When it comes to building an impressive physique, one muscle group that is often overlooked is the legs. Everyone has heard the saying, “Never skip leg day,” often referring to people with underdeveloped leg muscles.
Building huge legs should be the centre stage of any workout program. Well-developed legs not only enhance your overall aesthetic but also provide a strong foundation for various athletic activities.
Legs can be a very stubborn muscle to grow, especially if you have naturally skinny legs like myself. The key to building bigger legs is using a combination of compound and isolation exercises to increase strength and muscle mass.
In this article I will show you the best compound and isolation exercises to grow your legs, but before this I am going to give you a break down of the muscles in the legs, so you have a better understanding, and know the exact area of the leg each exercise targets as I talk you through each exercise.
The Importance of Leg Muscles
Understanding the major muscle groups in the leg is essential for anyone looking to build strength and size. The key muscles in the leg can be categorized into three main groups: the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves.
Quadriceps
The quadriceps are located at the front of the upper part of your leg. They are made up of four muscles: the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius. These muscles are responsible for extending the knee.
Hamstrings
The hamstrings, are located at the back of the upper part of your leg. They are made up of three muscles: the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus. These muscles flex the knee and extend the hip.
Calves
The calves, are located at the back of the lower part of your leg. They are made up of two muscles: the gastrocnemius and soleus. These muscles allow for plantar flexion at the ankle.
Each of these muscle groups plays a unique role in leg function and aesthetics, and targeting them effectively can lead to impressive leg development.
Compound vs Isolation Exercises
All exercises can be broken down into 2 groups, they are either compound exercises or isolation exercise. It is important to understand the different between them, as you can incorporate certain exercises into your workout depending on your training goals.
Compound exercises are exercises that work multiple muscle groups at the same time, which makes them great exercises for building strength and muscle mass.
They are also very convenient, as by working multiple muscles at once, it can save you a lot of time when working out, whilst at the same time burning a lot more calories than isolation exercises, as they activate more muscle cells.
Isolation exercises are important exercises when correcting muscle imbalances as they directly target and strengthen a certain muscle.
As you can directly target certain muscles, if you feel like a certain part of your body is falling behind the rest of your body, you can concentrate directly on that muscle.
Both compound and isolation exercises are very important exercises in a workout routine, and if you want to build a nice physique, a balance of both compound and isolation exercises is essential.
Compound Exercises for Huge and Powerful Legs
Compound exercises are the centre of leg development. They engage multiple muscle groups at once and provide the foundation for building strength and size.
Here are some of the best compound exercises for bigger and stronger legs.
Back Squats
The Back squat is the king of lower body exercises. When it comes to building stronger legs and hips, squat variations are essential exercises in your workout program.
The primary muscles worked are:
- Quadriceps
- Hamstrings
- Glutes
The secondary muscles worked are:
- Adductors (Inner Thigh)
- Spinal Erectors (Lower Back)
- Core
- Calves
- Abdominal
To perform the back squat you should…
- Stand with your feet around shoulder-width apart, facing slightly outwards.
- Lift the barbell off the squat rack onto your upper back with an overhand grip and shoulders pulled back.
- Hinge your hips and knees to lower your body into a squat position, keeping your chest up and back straight.
- Lower your hips until the tops of your thighs are parallel to the floor.
- Push through each foot evenly to stand back up to your starting position.
The back squat, builds serious leg strength and size as it engages all major muscles in your legs and allows you to load the body with significantly more weight than what can be achieved with other leg exercises.
Deadlift
The deadlift is a very popular compound exercise used in bodybuilding for building legs and back strength. They are an amazing strength-training exercise and offer many benefits for different health and fitness goals.
The primary muscles used are:
- Hamstrings
- Lower Back
- Core
- Glutes
- Trapezius
The secondary muscles used are:
- Latissimus Dorsi
- Rhomboids
- Calves
- Abdominal
To perform the dead lift you should…
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your toes under the bar.
