There is a saying that has stuck with me from the very beginning of my bodybuilding journey to now. It goes like this: You can’t build a house without a foundation. What this refers to is the idea that a solid, well-rounded physique is built from the ground up. Far too many times, trainers develop very impressive upper bodies yet neglect the entire bottom half of their physique making them look like two different bodybuilders. I’m here to say right now that you will never become a champion with a subpar lower body. Case in point, the Nationals were just held in my country (Canada) and the pro card recipients beat the others in the field due to their extremely symmetrical physiques and outstanding leg development.
Leg day is often looked at as the most difficult training day in the schedule but at the same time the most rewarding once completed. Legs grow from heavy ass weight, moved in a full range of motion with high intensity for 4-6 repetitions. There are tons of exercises out there you can use to hit the quads, hams and calves from all angles to secure growth. The following list of exercises make up one of my favorite leg day routines and one that has had me more than once heading over to the trash can with a sickening feeling in my gut.
Quads
Squats – The king of quad exercises, squats when done correctly will elicit more growth in the upper leg than any other exercise out there. The key is to gradually warm up then get to a point where the bar is loaded up and bending while sitting on your traps, lower the weight in a controlled manner keeping your back straight, head up and ass out and go to at least parallel or even slightly lower than power back up to a standing position pushing through your heels.
Leg Press – You can get real crazy on this one a pile on the weight. Lock yourself into position with your lower back flat against the back pad, pull yourself in using the handles, lower the weight down to where your knees are almost on your chest (still keeping your back flat against the back pad) then power the weight back up again pushing through your heels.
Lunges – I prefer doing these one leg at a time holding onto dumbbells. I like this as I feel it provides more stability and the ability to use more weight. Make sure when you lower down you keep your knee in line with your ankle and don’t let it cross over your foot (this can put a lot of stress on the knee-joint) and then come up stopping just shy of full extension. Hit one leg first then switch to the other. Don’t be afraid to use wrist wraps so that you can hold on to some heavy weight.
Hamstrings
Stiff legged Dead Lifts – One of the prime reasons I choose this exercise for hamstrings is for the simple reason you can handle a lot of weight while performing these. The key is to maintain perfect posture for lower back safety, get a nice deep stretch at the bottom (the stretch should be uncomfortable but not painful) then stand up through the movement squeezing your glutes together at the top.
Lying Leg Curls – Keeping your hip flexors pressed against the pad is the most important intricacy of this movement. Be sure to fully extend at the bottom of the movement and squeeze hard at the top of the movement.
Calves
Standing Calf Raises – Calves get worked all day while you walk so they need a different type of stimulus for growth. High reps just don’t do it for calves moderate weight is a waste of time. Pin the whole stack for these and add a plate to the stack if you have to, get a full stretch at the bottom and then squeeze for a hold at the top.
Seated Calf raises – To complete the calf by destroying the soleus, get yourself in a seated calf machine and pile on the plates. Again, full stretch at the bottom and then a hard squeeze at the top. Have someone help you rack the weight when you are done because it may be too hard to do so yourself with so much weight on.
Max-OT and Supplements
I have preached throughout this entire article the importance of using heavy weight and low volume. This prescription fits perfectly with the principles of Max-OT. Be sure to always use a full range of motion, in a controlled fashion for 4-6 repetitions.
There’s no way around this point either. You are going to be sore and it may be difficult to walk for a couple of days. To aid in your recovery, make use of VP2 Whey Isolate, and GL3 L-glutamine.
The moral of this story is to make a conscious and consistent effort to train your legs with the same energy and passion as you train any other body part. Legs aren’t always on display, especially the upper leg, so I think many trainers suffer from the out of sight, out of mind scenario. Don’t let this be you and don’t be afraid of the pain or nausea associated with a great leg workout. Hit them hard, hit them with Max-OT intensity and watch them grow!
