The squat is still the best exercise to increase lower body strength.
Do Not Skip Leg Day Gentleman
Stereotypically, men can sometimes look a little top heavy when it comes to stature.
Many men spend more time working out their upper body and less time on their lower body and are punished with big pectorals and bird legs.
However, men should not skip leg days because the little leg and big chest Suge Knight look is definitely not the look to go after and that’s probably why Knight rarely rocked shorts in public.
Therefore, RegalMag.com has several simple suggestions to avoid the bird leg look and add some definition to the lower body.
Dumbbell Lunge—One of the easiest and most effective exercises to increase leg strength is the dumbbell lunge. For a similar effect exercisers can use barbells, but dumbbells are slightly better. Multi-joint lunges are great because they require hip and knee extension, which stimulates the thighs and the glutes. Lunges can be done standing in place or stepping backwards and forwards. It is best to do lunges when one is already fatigued. Remember to go straight down when extending and do not lean forward. Three sets of eight to 20 reps per side are enough. When one’s muscles are overly fatigued, do lunges without the weights.
Squats—Generally, squats are seen as the most effective exercise to do to increase lower body strength. If one is scared of not using the right form and hurting themselves squatting with a barbell, try a squat machine first to help develop the correct form. Squats are always the best lower body exercising because it is the most difficult leg exercise. Squats work everything on a person’s lower body and the squats increase muscle building hormone release. Squatting before doing upper body exercises like curls can even increase arm strength according to BodyBuilding.com. However, the key to a safe squat is maintaining a neutral spine, tightness in the hip flexors and calves.
Leg Press—Many bodybuilders believe the leg press is overrated, but the leg press is still somewhat productive. However, the leg press is definitely not as effective as the squat because the leg press does not release the same amount of testosterone and recruits less muscle mass than the squat. Real bodybuilders do not adore the leg press because the position used to do the leg press is not very functional. Nevertheless, the good thing about the leg press is that it allows one to adjust foot position and specifically target certain parts of the leg. According to bodybuilding.com, “After free-weight leg exercises do three sets of eight to 12 reps. This exercise is especially safe when combined with intensity-boosting techniques such as rest pause, dropsets, or forced reps.”
Romanian Deadlift—The Romanian deadlift is effective because it works hamstrings and glutes and the hamstrings and glutes allow exercisers to overload with weights. Furthermore, the Romanian deadlift focuses on hip joints and not the knee joints like other hamstring exercises that focus on leg curls. However, using the correct form is crucial when doing the Romanian deadlift. Never allow your lower back to round when doing the Romanian deadlift. Do three sets of eight to 12 and do this exercise in between frontal and rear thigh exercises.
