The development of leg muscles is an important task that a bodybuilder should pay due attention to. The muscle mass of the legs largely depends on innate data, many have naturally developed muscles, while others, on the contrary, have small legs and are very difficult to train.

Leg muscles in bodybuilding are divided into 3 main groups: extensors (quadriceps), flexors (leg biceps) and lower leg muscles (calf and soleus).

Leg training in amateur bodybuilding is secondary, and there are objective reasons for this. Firstly, inflated legs visually reduce the size of the arms and the width of the shoulders, so amateurs are not recommended to focus on the legs. Secondly, active leg training can lead to joint problems, since lower extremity exercises can contribute to the destruction of cartilage surfaces, due to the use of very large weights.

Features of leg training

Proper technique plays an important role in leg training. Failure to comply with the technique of exercises, most often causes injury and reduces the effectiveness of the training as a whole. Before exercising, always carefully warm up, it reduces the risk of injury, improves the elasticity of the ligaments and joints, increases blood circulation in the muscles, prepares the joints (the secretion of synovial fluid increases, which lubricates the articular surfaces and prevents cartilage damage). In addition, in leg training, special importance is attached to stretching after exercise.

For beginners, it is enough to perform 1-2 exercises on the muscles of the legs. If your primary task is to increase the muscle mass of the upper half of the body, provided that the condition of the legs suits you, then it is enough to train the legs 2-3 times a month. Leg development requires 3-4 workouts per month. The training program of a professional will depend on the goals and type of lagging muscle groups: do 1-2 basic exercises and 1-3 isolation exercises for lagging groups. The optimal number of repetitions for the muscles of the lower extremities is higher than usual: the thigh muscles require 8 – 10 repetitions, the calf muscles – 10 – 15, choose such weights that the set would be completed to failure.

It has been established that the muscles of the legs adapt very quickly to the load, so you need to use supertraining techniques:
— Supersets
– Drop sets
– slow negatives
– Constant tension during the set
— Peak contraction
– forced reps

Summary

1. Leg Muscles Need More Reps
2. Leg exercises must be done in a highly technical and slow manner.
3. Legs quickly adapt to the load, so use super training techniques
4. Do More Failure Sets
5. Perform the exercise until you feel a burning sensation in the working muscles, this is especially true for training legs.