How to pump up legs at home. An effective way to pump up your legs

This is all. Nobody invented anything else, and knowing the principle, you only need to select the exercises you need for yourself. By the way, many famous athletes themselves came up with those for their workouts and achieved unprecedented success. Knowing this, you can qualitatively pump each leg muscle.

Of course, the bodybuilder will get the greatest effect as a result of training in the gym under the guidance of an experienced trainer. In the gym, of course, there are more favorable conditions for pumping legs than at home.

The largest and strongest muscle group, by definition, are our lower limbs - the legs. Therefore, a number of questions arise about how to quickly and effectively pump them up, but at the same time avoid injury. Accordingly, you should know what to pay attention to first of all. To do this, it makes sense to delve a little into the anatomy, as well as the types of exercises and technique, along with the features of their implementation. Like everywhere else, it has its own secrets, so to speak, “chips” acquired along with years of training. On their basis, programs and training courses are compiled, the effect after which, as they say, is “on the face”.

Leg anatomy

So, the lower limbs are conditionally divided into three sections:

The quadriceps, which is located in front, and in the role of function is responsible for the extension of the leg at the knee.

The biceps femoris is located behind and allows you to bend the leg at the knee

The shins are located directly behind the legs, that is, under the knee.

Each of them should be pumped with a specific group of exercises.

The word "quad" itself means "four", therefore the name of this area is found as the quadriceps muscle of the reed. This muscle group is located directly on the front of the thighs. As its name suggests, it has 4 sections. That is why the legs can be considered the largest muscle group. Its main function is to extend the legs in knee joints.

The biceps, they are also the biceps of the thighs, are located directly behind, that is, under the buttocks. Structurally, they have two sections.

Two main types of exercise:

Flexion of the leg at the knee

Trunk extension, provided that the lower leg is fixed during movement

How to quickly pump up your legs - pump your hips

It turns out that for the full development of the large femoral biceps, it is equally important to perform bending of the legs in a position while lying in the simulator, as well as extension of the torso. True, the shins are fixed. Structurally, this is a deadlift and deadlift.

To work out the shins, you need:

The calf muscles are located behind, directly below the knee, they consist of a pair of muscles. The first are the calf muscles or, in other words, the calves. The second are, respectively, the soleus muscles. They are located under the calves. Their main function is to extend the foot in relation to the lower leg. But, here you need to take into account the fact that the calves work only when the legs are fully extended at the knee, but the soleus muscles, on the contrary, come into action with the legs that are bent at the knees.

It turns out that the lower leg should be trained both sitting and standing. It goes without saying that it is best to do this on simulators. Otherwise, pumping will be one-sided.

Like any other training process, pumping legs has its pros and cons. And in order to decide whether it is worth starting at all, it will be constructively most convenient to consider all this point by point. Evaluating each of them separately.

So, with proper observance of all the conditions for training the lower body, it will be possible to speak with confidence about the strength of the legs. In turn, this gives the body an aesthetic appearance and looks nice.

How to quickly pump up your legs - the benefits

For any sport, be it martial arts or non-contact sports, it is important to have strong legs. Not to mention that their pumpiness is an integral part of bodybuilding.

When the legs are too pumped up, the upper body seems smaller.

During pumping of the lower extremities, there is a certain risk of injury to the joints. The fact is that there are exercises such as squats, with large working weights they contribute to the destruction of cartilage tissue. To avoid this, you need to start the workout correctly, without neglecting the warm-up or jogging with a duration of 5-10 minutes, and after that it is desirable to “warm up” the legs. However, it is not worth talking about the risk of exclusion completely.

There is a certain chance that bone growth in length will be missed. This mainly concerns young people whose age is not more than 20 or 25 years old. After this age threshold, a person no longer grows. But when a young man clearly goes too far with taking working weights on squats, he risks remaining the same height with which he began to train.

TV as a conclusion, it is worth noting that legs should be trained in without fail. You just have to be especially careful. It's all about the same, mentioned above, warm-ups and warm-ups. In addition, you need to train all parts of the body more or less evenly. Regarding the legs we are talking about all three areas, like the quadriceps, biceps of the thighs and shins. This is necessary, including for the aesthetic effect, which is often the key motivator of training.

