What Muscles Are In The Legs?
Each leg is made up of different muscle groups, each with its own muscles. The best-known group is the quadriceps, which has four muscles on the front of the upper leg. These muscles are some of the strongest in your body and help to straighten and extend your leg.
The hamstrings are a group of three muscles located at the back of the upper leg. Their primary function is to bent and flex the knee.
finally, the muscles in your lower legs are the calf muscle (also called the soleus), the gastrocnemius, and the plantaris. When you do leg exercises, you're also working the muscles in your buttocks (called the glutes) at the same time. These are the muscles that make up your rear end, and ultimately, nobody wants a flat rear end, so it's important to target them too.
There are plenty of muscles in the legs that need to be worked out. Fortunately, there are plenty of leg exercises that can be done as part of a routine to make the legs stronger.
7 Workouts For Building Mass in the Glutes, Hamstrings and Quads
The following beginner’s guide should help There seem to be two types of bodybuilders – those who enjoy a leg workout and those who would rather do a chest workout. It can be hard to know where to start with so many methods and pieces of equipment available. The following beginner's guide can help.
The exercises selected for a workout should be dictated by the goal that has been set. Although most leg workouts will have similar components, each one should be specifically chosen to match the goal.
For example, most leg workouts will involve squats to some extent – however, there are different squat variations which can be used to focus on individual muscle groups. Additionally, there are various advanced training methods – such as supersets and pre-exhaust – which can be used to produce specific changes in muscle development.
It is not sensible for someone who is looking to start bodybuilding to immediately start doing heavy squats, leg presses, and deadlifts. They need to establish efficient movement first. Once they have done this, they can gradually move on to heavier, more complex exercises.
7 Leg Workouts For Every Type of Goal
This means that if you vary your workouts and focus on different muscle groups each time, you will see more improvement in strength and size.
1) Building Foundations
The first of the seven workouts is perfect for beginners. The squat is one of the best exercises for developing leg muscles, but it takes time and practice to be able to do it safely and efficiently.
The body will gradually become more coordinated, stable and efficient at the movement as the neural pathways become stronger. Establishing neural pathways in the brain is key when trying to learn a new skill, as it allows your body to better understand the required movements. This process takes time and repetition, but eventually your body will become more coordinated and efficient in performing the desired action.
One example of this process is a toddler learning to walk. At first, they are wobbly and can only take a few steps before falling. However, with time and practice, these neural pathways become stronger and more efficient, and eventually the toddler can walk without falling.
The goal of this workout is to help the user learn the movement required for the squat. Over time, as they become more efficient and confident, they can increase the weight they are lifting to maximize their leg strength.
Use of weight machines is recommended at this stage as they provide a controlled introduction to weight training and effectively load the muscles without running the risk of sustaining injury. This is due to the fact that machine-based exercises do not require as great a degree of coordination and understanding of movement as the squat.
Exercise | Sets x Reps |
Goblet Squat | 4 x 10 – 12 |
Leg Press | 3 x 10 – 12 |
Leg Extensions | 3 x 10 – 12 |
Leg Curls | 3 x 10 – 12 |
Calf Raises | 3 x 15 – 12 |
2) Mass Building
It is important to focus on “big” compound exercises when trying to increase muscle size. These exercises target the most muscles and cause the largest amount of stress, forcing the muscles to grow. It makes the most sense to start with these exercises first, as they will have the biggest impact on muscle growth.
It is important to have a high overall training volume and to often train to muscle failure, as studies have shown that these are important factors when it comes to increasing muscle size.
It may be helpful to change the way certain exercises are done in order to focus on different muscle groups. For example, changing foot placement during the leg press or squat can emphasize different parts of the leg. A wider stance will target the glutes and hamstrings more, while a narrower stance will focus more on the quadriceps.
This workout targets all four muscle groups in the legs – the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves – using a combination of free weights and resistance machines. It also uses an advanced training method called the reverse pyramid, which involves varying the number of reps and the amount of weight lifted per set.
The reverse pyramid is a good method to use as it takes into account muscle fatigue and allows you to keep lifting the maximum amount of weight with each set. As the number of repetitions increases, you should decrease the amount of weight you are lifting and aim to reach muscular failure with each set.
3) Improving Definition
The theory that high reps and light weight is optimal for building muscle definition is believed by many, but research does not support this. Applying heavy loads is just as effective at maintaining muscle size and developing muscle tone.
In the end, the type of strength training you do won't matter as much as your nutrition when it comes to being lean. If you want to be lean, you should mainly focus on eating habits that will reduce your overall body fat. This will make your muscles look more defined and lean. To do this, you need to keep your calorie intake lower than normal over a long period of time.
