Leg Workouts For Men: The seven Best Workouts For Thicker Quads, Glutes, And Hamstrings

Goal 1: a lot of Overall Leg Mass

Mass-building comes with a group of rules. which means beginning your exercise with the foremost difficult exercises and heaviest masses, touching the thighs from a range of angles, keeping the amount (number of total sets and reps) high, and coaching to muscle failure.

Altering your foot placement on the leg press permits you to recruit leg system in slightly alternative ways. golf shot your feet up higher on the sled shifts a number of the stress from the quads to the hams and glutes as a result of a bigger degree of hip flexion/extension is happening. Also, do not shortchange the depth of your knee bend—which ought to reach ninety degrees—by going too heavy—that additionally limits gluteus muscle and hamstrings activation. Unless you're following a pre-exhaust recurring, save the unmarried-joint actions for remaining.

The exercise follows a reverse-pyramid protocol, that permits you to require a lot of total sets to muscle failure. because the rep target goes up, make certain to lighten the load commensurately. The workouts goal 4 muscle agencies: quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. To shorten the exercise, you'll eliminate exercises for calves, hamstrings, or both; if therefore, hit calves and hammies on a unique coaching day.

Notes

Do as numerous guidance reps as you would really like, however ne'er take them to muscle failure.

Choose a weight that enables you to succeed in muscle failure by the target rep listed.

If you have got a spotter, do many forced reps on your 1-2 heaviest sets of every exercise.

Mass-Building Routine

1

Barbell Squat

4 sets, 6-8, 6-8, 8-10, 8-10 reps (Lighten the load once your 1st two sets.)

2

Leg Press

4 sets, 8-10, 8-10, 10-12, 10-12 reps (Alternate two totally different foot positions.)

3

Dumbbell Walking Lunge

3 sets, 10, 12, fourteen steps per aspect

4

Leg Extensions

3 sets, ten reps (Do one dropset on every set.)

5

Romanian Deadlift

3 sets, 8, 10, 12 reps

6

Lying Leg Curls

3 sets, 8, 10, 12 reps

7

Standing Calf Raises

4 sets, 12, 12, 20, 20 reps

Goal 2: bigger Leg Definition

Simply doing a lot of work with light-weight weight for top reps is not enough to urge you lean. to stay your metabolism high, you continue to want that stimulation for building and keeping muscle size. which will facilitate boost excess post-exercise chemical element consumption (EPOC), that roughly interprets to the amount of calories you burn once your exercise is over.

That's why the primary exercise here is finished straight-sets-style, however the remainder of the exercise consists of supersets with multijoint exercises, along side reduced rest periods and a high volume of labor.

Notes

Do as several warm-ups as you would like, however ne'er take them to muscle failure.

Choose a weight that enables you to succeed in muscle failure by the target rep listed.

The first exercise is finished with heavier weights, that is vital for maintaining muscle tissue and keeping your metabolism high in periods of fasting.

Strive to stay your rest periods short and your vital sign up, creating this the maximum amount a cardio activity as a muscle-building one.

Get-Ripped Routine

1

Smith Machine Squat

4 sets, 8-10 reps (2 sets along with your|along with your} feet beneath and a couple of sets with your feet ahead.)

2

Leg Press

Superset with Goblet Squat

3 sets, 10-12 reps (No rest.)

3

Goblet Squat

Superset with Leg Press

3 sets, 10-12 reps (Rest solely PRN.)

4

Barbell Reverse Lunge

Superset with Leg Extension

3 sets, 10-12 reps per leg (No rest.)

5

Leg Extensions

Superset with weight Reverse Lunge

3 sets, 12-15 reps (Rest solely PRN.)

6

Lying Leg Curls

Superset with Donkey Calf Raise

4 sets, 10-12 reps (No rest.)

7

Donkey Calf Raises

Superset with Lying Leg Curls

4 sets, 12-15 reps (Rest solely PRN.)

