Making Leg Day Count
Leg day is both notorious for being a miserable endeavor and secretly one of the best ways to build size, strength, stability, and athleticism. The problem? Distinguishing which exercises are truly working your legs hard and which ones are little more than an elaborate waist of time. Here, we present 10 leg exercises that must be part of your repertoire and 10 that you can cross off your to-do list.
1. Squats
Squats are a compound exercise that work your quads, hamstrings, and glutes all at once. They can be done with body weight or a loaded barbell for extra resistance. When done with proper form, they’re one of the safest exercises for your knees.
2. Deadlifts
Deadlifts are another compound movement that targets your hamstrings and glutes, as well as your back. They also help improve posture and grip strength for overall body function. Keep your spine neutral to avoid injury.
3. Lunges
Lunges are a single-leg exercise that can help correct imbalances in strength between legs you may not even be aware of. There are many variations you can do, including forward, backward, and side lunges. Slow and controlled reps lead to better strength and muscle gain.
4. Bulgarian Split Squats
Bulgarian split squats are a single-leg exercise that isolates your lower body in a way that regular squats cannot. They require you to rest one foot on a bench behind you while lowering your hips in a straight line for maximum activation. This exercise also improves balance and quickly sculpts your legs.
5. Leg Press
The leg press machine is a great way to safely load weight and limit strain on your lower back. It allows you to fatigue your quads, hamstrings, and glutes at the same time. Proper foot placement on the platform can help target different muscle groups.
6. Romanian Deadlifts
Romanian deadlifts are a great variation of the deadlift that more heavily targets the hamstrings. By keeping your knees slightly bent and hinging at the hips, you can perform a deep stretch and strong contraction of the posterior chain. This is a great movement for building overall athleticism.
7. Step-Ups
Step-ups are a functional exercise that mimic real-life movement like climbing stairs. They use a sturdy bench or box to perform slow, controlled reps that target your glutes. Add some dumbbells to increase the challenge and build serious leg strength.
8. Calf Raises
Calf raises are often neglected but are important for a complete leg workout. Strong calves improve balance and provide an aesthetic look to your legs. You can perform these on a step for extra range of motion or use a machine with added resistance. Full range of motion will provide the most benefit.
9. Glute Bridges
Glute bridges are an excellent exercise for firing up your posterior chain with minimal risk to your lower back. The addition of a barbell or resistance band will make this move more challenging for your glutes and hamstrings. It seems easy, but it’s very effective!
10. Goblet Squats
Goblet squats are a great exercise for beginners to learn proper squat form while still challenging the leg muscles. You hold a dumbbell or kettlebell close to your chest to provide added resistance. This is also a great way to practice core stability which will help you with heavier lifts later on.
Now that we talked about the best exercises for leg day, here ae 10 you're better off skipping.
1. Machine Kickbacks
Machine glute kickbacks can feel really good when your leg muscles are tired and sore. However, they are such an isolation exercise that free-weight alternatives are going to be more effective. Your glutes are also going to get more stimulation from squats, lunges, and bridges anyway.
2. Seated Leg Extensions
Leg extensions put a ton of strain on your knees, all while isolating your quads without involving your hamstrings or glutes. While you will feel the burn, there are safer compound movements that achieve the same effect. Keep your joints healthy and skip leg extensions unless you’re rehabbing an injury under medical supervision.
3. Donkey Kicks
Donkey kicks are often marketed as a glute-building exercise, but the problem is you’re only moving such a small amount of weight with your legs. For real muscle growth, you need to include heavier, full-body movements like squats and hip thrusts in your routine. It’s too simple of an exercise for minimal results.
Eduardo Cano Photo Co. on Unsplash
4. Side-Lying Leg Lifts
Side-lying leg lifts are a good exercise for mobility or rehabilitation, but they won’t give you any significant strength gains. You aren’t going to build a lot of muscle by using this exercise as a mainstay of your training. They can be used for warm-up or cooldown purposes in moderation.
5. Step Machine
Step machines can be used as a quick cardio or fat-burning tool, but the resistance provided is usually too light to actually make your legs stronger. You’ll get tired, but not in a way that promotes real strength gains. Use weighted step-ups instead.
6. Inner Thigh Machines
Inner thigh machines do not translate to real-world strength, and don’t build functional muscle mass in that area. Full body compound leg movements naturally engage your inner thighs as part of the movement pattern. Skip the time on this machine in favor of more effective exercises.
7. Standing Hip Abductions
Standing hip abductions isolate a small muscle group and don’t significantly increase overall leg strength. You may burn some calories, but won’t see any noticeable change in growth or power. Compound exercises should be your focus.
8. Wall Sits
Wall sits are excellent for quad endurance, but won’t actually make you much stronger or build muscle mass. Sticking your body in a static, loaded position doesn’t compare to loaded squats or lunges. They’re a good burnout at the end of a workout, but not a core exercise.
9. Smith Machine Squats
Smith machine squats are just as damaging as they are ineffective. Locking yourself into one fixed plane of movement puts a lot of stress on your knees and hips. Free-weight squats allow for natural movement and more stabilizer engagement. Avoid injury and skip smith machine squats.
10. High-Repetition Calf Machines
Performing very high reps on a calf machine isn’t going to give your calves the same strength or aesthetics as compound lifts. Progressive overload with free weights is your friend when it comes to seeing progress. Save your time from endless mindless reps and instead work towards real leg strength.
KEEP ON READING
