Jeff Nippard transformed his physique in 365 days and is showing off the workouts that helped him make substantial progress. On June 9, 2025, he broke down the leg workout he used to effectively build his quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.
Jeff Nippard is a fitness educator, helping his audience build their ideal physiques with specialized workout plans. He implements science-backed research and experience as a natural bodybuilder and powerlifter to nudge individuals in the right direction when it comes to meeting goals and stacking progress.
Jeff Nippard Shares Workout He Used to Transform His Legs in 1 Year
Find his exercise selections below, featured in his latest YouTube video:
- Lying Leg Curls — 2 sets 6-8 reps
- Pendulum Squat — 3 sets 6-8 reps
- Romanian Deadlift — 3 sets 6-8 reps
- Leg Extension — 2 sets 8-10 reps
- Hip Adduction Machine — 2 sets 8-10 reps
- Standing Calf Raise — 3 sets 8-10 reps
Lying Leg Curls
First, Nippard explained why prioritizing lying leg curls can work excellently for those with sub-optimal knees when they head to bigger compound movements.
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“By doing them first, not only do you prioritize your hamstrings, but you also get your knees and soft tissues nice and warmed up for the rest of the workout,” he shared. “If you’ve ever had cranky knees during squats, try curling first.”
Pendulum Squat
He credited the pendulum squat as his top quad builder and said even if you don’t have one, you can substitute it with another squat capable of progressive overload.
“This was easily my number one quad builder for my year-long experiment. It’s not just for the quads. Like any squat, it will also smash the glutes and the adductor muscles of the inner thighs,” he shared.
“If you don’t have one, you can swap it out with another squat variation that you can progressively overload well, like a barbell squat, a Smith machine squat, or a hack squat.”
Romanian Deadlift
The Romanian deadlift complements his leg curl choice as it trains hip extension instead of knee flexion. He said to focus most on pushing your glutes as far back as possible.
“This exercise complements our hamstrings exercises from earlier since the leg curl trained knee flexion while the RDL trains hip extension.
The main cue you want to focus on here is pushing your glutes straight back, that keeps the movement a true hip hinge and prevents you from turning it into a squat. I also keep a slight knee bend on these, but don’t let my knees drift forward.”
Leg Extension
As for leg extensions, he said this exercise earned its merit thanks to its ability to hit the rectus femoris.
“It actually hits the long rectus femoris part of the quad harder than any squat variation will. That’s because the rectus femoris crosses both the hip joint and the knee joint. It won’t change length much on a squat because your knees and hips are both moving. On a leg extension, your hips are fixed, which means the rectus femoris will actually stretch and squeeze.”
Hip Adduction Machine
He believes the hip adduction machine is worth it for overall glute development and encourages trying different angles to adjust the stimulus.
“I suspect switching up your hip angles on these every now and then is probably better for overall glute development,” he shared. “Since we already smashed the glute max pretty hard on the pendulum squat and RDL, let’s do these with straight extended hips and focus on extending those upper glute medial fibers.”
“The biggest mistake I see here is actually going too light and not pushing hard enough,” he shared.
Standing Calf Raise
He states that the biggest mistake with calf raises is not going deep enough.
“Push it hard for 8-10 reps, emphasizing the deep stretch part of the range of motion. If they are a priority for you, you can even put them first in the workout so you’re less tempted to skip them.
By far, the biggest mistake I see here is not going deep enough. Most people do short bouncy reps on their toes but we know from a growing pile of data that a deep stretch is crucial for forcing new calf growth.”
Nippard has been forthcoming about his experiences with transforming his body. He has broken down the different exercises that helped him make huge progress, and on top of that, offered some important technique cues for maximizing progress.
Jeff Nippard is confident this workout routine can improve the legs, given the science behind it. It helped him grow his quads and develop a more ripped lower body in one year.
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