Intense Leg Exercises to Jump-start Muscle Growth

Every year lots of people take the oath around New Year’s Day to start working out. Most fail, but some press on. Some people even go beyond working out as something they have to do. These folks develop a passion for working out and want to see measurable growth in muscle mass. If you've been hitting the weights for a while and are not seeing your leg development increase like it should, you're not alone. Few people even take the time to do any leg exercises, but those who do want to see some serious leg development and often end up disappointed.

Here are some tips to incorporate into your leg workout for maximum development.

Ditch the Leg Press & Leg Extension Machines

If you're serious about adding some size to your thighs, you have to move past the machines and get serious about your resistance training. Machines can be a fine supplement to a real leg workout, but they should never be the core of your program. Your legs have a lot of muscle fibers and to stimulate growth in those fibers you have to get down and dirty with some large, compound exercises. There's no shortcut to impressive leg muscles, but getting away from the machines can help you speed up your progress.

Squats, Dead-lifts & Lunges

The big three for serious leg workouts are squats, dead-lifts and lunges. You have to use all three of these exercises if you want to increase the muscle development in your legs.

• Squats – go heavy, but use good form when squatting. The squat is called the king of exercises, and for good reason. Squatting heavy, regularly and with good form will pack more muscle on your body than any other exercise – bar none.

• Dead-lifts – there are a few varieties of dead-lifts, but for leg workouts, you should focus on stiff-legged dead-lifts. This exercise will work your hamstrings and gluts like nothing else can. Use good form and learn the exercise properly before moving on to heavy weights.

• Lunges – some people think lunges are kind of wimpy. These people have never done serious, deep, walking lunges. Clear out a space of 30 to 50 feet and grab a pair of moderately heavy dumbbells. Lunge and step forward with each repetition. Go all the way down and come all the way back. You'll see that walking lunges are no joke.

Have a dedicated day each week for your leg workouts. Don't focus on anything else on the days when you work your legs out. Skip the cardio on these days too. You want every bit of energy you can get for an intense leg workout.
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Add Active Rest to Your Workouts for Faster Weight Loss

If you’re looking to lose some weight, you’ve probably tried lots of fad diets and tons of different workout programs to get the results that you want. After too many go-rounds with the latest, greatest fitness plan, it gets easy to become discouraged. The problem with a lot of the systems out there is that they make things too complicated. Weight loss has a lot of intricacies, but the bottom line is really all about making smart, disciplined choices with your time and energy. If you can find easy ways to fit more activity into your schedule without that activity becoming burdensome, you can finally start to shed those unwanted pounds.

You Don’t Need Another Workout

Some people, understanding how important extra activity is to weight loss, attempt to fill their schedules with workout session after workout session. They run from the weight room to the cardio theater to the Pilates class, to who knows where else. This sounds like a great plan, until you do it for a few weeks. Even Superman would hit the wall if he tried to keep up with a routine that packed with exercise. Beside that, you also have a real life to live. Unless you want to become a professional gym rat, you probably have better things to do with your time.

A Better Way to Get More Exercise

Instead of trying to schedule another activity, try implementing some active rest periods into your weight training routine. You probably take about 3 minutes between sets when you lift weights. If you shorten those rest periods down to 1 minute and fill the two extra minutes with some light cardio work, you will drastically speed up your metabolism and you’ll be sneaking in some extra exercise that will help to burn even more calories.

You don’t have to go all out and run laps around the weight room between sets. You can choose a few simple exercises that won’t take you far from your exercise station. Some good ideas for exercises to use during active rest periods are:

• Shadow boxing
• Jumping Jacks
• Running in Place
• Push-ups
• Free Squats

Any activity that you can do on the spot to keep your heart rate up between heavy weight lifting sets will suffice. You should be aware that you will probably have to sacrifice the amount of weight that you lift when you start using active rest periods. Don’t let that stop you though, you’ll be making more efficient use of your time and you’ll be revving up your metabolism to overdrive. Unless you can find a way to add an extra hour or two to each day, or if you don’t mind spending all your time working, then you should really consider using active rest periods to get you closer to your weight loss goals.

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