Only Suckers Skip Leg Day (plus a REALLY GOOD leg workout)

If you’re looking for the ultimate leg workout to put some meat on you skinny legs, you’ve come to the right place. This is the best leg workout for adding mass that I’ve ever used.

This post has it all. I call it the Leg Training Lexicon.

This post is intended to give you everything you need to build bigger legs. It’s meant to be comprehensive, clear, and light a fire under your ass.

After reading this article you will feel compelled to train legs. The benefits are just to great not to.

I take out all the guess work. When you’re ready to begin, you can read this whole post from top to bottom, or jump to the section that interests you most:

• Leg Training Benefits
• The Leg Muscles (Anatomy and function)
• Best Leg Exercises (with pictures and explanations)
• The Best Leg Workout on God’s Green Earth
• Leg Training Tips
• Leg Training Mistakes to Avoid
• Calve Training Tips
• Leg Workout You can Do at Home (no weights needed)

(For more about the benefits of leg training, listen to my podcast episode: “Why You Should Never Skip Leg Day” on YouTube or Soundcloud)

If you are reading this, I commend you because you’re one of the few seeking leg training enlightenment.

Not training legs limits your physical potential and can cause muscle imbalances. Training legs makes you bigger, stronger and more athletic.

So, why do most men neglect leg training?

It’s usually due to one or both of the following reasons:

1. Leg training is hard.
2. Legs aren’t ‘show’ muscles.

Leg training is damn hard. I’ll give ya that. It takes a ton of effort, energy, and focus to get a good leg workout.

Even if the desire is there, most men still struggle to build strong legs because they don’t know where to start. This post will clear up any confusion.

Another reason for weak legs is because legs are simply just overlooked because they are not ‘show’ muscles. Or, guys take legs for granted because they “can leg press so much weight, bro”.

What ever the reason for not training legs, it’s a damn shame.

Leg training has an unprecedented amount of benefits, more than the collective benefits of training all other muscle groups combined.

People just don’t understand the benefits of leg training. That’s apparent.

People soundly be walking around on chicken legs if they know better.

Trust me, I know. I used to be one of those people propped up on chicken legs.

It wasn’t until I started training legs like a champ that my physique transformed for the better in a BIG way.

Leg Workout Benefits

I didn’t train legs consistently for a long time.

I wish I would have know the benefits of leg training sooner because leg training has resulted in the best gains of my life.

Training my lower body completely transformed my physique – I went from an above average, kinda-sorta strong looking dude, to being one of the best built guys in any gym I walk into. (Or any beach I find my self enjoying…or anywhere really.)

A great leg workout routine gives you benefits that need to be experienced to believe:

• Increased testosterone
• Boosts natural growth hormone production
• More total body muscle mass
• Better aesthetics (complete physique)
• More athletic (athletes are always in fashion)
• Improved overall strength
• Higher metabolic rate (burn more calories!)
• Shredded core (yep, abs from training legs, bro)
• Banish chicken legs (drumsticks are to be eaten, not walked upon.)
• Being able to kick a door down with ease (haven’t actually done this but could, probably)

Sounds pretty awesome, right? Almost to good to be true?

Well, it’s all true, and I’ll prove it. Allow me to elaborate:

Increase Testosterone Naturally

We are in the midst of a low testosterone epidemic.

Testosterone levels in men are plummeting world wide. Each new generation’s testosterone levels are lower than the previous generation.

What can you do to fight this?

There are two ways to go from here.

Option A) Inject yourself with synthetic testosterone. Your doctor can get you on a Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) regimen. There are risks involved and it could make matters worse.

Option B) Train legs like a savage using the workout routine provided here in this post.

To summarize, you could prick your ass with a needle or get your ass under a bar. One is ‘easy’, the other is ‘hard’.

My question for you: Why not take things into your own hands and maximize your testosterone levels naturally?

What it will make of you to do this will improve your life 10-fold. It did for me anyway.

If you’re interested in Option B (‘B’ stands for Best) Here’s what you do:

Read this entire article and apply this knowledge at the gym.

Follow the plan to a ‘T’ and watch your T-levels shoot up like a rocket.

Boost Growth Hormone

Intense leg training stimulates natural human growth hormone (HGH) production.

