Forgotten Leg and Calf Exercises

Now I wanted to go over 3 leg and calf exercises that you may have forgotten about, or maybe have yet to really incorporate into your routine on a regular basis.

Squats: Yes, I know, you do these all the time right? Sure, then why are you not happy with your leg development? I�ll tell you why, it�s because you really haven�t done squats! Now when I talk about squats, I am talking about all forms, but specifically, Smith Machine Squats, my favorite and the most effective kind. Unlike other forms of squats, or leg pressing movements, when you use the Smith Machine, you can concentrate on going heavy and not worry about form. There are times when machines are more useful than free weights, and this is one of those times. Some would disagree with me, but that�s fine. You see, when you perform free squats off of a rack, you have to worry about falling over or losing your balance, especially if you try to go heavy. This makes it impossible to ever really get to failure on free squats because if you did fail, you would injure yourself when you fell over with a 300 lb+ bar on your shoulders. I am not saying that you should not do free squats, only that there are times when you want to go really heavy, and not worry about balance, and thus should incorporate the Smith Machine as a core #1 exercise in your leg routine for the rest of your life. There are then different ways in which you could work this. You could try and go heavy, with proper form of course. You could try to do as many reps as you can with a certain weight for intensity, or, my personal favorite, go as low as you can, and take advantage of the freedom that the Smith gives you in terms of range of motion. This isn�t for everyone, but for those with no knee problems, and that have been squatting at least 1-2 years, try lowering the weight, and going ALL THE WAY DOWN, so that your butt is almost touching the ground. You want to be sore the next day? Try this for 4 sets with a moderate weight. These are the only types of squats that I do. Even when I do free squats, I try and go as low as I can, none of this half way crap. You�ve probably seen these guys screaming as they lower 10 plates about 6 inches and power back up. I can guarantee you that that same guy couldn�t do 1/3 of that weight if he went all the way down. Try it sometime, and you�ll never go back to regular squats again!

Any Calf Exercise: When was the last time that you felt soreness in your calves the next day? Thought so. Why? I�ll tell you why, because training calves is an oftentimes arduous process with little physical reward, unless you posses great genetics below the waist. Yea, I�m sure most of us throw in a few sets of this or that at the end of the workout, but do you really feel the burn? Are you doing at least 15 reps? Are you raising the weight? Are you trying different exercises, different combos like compound setting, etc.? This is what it takes. Calves are tough little bastards, and to make them grow requires that you be tougher than them. Now I didn�t say OVERTRAIN them, I said train them more intelligently. Here�s what I do. I train calves at the BEGINNING of my leg workout. Why? Three reasons: 1) you are more fresh at the beginning and thus can devote more attention to them, and really pound them, 2) When you are done with your workout, do you really feel like training calves the way you know you should? No, you feel like doing 3 sets with a wimpy weight, and when they burn you turn for the exit and figure that you had a good workout. When you feel like puking from your leg workout, there is no way that you can train your calves the way they should be trained. 3) Lastly, since your calves really don�t come into play on any leg exercises, except maybe free squats and lunges, exhausting them before your regular leg training will not take away from your leg training because calves are rarely really involved in any leg movement. When was the last time you felt your calves when you did squats, or leg extensions? So, try sticking your calves at the beginning of your leg routine, hit them from different angles, different speeds, and different exercises, and then see if you can�t get some growth out of them.

Free Lunges: I briefly touched on this a moment ago. These are a killer exercise that is never done by most people. It�s too bad too, because they are missing out on some amazing soreness and growth in their glutes, hamstrings and quads. What is the best way to do these? Try a free bar over your shoulders, a la squats. Back away from the rack, and then begin lunging using the alternating leg format, where you step forward (and not a wimpy step either, but a nice long stride so that your trailing knee almost touches the floor), then lunge backwards to the start position. Then you alternate with the opposite leg. Continue this for 15 reps on each leg as a warm up. Then you can begin raising the weight and doing less reps until you have completed 4 sets. I�ll tell you, you might not think this works your hamstrings, but the next day that is exactly where you will feel it the most, with soreness in your glutes and quads as well. This is a great exercise for not only gaining lean mass in your legs, but also power for sports as well as getting leaner and more toned for you ladies out there looking for new leg exercises.

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Originally posted by Captain_insano:
Squats: Yes, I know, you do these all the time right? Sure, then why are you not happy with your leg development? I�ll tell you why, it�s because you really haven�t done squats! Now when I talk about squats, I am talking about all forms, but specifically, Smith Machine Squats, my favorite and the most effective kind. Unlike other forms of squats, or leg pressing movements, when you use the Smith Machine, you can concentrate on going heavy and not worry about form. There are times when machines are more useful than free weights, and this is one of those times. Some would disagree with me, but that�s fine. You see, when you perform free squats off of a rack, you have to worry about falling over or losing your balance, especially if you try to go heavy. This makes it impossible to ever really get to failure on free squats because if you did fail, you would injure yourself when you fell over with a 300 lb+ bar on your shoulders. I am not saying that you should not do free squats, only that there are times when you want to go really heavy, and not worry about balance, and thus should incorporate the Smith Machine as a core #1 exercise in your leg routine for the rest of your life.

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That guy has got to be kidding. The only time that you have to "worry about falling over or losing your balance" when you do REAL squats is if you are stupid and "concentrate on going heavy and not worry about form." To say some as ludicrous as "go heavy and don't worry about form" is well, ludicrous. Let's not forget about the disgusting things that smith machine squats do to one's knees.

This Chris Fernandez guy may know stuff about lifting, but I think he needs to look over his smith machine praise just a tiny bit.

If you position your feet far enough in front of you, when you bend your knees and as long as your knee is not going over your feet then you don't have to worry about knee damage. I have done smith squats for years and i don't have knee problems.

BikiniMOm, I have done lunges on the smith and as long as you use the same princibles on not letting your knee go over you feet you will be in good shape.

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Originally posted by Warik:
Then why not just do real squats instead of all of this "feet 5 yards in front of you" craziness?

-Warik

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I don't have that option at the gym i train at. There is no "Free Squat Machine". (i workout at the corporate gym that i am in charge of) I am just making people aware that the smith machine is not only safe but effective for growth as well.

I agree w/shifting to training calves FIRST. I have said that I would start doing this (2 years ago) and then got distracted by the many other things that I have to focus on and here I am bitching about 'em. They have come a long way, but are not my best bodypart by any stretch.....shame on me.

It is good to be reminded.

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Originally posted by luv2workout:
This is exactly what I was questioning when I posted on Lobo's EMG Research..I have always used the smith machine b/c I could use heavier weight and not sacrifice form..but when I read that only 60% of muscle tissue is stimulated vs. 88% not using the smith machine I thought I needed to change and did free squats last week...

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did you feel a big difference after doing the free squats. Are you changing exercises now indefinitely?

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LAte

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Originally posted by luv2workout:
Captain,
Last week was the first time to do them and YES I could FEEL a difference,maybe b/c it was a change..I had to walk upstairs to do them and my legs were shaking soooooo bad when I was walking back down the stairs..I think Im going to alternate b/t the two, just to keep my muscles guessing!

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Just be happy you don't have manual sterring. After sQuatting 405lbs for four sets of 6 at the end of my workout i had to wait a 15 minutes before i could drive my truck. i was quivering.

Excellent thread...we all need a change up now and then to keep the body guessing.

But I find them no where near as effective for working all the muscles in the leg (whole body) than a squat.

Free weight Squat is simply THE BEST excercise you can do for legs and your body as a whole.