*Guest Model* Hamburg, Germany's Latina WandaLucky for women, they are stronger in the legs than in any other body part. In fact, woman are actually stronger in the legs than men are, in relation to the rest of their bodies. So women have no excuse for lagging legs! Compound movements are great because they work all three of the leg groups (quads, hamstrings, glutes). By flexing the hips and extending the knees in one movement, you're able to lift a lot more weight and you also save yourself time in the gym. Multi-joint exercises also burn more calories, require more intensity, and are much more effective than isolation movements. Make compound movements the staple of your leg workouts, and supplement them with isolation movements to help shape the muscles.
Choose 2-3 compound movements and 2 isolation movements - one each for hamstrings and quadriceps - to ensure you are targeting all the muscles of the legs with enough resistance and intensity to stimulate new growth in size and strength.
Sets & Repetitions
The muscles of the legs respond better to a slightly higher rep scheme. I recommend training your hardest sets in the 8-12 range and performing 3-4 working sets on top of 2-3 warm-up sets. Start with a 20-25 rep range and pyramid up in weights as you lower the number of reps per set.
Of course, everyone knows that change is good, so there's nothing wrong with throwing in some crazy high sets in the 50 rep range! More power to ya if that's your thing! In the same sense, it's not bad to go down to a low of 2-4 reps on your heaviest sets of squats. Nothing builds strength and power better than this!
****Compound Movements*****
Squat
Variation: Smith Machine, Unilateral
Foot Stance: Close, Normal, Wide
Foot Placement: Forward, Toes Out
Machine Hack Squat
Variation: Olympic Bar, Smith Machine, Unilateral
Foot Stance: Close, Normal, Wide
Foot Placement: Forward, Toes Out
Leg Press
Variation: Horizontal, Vertical, 45 Degrees, Unilateral
Foot Stance: Close, Normal, Wide
Foot Placement: Forward, Toes Out
Lunges
Equipment: Dumbbell, Smith Machine, Barbell
Variation: Reverse, Walking, Side, 45 Degree
Front Squat
Variation: Smith Machine
****Isolation Movements****
Quadriceps
Leg Extension
Sissy Squat
Variation: Weighted
Hamstrings
Stiff Legged Dead Lift
Variation: Romanian
Grip Placement: Pronated, Neutral
Leg Curl
Variation: Lying (Prone), Seated, Standing
Equipment: Cables, Free Motion
Hip Abduction
Variation: Standing, Seated
Equipment: Cable, Free Motion, Machine
Hip Adduction
Variation: Standing, Seated
Equipment: Cable, Free Motion, Machine
Good Morning
Glutes
Kneeling Hip Extension
Reverse Hyper Extension
Standing Hip Extension
Synergistic Movements
By incorporating these exercises into your other workouts, you can get additional stimulation from the muscles of the legs.
Traditional Deadlifts (Back)
Clean and Press (Shoulders)
You can also work your legs in most cardiovascular activities. Some of the best include sprinting, bleacher/stair running, and cycling.