Build Muscle with These Exercises

One of worse muscle groups to workout for me are the leg muscles. For whatever reason working the legs seems to exhaust me more than other large muscle groups. Also there is nothing glamorous about working the legs like there is with building large biceps or rock hard pecs. In any event they need to get worked, so here are some exercises that I use.

The legs are made up of three major muscle groups that need to be worked. They are the quadriceps (the upper front portion of your legs), the hamstrings (the upper back portion of your legs) and your calves (the lower portion of your legs.

The best exercise you can do for the upper part of your legs is the squat routine. You can use dumbbells if no spotter is available or if you have access to a spotter or use a smith machine you can use a regular barbell.

I use dumbbells since I do not workout with a spotter. To do dumbbell squats hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms extended at your sides. With your feet spread shoulder width apart, slowly lower yourself by bending at your knees until the upper part of your legs are parallel with the floor. Once you reach this point start raising yourself back up until you are standing upright. Repeat this exercise for 10 to 12 reps and 1 to 3. Squats are a great exercise, they work both the front and back of your upper legs, and they should be a part of your routine.

You want to keep your legs in proportion by making sure you work your calves equally as you do your upper legs. If you don’t you will have these muscular thighs and toothpick calves. It won’t look that good, trust me I have see it before in the gym.

There are two types of calve routines you can do, the seated and the standing. I like doing the seated calve raises. Simply sit on a bench, chair etc., making sure your feet are flat on the ground. Take a barbell and lay it across your thighs. You can also put a towel or some type of padding on the bar to make it more comfortable. Now raise the barbell by using your calves. This is done by raising your feet with your toes. Think of it as if you were trying to stand on your tippy toes. Now just lower and repeat. Again you should do 10 to 12 reps and 1 to 3 sets.

Now that you have your leg routine you are ready to go. Just remember before you start any exercise program you should consult with your physician to get a complete physical.