Many people who want to improve their body physique train hard. They lift heavy to get bigger chest and arms, broader shoulders, and wider arms. While some are busy working out to have a bigger upper body musculature, some people tend to forget to exercise their lower body, particularly the legs. This lack of muscularity in people’s legs is being referred to as “chicken legs” in the field of fitness and bodybuilding. Below includes some exercises that will help balance out the muscle improvement of both the upper and the lower body.
Dumbbell lunges is also an exercise that will improve the definition of the legs. According to Men’s Fitness, it starts with holding a dumbbell in each hand by one’s sides. Then, the person steps forward with one leg and lowers his body until the front thigh is parallel to the floor and the rear knee is just above the floor. Aside from targeting the thighs, hamstrings, and glutes, dumbbell lunges also put an impact on the core’s strength and the body’s balance.
Another powerful routine to develop the leg muscles is the barbell back squat with calf raise, as per Muscle and Fitness. In a high bar position, the bar is unracked, just behind the neck, high on the trapezius, and with the thumbs gripping the bar. The person squats to full length with feet at shoulder width. Then, using the heels, the person drives up and pushes the knees out until standing. The balls of the feet are raised up, with the calves contracted, at the top of the squat. The routine is performed in three sets, with 15, 12, and 10 reps, each with increasing weight.
The seated leg curl also develops the leg muscles, particularly the hamstrings. This is done in a starting position in which the knees are in line with the axis of rotation. Then, the machine’s pad is secured above the ankles and the knees are bent to curl the pad, contracting the hamstrings.
The leg press is another routine to blast the leg muscles, including the thighs and the hamstrings. It starts by setting up in a leg press machine, with the feet planted at shoulder width and the toes turned out about 30 degrees. Then, the knees are bent and the plate is lowered toward the chest until the knees are 90 degrees. The machine is pressed back up after.
For the development of the calves, a standing calf raise can be done, according to Men’s Fitness. This makes use of a standing calf raise machine or by standing on a block or step. The heels are lowered toward the floor so the person feels a stretch on the calves. Then, the balls of the feet are driven down to raise the ankles up as high as possible.
The calves should be trained on a daily basis for period of two to four consecutive weeks before returning to one’s normal program. The number of sets per workout is four to six and the exercise performed each day should vary. Also, the calves can be developed by walking around on ones tiptoes instead of flat feet. In climbing the stairs, it is also recommended to do a calf raise up each step.
Deadlifts can also help improve the leg muscles, according to Bodybuilding. In the routine, the feet are mildly raised upon a board or a block. The foot flexion will place an increased tension on the hamstring muscles, boosting the level of intensity of the exercise.
With the aforementioned leg routines, it is assumed that one’s legs will be in proportion with the musculature of the upper body muscle groups.
Source: bodybuilding.com