Most effective exercises for legs:

Squats, while the barbell is on the shoulders

leg press

Leg extension in sitting position

Lying leg curls

"Deadlift"

Standing calf raises

Rises on socks in a sitting position

Squats or sit-ups

The key exercise for building and shaping the muscles of the legs, and not only the legs, but the whole body, is, of course, squats. Such an exercise is considered heavy and powerful, and therefore basic. It involves many large muscles and their groups. No other is comparable to it, if we talk about the increase in strength or muscle mass of the body.

However, barbell squats are not the most useful exercise for knee joints. Too much weight, combined with the wrong technique for performing this exercise, as well as not very high-quality warm-up and jerks, combined with other mistakes, can lead to the knee joints becoming inflamed and sore. Accordingly, everything must be done strictly in accordance with the above instructions.

First you need to squat only with your own weight. Do about 20 or 30 repetitions. Then it will be possible to take an empty bar, and only after that add 2 pancakes to it to make it 10-20 kilograms heavier. So the working weight gradually increases. Each weight increase should be done after 20 sets. Well, it goes without saying that you need to finish gradually reducing the load.

There are two types of squats: bodybuilders and powerlifters. Both types differ significantly in the mechanics of their implementation.

Bodybuilding, able to use the quadriceps the most. They are also conditionally called insulating.

As for powerlifting, it's the other way around. That is, they are more powerful and involve a lot of muscles. They are also called basic.

Structurally, they differ in a number of small details that a person who is not versed in sports, most likely, will not even notice.

Powerlifting types of squats are not related to bodybuilding.

In general, the key difference here is the desire to take as much weight as possible, and therefore the weight of the bar in the process will need to be lowered lower, closer to the shoulder blades. This is necessary in order to lower the center of gravity to the maximum, then you need to put your legs wide, so the gluteal muscles are included in the work. Then you will need to bend forward a little, and get ready to remove the barbell, after which the squat itself follows directly. This allows you to work with much more weight than in bodybuilding.

How to quickly pump up your legs - training

The next thing that can be called in terms of efficiency after squats is the leg press. It is another of the basic exercises. Of course, it is not as effective as squats, but it also allows you to achieve a good result. In the process, only one joint works - the knee, while the hip works rather passively. This is a consequence of the lying position of the body. But in this way, complete isolation on the quadriceps is achieved.

This exercise is especially important for those who squatted with large weights, but for whom only the buttocks progressed in terms of growth.

This type exercises are isolated. With it, only one joint works - the knee. With it, the quadriceps are most worked out.

This exercise can be used:

Before workout. That is, at the very beginning to warm up the knee joint, as well as before heavy types of exercises, for example, before squats and leg presses.

At the end of the workout. You need to do this exercise in order to refine tired muscles.

As for the execution technique, it refers to fairly simple ones. The main thing here is not in technique, but in the frequency of repetitions and the total number.

It belongs to the category of isolating exercises, since only one joint works - the knee. The other two, that is, hip joint and ankle are not included in the work at all. The result of such an exercise can be called the development and study develops the back of the thigh. They usually finish the workout. It is impossible to make jerks or overwork during the execution process.

Deadlift is also one of the basic exercises. It is many times more effective than lying leg curls. The only one important point, which should be learned during the exercise is the ability to “turn off” the back muscles.

These two types of exercises are key to the development of the calf muscles.

Rises on socks in a standing position are performed on the simulator. It mostly develops the calf muscles. That is, these are the muscles that are located outside.

As for calf raises, performed in a sitting position, this can be called the second important exercise that is used for the calf muscles. It develops the so-called soleus muscle as much as possible. It is located directly under the calf. For the beauty and aesthetic appearance of the legs, uniform and full development both types of muscles of the lower extremities. Otherwise, the view will not be so impressive.

How to quickly pump up your legs - video

But leg exercises have a number of features. Let's look at how to pump up legs at home for a girl and a man.

Anatomy

To learn how to swing your legs correctly, you first need to figure out how they work and how they work. Next, we will consider each component in order.

The thighs are made up of three muscle groups:

• the front muscles that flex the thigh, called the quadriceps, that is, the quadriceps muscle;
• the posterior muscles that extensor the thigh, called the biceps femoris, that is, the biceps muscle;
• medial muscles that adduct the thigh.

The main function of this muscle is a powerful extension of the leg at the knee. It is called the quadriceps because it consists of four different muscles:

• straight- the longest of all;
• lateral- a large muscle, which is located on the outside of the leg;
• medial- teardrop-shaped muscle, which is located on inside legs;
• vastus intermedius, which is located between the lateral and medial.