Since every muscle in your body is getting pounded by squats, (oh yes, you must squat) every muscle sends the signal that it needs to get stronger.

This results in a spike of growth hormone production. This potent hormone surges into your bloodstream helping your muscles grow.

Increase Total Body Muscle Mass

The benefits of leg training spill over into every other muscle group to make your whole body stronger.

Old School bodybuilders like Mike Mentzer, Frank Zane and Arnold Schwarzenegger used concept to their advantage.

The old school 20-Rep Squat routine is a perfect example of training legs to stimulate hormone production.

The idea is to hyper-stimulate the legs to release huge amounts of natural growth hormones, then immediately train upper body to cash in on the flood of HGH.

The Result? Bigger muscles everywhere.

Full Body Aesthetics

You cannot have a truly great looking physique with chicken legs.

most gym bros are top heavy because they neglect their legs.

Skinny legs look fine covered in pants. But what happens when it’s beach season?

You’ll be outed when you show up in board shorts looking like Johnny Bravo.

Athletic physiques are the best looking physiques. And you can’t look athletic with the body proportions of a chicken.

Improved Athleticism

Training legs improves speed, endurance, vertical jump, balance, and coordination.

That’s great and all but if you’re not in the NFL, who cares?

Well, even if you’re a desk jockey like me, having the endurance to go the extra mile pays off (literally).

A strong body is a strong mind. An you need a strong mind to perform well in life.

Increase Total Body Strength and Size

Strong people have strong legs.

Take a look at strength athletes for example. Their muscles are massive. Even the smallest strongmen look enormous.

This is because leg training is anabolic. Leg exercises build muscle and strength from the ground up. Every muscle gets stronger from head to toe.

Barbell squats, lunges and Romanian deadlifts train your entire body, not just your legs.

When you put a heavy barbell on your back, every muscle supports the weight. Which means, every muscle gets a workout.

My shoulders, arms, back, and abs are all sore after a good leg workout with heavy squats.

That’s because barbell squats and lunges are really total body exercises in disguise.

Strength gains translate into strength gains elsewhere.

For example, let’s say your max squat improves 30 pounds. You can expect your deadlift, rows, and even bench press to improve as well.

It may be just a few pounds improvement, but not bad considering it didn’t require those lifts to be trained directly!

Leg Training Burns Fat

Leg workouts burn more fat than any other workout.

This is because legs are big muscles and require a lot of calories to train. Legs can also pack on muscle mass, and muscle mass which burns calories 24/7.

Leg Workouts Build Abs

The best way to get abs is with heavy squats.

You heard that right: Squats build six-packs.

You have to keep your abs tight while squatting or else you’ll buckle under the weight.

Squatting gives you ‘strong guy’ abs which are different than skinny guy abs.

Skinny guy abs look like they’re airbrushed, strong guy abs look like they are carved from stone.

Get Rid of Chicken Legs

Build strong legs and your entire body will become more defined.

Legs are your foundation. All your strength and power is generated from the ground up.

If you have teeny tiny chicken legs, you need a big dose of Iron directly to the legs.

If you keep training your upper body but neglect your lower, you could come down with Chicken Leg Syndrome.

What is Chicken Leg Syndrome?

Chicken Leg Syndrome is a condition where one has teeny-tiny thighs and calves, but a bulky torso.

This condition is most common in gym bros.

The main causes of Chicken Leg Syndrome are skipping leg day and and training arms 5 days a week.

Those afflicted with CLS are typically in denial. They a chronic excuse makers so they can skip leg day.

The only known cure for Chicken Leg Syndrome is hitting legs twice a week for as long as it takes to even out the physique.

This treatment has a 100% success rate for anyone who’s not a raging pussy.

How to Know if You have Chicken Leg Syndrome

Chicken leg syndrome is a condition where your legs are smaller than your arms.

If you suspect you or a loved one suffers from CLS, you can find out with this simple field test.

Take a tape measure and measure the circumference of your calves at the widest point. Then, measure how big around your arm is at the widest point.

If your arm is bigger than your calves, you have chicken legs.

If you have the affliction I have the prescription.

Leg Exercises are Super Efficient

Leg workouts force your largest muscles to grow resulting in faster muscle mass gains all over.

You also get the added benefit of stronger core and back muscles due to the anabolic nature of leg exercises.

