LEGS!

LEGS!

            Legs are obviously important even in regular life because of the constant use and importance of leg strength.  You use legs to run to the falafel store, jump off a building into a dumpster of stool softener, and you use your legs to awkwardly walk away from an embarrassing date where you didn’t notice your fly was down the whole time.  Of course there are other things you use your legs for.  And in this obese country where the average man has to hold about 200 pounds of body over their legs, it’s important to have strength in this area.  In this post I will talk about a bunch of different leg exercises and lifts.

·         Squats- This is the most common leg exercise ever because of its simplicity and effectiveness, although a lot of people don’t know the correct and most effective way to perform this lift.  You can put the bar in front of you or behind you but no matter where you put it when you squat down you have to keep the weight on the heels of your feet instead of the balls of your feet.  This is important because it helps target the weight on your hamstrings and prevents you from falling over while doing the lift.  Also when bending down to complete the lift the best way to do it is to squat down till your thighs are about parallel with the ground to put more pressure and intensity to your hamstrings.

·         Lunges- Lunges are another one the well known lifts.  Also like squats you can have the bar in front or behind you while lifting.  Then you stick one leg out and lunge forward on that leg then pull yourself back up.  This is a good lift for the hamstrings and a little bit of the quads. 

·         Barbell Calf Raise- One of the only lifts that concentrates on your calves.  Start with the bar behind you stretching across your back and shoulders.  Lay a 45 pound plate on the floor or anything else that can hold you a few inches off of the ground, and keeping your toes on the plate raise your heels up flexing your calves and bringing in down till it hits the ground for full extension.  You can vary this lift with different weights and the position of your toes on the plate to focus different areas of the calf.

·         Leg Lever- Sadly for most of the leg lifts you require a machine to do.  Leg lever machines are great for targeting the quadriceps in your legs.  There is also a reverse leg lever where you lay across a bench to lift and focus tremendously on your hamstrings.

·         Leg Press- The leg press machine has you sitting on a bench pushing against a big weighted plate and is great for a mixture of quads and hamstrings.

Most of the barbell lifts in this post can also be substituted with dumbbells for a different feel.  Legs are a big muscle and require a lot of work to keep them strong and sexy.  Remember, we’re all in this together, keep your stick on the ice.