Goal 3: beginning robust

Learning to squat will be a challenge, that is why the straightforward goblet version may be a excellent spot to begin. the thought here is to find out and follow movement patterns before loading them with heavier weights or graduating to a lot of advanced moves.

This exercise is essentially machine primarily based, that permits for a a lot of controlled introduction to weight coaching. As your coordination improves and your muscles strengthen, march on to more difficult free-weight moves and heavier masses.

Notes

Do as several warm-ups as you would like, however ne'er take them to muscle failure.

Choose a weight that enables you to approach muscle failure by the target rep listed, however stop a rep or 2 short. correct technique starts to convey approach after you push to muscle failure, and your priority here is learning propriety.

Start the exercise with more difficult multijoint movements. as a result of they recruit a bigger quantity of muscle mass, rest periods area unit correspondingly longer.

Beginner's Routine

1

Goblet Squat

4 sets, 10-12 reps (90 sec. rest.)

2

Leg Press

3 sets, 10-12 reps (90 sec. rest.)

3

Leg Extensions

3 sets, 10-12 reps (60 sec. rest.)

4

Seated leg curling

3 sets, 10-12 reps (60 sec. rest.)

5

Standing Calf Raises

3 sets, fifteen reps (60 sec. rest.)

Goal 4: Emphasize Your Quads

Because multijoint leg movements work your legs from prime to bottom, it's not possible to fully isolate one space over another. However, you'll emphasize one space over another. during this case, we're attempting to maximise the vary of motion of the ginglymus whereas limiting the vary of motion at the coxa. a method to try to to this is often by ever-changing up your foot position on machine exercises.

The front squat additionally emphasizes the quads over, say, a weight back squat will by shifting your center of gravity forward. With significant partials, you are not going deep, therefore you'll extremely overload the quads; placed on up to thirty % a lot of weight than you commonly use, however go solely a part of the approach down.

This exercise follows a reverse-pyramid protocol, that permits you to require a lot of total sets to muscle failure. because the rep target goes up, make certain to lighten the load commensurately. Note that this exercise covers solely quads and glutes; add hamstring and calf exercises as desired.

Notes

Do as several warm-ups as you would like, however ne'er take them to muscle failure.

Choose a weight that enables you to succeed in muscle failure by the target rep listed.

This theme follows a reverse pyramid, which means you lighten the load once your 1st 1-2 sets for slightly higher reps.

If you have got a spotter, do many forced reps on your 1-2 heaviest sets of every exercise.

Quad-Emphasis Routine

1

Front weight Squat

4 sets, 6-8, 6-8, 8-10, twelve reps (Lighten the load once your 1st two sets.)

2

Hack Squat

3 sets, 8, 10, twelve reps (Keep feet low and hip-width apart on the platform.)

3 sets, half-dozen significant partial reps (Descend solely concerning halfway down.)

3

Leg Press

3 sets, 8, 10, twelve reps (Keep feet low on the platform.)

4

Leg Extensions

3 sets, 10, 10, twelve reps (Last two sets area unit dropsets.)

Goal 5: Emphasize Your Glutes

While you tried to reduce hip flexion/extension within the quad-focused exercise, here you wish to maximise it. try this by selecting exercises and foot positions that enable the glutes to be trained through their full vary of motion. make certain to descend fairly deep altogether squatting motions; otherwise, you may limit gluteus muscle activation.

The exercise once more follows a reverse-pyramid protocol, that permits you to require a lot of total sets to muscle failure. because the rep target goes up, make certain to lighten the load commensurately. The last exercise, the Romanian deadlift, is taken into account a hamstring exercise, however it focuses on the higher region still because the glutes, particularly the glute-ham linkup.

Add knee-joint hamstring and calf exercises as desired for an entire leg exercise.

Notes

Do as several warm-ups as you would like, however ne'er take them to muscle failure.

Choose a weight that enables you to succeed in muscle failure by the target rep listed.

This theme follows a reverse pyramid, which means you lighten the load once your 1st 1-2 sets for slightly higher reps.

