When you notice other trainers completing their leg days in the gym, you will very often see the same thing, anywhere you go. Far too many bodybuilders spend their legs bouncing from machine to machine, attempting to elicit a pump from the wide variety of angled plate-loaded machines and cable-based contraptions. They may justify skipping the squat rack as acceptable because they plan on using the Hammer Strength leg press machine instead.

There’s a big problem with this method. Simply put, the legs just don’t grow from machines alone. If you’ve ever done squats in your life, you know how much harder they are than machine movements. Your legs are used to some stimulation most of the day. Therefore you need heavy barbell work to shock them into new growth. Here is a front thigh training routine which can be completed entirely using only a squat rack and a barbell.

Barbell Squats

Complete several sets of standard barbell squats. Your thighs should be parallel to the floor at the lowest point of the movement, and you should work in the range of 8 to 15 repetitions, once you have completed several sets of light warm-ups.

Heavy Squats (Half Squats)

This exercise picks right up where your set of barbell squats left off. Add another 50 or 90 pounds to the bar and reduce your range of motion. Many trainers advise against the use of reduced-range squats. Many new trainers will bypass standard deep squats and immediately move to quarter-repetition partials to avoid the hard work involved with complete squats. However, many bodybuilding greats have used them to add new strength to their hips, which facilitates gains in the full-range squat movement, leading to more growth.

Barbell Lunges

Begin with 85 or 135 pounds on the bar, a weight that is very easy to manage. You will step back about 2 feet from the squat rack and complete a series of alternate-legged lunges. With each repetition, you should descend then return to the original standing position. Each set should consist of 8 to 15 repetitions per leg. Working every other leg for each repetition allows both legs to receive equal stimulation.

Standing Quad Flexion

This is a movement which is very seldom completed in gyms, but does provide a good alternative to leg extensions. Stand up with a loaded barbell, and practice flexing the front thighs. This will etch additional detail into your legs, and keep pulling blood into the region as your workout draws to a close. It’s best to place this exercise last in your squat-rack only routine, when your legs are already torched.

The best leg workout is one which is a combination of heavy free weight movements and slow and focused machine exercises. Becoming too dependent upon either style of training is a recipe for disaster. Instead, you should work to find a happy medium which uses free weight movements to deliver growth in raw muscle mass, and machines to help refine and define your muscle groups. Together, they can’t be beat!

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