Whether you’re looking to enhance your sports performance or want to improve your regular functional fitness, a strong lower body is essential for almost everything.
Legs, in particular, contain some of the strongest and largest muscles in the body, and a sculpted and muscular body is indeed incomplete without strong legs. An effective leg workout is one that targets your entire posterior chain and lower body muscles, including hamstrings, lats, glutes, calves, quads, ankles, etc.
Safe to say, there are different muscles to be worked on, and fortunately, there are several exercises you can perform regularly as a part of your leg day routine. When looking to gain leg muscles, it is best to incorporate compound exercises that allow for a higher amount of fatigue and muscular stimulus that too without compromising on your muscle recovery.
Killer Leg Exercises for Men
Here’re five eg exercises men can do for some serious gain.
1) Barbell Squat
Barbell squats are one of the best exercises you can do to grow bigger legs. This exercise maximises quad growth and allows for enhanced knee flexion and better torso positioning.
How to do it?
- Place the barbell across your shoulders, and position your feet wider than your hip width.
- Keep your elbows tucked in and head up throughout the movement.
- Slowly lower your body till your knees get at a 90-degree angle.
- Bend at your hips while pushing your buttocks back, and keep your chest up.
- Gently press against the floor, and stand back up in the initial position.
2) Backward Sled Push
The backward sled push is an amazing full-body exercise that primarily targets your quads, glutes, calves and hamstrings as you struggle to push the sled backwards. This exercise is great for developing strength and conditioning your entire body.
How to do it?
- Start with loading the sled with the desired weight.
- Press your back against the sled in an athletic position, with your back pushing onto the sled.
- Drive the sled by extending your leg repeatedly, and continue till you reach the desired number of reps or distance.
3) Barbell Hip Thrust
The barbell hip thrust is another very effective leg exercise that works on your hamstrings and glutes.
How to do it?
- Sit down, and rest your upper back comfortably on a bench. Keep your legs extended straight.
- Roll a barbell up your thighs till it sits on your lap.
- Engage your core muscles, and push your heels onto the ground to extend your hips while lifting them till your upper body and thighs get parallel to the floor.
4) Good Morning
Barbell good mornings are a productive exercise to develop stronger and bigger glutes, hamstrings and calves. This exercise is common among weightlifters and bodybuilders, as it not only enhances your leg muscles but also helps in strengthening your back muscles.
How to do it?
- Keep your feet at shoulder width distance, and stand tall with your knees slightly bent.
- Place a barbell on the back of your shoulders.
- Engage your abs, and take a deep breath as you hinge at your hips allowing your hips to move backwards and upper body forward.
- Continue till your upper body gets nearly parallel with the ground.
- Return to the starting position, and continue the next rep.
5) Romanian Deadlift
The Romanian deadlift works more on your hamstrings compared to other deadlift variations and also requires more strength from your core muscles. It also works on your forearm flexors, glutes and calves and helps enhance your overall leg strength.
How to do it?
- Hold the barbell at your hip level using an overhand grip.
- Keep your shoulders back and spine straight throughout the exercise.
- Push your hips back, and slowly lower the barbell towards your feet.
- Move your hips forward to stand with the weight in front of your thighs.
Takeaway
Before you take the plunge, and start with these leg exercises, remember to perform as many warm-ups as you can to activate every muscle and prevent future injuries. Also, do not train your legs more than three times a week, and make sure to give them adequate recovery time between sessions.
