Ah, the joy of being a freak. Normal people just do not understand where we bodybuilders come from when we explain to them how much we enjoy standing out from the average and training to look like Greek statues. We are doing what we were meant to do. What does society expect when we males are made to be warriors yet most men have to settle for working in cubicles and giving up their dreams, bodybuilding is a necessity!
We are made in the image of God, so why are there so many slobs and gluttons running around thinking of us as crazy for wanting to be monstrous warriors, when we are doing what is naturally instinctive of us as males! This is my first part of a group of articles centered on developing a body like we were made to possess. A body that is fit for war, a body that shows power, strength, and intensity. Why settle for less than we were made for? The potential in each one of us is there to develop an amazing physique so its time to do it. Let's get moving.
The Foundation Of Bodybuilders
In this article I begin discussing the foundations of a true warriors (bodybuilders) body. When you look at the many bodybuilders and true athletes of the day, what body-part do you notice always seems to have undergone less work than all the others? Obviously! It's the legs. The legs for most people always need work. Why, you are asking? The legs and hips are where all the power comes from, without power a physique is all looks and no go, but even developing a real body in the first place is going to take massive amounts of mental and physical power. And true legwork will give you pain above and beyond anything you have ever experienced before.
The legs are truly a great body-part once developed. They exude strength, and according to recent studies the legs are the most looked at body-part next to the abs. Who would have thought? The reason for this is because of how amazing great legs look. Anyone can build a chest or stomach, but legs take work that goes above and beyond the other body parts. The legs are composed of a great number of muscle fibers, and so take a great amount of stimulation, stretching, and fat loss to bring out the striations and form of the legs.
No matter what anyone says, if you don't possess legs, you are not a bodybuilder. So go away and leave the real training to the real men. Now that we have an idea of the background behind why most lifters do not have legs, let's delve into how you can start building legs that will require you to buy oversized underwear and baggy pants just so you can walk normally.
Developing Great Legs
The basics of developing a set of mountains for legs begins with that exercise all true bodybuilders have a love hate relationship with. That's right, the squat! The squat is the core of any leg program. Do not give me any of that pansy importance of isolation exercises, if you give a full out and intense effort, giving all you could possibly give with your human body on your squats, you don't even have to worry about any other leg exercises.
For most people unfortunately, they just can't handle this, so we add in a few other exercises to help us feel better mentally, like we have worked our legs really hard, but are just making excuses for not performing squats with all we had. Yeah, they just hurt that much. For those of us who know the importance of this exercise, we mentally prepare before these leg workouts like no other, and when we go into the gym its life or death with this exercise. The squat alone has been known to add on 10 lbs of muscle to hard-gainers within a few months!
If you have a bad back or knee problems, the leg press is a good alternative to the squat, as it will allow you to add more weight, but make sure you never sacrifice form for weight.
The next foundation that needs to be incorporated into the leg workout is the lunge. Amazing, that is all I can say about lunges. The legs you will develop doing heavy lunges make all the pain worth it. Lunges work the glutes, hamstrings, and quads. Lunges will take your legs to the next level, but as I said already, proper form is more important than anything. Many top bodybuilders swear by lunges, and you will also once you incorporate a set of heavy ones into your workout and watch your legs grow by the week.
The final foundation that you will want in your leg workouts will be the leg extension and the leg curl, alternated every week. The reason we are alternating these exercises is because this will allow the specific areas to recover, and also for maximum stimulation by being able to use heavier than normal weights when you come back. Forget the isolation, focus on building the mass. You cannot shape a muscle, you can only build it. Why not give your quads and hams some extra rest time each week, and then come back and blast them with isolation" exercise and watch them grow fast.
And now to round out those awesome sides of beef you have developed. The three key calf exercises, all you will ever need for calves. Each week you will perform standing calf raises, always to failure. Each week you will also alternate from toe presses to seated calf raises. These are the three most important calf exercises. The standing calf raises will develop the upper calf mass while the alternating toe presses and seated calf raises will develop that V-shape from the heel going up into the mass of the calf, to give your calves a much larger appearance. Many trainees feel they have small calves until they realize what seated calf raises and toe presses can do for them.
Sample Leg Routine
Workout 1: Alternate Each Week With 2
- Lunges: 2 sets of 6-8
- Squats: 1 set of 20
- Leg Extension: 1 set of 4-6
- Standing Calf Raise: 2 sets of 4-6
- Seated Calf Raise: 2 sets of 4-6
Click Here For A Printable Version Of Workout # 1!
Workout 2: Alternate each week with 1
- Squats: 2 sets of 6-8
- Lunges: 2 sets of 6-8
- Leg Curl: 1 set of 4-6
- Standing Calf Raise: 2 sets of 6-8
- Toe Presses: 2 sets of 4-6
Click Here For A Printable Version Of Workout # 2!
You can do these workouts in any order you like, or mix them up the way you like, but what I've laid out here will give you amazing results. The reason we are using lower reps is for strength and size purposes. The legs are a base for a warrior body, without them you have little power and exude the average. And average sucks!
The leg muscles like I stated earlier are a very strong and powerful group, and as a result they need great simulation to grow, which means heavy weights. Take every set to failure, and you will be growing huge legs in a very short time. This concludes part 1, come back next time when I go into the mental foundation that all bodybuilders should possess.