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Originally Posted On: https://fitnesscfgyms.com/exercise/5-tips-to-improve-your-leg-day-workout/

 

Do you even lift bro? Leg day is the hardest day of the week, but there are ways to tackle it head on.

We’ve all heard the saying that you should never skip leg day. No one wants to walk around with chicken legs, so you need some help to ensure your leg day workout is the best it can be.

Do you want to make the most of your leg exercises? Here are the tips you need to follow to get the most out of exercise and begin to see the gains you’ve been working so hard for.

1. Be Prepared to Put in the Work

If you’ve trained legs before, one thing you know is it’s not easy. Leg day is going to be one of the hardest days of the week, and you’ve got to prepare yourself mentally for what’s to come.

Before you enter the gym on leg day, take time to mentally prepare yourself to push past all the pain you’re feeling and chase those gains. By doing this, you’re not throwing yourself into the unknown without understanding what’s to come.

Embrace the pros and cons of leg day and understand it will get you one step closer to achieving the physical goals you’ve set for yourself. After all, the only way to know you’ve done leg day the right way is if you have trouble walking out of the gym.

2. Stretch Before Lifting

Leg stretches are important to ensure you’re safe when you begin lifting. Under no circumstances should you attempt to lift without stretching first.
Think about if you were to go outside and the temperature was in the negatives; it would shock your system.

The same thing happens when you forget to stretch your muscles.

You force cold muscles to move and lift before they’re ready is dangerous. There are several ways to stretch dynamically and statically that are useful for your overall leg day progress.

The purpose of stretching is to lengthen your muscles and get them warm. After you’ve completed leg day, you need to stretch again.

3. Avoid Standing on Plates

There will be times you’re in the gym, and you see other people using plates to elevate their heels while they’re squatting or lifting weights. While this might seem like a good idea, this isn’t the best thing to do.

When you’re doing any form of squats, it’s important to keep your knees from going over your ankles. Standing on plates changes your center of gravity and, if done wrong, can cause you to injure yourself.

Other exercises are better when you use plates to elevate your heels, but using them for squatting can be tricky. If you do plan to use them, ensure you focus on your form.

Set the plates far enough apart that you can keep your knees from pushing forward over your ankles and slowly perform the squat. If it’s your first time squatting using plates, take your time and don’t worry about incorporating weight.

If you do decide to use weights, start with a lower weight and increase as you become more comfortable and have the form down.

4. Adjust When Needed

Do you lift or train with other people? It’s not uncommon to see other people lifting and assume you have to keep up with them. However, attempting to keep up with people can cause you to overlook your form and push yourself past your limits.

It also means your chances of not making certain adjustments when needed are higher. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments to ensure you’re getting the most out of every leg exercise while you’re working out.

It takes a split second to adjust a machine or change your footing before you can continue with your exercises. When you don’t adjust your footing or the machines you’re using as a part of your workout routine, it can mean becoming injured in the future.

This is especially important if you’re lifting a higher amount of weight. For example, if you’re using the leg press machine, you need to adjust the machine before you remove the weight holders.

When you don’t adjust the machine, you can risk injuring yourself severely.

5. Movement Depth Builds Muscles

We’ve all seen people in the gym who are lifting tons of weight, but they don’t complete the full rep. If you want to see gains and build muscle, you’ve got to focus on depth more than you do the amount of weight you lift.

If you’re not able to get the right amount of depth because your weights are heavy, it means you need to remove some of the weight and go back to focusing on your form. To develop your physique, you have to complete a full rep.

Of course, depending on the exercise, you can combine full and half reps, but in general, you don’t get anything out of the exercise by not completing a full rep. Again focus on form and ensuring your reach the complete depth of every exercise.

Leg Day Workout: If Your Legs Are Shaking, You’re Doing Something Right

Your leg day workout is a combination of different exercises that will help you build your muscles. It will take time to see the improvements you’re aiming for but trust us; it’s worth it.

Always stretch before you jump into exercising and focus on your form more than the amount of weight you’re lifting. Are you ready to take your fitness journey back into your hands?

Join Fitness CF and start building the physique you’ve always dreamed of. Trust us; you’re not going to regret it.