Leg day.
The dreaded yet essential part of any consistent gym-goer’s training routine.
Whether or not you appreciate that after-leg-day-waddling where sitting down becomes an Olympic feat, we’re here to help you get something productive out of your hard work.
What is a Barbell Leg Workout?
Essentially, it’s a lower-body workout routine that exclusively utilizes a barbell for resistance training.
But Why Stick to Just a Barbell, You Ask?
Well, first of all, it might be the only equipment available.
A barbell offers a wide variety of exercise options, giving you a complete workout for all your leg muscles.
Aside from its versatility, the barbell allows for compound movements that engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously, leading to maximum gains in minimal time.
A barbell is also kind of a one-size-fits-all option.
Sure, certain body proportion differences will affect your capacity to execute different exercises. Still, the high versatility usually lets you modify unfitting exercises to other more fitting options that work the same muscle groups.
Also, training with a barbell is probably the best way to prepare you for real-life scenarios, where objects mostly aren’t fixed in specific movement paths like in a classic gym machine.
However, the parable to real-life scenarios comes with an arguable disadvantage. The freer movement paths a barbell allows for also create the need for practice, since it makes the exercise more complex because of the necessary balance requirements.
However, as written above, this disadvantage is a two-edged sword since it could also favor training continuity over time through the stimulation of actually learning something new.
Read More: The 30 Best Barbell Exercises for Every Muscle Group
Muscles Worked in a Barbell Leg Workout
Let us dissect your legs before building them up.
The primary muscles worked on a leg day, regardless of equipment choices, are:
These muscles are responsible for (or at least contribute in some way to) most types of lower body movement.
They are also the bigger muscles of the legs that allow you to lift heavy things and look good naked.
Each muscle contributes to one or several joint movements. So, depending on which muscle you want to train, you can choose specific muscle “one joint exercises” or more widely muscle-targeting compound movement exercises.
How Do You Train The Different Leg Muscles?
Let’s break down how to train each of the big leg muscles.
Quads
This four-headed beast is what could give you that extra desire to wear short swimming shorts in the summer.
The entire muscle consists of four parts, mostly responsible for extending the knee joint, apart from one of the muscle heads, which also contribute to bending the hip joint.
This makes exercises such as sitting leg extensions perfect for isolating the quads.
But since this is a guide for barbell exercises, a regular human barbell squat might be a better example – as long as you bend the knees enough.
In this case, a good definition of “enough” is around 120–140 degrees of knee flexion. Or, in human speech, to break parallel (to get your femurs at least parallel to the floor or maybe a little deeper).1 2
Glutes
A muscular gluteus is the perfect yardstick for a strong, capable body. But as we all know, they are mostly trained for the ‘Gram.
Regardless of your reason for gluteal training, you would benefit from exercises involving a loaded extension of the hip joint since that is mainly what your glutes are responsible for.
Parts of the gluteus muscles also abduct or rotate your leg (lifting your leg to the side or rotating it outwards), but this is small potatoes compared to what you can accomplish in strength, muscular size, and social media likes by doing (yet again) deep enough squats as one of your primary exercises for gluteal gainz.
Other good examples of exercises that effectively train your bottoms are different types of deadlifts, hip thrusts, or lunges that significantly include loaded hip extension movement.
Hamstrings
The hamstrings are a different breed in leg training because they respond less well to deep squats than the above-described quads or glutes.3 4
In compensation, this (also) four-headed beast has two possible joints to work through to hit the spot for hamstring gain: 1) extension of the hip or 2) flexion of the knee.
This makes exercise choices like the Romanian deadlift perfect as a hip-driven hamstrings exercise or a seated leg curl as a knee-driven hamstrings exercise.
Adductors
The adductors are one of those groups that get too little credit for the job done. For example, one of the seven adductor muscles (m. adductor Magnus) is one of the largest single muscles of the thighs and is a strong hip extensor that helps you with all types of heavy-duty lifting.
The main function of the whole adductor package is to adduct the leg (bring the leg inward/to the center). Still, the muscles also have some individual functions, like hip flexion or extension, depending on which specific muscle we discuss.
Calves
Aka, the genetic lottery. Some people are just blessed with lower limb bad boys, and others can train them in desperation until considering surgical implants.
