Let’s face it…leg workouts are not on the top of everyone’s ‘to do list.’ But as you know, spending time on your legs improves your entire body image. In order to amplify the strength and appearance of your leg muscles, here’s 5 exercises for powerful legs.

Try starting off with 2 sets of 10 reps for the weight workouts and 5-8 minutes of uphill walking/running. As you progress, you’ll be able to handle more. And when you do these exercises, make sure to follow the suggestions given. That will help your legs become even more powerful.

5 Exercises For Powerful Legs

1. Full Squats

There’s one reason why people don’t see the results they want from squats. It’s because they’re not properly executing the movement. The mistake they’re making is not using the full movement. They only go down until their knees are parallel with their body or less. But unless you have knee problems, you should actually be going a little lower than parallel.

There’s a reason why you need to go a couple inches past parallel at the bottom of a squat. It’s because that’s when your glutes and hamstrings are activated. It contracts the muscles to their utmost tension and gets you the most out of the exercise. So if your knees are fine, you need to be going as far down as possible.

Conquered the general squat? You are now able to try holding the pose for a second at the bottom. Hold, then drive your body upwards. Have you successfully done this? You are able to try holding the pose a second time. This time when you’re half way extended through the upwards movement. Of course doing this will intensify the workout. You may need to decrease the number of reps.

5 Exercises For Powerful Legs

2. One-Leg Barbell Squats

Another top 5 exercise for building powerful legs is the one leg barbell squat. It is very easy to perform. To start, grab some dumbbells and hold them at your sides. Rest your left foot on a bench or anything sturdy behind you. At the same time you stand on the other foot. Gradually bend your right leg as you would for a squat. Go as low as you’re able to. Then extend your body back upward so that you’re at the starting position again. After all the reps on your right leg are completed, move on to the left leg. Repeat everything again to give your left leg a workout.

The more distance you put between your standing foot and the resting foot, the more workout your hamstrings will get. To target your quads, hold your standing foot directly under you.

5 Exercises For Powerful Legs

3. Uphill Walking or Running

Of the 5 exercises for building powerful legs, there isn’t a better exercise for building strength than running or walking uphill. Of course if you’re able to run uphill, you’ll reap even more benefits. But whether you choose to run or walk uphill, the benefits will still be there. Also, you’ll be getting a cardio workout as well as working the hamstrings, quads, and glutes.

There’s a reason why going uphill is so effective at building power in your legs. It is because you’re forcing the body to progress on a slope. And you can’t really simulate uphill training in the gym. Your legs are being taxed in a totally different way.

When you’re done with an uphill workout, be sure that you stretch the hamstring muscles. If you don’t stretch your hamstrings will become very stiff. Especially if you’re new to this type of workout.

5 Exercises For Powerful Legs

4. Deadlifts with Feet Slightly Raised

To perform these deadlifts, find a slightly raised area like a board or a block to step on. Once you’re on this raised area with the barbell on the floor in front of you, pick up the barbell. Execute a normal deadlift. The difference is that you will be going a little lower when bringing the weight down.

By stepping onto a slightly raised surface like a board or a block, you add extra tension on the hamstring muscles. You also add more intensity to the exercise. This helps a lot when going for maximum strength development. Plus, it will add more power to your legs.

However, are you starting out with leg exercises? Being slightly raised isn’t necessary because you need to start off with normal deadlifts first.

Top 5 Exercises For Powerful Legs

5. Dumbbell Step Ups

Stand with a bench in front of you while holding a barbell across your back or a set of dumbbells. Step up with your left leg, and then lift your right leg up to stand on the bench. Now step down with the left leg. Remember to switch legs when the set is finished. Keep your tension balanced through both legs. This exercise will help advance the growth of the quads. It is also a nice combination with deadlifts.

5 Exercises For Powerful Legs

All of these are good exercises to use in the process of strength building. Not to mention your total body image. Keep in mind that you can over-train if you use all of these exercises in a daily routine. Rotate them in and out every so often to gain the best results.

By Jeremy Olson