Legs

Squat

A squat is a compound strength exercise that involves lowering your hips from a standing position and then standing back up. As you descend, your hip and knee joints flex, while your ankle joint dorsiflexes. When standing up, the hip and knee joints extend, and the ankle joint plantarflexes. 

Leg Press

When using a leg press machine, it is important to position your body correctly. Sit on the machine, ensuring that your back and head are comfortably resting against the padded support. Place your feet on the footplate, keeping them hip-width apart and ensuring your heels are flat.

Make sure your bottom is flat against the seat, avoiding any lifting. Your legs should form approximately a 90-degree angle at the knees. Pay attention to the placement of your feet on the plate, as positioning them too high can stress your glutes, while placing them too low can put unnecessary pressure on your knees. Keep your knees in line with your feet, avoiding any inward or outward bowing.

Maintain this alignment throughout the exercise. Use the assist handles to provide support and keep your spine and head in the proper position.


Benefits

The leg press machine provides an opportunity to target and develop the quadriceps, as well as engage the gluteus maximus, hamstrings, and calves.

One advantage of the leg press machine is its versatility in emphasizing different muscles by adjusting your foot positioning. This allows for targeted strength building and can help address muscle imbalances, such as overdeveloped hamstrings relative to the quadriceps.

While the leg press machine simulates the barbell squat, it reduces the demand on your core, resulting in a less comprehensive full-body exercise. This aspect can be advantageous when incorporating the leg press as a supplementary exercise to squats. By doing so, you can continue increasing volume in the quadriceps and other leg muscles without incurring the additional fatigue associated with loading a barbell on the spine.

Enhancing the strength of your quadriceps through the leg press can positively impact your squat performance by fortifying the necessary muscles for progression. If you encounter a strength plateau in your barbell squat, incorporating the leg press may prove beneficial.

In addition, utilizing the leg press machine can contribute to improving balance and stability, particularly for individuals new to lifting heavy weights. Some individuals may not be ready to perform barbell squats until they have developed familiarity with lifting substantial weights using their legs, which promotes core and leg stability in a safe manner—this is where the leg press can be valuable.


Romanian Deadlift (RDLs)


Lunges




Benefits

The lunge is an effective compound exercise that targets and strengthens various muscles in the lower body. It primarily engages the quads (front of the thighs), hamstrings (back of the thighs), glutes (buttocks), and calves (back of the lower leg).

Performing lunges helps to stretch the hip flexors, enhancing their flexibility and counteracting the tightness caused by prolonged sitting. Additionally, lunges activate the core muscles, promoting stability, balance, and injury prevention.

Lunges offer functional benefits as they simulate movements commonly encountered in daily activities, such as bending down to pick up objects. By targeting major muscle groups in the lower body, lunges can also contribute to improved metabolism.

Compared to exercises like squats, lunges introduce a split stance that alters the body's loading, allowing for more independent work on each leg. This variation can further enhance the effectiveness of the exercise.


Leg Extension

Adjust the leg extension machine so that the pad is positioned at the top of your lower legs, just above the ankles. Ensure that your knees are at a 90-degree angle. Choose a weight that provides a moderate challenge for completing 10 to 12 repetitions.


Benefits

The leg extension exercise primarily targets the quadriceps, the large muscles located at the front of the thigh. Unlike closed chain kinetic exercises like squats, the leg extension is an open chain kinetic exercise.

In open chain exercises, the body part being exercised is not anchored, and in the case of leg extensions, the movement involves lifting the padded bar while the legs are in motion. This distinction sets it apart from closed chain exercises where the feet are in contact with the ground.

If your cardiovascular activities primarily involve running or walking, which primarily work the hamstrings at the back of the thigh, incorporating leg extensions can help bring balance to your leg muscles by developing the quadriceps. Strengthening the quadriceps can also enhance kicking force, making it advantageous for sports like soccer or martial arts.


Leg Curl


Leg Curl Tips


Smith Machine Calf Raises

If your gym lacks a standing calf raise machine, the smith machine can serve as a viable alternative.


Tips

Maintain a continuous tension on your calves by ensuring that your heels do not make contact with the floor during the entire set.

Position the balls of your feet right at the edge of the block and avoid allowing them to shift forward, as this would reduce the intensity of the exercise.

Optimize your range of motion by allowing your heels to descend as far as your flexibility allows and then lifting them as high as possible during each repetition.

Pay attention to keeping your knees straight and avoid any bending throughout the movement.