Leg Training - why you should never skip legs

9 min read

Leg training is the cornerstone of any serious training program. Your legs contain the largest muscle groups in your body - the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves. They are responsible for virtually every athletic movement, from sprinting to jumping to simply walking up the stairs when you're 70. Yet a large part of the gym population consistently skips leg day. That is a mistake you don't want to make.

The muscle groups of your legs

To train your legs effectively, you need to understand which muscles are there and how they work:

Quadriceps - Four heads at the front of your thigh. The rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis and vastus intermedius. They extend your knee and the rectus femoris also helps with bending your hip. The vastus medialis (the teardrop-shaped muscle above your knee on the inside) is often a weak point and important for knee stability.

Hamstrings - Three muscles at the back: biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus. They bend your knee and extend your hip. The hamstrings are particularly susceptible to injuries, especially in athletes who neglect them.

Glutes (gluteus maximus, medius, minimus) - The most powerful muscle group in your body. They extend your hip, rotate your leg outward and stabilize your pelvis. Weak glutes lead to back pain, knee problems and reduced athletic performance.

Calves (gastrocnemius and soleus) - The gastrocnemius is the upper, visible calf muscle and works less hard when the knee is bent. The soleus sits underneath and is more active with a bent knee. Both are needed for explosive movements and daily walking.

The best exercises for your legs

Quadriceps:

• Barbell back squat - The king of all leg exercises. Hits quads, glutes and hamstrings simultaneously. 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps for strength, 8-12 reps for hypertrophy.
• Leg press - Safe alternative if you have back problems. Feet lower on the platform for more quad focus. 3 sets of 8-12 reps.
• Leg extension - Isolation for the quads. Particularly effective for the vastus medialis. 3 sets of 12-15 reps, controlled.
• Bulgarian split squat - Unilateral work that corrects asymmetrical growth and improves your balance. 3 sets of 8-10 per leg.

Hamstrings:

• Romanian deadlift - The best exercise for hamstrings in stretch. Keep your back straight, push your hips back, feel the stretch in your hamstrings. 3 sets of 8-10 reps.
• Seated leg curl - Research from 2021 showed that the seated leg curl yielded more hypertrophy than the lying leg curl, likely due to the greater stretch on the hamstrings in the seated position. 3 sets of 10-12 reps.
• Nordic hamstring curl - Eccentrically heavy, excellent for injury prevention. Start with negatives if you can't do the full movement yet.

Calves:

• Standing calf raise - Targets the gastrocnemius. Go all the way down for the stretch, all the way up for the contraction. 4 sets of 12-15 reps.
• Seated calf raise - Bent knee, more soleus. 3 sets of 15-20 reps.

Volume and frequency

The legs can handle relatively high volume, but they also need more recovery time than smaller muscle groups. The optimal ranges per week:

• Quadriceps: 12 to 20 sets per week, divided over 2 sessions
• Hamstrings: 10 to 16 sets per week (including indirect work from deadlifts and squats)
• Calves: 8 to 16 sets per week, divided over 2-3 sessions

Two leg sessions per week is optimal for most people. You can split them into a quad-dominant day (squat, leg press, leg extension) and a hamstring/glute-dominant day (Romanian deadlift, leg curl, hip thrust). Or you do two full body leg sessions with a mix of both.

A complete leg training schedule

Day 1 - Quad focus:

Back squat 4x6-8, Leg press 3x10-12, Bulgarian split squat 3x8-10, Leg extension 3x12-15, Standing calf raise 4x12-15

Day 2 - Hamstring/glute focus:

Romanian deadlift 3x8-10, Hip thrust 3x8-12, Seated leg curl 3x10-12, Front squat 3x8-10, Seated calf raise 3x15-20

This gives you 16 sets for quads, 12 sets for hamstrings, 9 sets for glutes and 7 sets for calves per week - all within the effective range.

Progression in leg training

The legs respond well to different rep ranges. An effective approach is undulating periodization: alternate heavy days (6-8 reps) with lighter days (10-15 reps). The quadriceps have a mix of type I and type II muscle fibers, which means they respond to both heavy loads and higher repetitions with metabolic stress.

Aim for the following strength standards as a guideline for an average recreational athlete:

• Squat: 1.5x body weight for 1 rep (intermediate)
• Deadlift: 2x body weight for 1 rep (intermediate)
• Leg press: 3x body weight for 10 reps

Reaching these standards takes most people 1 to 3 years of consistent training. But it's not about the absolute numbers - it's about the progression. If every month you squat a few kilos heavier or get a few more reps, you're on the right track.

A practical tip for progression in squats: use microloading. Instead of adding 2.5 kilos per side (5 kilos total), you add 1.25 kilos per side (2.5 kilos total). Smaller jumps keep you going longer and you prevent plateaus. Buy a set of microplates of 0.5 and 1.25 kilos - it's one of the best investments you can make as an athlete.

Common mistakes in leg training

• Half squatting - Go to at least parallel (thigh horizontal). A half squat gives half stimulus and overloads your knees due to the limited range of motion
• Skipping hamstrings - Squats don't train your hamstrings enough. You need specific hamstring isolation work for full development
• Too many machines, too few free weights - Machines are fine as a supplement, but compound exercises with free weights activate more stabilizers and build functional strength
• Ignoring calves - Calves respond well to high frequency and volume. Train them 2 to 3 times per week if they lag behind
• Always the same rep range - Alternate between heavy sets (6-8 reps) and lighter sets (12-15 reps). The quadriceps have a mix of muscle fiber types and respond well to both

Your legs are the foundation of your body. Train them with the same dedication as your chest and arms. Twice per week, with compounds and isolation, through the full range of motion. The results will come - and not just in the mirror, but in everything you do.