By Leg day: It’s the toughest workout of the week, but all too often it consists of the same pool of squats, leg presses, hack squats and leg extensions.
Building variety into bodypart training that doesn’t have much inherent choice is difficult, but we can help. With this article we bring you six variations of common leg moves that can help jump- start a stale workout and get you growing again. With our Black Book format, you’ll also uncover insider’s tips on these hidden gems and secrets that turn each leg exercise into a powerhouse movement. So flip your growth switch and get those wheels turning.
TRAP-BAR SQUAT
A basic free-weight squat done inside the trap bar, this version helps you maintain a good center of gravity and balance as you press through the floor, although your grip could be a limiting factor.
TARGET AREA
Quads, glutes, hamstrings.
SET-UP
Load the plates and use collars to ensure they don’t slide off
POSITION
Stand inside a trap bar with your feet shoulder width apart. Squat down and grasp the handles in the middle to keep the bar centered.
GRIP
Use a neutral grip and arms straight. Wear straps because your grip will likely give out before legs do.
EXECUTION
Press through the floor with your feet, extending your knees, hips and ankles erect. Squeeze your legs at the top before reversing direction along the same path to the floor. Don’t allow the weight to touch down between reps.
FORM
Keep your chest up, abs tight and low back arched — never round your back when squatting. Focus your eyes forward to maintain normal curvature of the spine; don’t look up.
IN YOUR ROUTINE
A safe and effective alternative to back squats, but if your legs are strong you may have trouble going very heavy unless you use straps. Beginners can do it first in the workout, 3 sets of 8-10 reps. More advanced bodybuilders should do 3 sets of 8-12 reps toward the middle of their routine and can precede it with heavier movements.
BEST SUBSTITUTE
Dumbbell squat, arms at your sides
INTENSITY BOOSTER
Because you can move the trap bar to just about any location in the gym, it makes a great pairing for supersets.
Do the trap bar first, then jump right onto the leg extension or do sissy squats, bot of which target the quads.
SMITH-MACHINE BULGARIAN SQUAT
TARGET AREA
Quads, glutes, hamstrings.
SET-UP
Place a bench a few feet in front of a Smith machine (the bench needs to be behind you). Adjust the bench position until it feels right; it must be close enough to support your nonworking leg throughout the exercise.
POSITION
Get under the bar, placing it across your upper back, and grasp the bar out wide. With both feet still on the floor, rotate and unrack the bar.
FORM
Keep your chest up and eyes focused forward. This is your starting position. Your body should move up and down in a vertical plane only; the Smith machine is unforgiving and will cause you to round your back if you’re in the wrong position relative to the bar.
EXECUTION
Keeping your abs tight, bend your front leg to lower yourself straight down. When your front knee approaches a 90-degree angle, pause, then press through that foot to extend your knee, but don’t lock out at the top. Squeeze your working leg hard before beginning your next rep.
FOOT POSITION
Shift one foot slightly in front of you as if you’re about to perform a lunge, then lift the opposite foot and extend it behind you to rest atop the bench.
IN YOUR ROUTINE
Because you can’t with this compound move, do it after all your heavy squats presses but before your single-joint exercises. Do 3 sets of 10-15 reps.
BEST SUBSTITUTE
Smith-machine reverse lunge
Don’t think of this highly challenging move as a “girly” exercise: it allows you to safety work each leg independently but doesn’t require much weight. Unlike the lunge, the front leg has to work much harder with your foot elevated.
POWER-RACK SQUAT
TARGET AREA
Quads, glutes, hamstrings.
FORM
Keep your eyes focused forward; for spinal safety, you don’t want to look up.
SET-UP
Set the safety bars in the power rack about two-thirds of the way up from the bottom of your range of motion so you squat just 6-10 inches. After warming up, load the bar; you can go as much as 20% heavier than your full-range single-rep max. The next time you use this technique, move the safeties down one notch to increase the range of motion slightly.
POSITION
Place the bar comfortably across your upper back and grasp it out wide. Stand erect with your chest out and core tight. Your feet should be about shoulder width apart and angled slightly outward, knees unlocked.
EXECUTION
Slowly lower yourself with your knees tracking over your feet; you won’t come anywhere close to the depth of a full-range squat, but that’s why you can use a much heavier weight. Press strongly back up to full knee and hip extension.
IN YOUR ROUTINE
Do this first or second in your leg workout for 3 sets of 6 reps. You can also complement this move with full-range squats done beforehand.
