Best Leg Workout

After you completed with back workout, you need to work out your leg. The benefit of working out your leg is it can increase your strength to lift or to do other exercises. Here are the 5 exercises you need to do for your leg:

1.       Barbell Squats

The squat is one of the most efficient exercises for developing mass and power in your legs. It is also an effective compound exercise that employs many stabilizer muscles to complete the lift.

Starting Position: To reduce the chance of lower back injury, we recommend using a weight belt for this exercise. Rest a barbell on the upper portion of your back, not your neck. Firmly grip the bar with your hands almost twice your shoulder width apart. Position your feet on a heel raise so that the balls of your feet are resting on the floor and your heels are elevated. Your feet should be about shoulder-width apart, with your toes pointing slightly outward and knees over the toes.

The Exercise: Keeping your back as straight as possible and your chin up; bend your knees and slowly lower your hips straight down until your thighs are parallel with the floor. Once you reach the bottom position, press the weight up from your heels. Inhale on the way down and exhale on the way up.

2.       Leg Presses

This is a terrific mass-building exercise to add size to your thighs. It can be less stressful than squats to the lower back and allows you to use fairly heavy weights.

Starting Position: Sitting on a le-press machine, position your feet together against the crosspiece about shoulder-width apart and toes pointed slightly outward. Grasp the handle grips or sides of the seat.

The Exercise: Bend your knees and lower the weight as far as possible without changing the position of your hips. Do not lower the weight so far that your hips start to curl up off the seat. Pause briefly, and then slowly push the weight back up using your heels, not your toes. Do not lock your knees at the top, but rather take the weight to just before lock. Then begin to lower the weight again in a slow and deliberate fashion.

3.       Leg Extensions

When you give it all you’ve got, this exercise defines and shapes the front of the thigh, especially the muscles right above the knees.

Starting Position: Using a leg-extension machine, sit in the seat and hook your feet under the padded bar. Adjust the pad and/or the seat so that your knees hang off the end of the seat and the footpad rests on the lower part of the shins and right above the ankle. The pad should not be on your feet or in the middle of our shins. Grasp the handles on the machine or the edges of the seat to keep your hips from lifting up as you perform this exercise.

The Exercise: Extend your legs until your knees are straight, making sure you remain seated flat on the machine. Raise the weight all the way, lock and hold briefly, then slowly lower the weight back to the starting position. It’s important to get the full range of motion and feel the contraction in your muscles all the way up and all the way down.

4.       Dumbbell Lunges

This exercise works the gluts, quads, inner and outer thighs and hamstrings. You can perform it in a stationery position, or you can “lunge-walk” across a large, uncluttered area.

Starting Position: Hold a dumbbell in each hand and pull your shoulders back. Lift your chest up and look straight ahead. Position your right leg forward in a long stride. Your foot should be far enough in front of you so that when you bend your right knee, your thigh and lower leg from a right angle.

The Exercise: Slowly bend your knees, lowering your hips so your rear knee just clears the floor. Pause briefly in this position, then slowly straighten your legs and raise your body back up to a standing position. Complete a full set, then switch legs and repeat. Alternatively, you can switch legs and move forward across the floor with each repetition.

5.       Sissy Squat

This exercise is a very specialized movement that is designed to work the lower thigh area. Because of the unusual angle at which this exercise is performed, this movement is done with no weight or only moderate poundage. Personally, I feel this movement is great for those of you with bad knees that wish to continue squatting but cannot do traditional squats. The basic muscle groups exercise are the lower back, gluts (butt), hamstrings, front thighs and calves. However, this movement really hits the lower, front thighs which are primary muscle group of this exercise. There are a variety of ways to do this exercise. I prefer to keep one hand stabilized on the dumbbell rack or a bench, or I’ll use a towel. The point is to make sure you are balanced throughout the entire movement.

Starting Position: Adopt a position with your feet about 18 inches apart. I usually use a towel but you can use a rope and hook it around a pole or something similar. Now, you can also use one arm and hold onto the pole as well. Let your comfort levels guide you.

The Exercise: Rise up on your toes, and lower into a squat while leaning as far back as possible. The point is to bear in mind is to keep your thigh and torso in the same plane throughout the exercise.