You know your legs make up half your body, right? So why ignore them? Muscular legs set off your entire physique. Not to mention, leg strength is crucial to many sports and everyday life. So don’t skip leg day - and when you hit the gym, Don’t Make These Leg Training Mistakes!
Mistake # 1 - Performing Your Reps Too Quickly
Rep tempo is often overlooked. It’s far too common to see lifters do the concentric phase of a rep too quickly, then drop the weight just as fast. It’s not a race. Take 2 seconds for the concentric phase. Following a tip from Rich, stop just short of the turnaround and squeeze for a 2-3 count. Then start your eccentric phase, taking 3-4 seconds to complete the rep.
Mistake # 2 - Not Going Deep Enough On Squats and Leg Presses
The typical squat executed by some gym-goers falls far short of any meaningful depth. Forget your ego, drop some weight, and go deeper. The same is true of leg presses. Far too many lifters only perform half or quarter-reps. Unless you have knee problems that limit your range of motion, focus on full, deep reps. And yes, you might have to drop weight, but your legs will reward you in the long run with impressive mass and strength.
Mistake # 3 - Speaking Of Squats, How’s Your Form?
With squats, or any exercise, form is everything. Correct form should be the first thing you focus on when doing squats. It’s common for lifters to lean forward too much and push their hips backward too much. This takes the tension off the quads, and it could strain your lower back.
Here are some tips for proper squat form:
- Squat in a rack and make sure you have safety pins set.
- Keep a slight arch in your back, keep your shoulders back, and look straight ahead.
- Never look down or bend over while doing squats.
- If you take a wider than shoulder width stance, angle your toes slightly outward.
- As you squat down, your knees should stay in line with your feet. Think of sitting down on a chair.
- When you drive out of the bottom of the movement, push through your heels.
- You can practice proper form by sitting down and getting up from a chair or bench.
- Finally, Rich used to do Smith machine squats. You may want to try these until your form is perfect.
Going Too Heavy
Rich was a big believer in not going too heavy. Once you’ve built your mass foundation, back off to moderate weights and go for the pump. Rather than super-heavy squats or leg presses done with a range of motion of about an inch, choose a weight that lets you get your reps over a full range of motion. Use a pyramid system, warming up over 2-3 sets and working your way up to your heaviest sets.
Here’s an example:
Squats or Leg Presses
5 sets - 20, 15, 12, 10, 8 reps - add weight every set.
Don’t Forget Hamstrings and Calves
Many lifters just like to do a few sets for quads, and tend to skip hamstring and calves. Train for balance - your legs will look much bigger from the side if your hams are well-developed. Likewise, who can argue with an impressive pair of calves? Don’t neglect them, train them!
Don’t Forget 5% Nutrition!
It's Leg Day! That means you want a hardcore 5% Nutrition pre-workout, such as 5150, our hardcore pre with 400 mg of caffeine. There’s also the convenience of an RTD - Kill It RTDs, also with 400 mg. of caffeine. Are you a beginner? Then check out our Code Red Series! We have Code Red PRE, Creatine and Aminos - it’s a great place to start! Finally, add Real Carbs and Shake Time, and you’ve got a complete real food meal. Use this combination before and after your workout. Also, try All Day You May during your workout. Prepare it the way Rich did, stuck in the freezer for 20-30 minutes before you train. It’s time to conquer Leg Day!
