7 Unusual Exercises For Bigger and Stronger Legs

When it comes to building bigger, stronger legs, squats are considered to be the king of exercises, with deadlifts coming in a close second. Because of this, most exercisers include these exercises in their leg routines. They then do things like lunges, leg extensions, and leg presses to their workouts for some extra volume and variation. 

This approach can work, but research suggests (1) that you’ll get even better results by including a greater variety of leg exercises in your workouts.

A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning suggests that changing exercises is just as effective as increasing workout intensity for building muscle size. That’s good news if you are getting bored with the same old squats and deadlifts. 

Here are seven uncommon exercises to spice up your leg routine. 

1. Bulgarian Split Squat Jumps

Bulgarian split squats are a great way to work one leg at a time. This will allow you to identify and then fix left-to-right strength and size imbalances. If you have one leg bigger or stronger than the other, this exercise really should be part of your leg routine. 

How to do it: 

• Stand with your back to a knee-high bench. 
• Bend one leg and place your foot on the bench. 
• Hop forward and into a split stance. 
• Bend your legs and descend until your rear knee is 1-2 inches above the ground. 
• Stand up quickly and jump, so your front foot leaves the floor. 
• Land with your knee slightly bent and repeat. 
• Once you’ve done your reps, rest for a minute and then change legs. 
• Make this exercise even harder by holding dumbbells. 

2. Deficit Deadlifts 

Deadlifts are a beneficial posterior chain exercise. That means they work virtually every muscle on the back of your body, from your calves to your upper back and traps.

This leg exercise variation increases your range of motion which leads to greater hamstring and glute activation. 

How to do it: 

• Load your barbell and place it on the floor. 
• Put a 2 to 4-inch step under the center of the bar and stand on it. 
• Position your feet so that they are about hip-width apart. 
• Squat down and grip the bar with a shoulder-width overhand or mixed grip. 
• Your arms should be straight. 
• Drop your hips, lift your chest, and brace your abs. 
• Your lower back should be slightly arched. 
• Push your heels down, straighten your legs, and lift the bar off the floor. Don’t let your back round. 
• Stand up straight and then smoothly lower the bar back to the floor. 
• Reset your position and repeat. 

3. Step-Through Lunges

Lunges are a popular exercise, and they’re excellent for your butt, quads, and hamstrings. This variation makes lunges even more effective because it increases time under tension and also adds an extra balance demand. 

How to do it: 

• Stand with your feet together, hands by your sides. 
• Take a large step backward, bend your legs, and lower your rear knee to within an inch of the floor. 
• From here, step forward and into a front lunge. Again, bend your legs and lower your back knee to the floor. 
• Return to the starting position and then perform the same sequence with your other leg. 
• Make this exercise harder by holding dumbbells. 

4. Leg Extension and Leg Curl 21s

 You’ve probably done 21s for your biceps but have never of thought to use this pump-inducing method in your leg routine! 21s, also called the Matrix system, increases time under tension and also partially reduces blood flow. This produces a huge pump and, as every bodybuilder knows, a good pump is crucial for muscle building. 

How to do it: 

• For leg extensions, do seven reps from legs fully bent to halfway up, seven reps from halfway up to full leg extension, and then seven full-range reps. 
• For leg curls, do seven reps from full leg extension to halfway up, seven reps from halfway up to full leg flexion, and then seven full-range reps. 
• Pair these leg exercises to make a superset for even better results. 

5. Nordic Hamstring Curls

 Nordic hamstring curls are probably the hardest bodyweight leg exercise you can do. You don’t even have to go to the gym to do this one; you can do it at home. This exercise is unique because you have to use your hamstrings to hold your hips still while you bend your knees.

This makes Nordic hamstring curls especially challenging because, unlike regular hamstring curls, you have to use your muscles to hold your hips steady. This produces a very intense contraction which should trigger big increases in muscle size and strength. 

How to do it: 

• Kneel down on a thick exercise mat with your feet held firmly on the floor. 
• You can put your feet under a loaded barbell or training bench or ask your training partner to hold them down. 
• Your thighs should be vertical and your body upright. Hold your arms out in front of you. 
• Using your hamstrings to control your movement, lean forward, and lower your body down to the floor. Keep your body straight. Use your arms to catch you. 
• Push with your arms and pull with your hamstrings to return to the starting position. 
• As you get stronger, try to rely less on your arms and do more work with your legs.

6. Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts

Most hamstring exercises work both legs together. There is nothing wrong with that but, if you only do bilateral (two limbed) leg exercises, you could end up with one leg bigger or stronger than the other.

This exercise can help fix this problem and will also improve your balance and coordination too. 

How to do it: 

• Stand with your feet together and your hands by your sides. Shift your weight over onto one leg. 
• With your supporting knee slightly bent for balance, lean forward from your hips and reach down to touch the floor in front of you. 
• Extend your other leg out behind you for balance. 
• Do not round your lower back. Stand back up and repeat. 
• Make this exercise harder by holding dumbbells. 

7. Pause Squats 

 You don’t have to give up squats in your quest to build bigger, stronger legs. However, you’ll get better results if you take a break from regular squats and add some variation to your leg routine. Pause squats increase time under tension.

This means your muscles have to work for longer per set, which is good for increasing muscle size. Adding pauses also stops you from using momentum to make your reps easier. The longer you pause, the harder this exercise becomes. 

How to do it: 

• Stand in your usual squat stance. 
• Bend your legs and descend until your thighs are roughly parallel to the floor. 
• Hold this position for a slow count of three. 
• Do not let your lower back become rounded and keep your abs braced. 
• Stand up and repeat. 
• You can use this method with back squats, front squats, goblet squats, and even overhead squats. 

Try this descending pause pyramid for a really tough leg workout. 

• 1st Rep – pause for ten seconds 
• 2nd Rep – pause for eight seconds 
• 3rd Rep – pause for six seconds 
• 4th Rep – pause for four seconds 
• 5th Rep – pause for two seconds 
• 6th Rep – no pause 

Rest and then do another 2-3 sets of this sequence. 

Bottom Line

There is nothing wrong with classic exercises like squats, deadlifts, and leg presses. However, doing these exercises all the time could mean your progress hits a wall.

Use these new leg exercises to spice up your workouts. You don’t have to use all of them but adding just 2-3 to your next leg routine will provide the variety you need to get your progress back on track. 

Reference:

1. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: November 2014 – Volume 28 – Issue 11 – p 3085–3092, doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000539

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