alternating down the floor. “The cues I utilize when teaching this movement are to always have your core engaged, with a neutral spine or slight lordosis (extension),” Flores says. “Most important, do not let the front knee turn in or out excessively
I like this exercise as a finisher. Be sure to keep your knees behind
your toes, step evenly on both sides and keep your upper body tall
Bulgarian Split Squat
Did Bulgarian strength athletes really use this movement as a training
cornerstone? The myths may not match the reality, but the name has stuck
to what is, all in all, a pretty solid exercise.
That is, if you tweak the common variation (shown here) as proposed by
well-known Canadian strength coach Charles Poliquin. He contends that
over-elevating the back leg — putting it on a flat bench or even higher —
reduces the stability of the front leg, thus limiting your strength
potential and putting you at risk for injury while also unnecessarily
stressing the spine. His solution? The exercise that lands at No. 5 on our
list, a split squat in which you elevate the back leg only 6 inches from
the floor
Main Areas Targeted: Quadriceps, glutes
Strengths: This move focuses on each leg individually, so you can
pay full attention to each without a stronger leg compensating for a
weaker one (as can happen on any bilateral exercise). In other words, any
weaknesses in your strength or thigh development have nowhere to
hide
How-To: Holding a dumbbell in each hand, step forward with one
foot and rest your rear foot on an elevated platform or bench, top of the
foot facing down.
Bend your front knee to lower yourself, making sure that knee doesn’t
track out ahead of your toes. (If it does, take a longer step out from the
platform.)
When your knee joint forms at least a 90-degree angle, reverse the
motion, driving through the heel of your forward foot to return to
standing.
Do not forcefully lock out the knee
This is a staple in my routine. Just like other unilateral exercises,
start with your non-dominant leg. It’s always best to train weaknesses
when you’re fresh
Hack Squat
While the barbell version of the hack squat — picking up a barbell placed
behind you — is perfectly acceptable, especially for those training at
home, the typical machine-based hack squat you find at most gyms is our
choice here. That’s the one that’s plate-loaded and angles your body
slightly backward. Within the confines of the machine, you’ll find a bit
more safety than you would with the free-weight squat, which becomes more
crucial as you tire during a workout. That means hacks are a great
mid-workout option, serving as a bridge between squatting and other moves
such as the leg press and lunge
Main Areas Targeted: Quads and glutes primarily, hamstrings
secondarily
Strengths: “This exercise is done in a weight-bearing functional
position just like a standing squat,” Flores points out. “The hack squat
machine also allows you to go a little heavier without sacrificing too
much form as you would performing bar squats since your back is supported,
which decreases the chance of injury. That’s important when the goal is to
increase mass and strength
How-To: Step inside a hack squat machine, placing your shoulders
and back against the pads.
Set your feet at mid-platform just inside shoulder width, keeping your
feet flat throughout the exercise.
With your chest up and core tight, unhook the safeties and slowly lower
yourself, stopping when your thighs are just past parallel to the
platform.
From here, powerfully press upward to the start position, keeping your
knees bent slightly at the top to protect them from
hyperextension.
“When performing any squat movement, my cues are always to avoid any
excessive internal or external rotation at the knees — think the
‘knock-knee’ position or knees and toes pointing out — along with keeping
your knees about shoulder-width apart throughout the movement,” Flores
instructs.
“The weight should be felt in your heels, not your toes
I use this primarily for targeting the quads. I put my feet high on the
platform and keep them together. I’ll also perform partial reps at the top
to get a good pump
Romanian Deadlift
The quadriceps muscle is a powerful, four-headed beast of a muscle group,
and unless you develop hamstrings with enough strength of equal measure to
balance out the quads, your knees will be forever prone to injury. Enter
the Romanian deadlift, or RDL for short. This movement works the
hamstrings from the hips, a necessary addition to a hams routine that
might otherwise be dominated by variations of the leg curl (seated, lying
and standing) that all work the muscle from the knee joint
Main Areas Targeted:Hamstrings
Strengths: You may notice a pattern here — well, you should, at
least — but like the other exercises on this list, the key to results with
the Romanian deadlift is pinpoint form.
Keep your back flat, core tight and the bar sliding along the front of
your legs on the way up and down and you’ll build thick, impressive,
protruding hamstrings.
Allow your lower back to collapse and take on the load and you’ll help
put a Ferrari in your chiropractor’s garage
How-To: Stand upright holding a barbell in front of your upper
thighs with an overhand grip.
