I get asked several times a week, especially in the last year because of everyone staying home from the coronavirus on how to build leg muscle at home.
And it’s a lot simpler than people think.
but just stay with me and I'll show you how to build leg muscle at home. The first thing is the exercise you do is of course important but what’s even more important is how you perform that exercise.
You could be doing squats but if you engage your lower back by swinging, you’re hips out more, or elevating yourself too much then you won’t engage the parts of your leg you need to in order to build them.
You have to think about just engaging your lower body. When you squat down and squat up, you need to focus on just using your legs and refrain from using anything else. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Now you might be thinking “well I already do that”. Well, I don’t know that for sure because I’m not in front of you and can’t see for myself. But let’s give you the benefit of the doubt and say you are.
Then are you concentrating on pressing from the ball of the foot and the heel?
Also, are you controlling the speed at which you move when performing your exercise?
For example, if you are squatting, are you focusing on, again, keeping your upper body straight and when moving down slowing your movement, and then when pressing upward, imagining you are trying to press through the ball of the foot and the heel?
By doing these small fixes it will allow you to activate your muscles more and also get a much better workout. You’ll know if you have done it right, your body will let you know.
But this is a method I like to call TMMT.
It just stands for Technique, Mind to Muscle connection, Tempo.
Your technique of course is the exercise, you perform and how well you perform it. Making sure you are planted properly in your stance, and every body part is where it needs to be.
Your mind-to-muscle connection is the focus you have when performing the exercise. How well you can engage the muscle and activate it when performing it.
Pressing through the ball of the foot and the hell for the squat exercise will help improve your connection because they activate those areas. And while doing that, focus on the muscles working.
And third is the tempo. This is your speed. If the other two rules are in place and working well then, this last piece is going to make it come together.
So again, if we look at a squat as an example, the speed at which you move up and down matters. By going slow upwards and downwards will cause more tension on the muscles and work them more.
you can do a two-second upwards and two seconds downwards. You can do three seconds if you like. You can do four seconds for the first five repetitions of your exercise and then go down to a two-second tempo. You can also do, as an example, two seconds downwards and four seconds upwards.
You can really play around with it any way you like but the point is the tempo matters.
So, what happens when you put this together?
You have the order of performing the exercise properly with your technique. Focusing on the muscles you want to work on and also pressing through certain areas is going to help you engage them even further. And lastly controlling your tempo and time.
And by the way, you can utilize this method for any exercise and body part not just with legs. Works for anything.
Apply this every time you do legs, and everything just keeps challenging yourself with progressive overload.
A fancy gym and equipment are nice don’t get me wrong. I love going into a gym and working out with different gym toys too. But in order to see results, you can literally get them with no weights and working out in the comfort of your own home.
How to build leg muscles at home doesn’t need to be complicated and can be done easier than you think. Just stick to the process and give it time. It won’t happen overnight…or a year for that matter.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor nor a nutritionist. This is all from the experience I have gained through myself and through schooling I have taken from a health and fitness course. Through my videos, I share my personal and educational experience that I have acquired over the past years of training individuals through fitness and nutrition.
As always, I strive to help as much as I can by bringing you fitness education through means of all my social media platforms. My passion for fitness guides me to give people the help they need in whatever way I can. If you have been able to find the information I release helpful then I’m happy I was able to serve you.
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