We have all seen the leg day memes on social media along with those boasting about how much gains they are getting from their leg day workouts brah. USN athletr Nic talks us through an example of his leg day workout and how to maxamise those gruelling leg sessions in the gym!
Barbell Squat
- Begin with the barbell supported on top of the traps. The chest should be up and the head facing forward. Adopt a hip-width stance with the feet turned out as needed.
- Descend by flexing the knees, refraining from moving the hips back as much as possible. This requires that the knees travel forward. Ensure that they stay align with the feet. The goal is to keep the torso as upright as possible.
- Continue all the way down, keeping the weight on the front of the heel. At the moment the upper legs contact the lower legs reverse the motion, driving the weight upward.
Seated Hamstring Curl
- Adjust the machine lever to fit your height and sit on the machine with your back against the back support pad.
- Place the back of lower leg on top of padded lever (just a few inches under the calves) and secure the lap pad against your thighs, just above the knees. Then grasp the side handles on the machine as you point your toes straight (or you can also use any of the other two stances) and ensure that the legs are fully straight right in front of you. This will be your starting position.
- As you exhale, pull the machine lever as far as possible to the back of your thighs by flexing at the knees. Keep your torso stationary at all times. Hold the contracted position for a second.
- Slowly return to the starting position as you breathe in.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Caution: Do not ever use so much weight on the exercise that you start using swinging and jerking as you can risk both lower back injury and also a hamstring tear.
Variations: Since you have three foot positions you have in reality three exercises.
Leg Extention
- For this exercise you will need to use a leg extension machine. First choose your weight and sit on the machine with your legs under the pad (feet pointed forward) and the hands holding the side bars. This will be your starting position. Tip: You will need to adjust the pad so that it falls on top of your lower leg (just above your feet). Also, make sure that your legs form a 90-degree angle between the lower and upper leg. If the angle is less than 90-degrees then that means the knee is over the toes which in turn creates undue stress at the knee joint. If the machine is designed that way, either look for another machine or just make sure that when you start executing the exercise you stop going down once you hit the 90-degree angle.
- Using your quadriceps, extend your legs to the maximum as you exhale. Ensure that the rest of the body remains stationary on the seat. Pause a second on the contracted position.
- Slowly lower the weight back to the original position as you inhale, ensuring that you do not go past the 90-degree angle limit.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of times.
Variations: As mentioned at in the foot positioning section, you can use various foot positions in order to maximize stimulation of certain thigh areas. Also, you can perform the movement unilaterally (one leg at a time).
Calf Raise with Dumbells
- Raise your heels as you breathe out by extending your ankles as high as possible and flexing your calf. Ensure that the knee is kept stationary at all times. There should be no bending at any time. Hold the contracted position by a second before you start to go back down.
- Go back slowly to the starting position as you breathe in by lowering your heels as you bend the ankles until calves are stretched.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Caution: If you suffer from lower back problems, a better exercise is the calf press as during a standing calf raise the back has to support the weight being lifted. Also, maintain your back straight and stationary at all times. Rounding of the back can cause lower back injury.
Variations: There are several other ways to perform a standing calf raise. A barbell or a machine can be used instead as well as dumbbells, one leg or two legs at a time.