Place your feet shoulder-width apart and slightly bend your
knees.
With your chest up, arms straight and core tight to maintain the natural
arch in your low back, lean forward from your hips, pushing them rearward
until your torso is roughly parallel to the floor or until you feel a good
stretch in your hamstrings.
At the bottom, keep your back flat and head neutral.
The bar should be very close to or in contact with your legs
throughout.
Flex your hamstrings and glutes to reverse the motion, bringing the bar
back to the start position.
“The movement should come from the hips extending — pushing your
hips forward — not from extending the lower back,” Flores says. “In other
words, don’t lead the lift with your chest, arms and back
I tend to do these standing on a bumper plate or box, which gives me a
better stretch. If you’re not as flexible, focus on lowering the weight
and stop just before your back rounds. Always maintain a flat back and
keep your shoulders square
Front Squat
As you already know, the barbell back squat is No. 1 on our list. But the
exercise ranked runner-up is a close second in the eyes of many,
especially those who like the idea of big, beefy quadriceps and the more
direct line of resistance offered by moving the barbell to the front
versus draping it across the upper back
Main Areas Targeted: Emphasis on quads, plus glutes, hamstrings,
calves and core
Strengths: “Both the barbell front and back squats are great
exercises for increasing leg, back and core strength and for positively
affecting anabolic metabolism,” says Dustin Kirchofner, certified strength
and conditioning coach at Yuma United MMA and owner of Modern Warfare
Fitness. “As for which is better, it depends on your posture, technique,
previous injuries and personal preference.
For example, if you lack proper shoulder external-rotation capability,
then back squats might not be your best option.
Due to your poor shoulder and thoracic spine mobility, you may have
issues getting the bar racked and properly positioned across your
back.
In that case, front squats would quite possibly be a much better
choice
How-To: Set the pegs in a power rack just at or below mid-chest,
and place the safety bars at a level between your hips and
knees.
Step up to the bar, crossing your arms to build a shelf to cradle it at
your front delts and upper chest.
Keep your chest up, lower back and abs tight, and eyes forward as you
step back into a shoulder-width stance.
Bend your knees and hips as if sitting in a chair until your thighs are
at least parallel to the floor, then reverse direction by driving through
your heels and pressing your hips forward to return to
standing.
“Keep your neck and back straight and elbows lifted high throughout the
lift,” Kirchofner instructs.
“Inhale to support the trunk and abdomen at the start of your descent,
and keep your core and abdomen engaged to help minimize stress on your
lower lumbar area
f you have problems holding the bar in the clean position, try wrapping
wrist wraps around the bar and holding onto the wraps. This will help you
maintain bar placement
Barbell Squat
We know, ranking barbell back squats No. 1 here is about as surprising as
a Donald Trump publicity stunt. But what else can we do? It’s not the
reigning “king of exercises” for nothing. No single exercise is arguably
as effective, not only for the intended lower-body target muscles but for
all the muscles from your shoulders, chest and back down to your core, all
of which fire to maintain your posture and balance as you rep
Main Areas Targeted:Quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, calves,
core
Strengths:“You need strong legs from the ankles to the hips, and
back squats work the lower-body prime movers, stabilizers and synergists,”
Kirchofner explains. “The quadriceps and hamstrings are the major muscle
groups that affect knee stability and motion. Quads come into play during
the straightening of the knees, while hamstrings are directly related to
the bending of the knees and the pushing action against the ground, such
as in a short sprint. At the end of the day, squats are beneficial in
developing muscular growth, strength and power, all while strengthening
stabilizers and the core
How-To: Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and hold a
bar across your upper back. Your knees should be slightly bent and your
toes turned out slightly.
Keeping your head in a neutral position, abs tight and torso upright,
bend at the knees and hips to slowly lower your body as if you were going
to sit in a chair.
Go as deep as you can handle, ideally to a point where your thighs come
parallel to the floor or below while maintaining your natural lower-back
arch, then forcefully drive through your heels and extend your hips and
knees to return to a standing position
The benefit of free-weight exercises is the countless variations you can
come up with.
Experiment with bar placement on your back (high/low), foot placement
(narrow/wide) and even with range of motion.
I started doing rack squats, which target the top third of the
movement.
It allows me to go heavier and it mimics the range of motion used in
jumping
