Leg training program

Posted on: 02/26/2025

Training your legs is hard work for many bodybuilders, but it's important not to neglect this muscle group if you want a well-proportioned, balanced physique. And yes, it's in the lower body that you'll find the biggest muscles, and it's these that will enable you to move heavy loads and gain lots of muscle mass on the scales. As we often hear, "when you're strong down there, you're strong everywhere".

Paradoxically, men tend to focus on the upper body to achieve pectorals and arms. It's true that shapely buttocks and shapely legs are the number 1 goal for women, and that many men neglect the lower body. But if you want huge thighs and lots of muscle, you need to work the upper body as much as the lower.

If you're looking for a leg training program, you've come to the right place. Follow our advice to build thighs of steel or catch up on lost time.

Why work the legs ?

Lower-body training should never be put on the back burner, whatever your excuse. As you know, playing soccer or running has nothing to do with weight training. If you don't build up your legs, you'll make less progress, and your muscles will become unbalanced, leading to tension and injury in the medium term. Training strengthens the muscles around the joints, which plays an essential role in their solidity and stability. It also strengthens the bones and can reduce joint pain. Unless you're well ahead of the game in your lower body, you need to work your legs as much as your torso.

The truth is that most of the time these are just lame excuses. The reality is that it's not your priority. Add to that a little laziness or an unfounded fear of hurting yourself (squats and deadlifts). Yes, training your thighs and buttocks is much more demanding than training your arms. It requires a lot of energy and effort, for muscles that are often hidden by clothing. And it's certainly for this reason that many bodybuilders studiously avoid working out their legs, or only devote one session a week to it. Yet training the lower body is a necessity not only for general progress, but also for long-term health.

When we talk about lower-body training, we mean training the thighs (quadriceps in front and hamstrings behind), glutes, adductors (between the thighs) and calves. There's plenty to do! A leg workout will improve muscle volume and strength in all the major muscles of the lower body. So don't just think about the quadriceps, because you risk throwing your body off balance.

What's more, for anyone who trains for performance - and not just for aesthetics - it is of course essential to work the legs in depth. After all, it's the legs that provide solid support on the ground, enable acceleration and rapid, precise changes of direction, and so on. And for those watching their figure, working the bottom burns more calories. Training the legs requires the heart to work harder to bring blood and oxygen to the muscles, which means more calories are consumed.

How to build leg muscles ?

As explained above, you need to work the main muscles of the lower body: quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, adductors and calves. The best leg workout will target all leg muscles. This means working not only the larger leg muscles, but also the smaller ones.

What exercises should you choose to tone your legs ?

The key to strong, muscular legs is to focus primarily on compound exercises that target several muscle groups at once. Squats, deadlifts, thigh presses, deadlifts and lunges are examples of compound exercises for the legs, and they're essential for overall mass. To these, you can add isolation exercises to fine-tune certain details or promote the development of a muscle. Examples include the adductor machine for the inner thighs or the hip thrust for the glutes.

A good leg workout will contain extension exercises like the squat or a lunge variant, flexions like curls for the hamstrings, hip work with the deadlift and its variants, not forgetting the calves with flexions.

How many leg sessions per week ?

The frequency of leg training is important. It depends on your programming, your bodybuilding program. For example, in full-body, the legs can be trained 3 times a week with 1 exercise and 3 or 4 sets. In half-body, 2 times a week with more exercises (at least 2) and sets (8 to 12). In split or PPL, every 4 to 7 days with a much higher volume and a session 100% dedicated to the legs. As you can see, there are many options for training your thighs. But as a general rule, it's best to train them at least 2 times a week if you really want to progress quickly, or if you're behind schedule. This will allow you to put them through their paces, give you enough time to recover between training sessions and allow your muscles to grow.

How many sets and repetitions for the legs ?

The number of sets will depend on your training program, and on how often you train. If you train frequently, lower your training volume, and vice versa. In total, you should do at least 12 to 20 sets per week for the lower body, for the large groups.

In practice, upper-body strength training for hypertrophy is performed with a range of reps from 8 to 12. For the legs, you can work between 12 and 20 reps. Of course, this is only a generalization, but it seems to work better because the legs are rather tough. You won't necessarily need to use light weights, as the legs can withstand heavy loads.

It's always a good idea to perform very heavy squat repetitions at around 5 repetitions to stimulate the nervous system and vary the fibers involved, but stay focused on 15 or even 20 repetitions - you'll see the difference! You don't have to use the same range of repetitions every time you train. You can do strength cycles with short sets for a few weeks, or long sets. Another possibility is short sets of 6 squat repetitions on Mondays, 12 on Wednesdays and 20 on Fridays. Also, don't just focus on a certain range of repetitions, try above all to feel your thighs working.

How can I make good progress with my thighs ?

