Things we love to skip: the intro of any TV show, queues of any kind and washing dishes. But when it comes to strong, sculpted legs, there’s no skipping leg day. So, we called on personal trainer Carly Swartz to break down exactly how to level up your lower-body workouts and build real strength where it counts.
But, before we start talking legs, a quick recap of the different muscles in that area: quads (thighs), glutes (butt), hamstrings (back of thighs) and calves. Swartz’s top training tip: spend time on of them, instead of training just one specific muscle. And! Remember the cardinal rule of all workouts: warm up! This improves range of motion, leading to better performance. Ahead, Swartz’s surefire ways to grow your leg muscles…
Meet The Expert: Carly Swartz is a personal trainer from Cape Town and Cover Search 2024 finalist.
How Can I Strengthen My Legs?
Go In Order
For strong leg muscles, a structured and strategic sequence is a clever way to maximise the benefits. First, focus on your big movements: squats, deadlifts and hip thrusts. They take up a lot of your energy (hello, boosted heart rate!) Then, peel down to unilateral exercises, which focus on strengthening each leg individually and also help with imbalances. Examples of a few: single-leg deadlifts, Bulgarian split squats and walking lunges.
Add Variety
Breaking up your leg day workouts into different sub-groups not only keeps things interesting but also challenges your muscles in a new way. Plateau? Consider it dodged. But don’t overtrain: rest and recovery are as important for muscle repair and growth. Fuel your muscles with whole foods and sufficient protein for the best results!
Focus Up
Slot in time for isolation exercises like seated calf raises, seated leg curls and leg extensions. These target one specific muscle in the leg, improving overall strength. You can also do these right at the beginning, before doing compound exercises. It’ll fire up muscles you’ll be working on later.
READ MORE: Sculpt Your Legs And Butt With This 20-Minute Dumbbell Lower-Body Strength Workout
Strategies To Grow Leg Muscles
Swartz’s top tips to keep those legs growing.
Start Smart
It’s good to start with compound (using multiple muscle groups at once), then unilateral and lastly isolation exercises. It doesn’t always have to be in this specific order – just know that it’s a formula that helps balance the body. Also, it’s always best to first utilise your energy on the exercises that require working more than one muscle.
Add Tempo Changes
Slow down your reps when going down (or to the side), pause at the bottom, and then speed up the exercise when returning to start. It’s called TUT (Time Under Tension): the total time the muscle is kept under strain during an exercise, to add burn.
Try Progressive Overload
Increase your weights, sets or reps when performing an exercise. Try drop sets where you perform an exercise until you fail, then decrease the weight, with no rest, and continue with the next set. You could also go for supersets, where two exercises are performed back-to-back with little or no rest. This helps save time and improves muscle endurance.
READ MORE: Time For A Training Overhaul? Here’s How To Know When To Change Your Routine