Although The quadriceps is the largest and strongest muscle in the front of the leg. She is far from the only one.
The adductor muscles also belong to the anterior muscles of the thigh: comb, tailor, thin and adductor (short, long and adductor). These muscles are called adductors, since they are the adductors of the thigh.

The back of the thigh is the biceps muscle (biceps femoris), which consists of two muscles: the semitendinosus and the membranous muscles.

The main function of the posterior muscle group is flexion of the legs at the knee joints and extension of the torso during movement of the lower leg.

The gluteal muscles are also referred to as the muscles of the lower extremities. In all, the gluteus maximus muscle is considered the thickest and largest. It starts at the pelvic bone and is attached to the back of the femur just below the hip joint.
She pulls the leg back in the course of the existence of the hip. The gluteus maximus muscle is the most active when climbing a step, as it helps to straighten the hip joint.

It should also be said about the middle and small gluteal muscles. They lie under the large one, and thanks to their pumping, the buttocks look more rounded and attractive. To obtain the best aesthetic result, all three muscles should be trained.

Did you know?There are about 650 muscles in the human body.

The muscles of the leg are represented by two parts: the gastrocnemius, located on the surface, and the soleus, which is hidden under the gastrocnemius. As in the case of the glutes, for the best effect, you need to swing both muscles of the lower leg.

The soleus is one-piece, as it passes exclusively through the ankle joint. The gastrocnemius is two-part, as it passes through both the knee and ankle joints.
The calf muscle has two heads: lateral and medial. Their surface is represented by strong bundles of tendons. The gastrocnemius is much larger than the soleus in size and occupies the bulk of the lower leg.

The thick and flat soleus muscle lies under the gastrocnemius, it is much smaller in size, but at the same time performs an equally important function.

Best Exercises

Later in the article, we will look at the best and most effective exercises for training legs, including those that can be performed at home. If you have always been interested in the question of how to quickly pump up your legs at home, carefully study the following sections.

Squats

This exercise is considered a classic, because, according to professional trainers around the world, it is the most effective for bringing the lower limbs into tone.

1. Go to the rack with the barbell, stand under it so that the neck is located on the upper back (on the trapezoid).
2. Grasp the bar with your hands so that it is comfortable and there is a good fixation.
3. Tighten and straighten your back, take the bar off the rack, take a step back (but do not go too far, as it will be difficult to work with more weight later on).
4. Place your feet shoulder-width apart and rest your entire foot on the floor very firmly.
5. Next, keeping your back straight, squat so deep that your upper thigh is parallel to the floor (the deeper you squat, the better the workout).

Important! While squatting, look straight ahead. If you look around, you will lose your balance, and then injury cannot be avoided.

It should also be said about the position of the feet during training:

1. If you put your feet shoulder-width apart, you will pump up the quadriceps more.
2. In order to increase the load on the muscles of the inner thighs, place your feet wide.
3. Narrow stance will allow you to pump up the outer part of the thigh more.

Leg press in the simulator

If your goal is to massively pump up your legs, this exercise is for you. It is also done if there is a risk during barbell squats.

If you have the opportunity to do both the squat and the leg press, do it, it will allow you to pump up big powerful hips.

How to do leg press:

1. First of all, you should choose the right exercise on the simulator, in which the buttocks and lower back will not come off the seat of the simulator, otherwise there is a very high risk of injury.
2. Place your feet firmly in the middle of the platform, your feet should be shoulder-width apart or slightly narrower.
3. Firmly grasp the handles of the simulator with your hands on the sides of the seat, hold on to them until the end of the exercise, this will give stability to the torso.
4. After that, remove the platform from the racks and slowly lower it towards you as deep as possible so that your knees touch your chest. Next, squeeze the platform up, but do not fully unbend your knees, so as not to relax the quadriceps and injure the knee joint.

Lunges with a barbell (or dumbbells)

Lunges are recommended to be performed on a Smith machine, as there will be no need to worry about balance. This exercise is also performed at home or with dumbbells.
How to do barbell lunges:

1. As with the barbell squat, place the bar on your back (traps).
2. Take a big step forward with one foot, feet should be on the same line. Maintain a distance between your legs so that when you get down on one knee, both legs should be bent at a right angle.
3. The bar should be on the trapezoid while one leg is in front and both feet are in line. Next, begin to drop to one knee, lightly touching the floor (do not hit the knee on the floor, as you will get injured), then return to the starting position.
4. It is recommended to first lunge on one limb, and then on the other.