If you have got a spotter, do many forced reps on your 1-2 heaviest sets of every exercise.

Glute-Emphasis Routine

1

Wide-Stance weight Squat

4 sets, 6-8, 6-8, 8-10, twelve reps (Lighten the load once your 1st two sets.)

2

Leg Press

3 sets, 8, 10, twelve reps (Keep feet high on the platform.)

3

Barbell Reverse Lunge

3 sets, 10-12 reps per leg (No rest.)

4

One-Legged Cable payoff

3 sets, 8, 10, 12 reps

5

Romanian Deadlift

4 sets, 8, 8, 12, 12 reps

Goal 6: Emphasize Your Hamstrings

Hams should not be associate degree afterthought, and not only for aesthetic reasons; they additionally support knee-joint integrity. Most bodybuilders area unit acquainted with the family of leg-curl movements, which may be done lying, seated, standing, or with one knee supported on a bench. remember to figure the hams from the coxa still, which implies doing Romanians.

Often confused with the stiff-legged deadlift (a lower-back exercise) and even the standard deadlift (with Romanians, the plates ne'er bit the floor), it's an efficient move for the higher hams wherever they tie in with the glutes. propriety is important with RDLs—keep your back flat and ne'er try and accomplish excessive vary of motion if it causes your back to spherical.

Don't forget, your hams additionally get worked after you squat deep and after you management the speed of the descent in squatting motions. However, that quantity of labor is not enough to allow you to skip dedicated hamstring exercises. If you opt to separate your quad and ham workouts into 2 totally different days, separate them by a minimum of forty eight hours to make sure full recovery. Or tack this exercise onto the tip of a quad/glute exercise, sometimes even doing it previous.

This exercise once more follows a reverse-pyramid protocol, that permits you to require a lot of total sets to muscle failure. because the rep target goes up, make certain to lighten the load commensurately.

Notes

Do as several warm-ups as you would like, however ne'er take them to muscle failure.

Choose a weight that enables you to succeed in muscle failure by the target rep listed.

This theme follows a reverse pyramid, which means you lighten the load once your 1st 1-2 sets for slightly higher reps.

If you have got hassle doing the ground glute-ham raise at the tip of your exercise, fuck earlier once you are less worn-out.

Alternate seated and lying leg curls for the standing single-leg curls therefore you are together with all 3 a minimum of once each 3 workouts.

Hamstring-Emphasis Routine

1

Romanian Deadlift

4 sets, 6-8, 6-8, 8-10, twelve reps (Lighten the load once your 1st two sets.)

2

Standing leg curling

3 sets, 8, 10, 12 reps

3

Floor Glute-Ham Raise

3 sets, bodyweight sets to failure

Goal 7: Pre-Exhaust Your Legs

This exercise starts by targeting simply your quads with a single-joint movement. By the time you get to the multijoint exercises that follow, your quads can already be extremely fatigued—but your glutes and hams can are spared. Neither muscle cluster are the weak link in those follow-up exercises; you will be pushing your quads, however, to their limit.

This a lot of advanced technique of coaching may be a good way to rise higher than a upland. albeit you will be considerably stronger on your leg extensions—which you commonly do toward the tip of your workout—keep the reps comparatively high to avoid overtaxing the ginglymus. With the quads prefatigued, everything that follows can feel more durable, therefore lighten the weights over here, too.

Notes

Do as several warm-ups as you would like, however ne'er take them to muscle failure.

Choose a weight that enables you to succeed in muscle failure by the target rep listed.

By flip-flopping the exercises, you will be a bit stronger on your single-joint moves however weaker on multijoint ones, therefore alter your weights consequently.

Pre-exhaust Routine

1

Leg Extensions

5 sets, 8-10 reps

2

Smith Machine Squat

4 sets, 8-10, 8-10, 10-12, twelve reps (Lighten the load once your 1st 2 sets.)

3

Hack Squat

3 sets, 10 reps

4

Dumbbell Lunges

3 sets, twelve reps (per side)