The 2 Leg Exercises You Should Be Focusing on More for Hidden Raw Strength
By: Anton Scott
Tags: Health, Fitness, Training, Workout, Gym

The 2 Leg Exercises You Should Be Focusing on More for Hidden Raw Strength Anton Scott Apr 23, 2020·4 min read

Leg training is something that can be fun and have an aesthetic result for you with consistency. Take into consideration that training the legs with serious intentions can be more valuable than just the definition and perfect legs for the summer weather for the beach.

It can be the foundation for building strong, and conditioned legs for years to come. Too many people focus on legs for the pleasure and not deeper than just the beauty of quad definition, huge calves, and larger glute size.

I will discuss two leg exercises that can unlock hidden raw strength in which you will feel satisfied that you’ve put more time into it.

Lunges (Sagittal, Frontal and Transverse)

Lunges are the base for unilateral strength which can be applied to real-world movements such as basic gait (walking), running, change of directions (agility), even for a variety of sports in which most of the time you’re doing unilateral movements.

To cover and master the lunge in all three planes is perfect for building strength and developing coordination for better movement patterns. You also work on proper foot placement and knee stability that ideally will be between the second and third toes.

It can help to clean up muscle imbalances that present itself. It is suggested that you start off with a forward lunge and once mastered then do a reverse lunge with 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps. Once you covered the sagittal plane of lunging, then you can then do side lunges which help to develop side control for strength development. After mastering the frontal plane, then you can do a transverse lunge which helps to rotate your moving leg from position to the next.

This is also great for challenging your core stability, which is the foundation for all movement working against external forces. Once the lunge is mastered by your own bodyweight, then you can add load by using dumbbells, and kettlebells to simulate a change to the muscles and help to develop more unilateral strength. For the lunges it’s best to do 3 sets of 10 repetitions. If doing a basic forward/reverse lunge is giving you trouble. It is best to hold a chair, or even regress to split squats.

Forward Lunge

Lateral Lunge

Bulgarian Split Squats

This is one of those exercises that can make your legs cry for mercy, but with proper programming and recovery, your unilateral strength will shoot up into the galaxies. To start off, the load from mainly a dumbbell will allow the front leg to execute to descend into a 90-degree bend and then to ascend back into starting position with good core control to finish a rep.

The back leg will be on a bench or Plyobox for support. It places a lot of stress on the quadriceps but also targets the glutes since you get squeeze to lockout at the top of the split squat. Doing 3 sets of 8 to 10 repetitions with a reasonable weight with a dumbbell or two will help to build strength.

Bonus to doing this is that your core will be developed, to which you will engage your core stabilizers to support the movement of the squat. If you need more challenge, you can place it on a stability ball and use a light kettlebell in which now you can do “time under tension” Bulgarian split squats to develop tendon and ligament strengthening and hit the quadriceps and glutes a lot more.

Unilateral Strength is a priority

Both the lunge (in all three planes) and Bulgarian split squats can be a gamechanger to unlocking hidden raw strength that you can apply to your daily activities and for a specific sport. It can teach your body to have the support to move with control and decrease injuries as you get older. I would even add that with various forms of unilateral training you can put in, a single leg bodyweight squat with a full range of motion will surprise your gym family, friends, and even your love ones with their eyeballs in shock of your unilateral mastery!

Stay Strong, Stay Game!