Who cares what your legs look like if you have big arms, right?

Well, the truth is that building strong legs will increase your arm size.

You read that correctly.

Train the lower half the body and the whole body benefits.

The Leg Muscles

There are over 200 muscles in the lower body. The glutes, thighs and calves are complex and powerful muscle groups.

We’ll introduce the leg muscles from the waist down

Glutes

The glutes are the muscles of your buttocks. There are three major muscles here. They all connect the pelvis to the femurs.

The primary purpose of the glutes is extension, flexion, and abduction of the thigh.

Extension is increase of an angle of two bones meeting at a joint. Flexion decreases the angle between two bones.

Abduction moves a limb away from the body. If you’re standing with both feet together, the act of spreading your stance would be considered abduction.

The best exercises for glutes are squats, lunges, and hip thrusters.

Quadriceps

Quadriceps (Quads for short) are the muscles on the front thigh. Quads are responsible for extension of the shin bone, by straightening the leg at the knee.

Quads look amazing when they are muscular and defined.

The best quad workouts are back squat, front squat, and leg extensions.

Hamstrings

Hamstrings (Hammies) are the ‘leg bicep’. Hammies ruction is flexion of the knee. That is, bringing the heel toward your glutes.

Hammies are a critical piece of your posterior chain. You need a strong posterior chain to maintain skeletal joint health and good posture, and stay back pain free.

Hamstrings respond best to squats, lunges, Romanian Deadlifts, and lying leg curls.

Calves

Ahh, calves. The body’s red-headed step child everyone loves to hate.

Claves are the most neglected muscle group. People just fail to see the benefits of calve training.

Calves are an important muscle in your posterior chain. They also play an important role in ‘grounding you’, thus providing balance.

Most guys blame genetics for their small calves. Don’t fall for this bullshit. If you train calves correctly they will GROW.

I find that the best exercises for calves are calf press on the leg press machine, and standing calf raises.

The “How to Build Big Legs Workout Routine”

Follow this routine and you’re on your way to tree-trunk thighs and cut calves.

Perform a leg workout two times per week. Alternate between Leg Workout A and Leg Workout B.

I train legs Monday and Thursday to allow for sufficient rest between workouts.

Leg Workout A

• Barbell Back Squat 5×5 (Full depth. Ass to the grass.)
• Laying Leg Curls 5×12,5 (12 reps, followed immediately by 5 reps at a lower weight is one set.)
• Single Leg Extensions 3×10,8,6 for each leg (10 reps on right leg, 10 reps on left leg, 8 reps on right, 8 reps on left, 6 on right, 6 on left is one set.) Focus on contraction at top of motion.
• Calf Raises on leg press machine 5xAMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) Go heavy as possible. My sets are typically 25, 20, 15, 10, 10 reps. Adding weight each time.
• Leg Press 3×8-12 (very slow reps up and down)

Leg Workout B

• Barbell Back Squat 5×10 (Full depth. Ass to the grass.)
• Laying Leg Curls 5×12,5 (12 reps, followed immediately by 5 reps at a lower weight is one set.)
• Single Leg Extensions 3×10,8,6 for each leg (10 reps on right leg, 10 reps on left leg, 8 reps on right, 8 reps on left, 6 on right, 6 on left is one set.) Focus on contraction at top of motion.
• Romanian Deadlift with dumbbells 5×12 (prop toes up on a 45-pound plate. Reach backwash hips and keep hamstrings tight. Three seconds down, two seconds up each rep.)
• Calf Raises on leg press machine 5xAMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) Go heavy as possible. My sets are typically 25, 20, 15, 10, 10 reps. Adding weight each time.

The 10 Best Leg Exercises

When it comes to leg exercises, not all are created equal. Some are better than others at building muscle mass.

These are the absolute best leg exercises for men.

#1. Back Squat

There are two variations of the Back squat: High-bar and Low bar.

Each has it’s perks and benefits and I recommend doing both to ensure complete and thorough leg training.

Start with heels at shoulder width and toes pointed out at a 30 degree angle. Adjust from there if needed.

#2. Front Squat

Front squats are a great leg exercises for targeting your quads, or front thigh muscles. Squats allow you to squat your hips very deep and almost touch your butt to the floor. Front squats are also great for training abs, back and arms due to the position you are in.

