Squats
Squats are the overall best exercise for training the legs. Start by resting a barbell on your trapezius and shoulders while standing upright with a slight bend in your knees. You will probably want to wrap a towel or small cushion of some sort on the bar to prevent it from digging into your upper back. With your legs placed about shoulder-width apart, bend at the knees to lower yourself until your thighs are about parallel to the floor.
Once you have lowered yourself until your legs are parallel to the floor (or as far as your flexibility allows), power yourself back up to the starting position. Remember to avoid completely extending your knees at the top of the movement.
Tips
* This exercise is the number one movement for building strength and size in the legs. It mainly works the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteal muscles, as well as the muscles of the lower back. In addition, this exercise also works the cardiovascular system and contributes to increased pulmonary capacity.
* It is very important to keep the lower back slightly arched throughout the range of motion. This will prevent the back from rounding, which places unnecessary stress on the spine and can lead to serious injuries. You should also contract the abdominal core as you lower and raise the weight to prevent the back from rounding.
* Many people fall victim to the temptation of using too heavy of weights for this exercise, limiting the depth that they are able to lower themselves. As previously mentioned, you should aim to lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Remember that the farther you lower yourself, the more muscle fibers you will be bringing into the equation. At the same time, lowering yourself to the point where your hamstrings are nearly touching your calves is not really necessary. For one thing, this can only be performed by people with relatively short femurs. A person standing 6'3 tall will find it virtually impossible to lower himself this far. Plus, lowering yourself too such a great extent is generally not believed to be safe on the knees either.
* This exercise can also be done at a Smith machine (a machine in which a barbell is fixed inside a frame, allowing only vertical movement). The advantage of performing the movement at such a machine is that there is less emphasis on positioning. As a result, it is usually easier to lift heavier weights at a Smith machine than when using free weights. A Smith machine is also safer, especially for beginners, since there are multiple lockout positions which allows the barbell to be safely fixed to the frame at the bottom of the movement, should a person be unable to lift the weight back up to the top. Aside from these advantages, free weights are superior in the fact that they recruit more total muscle fibers. Free weight squats are useful for working a variety of stabilizing muscles in and around the knees and surrounding parts of the legs. It is these types of muscles that are usually responsible for preventing injuries. While these stabilizing muscles do get worked a little bit at a Smith machine, they are worked much more intensely during the "natural" motion of free weight squats. For the best overall results, alternate between using free weights or a Smith machine at every couple of workouts if you are able to.
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