Strength Training Classes: Leg Exercises For Beginer (Ep. 3)

Leg exercise is crucial for strength and overall fitness, requiring proper technique, breathing, and tempo. This guide covers key exercises like squats, lunges, and hamstring curls, with step-by-step instructions to maximize muscle activation and minimize injury. Whether you're a beginner or advanced lifter, these tips will help you build stronger, more powerful legs.

Proper Breathing And Tempo For All Leg Exercises

With our gradual gain system, proper breathing and temple of the exercise is vital important but particularly on legs, because of the amount of muscle mass that you're using, the pressure and the veins and the head and the arteries can be exponentially more than with the other smaller body parts, so it's fire than important on legs.

On the negative going down, we're going to be breathing in for three seconds

Right when you start to stand up and extend into the passive that's when you want to let air out

Breathing in the belly. Get a nice two-second squeeze on the glutes and hamstrings at the top. Push butt back, breathing out for three seconds.

Do three more repetitions down breathing in, right when you start to come up that's when you let that air out

Three micro reps on the last repetition with breath being held 3-2-1 seconds

Proper Technique For Walking Lunge

In this section let's talk about the proper technique of the walking lunge for hamstring and glued activation muscles on the back side of the body

Chest open blades back, a little bit longer than medium stride, a little bit of a forward lean that back knee should touch the floor nice and easy

For intermediate advanced. Maybe some people stop a little bit short on the first trip, just to make sure that they're nice and warmed up, lean them forward slightly so you activate a little bit more of that glue

Go and back, 25 to 30 feet. Pull that belly button in, a little bit of an advanced technique here is not to set up the back foot before you go down into the lunge. Some people pull this back foot up and sort of do that technique and reset.

Little bit of advance is to keep it stationary on the last two strides of each thigh can be three pulses micro reps at the bottom two and one

If you face the wall and you're run out of room, turn around and finish it off.

Proper Technique For Dumbbell Squats

Our default foot position where most of our clients can feel safe is slightly wider than shoulder width apart heels slightly in

Any time that you start squatting that it's new to you. Go nice and light and just listen to what your body is telling you.

If it doesn't feel right, adjust it, maybe a little bit wider or a little bit narrower.

Okay, in general, women most likely should go a little bit wider than men. Because of the Q angle of their legs and their pelvis is shaped differently for child bearing reasons.

Okay alright. Grab your dumbbells. I like dumbbells squats a lot. Heels in, toes out. A little bit safer less risk on the spine. Obvious for obvious reasons the bar is not on your back.

Push the butt back behind you.

Down breathing in.

Eyes not up at the ceiling. You'll see that mistake a lot and that's just not good position for the neck. Look straight ahead.

Keep that body slight forward tilt.

On the way down push those knees out just a little bit. So the knee stays right over the tongue of the shoe

Get a nice squeeze at the top and the glutes.

Proper Technique For Dumbbell Hamstring Curl

If you're by yourself on leg day, it's a little bit tricky to get started properly for this leg curl exercise but I'm telling you this movement's worth it.

You got to tilt your dumbbell up at about a 45 degree inline on something on the floor. Sometimes you'll mess up but after a while you'll be able to get into the started position.

You get your hands on the bench and grip the barbell handle with your feet.

You want your knees to hang off the bench about 4 or 5 inches.

Knees squeezing together like there's silver dollar between your knees that's what really makes the isolation of the hamstring work really well and really optimize.

Feet down slowly and breathing in.

Squeeze the hamstrings at the top. Don't come higher. When it feels like it gets easy on the hamstrings that you know that's too far. Maybe it's a little bit of a trial in there.

Feet down slowly and breathing in.

This focus is so unique on the hamstring. In my opinion it beats lying hamstring with curl machines

Push to failure. And for the last 2 reps, do 3 little micro reps at the bottom

Proper Technique For One Legged Dumbbell Squat For Legs

An advanced technique would be to get your foot off the floor about 3/4 inch to 1 inch. Find something that's safe. A lot of times in weight rooms, you can use a weight plate like that. 

One foot be standing on the plate will help you get a little bit deeper because the back knee will come down a little bit deeper and the other side glute gets more activated.

In the top position, belly button in, then lower the non-working leg while breathing in.

Butt back, dive down, tap floor lightly. 

Squeeze the glutes and the muscles on the back of your leg.

Keep your chest over the midline—don’t lean too far back—that'll activate the working glute more.

Keep the neck neutral looking straight ahead. You don't want to look up. You don't want to look down. You want to look at that angle. 

Push to failure. For last two reps, do three micro reps at the bottom.

There you go one legged dumbbell squat four legs.

Next Up

Leg exercise are key to overall fitness, and proper technique, breathing, and tempo make all the difference. Apply these tips to maximize your results and stay injury-free.

In the next chapter of Vanswe Strength Training Classes, we’ll dive into Back Exercise to build a powerful upper body. See you in the next session!