We’re always looking for ways to grab an edge with body part training for any muscle group. When it comes to legs, training with the insane intensity or recklessness that works for chest or biceps may lead to injuries or halt gains. You need to be more structured and organized, and use a bit more caution when training all-out. Here are some common sense tips you can employ to help boost your leg training to the next echelon without becoming reckless.

Start early

If you’re an experienced bodybuilder who has been in the gym for ten years or more, then you already know this lesson. If you are newer to the weight game, heed this advice. The intensity and dedication you show your legs during your first few years of training will dictate how far you take them. Many bodybuilders finally decide at age 30 that they’re ready to take leg training seriously. By then, nothing short of AAS will help them break out of the small-leg mold with which they cursed themselves. Train them hard from minute one.
 
Get to know Smith

The smith machine should never be used as a crutch to avoid free weight squats. However, it should be used as a supplemental tool. Hit the Smith one to two times per month. Be sure to keep your legs set with feet a little wider than shoulder length apart. Keep your back straight throughout the duration of this movement, and always stop when your thighs are parallel to the ground. Going too low leads to risk of tendon damage, and not going low enough stifles growth.
 
Leg Press with precision

Many movements in bodybuilding don’t involve a lot of brain power. When it comes to the bench press, you can either bench the weight, or you can’t. When you’re deadlifting, you can either pick up the barbell or you cannot. With leg press, there is a great deal of thinking that goes into getting the most out of each repetition. Keep your feet 12 to 15 inches apart, and place your back flat against the seat. No arching! Whatever weight you are currently using is probably too much, unless you are able to move the weight for 12 to 15 repetitions (the ideal repetition range) with slow and controlled repetitions. If you’re not moving in this manner, you need to light up the weight.
 
The slower the lower…

Whatever rep, set, and timing scheme you are currently using, you could probably benefit yourself by shaking a little weight off the bar and slowing your repetitions down. If you can develop the habit of using a full 6 seconds for the positive (pressing) part of every leg repetition, and a full 3 seconds for the negative (lowering) part of each repetition, you will spurn growth in new ways. Never forget the name of the game isn’t weight counting – it is bodybuilding. The only thing that matters on a bodybuilding stage is how you look, not how fast you rushed through repetitions.

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