- Bend over and grab the bar with an overhand grip about shoulder-width grip apart.
- Bend your knees until your shins touch the bar and lift your chest up.
- Drive through the floor with the legs, keeping the bar against the body, to lift the weight off the floor.
- Lower the bar to the floor in the reversing motion.
The deadlift is a key of most strength-training programs, and is one of the three lifts performed in the sport of power lifting. It is very important to use a good deadlift technique with a braced, neutral spine to prevent the risk of injury.
Lunges
Lunges are another essential exercise for building leg muscles as they work each side of your body independently. The single-leg movements activate your stabilizing muscles to develop balance, coordination, and stability.
The primary muscles used are:
- Quadriceps
- Hamstrings
- Glutes
The secondary muscles used are:
- Hip abductors (outer thighs)
- Hip adductors (inner thighs)
- Erector Spinae (Lower Back)
- Calves
- Core
- Abdominal
To perform lunges you should…
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, facing slightly outwards, with a straight posture and shoulders relaxed.
- Holding a weight in each hand, take a step forward with your right leg, making sure your heel hits the floor first.
- Lower your body until both knees form a 90-degree angle, making sure that your front knee is directly above your ankle, keeping your upper body straight and core engaged, throughout the movement to maintain balance.
- Push back up through the heel of your right foot, and return to your starting position.
- Repeat the lunge with your left leg.
Lunges are a good exercise to correct imbalances and misalignment in your body to make it more symmetrical. If you have one side that’s less strong or flexible, spend a bit of extra time working on this side so you don’t overuse the dominant side.
Hack Squat Machine
The hack squat is effective for building leg strength, especially in the quadriceps. It’s a great exercise for beginners to gain confidence before attempting back squats.
The primary muscles worked are:
- Quadriceps
The secondary muscles worked are:
- Hamstrings
- Glutes
- Calves
To perform hack squats you should…
- Load the machine with desired weight (start with a low weight if not familiar with the machine).
- Step onto the machine, placing your feet shoulder-width apart and your shoulders and back against the pads.
- Release the safety handles and slowly lower down, bending your knees until they reach a 90-degree angle.
- Pause for a second at the bottom, then push up through the back of your feet to extend your legs back to the starting position.
The hack squat is an amazing exercise to add to any lower body workout along with back squats and deadlifts to build a stronger, leaner pair of legs in no time.
Bulgarian Split Squat
Bulgarian split squats are a more advanced variation of standard lunges.
The primary muscles worked are:
- Quadriceps
- Hamstrings
- Glutes
The secondary muscles used are:
- Hip abductors (outer thighs)
- Hip adductors (inner thighs)
- Erector Spinae (Lower Back)
- Calves
- Core
- Abdominal
To perform Bulgarian split squat you should…
- Stand about 2 feet in front of a knee-level bench or step, facing away. Holding the dumbbells by your side.
- Lift your right leg behind you and place the top of your foot on the bench.
- Lean slightly forward at your waist and begin to lower down on your left leg, bending your knee. Stop when your left thigh is parallel to the ground.
- Push up through your left foot to return to a standing position.
- Do designated number of reps and then switch legs.
Bulgarian splits squats are a difficult exercise, it is important to maintain your balance throughout the entire movement. If your set-up is wrong, you might find yourself off balance. It is essential to make sure your set-up correct when performing the exercise.
Leg Press Machine
The leg press machine is mimics the barbell squat, but reduces the force on your core, making it less of a full body exercise. This can be beneficial if you add the leg press to your routine as an accessory to squats.
The primary muscles worked are:
- Quadriceps
The secondary muscles worked are:
- Hamstrings
- Glutes
- Calves
When using the leg press machine, you can target different muscles by changing your foot position. It builds strength in the targeted muscles, and you can use it to overcome imbalances, such as overly developed hamstrings, compared to quadriceps.