Did you know? When walking calmly, a person uses about a quarter of all his muscles.

Hack squats

The Hack Squat is a variant of the back squat. But they allow you to remove a large axial load on the spine.

How to do squats on a hack machine:

1. Sit on the simulator, sitting on it, bend your knees, put your feet shoulder-width apart (feet should be placed parallel to each other) in the middle of the platform. Lean the back of the body against the back of the Hack machine, rest your shoulders against the support (the head should pass between the rollers and not come off until the end of the squat).
2. Unlock the mechanism of the simulator, but do not straighten up to the end, as this will relax the quadriceps at the top point and create a large load on the knee joint.
3. With an inhalation, slowly squat down, as deep as you can.
4. At the bottom point, focusing on the heel (not on the toes), push off the platform and straighten your legs. They should not be straightened completely.

Leg extension - isolation exercise, loading only the quadriceps. Use it as the last in a set of exercises or a warm-up.
This exercise does not increase the mass of the hips, because it is isolated and is not used with large weights. Its function is to give nice shape and topography of the upper thigh.

After you sit on the machine, place the roller over your feet and slowly straighten your legs.

Lying leg curls

Flexion, like the previous exercise, is isolated and swings the back muscles of the thighs. Fitness trainers recommend doing this exercise at the end of your workout.

Also, do not focus on big weight, because in bending the legs lying down, the main thing is the technique of execution. Otherwise, there is no point in wasting time on such training. How to do lying leg curl:

1. Do not tear your pelvis off the bench of the simulator; it must be firmly pressed all the time.
2. The roller should be placed on the back of the foot or slightly above the foot, but not on the lower leg.
3. Do not allow the joints to voluntarily and quickly unbend. Try to hold your feet at the top point, then slowly lower the projectile to its original position. Lower it not to the end, do not throw it at the lowest point, otherwise the effect of the exercise will not be so strong.

Rises on socks (sitting, standing)

Calf raises are used to pump up the calf and soleus muscles.
For the lesson to be effective, you need to follow these tips:

• the range of motion of the ankle joint should be as large as possible, this stretches the muscles and increases the load;
• use weights in such a way that you can do a maximum of 10-12 repetitions.

• take the bar and lift the bar;
• feet should be shoulder width apart;
• Rise gently on your toes, try not to lose your balance.

• put desired weight, sit on the simulator and put your knees on the rollers;
• straightens and flexes the ankle joint required amount once.

• sit on a flat bench and take dumbbells, put your feet on a full foot in front of you.
• ask the trainer to put dumbbells on your knees, as doing it yourself is traumatic.
• holding the dumbbells with your hands, unbend your ankle.

If you are new to the gym, then first you need to familiarize yourself with the basic principles muscle growth because without this knowledge, the growth of muscle mass is impossible.

1. Exercises are divided into muscle groups and according to the number of muscles that are involved in the work (isolation and basic). For beginners, it is recommended to do only the basic ones. They are responsible for rapid muscle growth. Basic exercises include exercises using free weights (for example, dumbbells or barbells). Isolation exercises should be avoided. Isolating exercises include exercises on simulators.
2. Need to fulfill correct order exercises. You need to start with large muscles, and then move on to small ones.
3. For quality exercises, you need to do from 6 to 12 repetitions. This will promote maximum muscle growth. A series of repetitions is called a "set" or "approach".
4. For a good muscle load, 3-4 sets are needed in one exercise.
5. Rest between sets should be approximately 2 minutes.
6. The average workout time should be 40-45 minutes.

An exemplary complex for the legs

Let's look at leg training programs for different categories of people involved. By following the rules of training, you can achieve the desired result.

Newbie

You need to start training with. To do this, start with an easy one. You need to run at a speed of up to 8 km / h for 5-7 minutes.

Next comes the usual, at a speed of 10-12 km / h and a duration of 10 minutes. The pulse should be kept in the range of 80 to 90 beats per minute. Then comes the explosive run. The speed is 14 km/h, the duration is 5 minutes.
The pulse should be kept in the range of 110-120 minutes. After jogging, you need to rest for 3-5 minutes at a walking pace.

After 20 minutes on the treadmill, the muscles are fully warmed up and are now ready for heavy loads. If it is difficult for you to run in this mode, then it is recommended to find a comfortable speed on the treadmill and run for 15 minutes.

