Working your legs are essential to building a balanced physique. Most people that you see in the gym are way too concentrated on upper body workouts that they look disproportionate with chicken legs. Not having well developed legs also will not help you at all at a bodybuilding competition, either. Here are some leg exercises that involve the Squat and variations of the traditional method.

Traditional Barbell Squat:

The traditional barbell squat is essential for building huge legs and gaining extreme leg power. Many professional bodybuilders and athletes absolutely swear by the squat. As with the deadlift, the squat works almost every muscle in the body. To perform the squat, hunch down a little bit so that you can get underneath the bar. The bar should rest on your traps and your hands should be gripping the bar. You may vary the width of your grip as you please. Unrack the weight and take a few steps back. Keeping your legs about shoulder-width apart, lower yourself down so that your hips are parallel to your knees. Squatting deep is the best way to fully develop your legs. Keep your chest out and look up at a spot on the wall to ensure that you do not fall forward. Drive yourself up and continue for as many reps as desired.

Front Squat:

Front squats are a very effective variation to the traditional squats that target the quadriceps more so than the traditional squat. Your quadriceps are the muscle group that makes up the front of your thigh. To do the barbell front squat, hunch underneath the bar so that the bar is resting on the anterior deltoids (the front part of your shoulders) and wrap your arms around it as shown in the picture. Keeping your stance similar to the traditional squat, lower yourself down as far as safely and comfortably possible to get a good squeeze and raise yourself up to complete the movement.

Box Squat:

The box squat is a way of making sure that you get a good range of motion and has some other benefits as well. The box squat is just exactly as the name entails – squatting down until your butt touches a box, or sitting down briefly and then standing back up. To perform the box squat, make sure that you can sit comfortably onto the box before trying the exercise for safety issues. Unrack the bar and walk backwards. Sit down onto the box and then drive the weight up. Repeat for as many reps as necessary.

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