When it comes to building lower-body strength, there’s a lot more to it than just squats and lunges. Resistance, consistency, progressive overload and a solid training plan make all the difference when trying to sculpt or strengthen.
Naturally, I am a little biased, but as a personal trainer, I can sing the praises of having a trainer. They’ll help you perfect your exercise form, hold you accountable and create a workout and nutrition plan to help you reach your goals.
But hiring a personal trainer isn’t cheap, especially if you plan on having regular sessions. So, how can you plan gym-based workouts yourself that will help you build muscle and develop strength in your legs? I’m going to let you in on my seven-step secret as a trainer, including the exact workout plan that helps my clients build muscle and strength.
1. Consistency
To build strength, research suggests you need to do at least two lower-body sessions a week, but to build muscle, I recommend two to three sessions.
I personally aim for three workouts a week, making sure there’s at least a day between workouts for my muscles to recover. Prioritize this rest; during rest days, muscles heal and grow.
2. Progressive overload
This means progressively overloading muscles over time. If you’re lifting the same weights months down the line and finding each rep easy, you won’t see the results you want.
Track the weights you use and look to increase them over time. Or increase your reps or sets, as research has found that progressing the reps can be as effective as progressing the weight. The main thing to remember is that the weight should be a challenge.
As for your rest period between sets, don’t leave more than a few minutes. Keep those muscles working and under tension rather than scrolling through Instagram between sets.
Finally, don’t be fooled into thinking that fancy, complex moves are going to help you reach your muscle goals. Basic compound exercises, done repeatedly, consistently and with challenging resistance, are the way. Boring is best, I like to say.
3. Warm-up and activation
Waking up your muscles before you work them will improve your workouts.
If you’re someone who spends a lot of time sitting, then this is even more important, as it’s likely that your lower body muscles (primarily glutes and hamstrings) will be half asleep, and that means other muscles might take over.
Ever done a set of hip thrusts and not felt anything in your glutes? That’s likely because your glutes aren’t active. We need to wake up the lower body. The perfect warm-up will also loosen muscles and joints so you can move through the full range of motion with each exercise.
Try these for your next warm-up:
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4. Compound exercises
Compound lifts are multi-joint exercises that recruit several muscle groups at once. I always program these at the start of a workout, when muscles are fresh. Doing them at the end, when muscles are tired, risks poor form and potential injury.
I usually pick one or two depending on time, and I’ll complete four to five sets of up to 12 reps. The best rep range for muscle building is about eight to 12 reps. For strength, it’s one to six reps when you’re lifting a very heavy weight close to your maximum (read: strength training vs hypertrophy).
Here are two of my favorites.
1. Barbell back squat: 4 sets 8-12 reps
The king of lower-body strength, back squats target the quads, glutes and hamstrings. Your core even gets a workout as it’s needed to keep you upright.
- Place the barbell along your upper back. Your feet should be just wider than hip-width, with toes pointing out slightly
- Push your hips back and bend your knees as you lower into a squat
- When your thighs are parallel to the ground, push up through your heels to rise
- Look ahead during the move.
2. Romanian deadlift (RDL): 4 sets 8-12 reps
A hinge-based move helps to build the posterior chain, which includes your glutes, hamstrings and lower back. You’ll be building these muscles while also helping to improve your posture.
- Hold your barbell with your hands just wider than your hips
- Palms should face toward you, and the bar should be close to your thighs
- Keep your back engaged as you hinge at the hips and lower the bar down your legs
- Your knees will automatically bend slightly, but the focus should remain on the hinge
- Pause at the bottom, then drive through your feet to rise.
5. Accessory work
Once the big lifts are done, I move on to accessories. These are often single-leg or isolation exercises (single-muscle moves) and can be variations of compound lifts, too.
Here are three of my favourites:
1. Bulgarian split squat: 3 sets 10-12 reps per side
This single-leg move takes a while to get used to, but you’ll feel it working every inch of your lower body. To make this harder, immediately move into 10 bodyweight Bulgarian split squats.
- Place the top of your right foot on a bench and step forward with your left foot
- Hold a heavy dumbbell in your right hand or a dumbbell in each hand
- Lean your torso forward slightly, then bend both knees and lower so your back knee almost touches the floor and your front knee sits above your ankle
- Push through your front heel to rise.
2. Leg press: 3 sets 10-12 reps
Pretty much every gym will have a leg press, and for good reason. This machine is great for safely increasing weight, without straining your lower back.
The placement of your feet will dictate which muscles are working harder. If you place your feet higher and wider, your glutes will feel it the most, whereas if you place your feet in the middle, hip-width apart, you’ll feel it more in your quads. Move slowly through each rep.
3. Hamstring curls: 3 sets 10-12 reps
To isolate your hamstrings, this is the move you need. You can do hamstring curls on a machine or use a stability ball. A machine will allow you to add more resistance, so I do recommend trying it.
If you’re using a stability ball, lie on your back with the soles of your feet on the ball.
- Press your back into the floor, then lift your hips off the ground. Keep your torso stable
- Slide the ball forward so your legs straighten without dropping your hips
- Pull your heels back in toward your glutes.
6. Finishers
You don’t have to include a finisher, but it’s a good way to push your legs to fatigue and also get your heart rate up. My typical finishers include a circuit of three exercises, done three times in total. I use lighter weights here or bodyweight, so I can move a little faster.
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7. Cool-down
Just five minutes of stretching can help reduce potential soreness and avoid tightness after a heavy leg session. Give these stretches a try:
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