There are two ways to perform front squats. Arms crossed and arms under. I prefer and recommend arms under because it trains shoulder flexibility and allows you to use better form once you get used to it.

#3. Lunges

There are two ways to perform lunges. Holding weights at your sides or with a barbell across your back.

I prefer lunges with weight across my back because it trains your abs and stabilizer muscles more then having weight at your sides.

#4. Leg Press (and Single-Leg Press)

Leg press is a way to train safely using very heavy weight. You still need to be careful and use good form and focus on the task at hand because the weight can do damage if you aren’t focused. Leg presses pump up your thighs.

#5. Romanian Deadlifts (RDL)

Great for thighs, hamstrings and glutes. My legs feel like rubber every time I do Romanian deadlifts. RDLs provide a nice stretch as well as an added bonus.

#6. Leg Extension

Leg extensions are perfect for isolating quadricep muscles. They produce thigh definition like no other exercises and sculpt the ‘tear drop’ shape above the knee.

#7. Laying Leg Curl

I overlooked leg curls for a long time. Too long. Leg curls are amazing for building strong hamstrings. They add thickness and great shape to your legs.

#8. Calf Raises and Calf Presses

Calf raises and presses are the best, hands down, for building strong calves. Do them every leg workout to develop ‘diamond calves‘.

#9. Side Lunges

Build thickness in the thigh and train the legs in a unique way to stimulate growth.

#10. Hip Adductor (In and Out)

Building the muscles around the hit is important.

Targeting them with hip adductors is a great way to increase overall lower body strength, reduce risk of injury, and stay limber and strong.

How to Keep Making Leg Gains

Keep adding weight each week.

5-10 pounds each set until you can’t anymore. But don’t compromise form for weight. Always strive for perfect form each repetition.

Continue this workout until your legs catch up to your upper body. It could take a few month or more depending on how hard you train and how imbalanced your upper/lower body is.

After you’ve evened out, lift legs at least once a week to make sure your legs keep up with the rest of your body.

Three Keys to Unlock Monster Leg Gains Naturally

you train legs the same way you train upper body.

Go Low

Your muscle gains will be in direct proportion to your squat depth.

Squat deep. Lunge deep, leg press deep. Calve raise and press deep. Go deep, bro. legs need lovin’ too.

Go full range of motion every single repetition.

Range of motion is important to train legs muscles to the max.

Go Slow

Eliminate momentum. Focus on time under tension.

Feel your legs work by going slow. It’s easy to think that you’re getting a good leg workout when you’re really not.

Legs have explosive power. This means you use a lot of momentum when training them.

Keep full tension on your legs muscles by doing slow reps. Three or four seconds up and another three or four seconds down.

Go Heavy

Lift as heavy as you can to complete full reps. I found that working sets of 5-8 reps work best for leg development.

The occasional heavy double and triple sets should be attempted as well.

Leg Training Mistakes

The first and biggest mistake is not training legs at all. This is usually justified by blaming genetics:

Jim Bro says, “My genetics make my legs small and hard to grow.”

The only reason your legs won’t grow is because you’re not training them hard enough and/or eating enough to make them grow.

Some dudes with chicken legs blame it on bad genetics. Guys like to blame genetics when it’s convenient. The role of genetics and muscle building is completely overblown and I’ll prove it:

Just ask yourself this question – How many of you with chicken legs train your legs as often, and as intensely, as you train upper body?

And if you’re hitting your legs hard and heavy, are you eating enough calories to ensure muscle growth? That is, are you getting at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight and eating a calorie surplus each day?

Probably not. Try it for a while and watch as ‘genetics’ start to work in your favor.

Not Enough Frequency

The second mistake is not training legs often enough. You should train legs at least twice a week.

Legs are used to working a lot. They carry you around all day everyday. Hit them hard and heavy one day then do lots of reps with lighter weight 3 or 4 days later.

The third mistake is not training legs individually. You should always make it a point to train legs one at a time. Leg extensions, leg curl, leg press, and split-squat should all be used at least once every week or so for leg training.

Training legs one at a time creates symmetry and balance. one leg training also work the stabilizer muscles and allows full concentration on one muscle at a time. Thus, building the ever so critical Mind-Muscle connection.

