Do not skip legs day! Probably one of the most famous expressions in the fitness industry.
One of the reasons that people don’t like working on their legs is that it makes day-to-day life very difficult for the next few days. But, there is another famous expression – No pain, no gain. Every time you get a sore muscle means you did the workout right. And with these best legs exercises, we guarantee pain but also progress and satisfaction.
Legs are a large muscle group. When you train legs, your body sends a lot of water into those muscles. This process can trigger nausea, and in rare cases – vomiting. Don’t worry, that is all normal. Depending on your experience and form, we made a list of the best legs exercise to avoid this.
On the day that you are training legs, it is very important to have carbs. Your body will use those carbs to get you through the workout. Two hours before the workout, including one of three things:
- 200 grams of rice
- 300 grams of boiled potatoes
- 150 grams of pasta.
Now let’s get onto the exercises!
Exercise 1
Barbell Back Squats
We start with the toughest exercise. The reason is, at the start of the workout, the energy and stamina level is at the highest.
Barbell needs to be placed on your traps. We recommend having a towel around the barbell in the place where it touches your traps. This way the barbell won’t hurt your neck and spine. Get yourself in position with your chest up, squat down until the bottoms of your thighs are parallel to the floor. Now, drive back up by pushing your feet through the floor.
Make sure you inhale while going down and exhale moving up.
Beginner:
- 4 sets
- 8 to 10 reps
Advanced:
- 6 sets
- 10 to 12 reps
Exercise 2
Bulgarian Split Squats
Stand roughly two feet in front of a sturdy bench or chair, your feet hip-distance apart, your core engaged, your shoulders back, and your chest and eyes pointing straight ahead. Place one of your feet on a bench or a chair behind you. You can place it facing down on the bench or on your toes. The lower leg needs to be placed in such a position that your knee does not go over your toes when you squat down. Depending on your experience and form, you can also grab a couple of dumbbells or you can do it with your body weight.
Beginner:
- 2 sets each leg
- 10 reps
Advanced:
- 4 sets each leg
- 10 reps
Exercise 3
Standing Calves Raise
This exercise can be performed with the machine or with dumbbells. If you are using dumbbells, grab them and position them on the side of your body. The movement is simple. From a normal standing position, you need to stand up on your toes. While contacting your calves as much as you can. At the highest point, pause your 3 to 5 seconds and control your movement going down.
Beginner:
- 3 sets
- 12 to 15 reps
Advanced:
- 5 sets
- 15 to 20 reps
Legs are a big muscle group, but calves are small muscles, so we need to have more reps with less weight.
Exercise 4
Barbell Hip Thrust
Place your upper back on a bench and bend your knees with your feet flat on the floor. Roll the barbell to your hips. This is your start position. Squeeze your glutes and drive your hips up. Hold the bar with both hands to make sure you have full control. Pause for 3 to 5 seconds on the top and control the movement going down.
Beginner:
- 3 sets
- 10 to 12 reps
Advanced:
- 5 sets
- 15 reps
Exercise 5
Kettlebell Swing
We are going to finish off with some swings. The reason for it is, this exercise activates all the muscles that we already worked. Chose the weight of the kettlebell depending on how much stamina and energy you have left.
This exercise is performed from the hips. Stand tall and straight. Keep your arms loose. Think of your arms as hooks, you don’t activate them, just use them for the movement.
Explode through your hips to send the weight swinging upward from your quads. The height should be as high as you can without using arms. Activating glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps is your goal here.
Beginner:
- 3 sets
- 10 to 12 reps
Advanced:
- 5 sets
- 15 reps
These best legs exercises are supposed to be done once a week. If your legs are not shaking after a leg day, you haven’t trained your legs. We will finish this blog with the most famous expression when it comes to training: Go hard, or go home.
