Leg day in the gym is a day that most of us do not look forward to. However, leg day is an essential part of any good gym routine.
Not only do strong legs help throughout the day whether you’re playing sports, walking to the store, or just trying to move around your house. Leg workouts also get your heart pumping and can burn a ton of calories.
Try this leg day workout that doesn’t suck on your next leg day. It’s made up of 5 movements. Hack squats, leg press, Bulgarian split squats, Weighted step-ups, and goblet squats.
Warming up for this leg workout
The movements below should be hard. In each movement of this leg workout, you should be adjusting the amount of weight you’re carrying to push yourself. Jumping right in without warming up or stretching could increase the chances for injury.
Start with some dynamic stretches such as deep lunges, hip flexor stretches, and a downward dog walkout. From there, do each of these movements with much lighter or no weights at all to prepare your body for this leg workout and avoid injury.
How to do Hack Squats
Hack squats are essentially squats that you do on a certain machine. It’s a great exercise to strengthen your quads.
- Place your feet at shoulder width apart, extend your legs, and release the safety handles.
- Lower your body by bending at the knees until they are about at 90 degrees.
- Reverse this movement by extending your knees and hips.
Tips
- You can focus more on your glutes by pushing through your heels, or your quads by pushing through the balls of your feet.
- Keep your back flat throughout the movement to avoid injury.
How to use the Leg Press
The leg press is a popular piece of gym equipment that can help build strong quads, hamstrings, and glutes. While it seems like a simple exercise, it is important to do them properly to maximize your leg workout.
- Sit on the machine with your back and head resting on the padded support
- Place your feet on the footplate about hip width apart.
- Press the footplate with your heels and forefoot and extend slowly until your legs are straight.
- Pause at the top of the movement.
- Lower the footplate back to the starting position and repeat the movement.
Tips: Do not lock your knees when extending your legs. Do not use too much weight if you have not done this movement before.
How to do Bulgarian Split Squats
Also known as a rear foot elevated split squat. Add The Bulgarian split squat to your leg day workout to improve strength, balance, and mobility.
- Stand 2-3 feet in front of a knee-high platform.
- Extend one leg behind you and rest your toes on the platform
- Keep your torso upright and slowly bend your knee, lowering your body to the floor
- Return to the standing position
Tips: Distribute your weight evenly on your entire foot throughout the movement.
How to do Weighted Step Ups
The weighted step up is great to add to your leg day workout if you want to build strong quadriceps. Strong quads help protect your knees.
- Place a sturdy bench or step-up box directly in front of you and carry a weight in each hand.
- Step up with your right foot, pressing through your heel.
- Bring your left foot up to meet your right foot.
- Bend your left knee and step down with your right foot.
- Repeat the process but alternate which foot leads the movement.
Tips: Keep your knee behind your toes to avoid injury.
How to do Goblet Squats
Goblet squats are great because they work all of the major muscle groups of your lower body, including quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calves.
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders.
- Hold a weight with both hands at your chest.
- Press your hips back and bend your knees to lower your body to the ground
- Focus on keeping your chest tall and weight evenly distributed across both feet
- Return to the standing position
Tips: Keep the weight close to your body and make sure to not lean foreward.
Now put it all together
4 sets of:
– 12 Hack Squats
– Run at a medium pace for 60 seconds
4 sets of:
– 12 Leg Presses
– Run at a medium pace for 60 seconds
4 sets of:
– 12 Bulgarian Split Squats
– Run at a medium pace for 60 seconds
4 sets of:
– 12 Weighted Step-ups
– Run at a medium pace for 60 seconds
4 sets of:
– 12 Goblet Squats
– Run at a medium pace for 60 seconds
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