Squats are the best leg builder hands down. Make sure you get a full range of motion (within the limits of your mobility). That being said, don’t barely bend your knees and blame it on your mobility. Start with a barbell across your traps and your feet shoulder-width apart. Descend by moving the hips back and keeping your knees in line with your toes. Go all the way down while maintaining an upright chest. Keep the weight midfoot and contract the upper-leg muscles to stand back up.

Leg extensions have gotten a bad rap over the years for being bad for the knees because they’re not a “functional movement.”  I believe that going overly heavy on these can lead to injury, so keep the weight down, get a full range of motion and really focus on quality reps. Adjust the pad so it is just above the feet. Using the quadriceps, extend your legs all the way up before slowly bringing the weight back down.

Another great leg builder. Sit on the leg press with a shoulder-width stance. While lowering the weight, make sure your back and butt stay on the pad. Do not allow them to roll forward and lift up. Come down until about 90 degrees before extending back up. At the top, DO NOT lock your knees. Maintain a slight bend at all times.

On a Smith machine, put the bar on your traps. Take a step back while bending the front knee. Before the back knee touches the ground, contract the front quad and stand back up. Do not put your back foot on the ground at the top, to keep the tension on the front leg the whole time during the movement.

I have put together a quad workout for anyone trying to bulk up their quads. You will alternate a high rep/endurance week with a low rep/strength week. The most important part of these workouts is to make every rep count. Focus on the tempo and get the most out of every rep. Don’t just mindlessly move through the workout. Plug you music in, get in the mindset and force your legs to grow!

*Tempo reads as follow – 1:0:2:0 – 1 second negative, 0 second pause on stretch, 2 second positive, 0 second pause on contraction