Training legs is something that many gym goers try to avoid, arms and chest workouts are easier, and the results are much more noticeable. But building bigger, stronger, legs has many benefits. It can help you to create a more aesthetic body, it can help burn a lot of calories (great if weight loss is your goal), and it can reduce your risk of injuries.
This article will focus on teaching you compound leg exercises. These are leg exercises that offer the most bang for your buck. We will talk you through what compound movements are, and why they are so effective, before naming some of the best compound leg exercises out there.
What Are Compound Movements?
A compound movement (exercise) is one that involves multiple muscle groups. A barbell bench press is a compound movement because it works the pectorals, triceps, and deltoids. Whereas a bicep curl is not a compound movement because it only works the biceps. It is therefore an isolation movement.
This is a simplistic description, and one could argue that the bicep curl is not a true isolation movement because it works the muscles of the forearms (brachialis and brachioradialis). But it’s best to keep things simple, and nobody seriously considers bicep curls compound movements.
Perhaps a better way to differentiate compound and isolation movements is to consider how many joints are in motion at any one time? A bicep curl should only see movement at the elbow joint, making it an isolation movement. Whereas a bench press sees movement at the elbow and shoulder joints.
The benefits of a compound movement is that they allow you to lift heavier weights, they work more than one muscle at a time, and they can burn more calories, recruit more muscle fibres, and increase the hormonal response to exercise.
If time is short, then performing two to three compound exercises could allow you to train the whole body. Something that would take 10+ exercises if you only performed isolation movements.
Compound Leg Exercises
In this section, we will take a look at six of the best compound leg exercises. Each exercise will primarily work your leg muscles, and you could create a superb leg workout using a combination of any or all of these exercises.
Barbell Deadlift
The barbell squat is one of the most popular exercises in the gym. Most bodybuilders and powerlifters use the barbell squat to strengthen and build power in their legs.
Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, Quadriceps, Lower Back Muscles, Calves, Latissimus Dorsi, Trapezius, Glutes, Core Muscles.
Benefits of the Barbell Deadlift
- Burns a lot of calories
- Teaches you how to safely pick up heavy items
- Strengthens upper back, lower back, and legs
How to Perform the Barbell Deadlift
- Walk up to the barbell, place your feet underneath it, shoulder width apart
- Bend your knees forwards until your shins touch the bar, grab hold of the bar so that your hands are just outside your knees
- Push your chest out and pull your shoulders back
- Stand up pushing your hips forwards until you are fully upright
- Pause, and then push your hips backwards and lower the bar to the ground
- Once bar has touched the ground, reset yourself and repeat
Barbell Squat
The barbell squat is one of the most popular exercises in the gym. Most bodybuilders and powerlifters use the barbell squat to strengthen and build power in their legs.
Muscles Worked
Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves
Benefits of Barbell Squat
- Increases lower body strength
- Increases core strength
- Build leg muscles
- Improve sports activities
How to Perform Barbell Squats
- Set the barbell at shoulder height.
- Get under the bar and make sure it rests on top of the shoulder.
- Secure it with your hands, then press up and step back so that the bar is suspended by your body.
- Squat downwards and keep your back straight.
- When your glutes go below your knees explode back up to the starting position
- Repeat
Romanian Deadlift
A study from the University of Memphis, reveals that the hamstring becomes very active when performing the Romanian Deadlift. The study further advises that athletes and coaches who want to maximise their hamstring activity should incorporate the Romanian deadlift in their training.
Muscles Worked
Hamstrings, Glutes, Lower Back Muscles
Benefits of the Romanian Deadlift
- The Romanian deadlift has several benefits that extend from strength building to improving overall performance.
- It improves flexibility in all athletic movements for sports athletes.
- Fitness competitors and those suffering from an athletic injury can also benefit from the Romanian deadlift.
How to Perform the Romanian Deadlift
- Place your feet hip-width apart and hold the barbell in line with your thigh.
- Keep your hands shoulder-width apart.
- With your back straight, bend at your waist, extend your hips out, and lower the bar as far as your flexibility allows.
- Contract your glutes (butts) with force and extend your hips a bit more before standing up.
- Repeat.
Leg Press
A great resistance machine that does a passable imitation of the barbell squat. Perfect for beginners, people with joint issues, or bodybuilders looking to train their muscles to fatigue.
Muscles Worked
Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves
Benefits of Leg Press
- Easy to learn/perform
- Excellent machine for targeting quadriceps and glutes
- Great for hypertrophy training
How to Perform the Leg Press
- After positioning yourself on the resistance plate, point your knees and toes forward.
- Bend your knee at 90 degrees.
- Inhale, exhale, and contract your glutes, abs, quadriceps, and hamstrings then push the plates with your feet flat.
- While pushing keep your upper body still.
- At the top of the leg press, pause, then slowly bend your knees back into position.
- Repeat.
Dumbbell Lunge
The dumbbell lunge is a great exercise for the quadriceps and the glutes and offers hundreds of variations to learn once you have mastered the basics.
Muscles Worked
Quadriceps, Glutes
Benefits of Dumbbell Lunges
- Compact exercise, great for crowded gyms
- Many variations to learn
- One of the best quadricep exercises
- Improves core strength and stability
How to Perform Dumbbell Lunges
- Stand in a straight position while holding a dumbbell in each hand.
- Place your arms at your side and keep your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Bend your knee until the front thigh is parallel to the ground and take a big step forward with one leg.
- Inhale as you go down. Don’t allow your knee to past your toes.
- Exhale and return to your standing position.
- Repeat the steps with the other leg.
- Repeat by alternating each leg until you complete at least 12 lunges.
Barbell Glute Bridge
The barbell glute bridge is an amazing exercise for your glutes, but it is also a decent hamstring exercise. Possibly the most underrated compound leg exercise, the barbell glute bridge is thankfully starting to get the attention it deserves from gym goers.
Muscles Worked
Glutes, Hamstrings, Core
Benefits of Barbell Glute Bridge
- Builds big glutes
- Can help to improve your squat
- Great core exercise
- Easy to learn compared to other glute exercises
How to Perform the Barbell Glute Bridge
- Lie on the floor with your legs straight out
- Roll a barbell until it is directly over your hips
- Grab the bar with both hands
- Bring your feet towards your glutes until your feet are flat on the floor
- Take a deep breath and then raise your hips up off the floor bringing the bar upwards
- Squeeze your glutes tight then slowly return the bar to the floor and repeat
Before You Start…
Before you start adding any of the above compound exercises to your workout schedule, always consult an exercise professional or personal trainer to monitor your form.
As mentioned at the start of this article, compound exercises are beneficial to lots of people and even newcomers to exercise.
Unfortunately, they also include complex movement patterns that increase the risk of injury.
To get the most from compound exercises and stay safe, getting one of these professionals to ensure you perform them correctly is key to success.
