LEGS: The "Other" ONLY TWO Exercises You Need For GROWTH!

Welcome BACK to my ONLY TWO series.  Now, this is actually the final article in this series as we’ve already covered traps, shoulders, chest, back, biceps, triceps, forearms, abs, glutes, quads and hamstrings. So if you missed any of those articles, just type in ONLY TWO in the search bar or click any of the muscle groups above!

Exercise 1: Barbell Back Squat (4 Sets: 20 Reps & 4 Sets: 8 Reps)

So yes, that’s a total of 8 sets on this exercise. But why? Well, when it comes to your training it makes more sense to stick with exercises that WORK and the squat is a STAPLE exercise for a reason. Therefore it makes more sense to do more work HERE than bouncing around the gym “looking” for something else to do. 

As for the sets and reps… well, your legs have quite a few large muscle groups that are involved when squatting and in my opinion grow more efficiently when you mix in both high volume and heavy rep ranges.  So, if you’ve never done something like this before, get ready because you’re going to most likely burn out quick. But that’s OK! After a week or two you will get stronger!

As for proper form, I would PREFER that you use a “high bar” squat technique versus the low bar. Why? Well it’s because high-bar squats will allow us to focus on the quads and the added depth you can achieve at the bottom of the movement will bring in a bit more GLUTES and HAMSTRINGS activation.  

Now, when getting into position, make sure the barbell sits ACROSS your traps and not your neck. Also, your elbows shouldn’t be jacked up because this will cause you to “lean forward” as you descend.  

If anything, you should be able to place that barbell across your traps and use your hands to simply hold it in place. So if you can’t swing your elbows back and forth like this, then you are TOO TIGHT. But once in place, keep your chest up, take in a breath, flex your core and descend until you reach squat depth. Now while still keeping your core tight, push through your heels to middle of your feet and return back to the top before releasing the air you were holding in and repeat for reps.

Ιf you notice your legs caving in as you go up or down.. this is BAD. Make sure your feet are pointed slightly out and as you go up and down push your knees out so they track in the same direction as your toes.

Now I don’t expect you to go as deep as me, but if you’re having trouble in general with your squat depth or how to keep your core tight, I have quite a few articles on form tips that can help you out. Just type in SQUAT in the articles section search bar.

Lot’s of REALLY great information to help you guys perfect your squat technique.

Exercise 2 – Standing Barbell Calf Raise (5 Sets: 20 Reps)

Your calves are a VERY thick and strong muscle group and they respond great to high volume training. But DO NOT force the reps or bounce them. I mean, definitely explode on the way up, but try to hold that flex at the top for a brief second before going back down. 

And to make the exercise more intense you can try standing on a couple 5 or 10 pound plates or pick up some squat wedges. (CODE: MS10 [10% Off entire site])

This way you can elevate the front of your foot to force a much harder stretch at the bottom of the movement and yes, you can also use squat wedges to help improve your squat depth as well. Believe it or not, that slight raise of the heel will make a world of a difference for a lot of you.

And now for the BEST PART, the goal of creating this series was so that each and every single one of you could not only have access to a free program I created called GUARANTEED GAINS, but also have a source of information to ensure your form was correct on every exercise.