Limited Range of Motion

Half squats provide zero benefit.

Squat as low as you can each rep. If your upper thigh isn’t parallel with the ground at the bottom of each rep, you need to lower the weight and/or increase your flexibility.

Clean squats at full depth give you the most benefit.

Not Eating Enough Calories

Poor nutrition is a huge mistake.

I missed out on a lot of muscle gains in my younger years because I din’t no anything about nutrition.

To get big and grow muscle you need to eat big and get enough protein. Always have food ready to eat with meal prep.

Not Squatting

There is No Substitute for Barbell Squat

When I start lifting in high school people would talk about how strong their legs are. What they really where saying is that their legs are strong relative to the rest of their body. And they base this strength from the amount they can leg press.

Just because you can leg press 400 pounds does not mean you are strong or that the strength transfers to real lifts likes squats or deadlifts. So don’t kid yourself.

Don’t get me wrong, the leg press is a great machine for leg training the benefits page in comparison to barbell squats.

Leg Exercises You Can Do at Home

These are leg exercises you can do at home, with or without weights. I recommend training at a gym but sometimes you’re not able to and this is where

Goblet Squats, Bodyweight Squats, Pistol Squats, Lunges.

These exercises can be done with our without weights.

Check out this quick 20-minutes leg workout that can be done at home. (Watch workout instruction video on YouTube)

Calve Training Tips

Old school bodybuilders trained calves every day.

Calves are a tough, dense muscle that can take a lot of weight and volume.

When I train calves, I put 4, 45-pound plates on the leg press machine and do 20-30 reps. Then I add two more 45-pound plates and do 15-20 reps, then I add 2 more 45-pound plates, then 2 more, and I keep adding 45-pound plates until there are 18 on the leg press machine and I can barely do 4-5 reps.

Full range of motion is CRITICAL when training calves. Press hard using your big toe and ball of your foot to move the weight. imagine pointing your feet and toes as far forward as you can. Like you’re trying to raise up on your tippy-toes like a ballerina.

Then slowly lower the weight until your toes are higher than your heel. imagine pulling your toes to you shins. You should feel muscles along the front and side of your shins working.

Take at least one set to failure every workout.

My calf muscles have grown significantly since training this way.

Leg Training Tips

Stretch After Every Leg Workout

Legs should be flexible and strong. You want to stay limber and prevent cramping. Also, heavy leg training can make you very sore, especially at first.

Stretching helps muscles recover faster and reduce soreness.

Squat First

Train legs first each week. Train lower body before upper body each week to ensure you get a leg workout in.

My advice to every starting trainer out there is Squat at least once a week! Bare minimum. This will at least ensure your legs don’t fall too far behind. Make sure you’re lifting heavy too. and at least 5 sets a workout.

Vary Your Workouts

Legs where designed to run, jump, sprint, squat and climb. Therefore you’re leg training should include some variety.

Do sprints and box jumps and running up stairs or steep hills.

Balance Your Upper Body and Lower Body Training

Your curl to calve rep ratio should by 1:1 at least. You should do more calve training than arm training.

Leg Training Recap

Chicken Leg Syndrome is self induced. Caused by years of skipped leg days and neglect.

The enlightened trainer knows that the only way to get truly strong and look good is to have a balanced physique, that includes having strong legs.

Leg Training will take your physique and strength to the next level. In fact, having big legs will allow you to grow a bigger, stronger upper body!

If you only remember one thing from this article, remember this – You’re only as strong as your legs are big. So Get Squattin’!

Besides having body proportions resembling this chicken, skipping leg day inhibits your overall ability to gain muscle.

Strong legs are your body’s foundation. The bigger your legs are, the bigger (and stronger) your upper body can become.

Leg workouts boosts testosterone, increases growth hormone production, burn calories, torch fat, build muscle all over, and sculpts your abs.

Do you really what to miss out on all that?

The benefits of leg training cannot be understated. If you want a truly aesthetic physique, you must train legs.

You Might Also Like:

The Workout Routines of the World’s Greatest Bodybuilders The Ultimate ‘Skinny-Fat’ Workout and Diet Guide (2024 Edition) How to Develop Calves (add 2 inches in less than 6 months) The Best Beginner Workout Routine for Building Muscle and Strength