BEST SUBSTITUTE
Partial Smith-machine squat
This is more of a method than an actual exercise. Basically, you do shallow squats above /our so-called sticking point, allowing you to use heavier weights than with full-range-of-motion squats. This increases the neural stimulus to recruit additional muscle fibers. Because you don’t get the full stretch, this technique shouldn’t be used exclusively in the long run. The partial better emphasizes the quads over the hams and glutes. You’ll want to be ft the power rack so you can set the safety bars to the lower end of the ROM.
REVERSE HACK SQUAT
TARGET AREA
Quads, glutes, hamstrings.
SET-UP
Use only a machine with a large foot-plate so you can position your feet directly in line with your torso.
POSITION
Face the machine squarely, placing your shoulders under the pads with your feet about shoulder width apart and fully on the footplate.
EXECUTION
Lower yourself by bending your knees, pushing your hips rearward as if you’re sitting in a chair and being absolutely certain to keep your back flat. Keep your chest in contact with the pad at all times. Descend to a point at which your knees form about 90-degree angles, and press strongly back to full extension without locking out your knees at the top.
FORM
Keep your head neutrally aligned as best as possible — look straight forward, even if your nose smacks right into the pad. Turning your head puts undesirable torque on your cervical spine. Keep your back slightly arched throughout the move.
GRIP
Grasp the handles to stabilize your torso.
IN YOUR ROUTINE
Always use a light weight when starting out to get a feel for the move. Skip heavy resistance on this one because of the inherent drawbacks. Use moderate weight for moderate reps in the second half of your leg workout. Three sets of 10-15 reps are fine.
BEST SUBSTITUTES
Smith-machine front squat
This move simply reverses your body position in the hack squat, keeping your chest rather than your back against the pad. That changes recruitment of the leg muscles, but comes with two Dig downsides: Your back is no longer protected (you must consciously keep it flat rather than relying on the pad for support), and many machines won’t allow you to put your neck in a safe position, meaning it’s under a huge load in a potentially unsafe situation. For that reason, some experts warn against this exercise. If you do it, be extra careful.
ONE-LEG PRESS
TARGET AREA
Quads, glutes, hamstrings.
SET-UP
Load the leg press with just less than half of what you use for sets of 10 reps using both legs simultaneously.
POSITION
Sit squarely in the machine and place one foot just off-center on the footplate. Keep your foot flat with your toes straight or turned slightly out. Extend your other leg on the floor under the cart.
FORM
Keep your shoulder, knee and foot in alignment. You don’t want your knee buckling in or out as you perform the exercise.
GRIP
Grasp the handlebars but don’t pull on them excessively. If need be, you can use one hand to “push through” your knee to help raise the weight.
EXECUTION
Unlock the sled and control its descent as your knee approaches the same-side shoulder. When your knee forms a 90-degree angle (and before the lower portion of your glutes lifts off the pad), smoothly reverse direction, pressing through your foot to full hip and knee extension. Don’t lock out your knee at the top.
IN YOUR ROUTINE
This is perhaps best done at the end of your workout as a burnout move after bilateral leg presses. Do 3 sets of 10-15 reps.
BEST SUBSTITUTEE
Smith-machine Bulgarian squat
When using both legs, you can push plenty of weight on the leg press. This version focuses on each leg individually to better isolate each thigh and correct strength imbalances. Placing your foot higher on the footplate norks the hams and glutes to a greater degree; lower on the footplate better emphasizes the quads.
LEG EXTENTION (TOES IN, TOES OUT)
TARGET AREA
Quads, glutes, hamstrings.
SET-UP
Adjust the seatback and ankle pad so your knees are just off the edge of the seat and the padded lever sits just above your ankles.
POSITION
Sit squarely in the machine and grasp the handles to stabilize your torso.
FORM
Turn not just your feet but your entire legs either slightly inward or outward depending on what area of your quads you want to target. Make sure the padded bar sits comfortably across your ankles and is stable.
EXECUTION
Contract your quads to raise your legs to full extension, squeezing your thighs momentarily in the peak- contracted position. Allow the weight to slowly bring your feet back to the start. Don’t allow the weight stack to touch down between reps.
IN YOUR ROUTINE
Do this movement last in your leg workout. Do 2-3 sets for each foot position and combine with 2-3 sets of leg extensions with your feet forward.
BEST SUBSTITUTES
Sissy squat
While it’s impossible to completely isolate any individual part of the quads, you can shift emphasis to the vastus medialis or teardrop muscle by pointing your toes outward. Turning your toes in better targets the vastus laterals (outer quad sweep). Don’t turn your toes so far in or out that you feel discomfort in either your knees or ankles.
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