It is important to do strength training when you are trying to lose weight by reducing your calorie intake. If you don't do strength training, you may lose muscle mass as well as body fat. However, if you do strength training regularly, you can prevent your muscles from wasting away.
The workout includes many different compound exercises that work different muscle groups in the legs. Supersets involve doing one exercise right after another without any rest. This helps to increase the overall volume of training and can help maintain muscle size.
Exercise | Sets x Reps |
Smith Machine Squat | 4 x 8 – 10 |
Leg Press (Superset 1) | 3 x 10 – 12 |
Goblet Squat (Superset 1) | 3 x 10 – 12 |
Barbell Reverse Lunge (Superset 2) | 3 x 10 – 12 |
Leg Extensions (Superset 2) | 3 x 12 – 15 |
Lying Leg Curls (Superset 3) | 4 x 10 – 12 |
Donkey Calf Raises (Superset 3) | 4 x 12 – 15 |
4) Glute Building
The three workouts mentioned will target a particular muscle group. If a bodybuilder notices that a particular group is not progressing as much as the others, these exercises will be helpful. It is important to select the right exercises when targeting a muscle group, as some exercises work better than others.
The following exercises have been selected because they activate the muscles in the butt to a great extent. The workout is similar to the workout for gaining mass, and uses a reverse pyramid to make the muscles tired with each set.
Exercise | Sets x Reps |
Wide Stance Barbell Squat | 4 x 6, 8, 10, 12 |
Leg Press | 3 x 8, 10, 12 |
Barbell Reverse Lunge | 3 x 10 -12 |
Unilateral Cable Kickback | 3 x 8, 10, 12 |
Romanian Deadlift | 4 x 8, 8, 12, 12 |
5) Hamstring Building
Since many common exercises favor the growth of quadriceps and glutes, hamstrings are often neglected, leading to an imbalance in muscle development. This not only inhibits progress in bodybuilding, but can also be a cause of injury.
The best exercises for developing the hamstrings are those that place the greatest demand on them. The romanian deadlift is one of the best exercises for activating the hamstrings and increasing overall hamstring strength.
This workout uses various sets to increase volume, intensity and muscle hypertrophy.
Exercise | Sets x Reps |
Romanian Deadlift | 4 x 6, 8, 10, 12 |
Hamstring Bridge | 3 x 8, 10, 12 |
Glute Ham Raises | 3 x 8, 10, 12 |
Leg Curl (Dropset) | 3 x 10, 10, 12 |
6) Quad Building
This last workout targets the quads specifically by using a combination of two types of exercises: compound exercises (which work multiple muscles at the same time, like the front squat) and isolation exercises (which focus on just one muscle, like leg extensions).
A workout routine that uses a mix of compound and isolation exercises is the best way to build strength and muscles. Compound exercises help you get stronger and bigger, while isolation exercises target a specific muscle to help it grow more and also improve your performance on compound lifts.
The quad and hamstring workout follows the same structure because it's ideal for these muscles to develop at a similar rate. Having one muscle group significantly stronger than the other may increase one’s injury risk.
Exercise | Sets x Reps |
Barbell Front Squat | 4 x 6, 8, 10, 12 |
Hack Squat | 3 x 8, 10, 12 |
Leg Press | 3 x 8, 10, 12 |
Leg Extensions (Dropset) | 3 x 10, 10, 12 |
7) Plateau Busting
There will be times in your bodybuilding journey where you stop making progress. This is called a plateau. To get past a plateau, you need to change your training to give your body a new challenge. When you do this, your body adapts and you start making progress again.
This workout uses an advanced training method known as pre-exhaust. The purpose of the pre-exhaust method is to partially fatigue the muscles through an isolation exercise before moving onto a heavier compound exercise. This method forces the muscles to adapt by pushing them to their limit.
This method may cause you to lift less weight than normal during compound lifts, because the muscles will already be tired before performing the lift.
Exercise | Sets x Reps |
Leg Extensions | 5 x 8 – 10 |
Smith Machine Squat | 4 x 8, 10, 10, 12 |
Hack Squat | 3 x 10 – 12 |
Dumbbell Lunges | 3 x 10 – 12 |
Final Word
In order to get the best results and make progress towards your goal, do the chosen workout for 4 to 8 weeks. After you finish this, look at how much progress you have made and think about doing a different workout to keep improving. If you do this regularly and with enough intensity, you will see significant changes in your leg size and strength.