Building Leg Muscle

For a well balanced physique it's important to make building leg muscle a priority in your weight lifting routine.

Have you ever seen someone at the beach with a well developed upper body and legs that would make a giraffe jealous?

Enough said.

As with most muscle building exercises, it is best to use core exercises to add mass and size to your legs.

The best leg exercise for building large strong legs, is the barbell squat.

Squats are also great to add overall size and muscle to your entire body.

Quadriceps (Quads)

In my opinion, squats are one of the most important (if not the most) muscle building exercises for legs.

Barbell Squat

Another popular building leg muscle exercise is the leg press. By using the leg press machine, you would add another good mass builder.

Those with lower back problems may also prefer to use the leg press over barbell squats.

Leg Press

Nothing builds meaty hamstrings like Stiff Legged Dead Lifts (SLDL's).

These can be done using a barbell, or for variation, try Stiff Legged Dumbbell Dead Lifts.

Stiff Legged Dead Lifts

Another great hamstring exercise is the lying leg curl.

This is a good exercise to build the upper portion of the back of your legs, known as the hamstring.

Lying Leg Curl

A popular exercise for building calf muscles is the standing calf raise.

Standing Calf Raise

These can also be done in the gym using a standing calf raise machine or try using the seated calf raise machine.