Speed up Muscle Gains All over the Body

Here are key Leg Exercises with Pictures

The Squat:

Like the Bench Press and Curl, this great exercise should be in every schedule in some form. It is one of the best leg exercises because of its effect on the respiratory system it is a great chest, stamina and body weight builder.

Stand feet short astride, toes to front. With a barbell supported across the shoulders behind the neck, bend the knees and sink into a knees bend position. Immediately return to the upright. Inhale deeply just prior to the knees bend, and exhale as you come to the upright. Fill the lungs a couple of times before each repetition. The back must be kept flat. This is a very important, on not account must the back be allowed to sag. If you are not too supple, don not squat too deeply, only until the thighs are slightly below parallel with the ground is sufficient. The heels must remain on the ground all the time. If you have difficulty in keeping the hells on the ground, raise them on a block of wood.

Hack Lift:

Stand short astride in FRONT of a barbell. Bend the knees and keeping the back flat, and with a slight forward incline of the body, grasp the bar knuckles to front or back as preferred. Using the back and legs, lift the bar off the floor and resume the upright position, and repeat. Inhale on lift, exhale on lower.

The Straddle Lift:

Stand with one leg either side of a barbell, feet about 15 inches apart. Grasp the bar with one hand in front of the thighs and one to the rear, the barbell being fore and aft. Bend the knees and keeping the back flat, lift the bar from the floor by straightening the legs and using the back muscles.

Single Leg Squat with Dumbell:

Holding a dumbell in one hand and supporting yourself with the free hand on a chair or against a wall, perform a single leg squat holding the dumbell on the side which is being exercised. For more freedom of movement, this exercise can be done standing on a chair seat and supporting oneself on the back of the chair with the free hand. This is a very strong exercise, and should be practiced without a dumbell at first, and then progress to a very light dumbell.

Squat with Weight at Clean:

With minor alteration the squat exercise can also be done with the weight held with a narrow grip at the front of the chest, in which case you will need a block under the heels. It throws more work on the front of the thighs and therefore strengthens them.

Sitting Thigh Extension:

Sit on a table or chair, legs at the hang. Straighten alternate knee, at the same time flexing the quadriceps muscles. This is a fine quadriceps exercise, and also a strengthener for the knee joint, and in a modified way is extensively used by footballers, etc, in the treatment of knee injuries. As a leg builder, you will need some extra weight right from the start. This exercise is often used by footballers to make there legs strong.

Standing Back Curl:

With support and with some added weight on the boot, bend the leg backwards from the knee, contracting the calf muscle. This is a fine exercise. Try high repetitions with each leg.

Standing Leg Raise Sideways:

With support, alternate leg raise sideways from the hip. This is a fine hip exercise, and also for the muscles on the inside of the leg, and the oblique muscles of the abdomen.