Leg Day, Part 1: The Quadfather (and Calves)

There's a pretty big stereotype around "gym bros" not wanting to work out their legs. Once upon a time, I was one of those people. I began my weightlifting career around people who didn't work out their legs, and it was something I was never educated on. During my freshman year of college, I had trouble finding time to work out, so I would often not work my legs out for weeks at a time. Well, I'm here to tell you: DON'T DO THAT. Leg day is the most rewarding workout you can have, if you put in the proper effort. 

Before I discuss my favorite leg day workouts, I'd like to mention how I split up my leg days, and how this two-part series will work. On one day, I target my quads and calves, and the next leg day I target my glutes and hamstrings. There are days where I only do two workouts, because some exercises are so intense that either a) I can't put forth enough effort on the following exercises or b) I tap out. The leg muscles often don't work individually, but rather function as a unit and this takes up much more of your body's energy and oxygen. Thus, fatigue is much greater during leg day, and I have found that splitting it up is much better for recovery.

Anatomy of the Quadriceps

Introducing... the quads. There are, as the name suggests, four components to the quads. As I previously mentioned, this muscle group generally works in unison, so there isn't a way to isolate a specific muscle, but there are workouts in which one muscle does more than the other. The only exception is the vastus intermedius, in which there is no effective way I target them but they are adequately targeted in other quad-focused movements. 

Vastus Lateralis

The vastus lateralis is located on the outer portion of the quad. This is generally associated with widening the appearance of your leg and making them look bulky. In order to target this, I perform a squat variation. My favorites include... 

The Barbell Squat. When performing this I like to keep my legs a shoulder-width apart and focus on my quads being parallel to the ground at the bottom of the lift before standing back up. For me, it is incredibly important to wear a weightlifting belt to support by lower back and knee sleeves to support my patellar tendons. I also always make sure that there are safety bars on either side of me that are set just lower than my usual range of motion in case I can't get the weight back up. This can also be done on a Smith machine pictured to the left as a substitute. A Smith machine forces you in a controlled path and can be much easier for beginners. 

Rectus Femoris

The rectus femoris is the quad right in the middle of your leg. This muscle is associated with giving your legs a "defined" look, because it's in the middle and defining this will define your other quad muscles. This muscle can be primarily targeted by emphasizing straightening your legs. For that, I can really only think of one exercise...

Leg Extensions. This is my favorite workout to put at the end of a leg day. This exercise begins with your knees in a bent position and straightening them out. I like to use a medium-heavy weight and either do them for as many as I can or drop-set them. I never go too heavy, as trying to push your luck can end up hurting your knees. It's much better to do a light weight for a lot of reps than it is doing a heavy weight for a few reps in this exercise. 

Vastus Medialis

The vastus medialis is located on the inner thigh and assists in giving your legs a "bulky" look. I generally view this exercise as an auxiliary muscle, as it is very effectively targeted in the two prior movements but with slight adjustments. To target this muscle, I will either perform a NARROW-stance barbell squat, or very SLOW leg extensions. 

Anatomy of the Calves

I almost always train my calves the same day as my quads because they aren't usually impacted by any of my quad-focused lifts. I'm sorry to say that my calves have not grown in the five years I've been lifting, so I've concluded that it most likely has to do with genetics or body fat percentage. There are only two muscles in the calves: the gastrocnemius and the soleus, and you won't believe how they're trained.

How I Train My Calves

To target the soleus (inner portion), I perform seated calf raises, pictured to the left. To target the gastrocnemius (outer portion), I perform standing calf raises, which can be done on a machine or virtually anywhere. I sometimes play around with which way my toes are pointing, but there's no reason to overcomplicate it. In terms of range of motion, I recently watched a video by Jeff Nippard, in which he states that the best range of motion is only performing the bottom half of the movement. This allows you to load much more weight and put more stress on the calf. 

Disclaimers

These workouts are only what I have had success with, and I am not recommending it to anyone. I am by no means a licensed personal trainer and am only sharing what I've learned over the past five years. Credits to the sources used can be found below. 

Krunoslav. (March 25, 2024). Meet the Quadriceps Femoris: The Four-Headed Muscle of the Femur. Bodybuilding Wizard. https://bodybuilding-wizard.com/quadriceps-femoris-anatomy/

Toe Walking. OrthoInfo. Toe Walking - OrthoInfo - American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery

Jeff Nippard. (October 29, 2023). How to Train for Pure Muscle Growth. YouTube. This Is Why Your Calves Won’t Grow (youtube.com)

Strength Level Strength Level - Weightlifting Calculator (Bench/Squat/Deadlift)