Top Five Exercises for Bigger Legs

How many times have you seen fitness enthusiasts with well developed upper bodies, but spindly legs? Most people tend to built only their upper bodies (chest, hands, shoulder, abs) and completely ignore their legs. They do not know how odd that looks. The truth is, leg development can make or break a physique and it as important as developing any other part of the body.

We will discuss some exercises, but before we go there, it is a good idea to learn the major muscles on the leg so that we know what we have to improve. The major leg muscles are

• Quads - the front of the leg, above the knees- sartorius, vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis and vastus medialis.
• Hamstrings - the back of the leg, above the knees- biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus.
• Calves - the back of the leg, below the knees- gastocnemius, tibialis anterior, plantaris and soleus.

The thing is, each group has to be exercised individually and what helps one group may not be suitable for another. Still, we have selected five leg exercises that can work each of these muscles groups. Here they are:

Glute bridge

Glute bridges (single leg) will build knee and pelvic stability and help you progress to stronger lunges and squats. Before you tackle the bigger exercises, you have to build a strong foundation. Glute bridges are also good warm up exercises. You can use them to activate your hamstrings and glutes before you take up weights.

Squats

There are many kinds of squats such as front, back, dumbbell and goblet squats. There are many ways to do squats and all of them will help you built muscles. Do not do back squats if you have back problems. Goblet and front squats can also work your abs.

Lunges

Lunges are of various kinds such as forward, backward, balancing, side and walking lunges. The good thing about lunges is they can all work all your leg muscles.

Deadlifts

If you want to target your lower back, hamstrings or glutes, deadlifts are great exercises. There are two kinds of deadlifts - straight leg and bent leg. Before you do deadlifts, ensure that your spine is straight. If you round the spine, you will not work the hamstring and glutes and all the strain will fall on the spine, which can lead to injuries. To benefit from a deadlift, you have to maintain proper form.

Leg press

The leg press, which is done on a machine is one of the more famous leg exercises. It allows you to do heavy weights and many reps, without any worry that the rest of your body will move. The emphasis is on the quadriceps, but it also works the glutes and muscles.

The key to building your leg muscles is progression. It is not enough if you do these exercises; you have to keep increasing the weight over time. Your leg muscles cannot become bigger if they are not stronger.

Which exercise is your favourite?