To progress, you need to be consistent and increase the intensity of your thigh training gradually. Think progressive overload. This means gradually increasing the weight and intensity over the course of your sessions. It's best to do this in writing or use an app to track your loads, sets and reps.

Which leg training program should you follow ?

Looking for an effective leg training program? Here are 3 programs to suit your level. Just let us guide you.

Beginner leg training program

Here's a simple program for beginners, with safe, effective exercises that don't require much strength or technique.

- Thigh press: 4*12

- Leg-extension: 3*12

- Leg-curl ischios: 3*12

- Standing calves: 3*12

For this basic workout, rest for 1 minute and 30 seconds between each set. Allow 40 minutes for this dedicated session, to be done twice a week (or every 4/5 days maximum).

If you opt for a full-body program (where you work the whole body in each session), do 3 sessions a week, alternating session A and B. You can do thigh presses or guided squats for the "thigh part" of the program.

Session A :

- Chest

- Back

- Shoulders

- Legs: Thigh press: 4*12

- Abs

Session B:

- Chest

- Back

- Shoulders

- Legs: Machine-guided squat: 4*12

- Abs

Leg training program for intermediates

If you have 1 or 2 years of bodybuilding behind you, this program with more technical and more strenuous exercises will work wonders:

Session 1:

- Squat bar: 5*10

- Dumbbell lunges: 3*12

- Straight-leg deadlift: 3*15

- Leg curl ischios: 3*12

- Weighted standing calves: 4*15

Session 2:

- Thigh press: 4*10

- Deadlift: 4*8

- Hip thrust: 3*10

- Leg extension: 3*15

- Seated leg curl: 3*10

- Seated calves: 4*20

Alternate sessions 1 and 2 over the week or more, i.e. every 4 or 5 days depending on your recovery. Rest for 1 minute 30 seconds between sets, 2 minutes for squats and 1 minute for calves.

Leg exercises for advanced users

If you have more than 3 years of bodybuilding behind you, this split program might appeal to you:

- Squat bar: 6*10

- Romanian deadlift: 3*8

- Bulgarian squat: 3*10

- Leg extension quadriceps: 2*12

- Seated leg curl: 3*12

- Standing calves: 3 *15

Ideally, do a session every 4 to 6 days, depending on recovery. Take 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes' rest between sets, depending on the difficulty of the exercises.

Don't forget to warm up your legs !

Warming up before your leg workout is important to reduce your risk of injury and prepare your body for the session. Increasing your heart rate is always a good place to start. For this, walking at a steady pace for 5 to 10 minutes on a cardio machine - such as a treadmill - or riding a stationary bike will help you raise your heart rate easily. Then move on to some dynamic stretching and mobility exercises (hip, knee and ankle), before doing body-weight or empty-bar leg exercises such as squats or lunges. Then move on to light loads before building up your power.

Start slowly, using a light weight (or even a resistance band) for a reduced number of repetitions, before increasing the weight and working up to sets. That's how to get a better range of motion, activate your muscles and prepare your nervous system.

How to build leg muscles without equipment ?

Do you train at home? Do you have little or no equipment? Looking for an effective leg training program to do at home? Then you've come to the right place!

You're probably wondering about the effectiveness of weightless leg exercises. Many people don't believe in building leg muscles at home. For them, you need loads, at all costs, and bars or machines. However, even if this doesn't make things any easier for you, it is possible to make progress in the lower body with proper training, at home, and without weights. The trick is to play with intensity and use clever techniques to make the most of your progress.

The no-equipment leg program below will help you at home, but also when you're traveling and want to continue training your legs, or at least maintain these muscles so you don't lose too much. This demanding workout will allow you to build up all your muscles: thighs, glutes and calves.

Session without equipment for legs

- Squat on 1 leg: 6*6 (30s RIS) - Right leg 6 sets, then left leg.

- Side lunges: 3*6 (1 min)

- Jump squats: 3*10 (1 min)

- Hip thrust 1 leg: 3*10 (1 min)

- Standing calves 1 leg: 4*8 (1 min)

To progress with this bodyweight leg training program, simply add repetitions from one session to the next. For example, for the 1-leg squat, if you validate the 6*6 (6 sets of 6 repetitions) at bodyweight with 30 seconds rest between sets, try the 6*7 at the next session. Continue like this until you reach 6*20. If you get stuck, try the format again until you get it right. Take 30 seconds' rest between sets - to make the exercises more challenging - and 2 minutes between exercises.

Your session won't last long, but it will be very intense. You compensate for the lack of load with short rest periods and the addition of reps, which is also a way of progressing with the load. If you can, once you've validated the 6*20, repeat the cycle, going back to 6*6 and going to 6*20, but using ballast like a backpack with 1 or 2 water bottles inside (2 to 4 kg).