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By Jonathan Stehlik
The basics of developing a set of mountains for legs begins with that exercise all true bodybuilders have a love hate relationship with. That's right, the squat! The squat is the core of any leg program. Do not give me any of that pansy importance of isolation exercises, if you give a full out and intense effort, giving all you could possibly give with your human body on your squats, you don't even have to worry about any other leg exercises.
For most people unfortunately, they just can't handle this, so we add in a few other exercises to help us feel better mentally, like we have worked our legs really hard, but are just making excuses for not performing squats with all we had. Yeah, they just hurt that much. For those of us who know the importance of this exercise, we mentally prepare before these leg workouts like no other, and when we go into the gym its life or death with this exercise. The squat alone has been known to add on 10 lbs of muscle to hard-gainers within a few months!
If you have a bad back or knee problems, the leg press is a good alternative to the squat, as it will allow you to add more weight, but make sure you never sacrifice form for weight.
The next foundation that needs to be incorporated into the leg workout is the lunge. Amazing, that is all I can say about lunges. The legs you will develop doing heavy lunges make all the pain worth it. Lunges work the glutes, hamstrings, and quads. Lunges will take your legs to the next level, but as I said already, proper form is more important than anything. Many top bodybuilders swear by lunges, and you will also once you incorporate a set of heavy ones into your workout and watch your legs grow by the week.
The final foundation that you will want in your leg workouts will be the leg extension and the leg curl, alternated every week. The reason we are alternating these exercises is because this will allow the specific areas to recover, and also for maximum stimulation by being able to use heavier than normal weights when you come back. Forget the isolation, focus on building the mass. You cannot shape a muscle, you can only build it. Why not give your quads and hams some extra rest time each week, and then come back and blast them with "isolation" exercise and watch them grow fast. And now to round out those awesome sides of beef you have developed. The three key calf exercises, all you will ever need for calves. Each week you will perform standing calf raises, always to failure. Each week you will also alternate from toe presses to seated calf raises. These are the three most important calf exercises. The standing calf raises will develop the upper calf mass while the alternating toe presses and seated calf raises will develop that V shape from the heel going up into the mass of the calf, to give your calfs a much larger appearance. Many trainees feel they have small calves until they realize what seated calf raises and toe presses can do for them.
The basics of developing a set of mountains for legs begins with that exercise all true bodybuilders have a love hate relationship with. That's right, the squat! The squat is the core of any leg program. Do not give me any of that pansy importance of isolation exercises, if you give a full out and intense effort, giving all you could possibly give with your human body on your squats, you don't even have to worry about any other leg exercises.
For most people unfortunately, they just can't handle this, so we add in a few other exercises to help us feel better mentally, like we have worked our legs really hard, but are just making excuses for not performing squats with all we had. Yeah, they just hurt that much. For those of us who know the importance of this exercise, we mentally prepare before these leg workouts like no other, and when we go into the gym its life or death with this exercise. The squat alone has been known to add on 10 lbs of muscle to hard-gainers within a few months!
If you have a bad back or knee problems, the leg press is a good alternative to the squat, as it will allow you to add more weight, but make sure you never sacrifice form for weight.
The next foundation that needs to be incorporated into the leg workout is the lunge. Amazing, that is all I can say about lunges. The legs you will develop doing heavy lunges make all the pain worth it. Lunges work the glutes, hamstrings, and quads. Lunges will take your legs to the next level, but as I said already, proper form is more important than anything. Many top bodybuilders swear by lunges, and you will also once you incorporate a set of heavy ones into your workout and watch your legs grow by the week.
The final foundation that you will want in your leg workouts will be the leg extension and the leg curl, alternated every week. The reason we are alternating these exercises is because this will allow the specific areas to recover, and also for maximum stimulation by being able to use heavier than normal weights when you come back. Forget the isolation, focus on building the mass. You cannot shape a muscle, you can only build it. Why not give your quads and hams some extra rest time each week, and then come back and blast them with "isolation" exercise and watch them grow fast. And now to round out those awesome sides of beef you have developed. The three key calf exercises, all you will ever need for calves. Each week you will perform standing calf raises, always to failure. Each week you will also alternate from toe presses to seated calf raises. These are the three most important calf exercises. The standing calf raises will develop the upper calf mass while the alternating toe presses and seated calf raises will develop that V shape from the heel going up into the mass of the calf, to give your calfs a much larger appearance. Many trainees feel they have small calves until they realize what seated calf raises and toe presses can do for them.