by Justin Mullin

Created on: October 14, 2008   Last Updated: October 20, 2008

Strong, toned legs are hard to come by unless you are doing the right exercises. Discover the most effective leg exercises to maximize results in the least amount of time. Some movements are more effective than others. If you are going to take the time to work legs, you might as well be doing those exercises that will give you the most bang for your buck. The top moves are: squats, leg presses, stiff-legged deadlifts, standing hamstring curls, standing calf raises, seated calf raises and running stairs.

What makes one exercise better than another? The answer is twofold; how well it works the target muscle and the number of secondary muscles it involves. All strength training movements are divided into two categories- compound or single-joint.
A compound exercise is one in which more than one joint is involved, while a single-joint exercise incorporates only one joint in the movement. When performing a squat, the hips and the knees both move, making this a compound exercise. In a leg extension only the knee joint moves, proving it to be a single joint exercise.

Compound exercises are always more effective than single joint exercises for changing the size and shape of a muscle. These work best because several muscles are trained in one exercise as opposed to only one muscle being trained in the single-joint variety.

The undisputed king of leg training is the Squat. This can be performed with body-weight only, with a barbell, or on the Smith-machine.
The leg press is very similar except that the weight is not loaded onto the shoulders, making it a much safer alternative for people with back injuries. If you could do only one leg exercise, the squat or the leg-press is the best option.
These two exercises effectively work all four muscles of the quadriceps, the three muscles that make up the hamstring and the two major muscles in the butt.

There are no compound exercises that work the hamstring as effectively as the Stiff-legged deadlift and the standing hamstring curl. Because the hamstrings are involved for hip and knee flexion, both of these moves should be incorporated to work the hamstrings most effectively. The stiff-legged deadlift trains the muscle from bending at the hips, while the standing hamstring curl elicits tension on the muscle via the knee joint. Since one exercise selects the hips as the fulcrum and the other uses the knee as the fulcrum, the muscle is worked in two entirely different ways, resulting in complete development.

When training the calves, both the standing calf raise and the seated calf raise must be performed to work the two separate muscle groups that make up the back of the lower leg.
When the knee is straight (standing calf raise), the gastrocnemius is the target muscle, but when the leg is bent (seated calf raise) the soleus is the prime mover.

When attempting to tone and shape the legs two things must occur. First the muscles need to be strengthened to allow for better shape and symmetry and secondly, the fat that surrounds those muscles must be reduced so that the muscles can be seen more clearly. Reducing the fat refines the overall appearance of the legs.

This leads us into the final exercise for the legs- running bleachers or doing the stair machine at a moderate to high pace. To lose the fat that surrounds our muscles, we have to expend energy and adding a cardiovascular component to the workout ensures we are implementing the very best techniques to transform our legs in the shortest amount of time.

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