The Health Doctors Daily Blog

With all of the possible exercises and exercise combinations—squats, lunges, calf raises, leg presses, step-ups—leg workout days can be killer. Because the legs are made up of such large muscles, and because so many lower body exercises are compound exercises, it is not difficult to work the legs hard. The best leg workouts I’ve had have consistently been those where I used a variety of exercise movements and equipment to work to fatigue from every angle. They are also some of the toughest workouts that can be done.  If you’re interested in real weight lifting, then this article is for you. Perform the following leg workout for maximum results.

For 5-10 minutes, warmup with a slow jog or 5 minutes on the exercise bike. Push it a bit at the end to really get your muscles warm and push your heart rate up.

Cable Squats

If you’re new to the cable/ weight stack apparatus, take a minute to find the right amount of counterbalance weight. If the machine is adjustable, move the pulleys and handle almost to the floor. During the squat, grip the handle or bar close to your chest, and allow the weight stack to counter balance as you flex your knees and push your hips back and down. As you lower your body, keep your weight evenly distributed between legs, and centered through your heels.

The narrower the stance, the more the quads get worked. I recommend standing with your legs about hip width apart. To really target your vastus medialis (inner quads muscle), do a set or two while squeezing a small, inflatable ball between your knees.

Try a one-legged squat by lowering your upper body with both legs, then transferring most or all of your body weight to one leg as you push back to your starting position.

Between barbell squats, calf raises, and plyometric lunges, and work with resistance bands, my legs felt like jelly as I left the gym.

Sidesteps with Resistance Band

If you do this one right, it should make your gluts and outer thighs burn. This exercise really pounds the quads, and that’s why it’s part of the workout. Grip the handles of a resistance band and step on the center. Begin with feet shoulder width apart. Drop the hip downwards steadily as you keep the band tightly pulled. Pick up your right foot (the band should come with it) and take as large a step as possible to the side. Follow this with your other foot. For one set, take 10-15 steps to the right; then retrace your steps moving to the left. Complete the movement slowly, maintaining a bend in the knees.

Plyometric Lunges

Any type of lunge is a great leg workout, as long as you focus on keeping your knee behind your foot and not letting your legs “wobble” back and forth. Plyometrics are included for their capacity to develop explosive power and general athleticism.  Granted, they aren’t up there with barbell back squats but they certainlly pack a punch. The idea is simple: start in a regular lunge. Jump up from the bottom and interchange your legs dynamically. Land in the opposite position to the one you started in, and lower yourself again into a squat. Concentrate on good form and upper body posture throughout the movement.

The best leg workout you’ve ever had should start off with a few sets of each of these exercises, for versatile, compound lower body movements. If you find yourself wanting more, try upping your squat weight, or using a band with more resistance for your side steps. Even if you won’t call it the best leg workout of your life, I’m betting that your legs will concede it’s a good one.

A weightlifting bench is a regular piece of gym equipment that resembles regular benches but serves for the specific purpose of weight training. The weightlifting bench serves for the performance of special exercises meant to strengthen the pectorals, and the equipment also gives the name of the exercises: bench presses. The device is available in multiple designs: some are fixed in a folded position with an adjustable part, others are fixed and inclined or horizontal. Racks for holding the bars are placed on most such items of equipment. All sorts of additional features can also be present depending on the manufacturer, but these are not necessity per se.

The sit-up and flat weightlifting bench definitely deserves our attention. It is very useful for performing light bench pressing or for working with the dumbbell. Less bulky and definitely lightweight, such models are easier to use. As for the classic design of the weightlifting bench: it is simple and flat. Normal chest workout and good dumbbell exercises can be very well performed on this item of equipment. The inclined bench, the adjustable weightlifting bench or the Olympic version are other models intensely advertised on the market.

Weightlifting bench models sell well given the preponderance of usage and the presence in all gyms. The high costs are probably the main inconvenience for the matter, and sometime the expense is not justified by quality. Think well and analyze the product on all sides before taking 0 out of the pocket. For gym usage, the most advantageous idea is to buy one of the three best rated items available on the market. The adjustability, the quality of the design, the durability and the ergonomics represent elements and features that should convince one to buy or not to buy.

Have a look on Internet web sites that review top quality items, helping visitors get good items for fair prices. The weightlifting bench is an essential item of weightlifting equipment, and here we have the explanation for the often exaggerated prices. Investments should therefore be made after careful reading, investigating and testing. One final observation is to try and match the training objectives with the product, since a weightlifting bench used at home will not have the same quality features as one designed for gym work.