Best Leg Exercises

Reading articles on the Internet, one gets the impression that squats are the best exercise for the legs. In practice, squats are not suitable for everyone due to their anatomical structure, leg length, back injuries and other factors. Therefore, we do not share such categoricalness. Let's consider the best exercises for the legs and buttocks. Traditionally, this topic is of interest only to women, but men should also read this article, because a balanced load on the leg muscles leads to muscle growth throughout the body. The secret lies in the total volume of the legs, which occupy 2/3 of the total body weight of a person. But first things first.

Why do you need the best exercises?

In this way, the trainee hopes to perform the most effective movements and progress at the fastest rate. With small muscle groups, this training principle may work, but the leg muscles are the most voluminous on the human body. Here, a comprehensive approach is needed with an emphasis on each mini-muscle group. That is, you cannot do only 1 exercise, hoping that it will build you balanced muscular legs.

How to determine the best exercise

In the context of training leg muscles, the following factors must be taken into account:

Good exercise does not harm your joints;
Does not cause discomfort when performed;
Does not cause pain either during or after exercise;
Over time, you increase the load factor without losing technique;
It loads the leg muscles in a comprehensive manner in a basic format, rather than trying to isolate any particular segment.
Thus, all sorts of leg curls, leg extensions, lifts and swings disappear from the list of the best leg exercises. They are often called the best options for leg exercises for weight loss, especially at home, which, of course, is not true. Physical exercises that trigger the breakdown of fat tissue are nothing more than a myth, but more on that later.

So, the best leg exercise is selected individually after a little practice. We will give you a list of candidates. Your task is to try each one, and based on the findings, choose the best movements for yourself.

Best Leg Exercises

Barbell Squats

The classic version with a barbell on the shoulders and a standard leg position is often positioned as the only and best exercise for the leg muscles. For most people, such squats will indeed be a great tool for improving their proportions, but at the same time, it will not suit a huge part of the audience.

Squats won't help people with long legs, weak backs, or little training experience. They're a difficult movement that requires a lot of practice. Plus, long limbs make it harder to get the technique right, and they also increase the risk of injury.

It is important to note that few people know the nuances of performing this exercise. The placement of the legs (wide, narrow or standard) does not play such an important role as it is written on the Internet. The main thing here is to remember about comfort when performing the exercise. For most people, a stance with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart will do. The toes should be turned outward. This option is called classic and attacks the biceps femoris to a greater extent.

Position the barbell across your shoulders in front of you, or hold it on your elbows like a powerlifter, and the lion's share of the load will go to the quadriceps area. It will also reduce the angle of your back, which will reduce the load on your spine. This is valuable advice for people with back injuries.

Squats work all four segments of the leg muscles well (hamstrings, quadriceps, glutes, and calves), but they do so in a rather barbaric way. It is difficult to increase the weight of the load without losing the technique, which increases the risk of injury. Therefore, squats are best left to experienced athletes. For beginners, this is far from the best exercise.

Tip: Don't get too hung up on your foot placement. Try different foot placements until you find one that works for you and that doesn't make you feel uncomfortable when squatting down with a heavy barbell.

Deadlift

The best exercise for the back of the thigh. It should be done with a barbell. In the starting position, bend your legs slightly at the knees to make them mobile. Lower and raise the bar with a straight back. Do not round it under any circumstances, supposedly to increase the load on the buttocks.

An important nuance of execution is the psychological attitude in your head. Imagine how you pull the barbell like a crane. The emphasis should be on the movement of the pelvis back and on the extension of the back. The deadlift is fundamentally different from the deadlift in this regard. During the deadlift, the athlete mentally tries to push the floor with his heels and tear the weight off the floor. In the deadlift, you are just a crane that moves only your butt.

Tip: If your flexibility doesn't allow you to perform the exercise in full amplitude, use some kind of support. Perform the pull from body bars or another surface that allows you to keep the barbell off the floor during the exercise.

Running

According to numerous surveys, running remains the most accessible, simple and at the same time effective exercise for the leg muscles. Changing the intensity, running technique, speed and other factors allows you to adjust running to any goal. Versatility is one of the main properties that determine the truly best exercise.

Fast, explosive interval runs will help you build muscular legs. Slow cardio runs several times a week will make it easier to lose weight, and different running variations (shuttle, jump, sideways, etc.) solve specialized problems.

Advice: Always add running to your leg workouts. Change it to suit your specific task, but never forget about this exercise. In the right hands, it can easily be called the best.

Style summary

Are deadlifts, squats, lunges, hacks, leg extensions, and other exercises we know not the best? Has running overtaken them? Yes and no. Running, due to its versatility, can be used for any task. To properly perform squats, deadlifts, and other movements, you need experience, and it takes time to gain experience.

Let's get back to the main topic - why do we need the best exercises? To get results as quickly as possible. So it turns out that it is more profitable for beginners to use running and other auxiliary simple movements, while learning the correct technique of squats or deadlifts.

As for losing weight and leg exercises, everything is quite simple. It is believed that such exercises promote rapid weight loss. This is partly true. The point is that movements on these muscle segments consume a large number of calories, and the more you spend them, the faster you will lose weight. At the same time, there is no mythical fat burning from 1000 leg swings or 100 squats. Everything is much simpler.