By Karen Sessions
A nice set of legs is what really makes a bodybuilder outstanding! Leg training is very popular and knowing how to effectively train your legs will bring you to greater heights.
While many bodybuilders focus on quality leg training, all too many are either overtraining, undertraining, or keeping their leg training stagnant, in turn, halting their potential leg development.
Building a nice pair of legs takes work from the mind and the body, as well as proper training and adequate rest. While minimal sets and repetitions will build muscular legs, many are stuck in a rut and need a shock.
Note: This article is not about "ripping" or "cutting" your legs. You have to build a foundation before you can sculpt the muscle. Focus on building mass now and sculpting later.
Overtraining the Legs
I have seen many ladies training in the gym who had awesome potential to build muscular legs, but all I saw them doing was over taxing them. Overtrained legs will never produce desired results.
If you are among those who take part in leg training for mass, then you should limit your cardio to only three times a week for 20 minutes at most. Excessive biking, the elliptical, and other such high-impact cardio techniques will not allow your leg muscles to rest properly. A muscle can only grow when it is allowed to rest.
Intensity, stimulation, proper form, and rest will build muscular legs. Save the extra cardio after you have built your legs and when you begin to diet down.
For best results, keep your leg training limited to only once a week. More training does not produce faster results or larger muscles. You are not growing in the gym. Growth takes place outside of the gym when you feed your body nutrients and allow it to rest.
Keep your training time in the gym limited to an hour. Training over 60 minutes can do more damage than good. Any training you need to do can be done in a relatively short amount of time. Remember, less is more.
Focus on the mass-building exercises (compound movements) for the bulk of your training. This includes primarily squats, leg press, Romanian deadlifts, and stiff-legged deadlifts. Add one or two auxiliary movements, but don't over do it. When you do compound exercises for mass, all the areas of the legs are targeted simultaneously.
The key to building the legs lies in variety. Vary your poundage and repetitions. -- It's good to keep these in rotation and shock the lower body often to produce results. Don't get stuck in one mode of training your legs. Venture out and keep the body off-guard.
Undertraining the Legs
Just as I have seen many ladies overtraining their legs, I do witness many undertraining their lower body, leaving the last few minutes in the gym dedicated to a 10-minute leg routine.
You may be undertraining your legs if you engage in only a few sets of light squats or leg presses, or totally neglect these mass-building exercises completely. There is a certain amount of effort and determination that goes into leg training to provide desired results. However, too much exercise can lead to overtraining, so you need to find a happy medium.
Don't expect to build a nice set of legs by skimping on leg training or thinking a lot of light squats and lunges will do the trick. Legs require work. This is why the majority of lifters don't have legs that are balanced with their upper body. ... It's just plain hard work and you have to make the decision to do it constantly!
While many people focus on quality leg training, all too many are either overtraining, under training, or keeping their leg training stagnant, and in turn, halting their potential development.
Source: physicalfitnessarticles.net