Achieving Leg Definition Through Isolation Exercises
While compound exercises are essential for overall leg development, isolation exercises help you target specific muscle groups.
Here are some of the best isolation exercises to help tone your legs:
Leg Extensions
Leg extensions are the best isolation exercise to target your quadriceps.
To perform leg extensions you should…
- Sit down on a leg extension machine.
- Adjust the seat and pad to correct height.
- Extend your legs until they are straight.
- Squeeze quadriceps for a second or two at the top of the movement, then slowly return to starting position.
Leg extensions are a very simple and easy exercises to perform. They are an excellent way to finish any leg workout to target and burn out the quadriceps.
Leg Curls
Leg curls are the best isolation exercise to target your hamstrings. There are two types of leg curl machine: seated leg curl or lying leg curl.
- Adjust the seat and pads to correct height.
- Sit down or lie face down on a leg curl machine, depending on which machine you are using.
- Bend your knees to lift the weight
- Squeeze hamstrings at bottom of movement, then slowly return legs to starting position.
Both seated and lying leg curls are amazing isolation exercises to finish off any leg workout to target and burn out the hamstrings.
Calf Raises
There are two ways to perform calf raises, standing or seated. Standing calf raises primarily engage the gastrocnemius, the larger, more visible calf muscle. While seated calf raises target the soleus muscle, a deeper muscle beneath the gastrocnemius.
To perform calf raises you should…
- Stand or sit with your feet about hip-width apart, depending on which variation you are doing.
- Slowly raise your heels as high as you can by pushing through the balls of your feet until you are standing on your tiptoes at the peak of the movement.
- Squeeze calves for a second or two at the top of the movement to stimulate muscle growth.
- Slowly lower your heels back down to the starting position.
Calf raises are great isolation exercises used to target the calves. They are a very effective exercise in building strong and defined calf muscles.
Creating Your Leg Workout Plan
Here is a leg workout plan that I am currently using myself, and have used many times before to increase leg strength and muscle mass. It contains a combination of 3 compound exercises and 2 isolation exercises to maximize muscle growth.
For compound exercises you should aim for 6-8 rep range, to increase strength and muscle mass. For isolation exercises you should aim for 10-12 rep range, to promote muscle hypertrophy.
| Exercise | Sets | Repetitions | Targeted Muscles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back Squat | 4 | 6-8 reps | Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Glutes, Lower Back |
| Deadlift | 4 | 6-8 reps | Lower Back, Glutes, Hamstrings, Core |
| Lunges | 4 | 6-8 reps (per leg) | Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Glutes |
| Seated Leg Curls | 4 | 10-12 reps | Hamstrings |
| Leg Extensions | 4 | 10-12 reps | Quadriceps |
| Calf Raises | 4 | 12-15 reps | Calves |
It is important to perform each exercise with the correct form, and squeeze the leg muscles for a second at the top or bottom of each exercise to maximize muscle hypertrophy.
Conclusion: Achieving Your Dream Legs
In this article, we’ve discussed how combining both compound and isolation exercises is key to achieving your dream legs.
Whether you are just starting out as a bodybuilder or are a fitness fanatic, incorporating these principles and exercises into your workout routine can help you achieve the impressive legs you desire.
I have provided a balanced workout plan that combines the best of these exercises to help you achieve your fitness goals, whether it’s increased strength, building muscle, or definition.
However, no matter what leg workout you perform, it is essential to combine it with a good diet to match your training goals. There are also many supplements on the market to help you achieve your dream legs.
I have written the following articles that will help you to create the perfect combination of training, dieting and supplementation, to ensure you get best gains you can achieve.
- Fuelling Your Gains: The Ultimate Guide to Nutrition for Lean Muscle Building
- Top supplements for building lean muscle.
- Benefits and Side Effects of Creatine Monohydrate
I hope you get to try out some above exercises to get the leg strength and muscle mass that you desire. If you have any questions about leg exercises leave a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as possible.