• pancakes weighing 5–7 kg, perform 8–12 times;
• pancakes weighing 10–12 kg, perform 8–12 times;
• pancakes 15 kg each, perform 6-10 times.

Then you can do the leg press.
This basic exercise can sometimes be used instead of squats (if there are problems with the spine, leg joints).

When performing the exercise, make sure that the lower back is pressed against the simulator. And you do not need to unbend your legs in the second phase.

Approaches are performed in this order:

• pancakes weighing 10 kg, perform 12-15 times;
• pancakes weighing 12–15 kg, perform 8–12 times;
• pancakes weighing 20 kg, perform 6-10 times.

The next exercise is the lying leg curl.

This exercise works the back of the thigh. In order to enhance the effect of the exercise, the training roller should lie on the tendon. And it is not recommended to put your knees on the platform of the simulator.

Approaches are performed in this order:

• weight 15–20 kg, perform 15–20 repetitions;
• weight 20–25 kg, perform 15–20 repetitions;
• weight 20–25 kg, perform 12–15 repetitions;
• weight 30-35 kg, perform 8-12 repetitions.

The set of exercises is completed by straightening the lower extremities while sitting. When performing this exercise, only the quadriceps are loaded. Approaches are performed in this order:

• weight 10-15 kg, perform 10-25 repetitions;
• weight 15–17 kg, perform 15–20 repetitions;
• weight 20-25 kg, perform 12-15 times.

This workout is good for beginners. After 1.5-2 months of training, the muscles get used to the load. These basic exercises general development legs. After 3 months of performing such a complex, you can complicate the program.

Lover

For amateurs, leg training takes a secondary place. Amateurs do not focus on these workouts for the following reasons:

1. Pumped leg muscles visually reduce the arms and shoulders.
2. When performing active leg training, cartilage surfaces can be destroyed due to the use of large weights.
3. When training the lower extremities great importance has the right technique. Also, do not forget to warm up before exercise - it improves the elasticity of the ligaments, improves blood circulation in the hips, and prepares the joints for exercise.

• squatting with a heavy bar;
• bending the legs lying on the simulator;
• straightening legs on the simulator.

You need to look ahead of you with your head up. The first set should be 12 reps. On the second approach, add weight and do 10 repetitions. The third approach is more weight and 8 reps. Fourth set - more weight and 6 reps.

When performing this exercise, keep the upper body motionless, in motion - only the lower limbs. It will be enough to complete 5 sets of 12 repetitions. Strictly adhere to the technique of the exercise.
Leg extension on the simulator develops quadriceps. This exercise is performed at the final stage of training, as it does not burden the lower back and does not require a large number oxygen.

It will be enough to complete 5 sets of 15 repetitions, using the maximum weight possible for you.

Important! If you are interested in building muscle mass in your legs, it is recommended to perform these exercises 2 times a week. To simply maintain a good physical form It is enough to perform such a complex once a week.

Professional

The program is an example of a classic training. This program is recommended only for experienced athletes. According to the program, workouts are performed 2 times a week. A set of exercises:

• barbell squats- 8 reps, three sets;
• lunges- 12 reps, three sets;
• leg curls- 15 reps, three sets;
• lifts on toes- 25 reps, three sets;
• Romanian draft
• barbell slopes- 10 reps, three sets;
• Roman bench- 25 reps, five sets.

The Coleman program is highly intensive and voluminous. It can be optimized for yourself and use extreme weight. A set of exercises:

• leg extension- 30 reps, four sets;
• barbell squat- 15 reps, five sets;
• Hack squats-15 reps, three sets;
• Romanian draft- 15 reps, four sets;
• donkey exercise- 30 reps, four sets.

The Frank Zane program is a very popular training scheme that Zane used during one of the periods of his career as a bodybuilder. Program for the lower extremities:

• pulling the leg back
• leg curl- 8-12 reps for 3 sets;
• leg extension- 8-12 reps for 3 sets;
• squats- 8-12 reps for 3 sets;
• Romanian draft- 8-12 reps for 3 sets;
• back lunge- 8-12 reps for 3 sets;
• donkey exercise- 30 reps for 3 sets;
• lifting on socks sitting- 30 reps x 3 sets.

With proper and consistent training of the thighs and calves, good results can be achieved.

The given examples from the programs help to individually select exercises and understand how to pump up legs at home for a man in a week.

And also in the article are exercises that show how to pump up thin legs for a guy or girl.