The Best Gym Leg Workout – 7 Fantastic Exercises

If you’re after a gym leg workout for maximum growth, look no further. Beware though, you may not be able to walk after it!

Gym Workouts

Working out in an actual gym with all the equipment available is definitely the most effective way of building muscle. That is not to say you cannot build muscle without access to a full gym and by using equipment such as dumbbells and resistance bands. However, with the range of equipment gyms have, from barbells and dumbbells, to machines and cable pulleys, it’s definitely the best place for maximizing the gains. This gym leg workout utilizes the equipment on offer to get the most out of a leg workout.

Leg Training – Gym Leg Workout

The legs as a whole contain a huge number of individual muscles. The three main muscle groups in the legs are the quadriceps, the hamstrings and the calves. However, we cannot overlook the glute muscles too. To ensure we’re targeting all the muscles we need to, a range of exercises need to be used.

Our access to a gym gives us so many options for different exercises that we can implement into our workout. Before we start with the list of exercises, we should understand the anatomy of the legs in some detail. This will allow us to better understand how each of the exercises are targeting the muscles required.

  • Quadricep – the quadricep or quad for short is the muscle group that makes up the front of the ‘thigh’ area of the leg. It, as the name suggests, has four individual muscles that come together the make up the muscle group. The rectus femoris runs down the middle of the thigh, the vastus intermedius also runs down the middle of the thigh but underneath the rectus femoris. The vastus medialis and the vastus lateralis run on the inside and outside of the thigh respectively.
  • Hamstring – the hamstring is the muscle group that makes up the back of the ‘thigh’ area of the leg. It is made up of three muscles – the biceps femoris which is the largest of the three, it runs through the middle and toward the outside of the thigh. The semimembranosus runs more towards the inside of the leg and the semitendinosus runs through the middle of the thigh too.
  • Calf – the calf muscle group is made up of two muscles. The larger of these, the gastrocnemius is the one that you can see beneath the skin and has two heads which form the diamond looking shape. The other muscle, the soleus is a smaller muscle which hides beneath the gastrocnemius.
  • Glute – the gluteal muscles or glutes for short comprise of three muscles found in the buttocks. These are the gluteus minimus, gluteus medius and gluteus maximus. The gluteal muscles act on the hip joint, to perform abduction and extension of the thigh and also adduction and internal and external rotation of the thigh.

Quadricep and Glute Movements

We’ll first look at the quadriceps and glutes. As the quadriceps and glutes mainly work together, we will cover the exercises in the same section. The quads contain the most muscles, and therefore we should look to have more exercises that focus on them during our training plan. For muscle growth (hypertrophy), look to perform sets in the rep range of 8-15. For strength and power, look to perform less reps with more weight, somewhere in the rep range of 4-8.

Barbell Squat

The barbell squat is the most well-known leg exercise. It is known amongst weight lifters as the ultimate compound leg exercise. It is the perfect exercise for building strength and size in the quadriceps and also the glutes. It also activates the stabilizer muscles in the legs and also requires stability in the core when performing the movement. It’s a fantastic movement for progressive overload.

To perform:

  1. Set rack at a height suitable for you. This will be so you have a slight bend in your knees when you stand under the bar with it resting on your shoulders/upper back
  2. Lift the bar up by extending your legs and gripping the bar with an overhand grip and walk backwards
  3. Before squatting down, set your feet to just wider than shoulder width apart. Take a deep breath, engage your core and squat down. Keep your back straight and your head up until your quads are parallel with the floor. (Deeper squats can be more beneficial but strength can affect your ROM)
  4. Lift the weight back up and exhale as you do so

Leg Press

The leg press is the first movement on this list that requires a specific machine at your gym – the leg press machine. It is a common machine so hopefully you have it available. This movement puts most of the emphasis on the quads, but the glutes are involved as well as the hamstrings too.

The leg press is a simple exercise to pickup and requires less focus on form compared to the squat. Without having to focus as much on form, it can allow the lifter to focus more on building a mind-muscle connection.

To perform:

  1. Place your feet on the board, about shoulder width apart. The toes should point slightly outward
  2. Push the weight up, release the locks and bring the weight down until your quads are just about touching your chest
  3. Push the weight back up, as far as you can, don’t lockout the knees. This completes a rep

Bulgarian Dumbbell Split Squat

This exercise is a unilateral movement, meaning we work one leg at a time. The Bulgarian split squat is different to the normal split squat because it involves having one leg elevated on an object such as a bench or chair. With this exercise being a unilateral movement, it can correct muscle imbalances. Also, with it being unilateral, it can better target stabilizer muscles in the quads, glutes and core.

To perform:

  1. Hold a dumbbell, either with one in each hand or one in one hand and stand in front of a sturdy object
  2. Place the leg you’re not working on the object behind you. The distance should be that so when performing the movement, the leg you’re working is perpendicular with the floor at the bottom of the movement
  3. Initiate the movement and go down until the upper leg is parallel with the floor. Come back up to complete a repetition.

