How to Build Bigger, Stronger Legs

Building bigger, stronger leg muscles is a goal that many athletic and fitness-minded individuals have. Having a big, muscular upper-body is great; having big, strong, muscular legs completes the package. By incorporating a basic, yet intense, leg workout routine combined with dietary modification, bigger, stronger leg muscles can easily be achieved.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A Workout Plan
• Gym Membership/Home Gym
• Knowledge
• Dietary Modification

1. 
    

   Do Heavy Squats - Squats are the best leg exercise for building bigger, stronger leg muscles. No other leg exercise recruits as many leg muscle fibers or taxes them as much as squats do. Heavy squatting also stimulates the body to release large amounts of growth hormone (GH), which aids overall muscle growth. Do a heavy squat routine 1-2 times per week, using a weight you can rep 6-8 times.

2. 
    

   Do Leg Extensions - Leg extensions are a great exercise to help build bigger, stronger leg muscles. Leg extensions isolate the quadriceps muscles and are great for adding definition to the front sides of the legs. Aim to perform leg extension exercises 1-2 times per week, alternating the weight and the number of reps performed.

3. 
    

   Do Leg Curls - Leg curls isolate the hamstring muscles on the rear of the legs and are great for building leg muscle strength and size. Strong hamstring muscles also help to reduce back pain. To build bigger, stronger leg muscles, perform leg curl workouts 1-2 times per week, alternating the weight and the number of reps performed.

4. 
    

   Increase Caloric Intake - To build bigger leg muscles and leg muscle mass, a surplus of dietary calories must be consumed to provide the necessary nutrition to fuel extra muscle growth. Aim for a small increase in daily caloric intake (300-500 calories), comprised mostly of lean protein sources and/or non-fat/low-fat dairy products.

Tips & Warnings

• Gradually increase weight amounts to keep muscles stimulated
• Mix-up workout routines: do high weight/low rep workouts one day; the next workout do low weight/high rep workouts
• Never lift more weight than can safely be handled
• Always give legs adequate time to heal after an intense weight workout (3-4) days

[ceholmes]

on 7/1/2009 Massaging legs after workout helps stimulate growth as well! Great info! *5

[karileighk]

on 6/26/2009 Awesome info. *5