Intelligent Fitness

How many exercises are enough?

A complete exercise regimen should leave your muscles feeling properly worked and exhausted. You should be hitting all major muscle groups and as many minor ones as possible. Your daily routine should include a minimum of 8-12 exercises, with multiple sets of each. Once again, you should be taking each muscle to exhaustion before moving on. More advanced exercisers will find that their bodies require more work to achieve the same results and, as a result, will need to increase the number of exercises they perform in any given work-out session.

If I am looking to develop mass in my legs, what exercises should I do?

The more muscle groups you involve, the more mass you will develop in your legs, provided that you are working with a weight you can handle for 6-8 reps. The most commonly used exercises for those looking to fully develop the legs are usually pressing movements. Among the popular exercises of choice are the 45degree angled leg press, the smith squat, the barbell squat, the hack squat and the vertical leg press. These exercises carry a large degree of responsibility and risk when they are performed and are suggested for your use under the supervision of a spotter.  That is NOT to say that ALL of these exercises are appropriate for YOU!   Each carries with it a different degree of risk that you should understand before you perform that particular exercise.  That way you will recognize the benefits of the exercise and use a weight that will help you to pursue the mass you are looking to develop. 

A fnal word:  Just because you perform a "mass building:" exercise does not mean you will build mass.  There is mor to it than just the use of the exercise.  If your legs are not a dominant fiber type inherantl, you will find it tough to build mass.  that is not to say that it cannot be done.  But your likelihood is much more challenged.  Contact us for more information on this subject.  There 's a lot that goes into these principles. 

 

What kind of weight do I need to use?

Legs are a very big muscle group and respond well when stimulated with enough weight to cause them to respond by building new tissue. In order to promote growth in a muscle, you must stimulate the white muscle fibers or “fast twitch” fibers. These fibers are responsible for strength, which usually goes hand in hand with size. In order to stimulate growth and strength in a muscle, you must work with a weight that is not too heavy but not too light. Too heavy a weight does not give the body enough time to work under stress and too light a weight will not cause the muscle to overcompensate and develop new tissue to handle this increased stress. The weight you should use should be 75-90% of your one rep maximum and performed for six to eight reps.

What exercises are best if I am a competitive athlete?

Competitive athletes need to assess what their goals are before designing a training program for leg exercises. If an athlete’s goals are additional strength and power, good ol’ fashion movements such as squats and leg pressing movements are good choices provided there are no limiting physical factors and the proper safety precautions are taken. If the athlete is a competitive bodybuilder, shape and size are always major concerns. Mass building movements are the same as if you were building strength and power. It is always important to develop your foundation with safe, traditional “shaping” movements such dumbbell rows, machines rows and pulls and deltoid raises to the front, side and to the back for those “finishing touches” to an otherwise developed physique. As always, it is important to determine what it is that you are looking to accomplish and how it is going to effect your athletic performance in a positive manner. For more information on sports specific training, see our Sports Conditioning page on our website!!