Hamstring Movements

We’ll now move onto the hamstring movements. Well-developed hamstrings are essential to building big and strong leg muscles. Similar to how the biceps work in the arms to flex the elbow, the hamstrings work to flex the knee whereas the quads extend the knee. For muscle growth, look to perform sets in the rep range of 8-15. For strength and power, look to perform less reps with more weight, somewhere in the rep range of 4-8.

Barbell/Dumbbell RDL

The RDL (Romanian Deadlift) is the first movement on our hamstring focused section. As the hips hinge forward, the hamstrings come under tension to stabilize the body. As we then hinge the hips back, the hamstrings pull the body up and this is why this movement is fantastic for activating the hamstrings and growing and strengthening the muscle. It can be performed just as effectively with either dumbbells or a barbell.

To perform:

  1. Grip the bar/dumbbells with an overhand grip. If using a bar, your hands should be just wider than shoulder width apart
  2. Stand up with the weight – your arms should be extended so the weight should be resting against your thighs
  3. Hinge your hips forward, keeping your back straight and bending your knees slightly, you should feel tension on the hamstrings
  4. Go as low as possible, you will know when to stop as the tension on the hamstrings won’t get any stronger but you will feel your lower back, you want to avoid this
  5. Hinge the hips back up and return to the start position, squeeze your glutes at the top and this completes a repetition.

Hamstring Curl – Machine

This movement requires a hamstring curl machine. This may come in the form of performing the movement unilaterally or with both legs at a time. This movement builds the hamstrings like a bicep curl builds the biceps. This is because the weight is curled toward the thighs, flexing the hamstring muscles. It’s a movement that is easily overloaded for progression.

To perform:

  1. Set a manageable weight on the machine. Set the position on the machine correctly so your body is supported well
  2. Curl the weight up in a controlled manner and flex the hamstring at the top position
  3. Control the eccentric portion of the movement and return to the start position. This completes a repetition.

Calf Movements

The calves cannot be overlooked when it comes to building big legs. They are the smallest of the three muscles we’re looking at here but are the only ones below the knee. For well developed, aesthetic looking legs, calves need to be paid attention to. The calves respond best to sets of larger repetitions, somewhere in the 20-30 range. However, it can be useful to train in the lower rep ranges of 8-12 as well, with a heavier weight.

Weighted Calf Raise

The weighted calf raise applies weight to the well-known calf raise exercise. During this exercise, the legs are extended so this targets the gastrocnemius better. This movement is best performed using a squat machine. Dumbbells or a barbell can be used too if this machine isn’t available to you. Calf raises are a fairly easy exercise to do and a lot of reps can be performed easily. However, adding weight to it brings the reps down meaning we can reach failure quicker.

To perform:

  1. If using a squat machine load it with a manageable weight and position your feet on the edge. This allows us the extend the muscle and increase range of motion
  2. If using a barbell, it may be easier to hold it down in front of you rather than it be on your shoulders. If using dumbbells let them hand beside you
  3. Flex your calves by raising your heels of the floor, hold the top position for a second
  4. Control the eccentric and return to the start position. This completes a repetition.

Seated Calf Raise

The seated calf raise requires a specific machine. It involves loading weight onto the machine and having pads resting on your thighs before extending the calves. As we are seated, this movement better targets the soleus muscle in the calf.

To perform:

  1. Set the machine up correctly so you are comfortable. Load a manageable weight
  2. Extend your calves to lift the weight up and hold the weight for a second at the top position
  3. Control the eccentric and return to the start position to complete a repetition.

Hints and Tips

  • When going through the exercises, alternate between each muscle group to allow for rest in between each movement. For example, start with a quadriceps movement, move to hamstrings, then calves before going back to quadriceps
  • For the bigger lifts, like the barbell squat, allow for a larger rest period between sets. Don’t worry if you need a rest period of 3 minutes or more, it’s important you are well rested before performing the next set. It can be dangerous if you are too fatigued when handling heavy weights
  • If you are newer to the gym, ensure you focus on the form of the exercises before going heavier in the weight. Getting the form on the movements right will serve you a lot better in the long run than increasing the weight too quickly
  • Also, if you are newer to the gym, don’t feel as though you have to complete all seven exercises in this article. Start off with one for each muscle in the legs and progress from there. Your muscles are unlikely to be conditioned for such stress placed on them and you will be best working up the volume of your workouts over time.

Conclusion

That’s it for this article. Hopefully the information found here as helped you learn something useful. Be sure to try the exercises and get ready to see the best leg growth of your life! As with all muscle training though, consistency is key and these exercises alone, no matter how good they are, will not bring you the results. Stay consistent with your workouts over a good period of time and you will surely notice the difference!