Leg - Quadriceps / Hamstring Workouts
Weight Training Advice
they do for the upper body. This is what causes the cartoonish, Johnny Bravo look of having huge upper body muscles and skinny little legs. Do you want to be that guy at the gym? Probably not.
If you want optimal overall muscularity you need to focus on doing leg workouts with the same amount of intensity as you do for upper body workouts. If you do leg workouts that include squats you'll likely even add more size to your upper body since squatting involves so many different muscles and gives you a boost in your testosterone levels.
To gain size in your leg muscles you need to perform both quadriceps and hamstring workouts. The quadriceps make up much more of the upper leg muscle size than the hamstrings do but you need to keep a balance between the front and back thigh muscles. Of course most quadriceps exercises involve the hamstrings so you shouldn't need to do near as many sets and exercises for your hamstrings as you do for your quads. It makes sense to do your hamstring and quadricep workouts together to avoid overtraining your legs and because they work together on so many exercises.
Here's a sample leg workout that involves both the quadriceps and hamstrings and has a light, medium, and heavy day.
Light leg workout (all sets done for 15-20 reps)
Quadriceps workout
2-3 sets of squats
2-3 sets of hack squats or leg presses
1-2 sets of lunges
1-2 drop sets of leg extensions
Hamtrings workout
1-2 sets of stiff legged deadlifts
1-2 drop sets of leg curls
Medium leg workout (10-15 reps on all sets)
3-4 sets of squats
2-3 sets of hacks or leg presses
2-3 sets of lunges
1-2 drop sets of leg extensions
2-3 sets of stiff legged deadlifts
1-2 drop sets of leg curls
Heavy leg workout (5-10 reps on all sets)
4-5 sets of squats
3-4 sets of hacks or leg presses
2-3 sets of lunges
1-2 leg extension drop sets
3-4 sets of stiff legged deadlifts
1-2 leg curl drop sets
The exercises in this leg workout weight training routine allow for a lot of variety. For instance you can do your squats on a smith machine if you like and use various foot positions to experiment with what feels most comfortable to you. You can do lunges with a barbell on your back or dumbbells in your hands. Leg curls can be done standing, seated, or lying. Change your exercises, or the way you do them, regularly to avoid hitting a plateau and keep making gains.
If you want you can do your lower back workout on the same day as your leg workouts. After doing your quadricep and hamstring workouts it's a good idea to do your calf workout.
There are many weight trainers at any gym that tend to focus almost entirely on building up their upper bodies, neglecting leg workouts for the most part. They may do leg workouts, but don't lift near as hard as
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