Legs are the often neglected part of the physique, so when you set yourself apart and devote time and attention to training these major muscles, it won’t go unnoticed.
The great thing about leg training is that because it is so intense, you’ll be giving yourself a cardiovascular workout with each set you do and on top of that, you’ll be stimulating a greater release of the primary muscle building hormones, testosterone and growth hormone.
Simply put, leg training should not be skipped. If you want to take your leg training up a notch, here are five techniques that you can use for superior growth and development.
Leg Extension Drop Sets
One of the most intense ways to really stimulate maximum growth is with isolated exhaustion sets for the quad muscles themselves. Many people tag leg extensions on to their workout as a finishing exercise, but you can see great results by giving this exercise a bit more time and focus.
Perform 2-3 drop sets at the end of your workout, really focusing on squeezing those quads with each and every rep. Your mission is to tighten up your quad as much as possible as you hit the top of every rep.
If you aren’t feeling like your quad has become a knotted ball as the leg is extending, you aren’t squeezing the muscle hard enough.
Switch Up Your Foot Position
Another quick way to bring on superior results is to simply adjust your foot placement while doing your major exercises.
If you use a narrow stance squat when doing the hack squat or leg press, for instance, you’ll work your outer quad sweep to a greater degree. On the other hand, place the legs up towards the top of the foot platform and you’ll be feeling it in your glutes as the set progresses onward.
Reverse that and place them low on the platform and you can rest assured your quads will be in for a workout.
One small change like this can make a big difference on the results you see and give the body the shock it may need to see superior results.
Try Single Leg Work
If you’re constantly training using conventional leg exercises – the squat, the stiff legged deadlift, the leg press, the hack squat, and so on, it might be time to shake up your workout routine with some single leg work instead.
Single leg exercises are great because first, they help ensure you avoid muscular imbalances. Second, they’re also going to work the smaller stabilization muscles in the body to a much larger degree as well. This can then give you much more support when you go back to your normal double leg work. Finally, they’ll also help you improve your core strength. With each move you make, your core muscles will come into play, keeping you balanced above your feet.
Single leg split squats, single leg presses, or single leg deadlifts are all great movements to try.
Implement A Pause
Struggling to make it up during your squats? Sometimes what it really takes is implementing a pause at the bottom of the exercise. Next time you’re squatting, as you near the end of your sets, throw in a lighter set or two and focus on taking a 2-3 second pause at the bottom of the exercise.
This will halt any degree of momentum that may be taking place, helping you get to the top of the movement. Do this often enough and you may find you can get up easier on those heavy weight sets you’re doing.
Split Up Your Leg Day
Finally, last but not least, you might want to consider splitting your leg day up for superior growth and progression. If you are really training legs seriously, it can be hard to devote enough focus to the posterior chain when hitting your squats and all the other quad predominant movements.
Schedule a day where you do front or high bar squats along with your lunges, split squats, and leg extensions and then a second leg day of the week where you do low bar back squats, stiff legged deadlifts, hamstring curls, and glute bridges.
This will help ensure that you are fresh for each major muscle group and one group never suffers due to lack of focus.
Keep these five techniques in mind next time you step into the gym for leg day. By implementing these, you can ensure that you see maximum growth and strength progression.