Jokes aside, calf muscles come in different sizes, like all muscles, and can be trained through loaded plantar flexion, which is when you lift your heels from the ground while standing on your toes, like in a calf raise.
When training calf raises, starting every rep lower than standing on the floor will benefit you. For example, you can stand on the edge of a staircase so that your ankle is fully flexed at the beginning of every rep. This promotes maximal gains through the principle that “full range of motion seems good for gains”.5 6 7
It could also be of value to know that calf raises performed with a straight knee seem more effective for building calf muscles than calf raises performed with a 90-degree knee bend.
It is often argued that the seated calf raise is the better option for one of the calves’ different muscle groups (m. soleus), but this does not appear to be completely true, as the standing calf raise seems to build equal mass on the m. soleus as the seated calf raise.8
The Barbell Leg Workout
Now, onto the main event: the barbell leg workout.
Here’s an overview:
- Back Squat: 4 sets x 6 reps
- Romanian Deadlift: 4 sets x 6 reps
- Reverse Barbell Lunge: 3 sets x 8 reps per leg
- Nordic Hamstring/Nordic Hamstring Eccentrics: 3 sets x 4–8 reps
- Barbell Standing Calf Raises: 4 sets x 15 reps
This workout is available for free in our workout log app, which you can download for free with the buttons below.
Exercises
All exercises are performed with a barbell and can be switched out for variations of the same movements.
Here’s how to perform each one.
Barbell Back Squat
The back squat is a phenomenal way to build strong and well-functioning legs, both for health and performance.
How to Barbell Back Squat
- Place the bar on your upper back. Inhale and brace your core. Now, unrack the bar.
- Take two steps back and adjust your feet.
- Breathe in and brace your core slightly.
- Squat as deep as possible using the preferred technique.
- With control, reverse the movement, extending your hips and legs again.
- Exchange air at the top and repeat for reps.
Alternative exercises:
Barbell Romanian Deadlift
The Romanian deadlift is a heavy compound exercise that may leave you with delayed onset muscle soreness.
If so, it is most likely in the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back since these muscles carry the brunt of the load during execution.9
How to Do Barbell Romanian Deadlifts
- Get into the starting position by deadlifting a barbell off the floor or by unracking it from a barbell rack.
- Inhale, brace your core slightly and lean forward by hinging in your hips. Keep your knees almost completely extended.
- Lean forward as far as possible without rounding your back. It’s not necessary to touch the barbell to the floor, but it is OK if you do.
- Reverse the movement and return to the starting position.
- Take another breath, and repeat for reps.
Alternative exercises could be:
Barbell Reverse Lunges
The reverse barbell lunge is basically a squat on one leg with the other leg for balance assistance. The back leg positioning also allows for a more hip-driven loading pattern, making this one of the best glute exercises there is.
How to Do Barbell Reverse Lunges
- Start by standing tall with your feet hip-width apart. Place the barbell on the upper back, like in a back squat.
- Step back and lower your knee towards the floor in a controlled manner.
- Gently touch the floor with your knee in the bottom position, with both knees approximately in 90-degree flexion.
- Reverse the movement by extending your front leg back to the starting position.
- Exchange air at the top and repeat alternating or on the same leg again.
Alternative exercises could be:
Nordic Hamstring/Nordic Hamstring Eccentrics
The Nordic Hamstring is a tough challenge, but it’s also one of the best hamstring exercises there is!
Its full execution includes eccentric and concentric phases of total superpower. Therefore, it might be a good idea to start off with the ambition only to work the eccentric phase pictured above, since this is the easier (still not easy!) part of the full movement.
Unlike the Romanian deadlift, the Nordic hamstring works the hamstring muscles from a dynamic (moving) knee joint instead of the hip joint.
This might make it more suitable as an assistance exercise for more knee-driven, hamstring-demanding sports like soccer, where high forces are put on the hamstrings through the knee joint when making hard sprints.
But for the majority of gym-goers, it could just be viewed as another way to train the hamstring muscles compared to through the hip joint, which hopefully results in extra special gains.
Alternative exercises could be:
- Seated Leg Curl (although this requires a machine)
How to Do Nordic Hamstrings/Nordic Hamstrings Eccentrics
- Start off standing on your knees with a straight hip. Feet wedged under something immovable, like a heavily loaded barbell.
- Lean your torso forward by extending your knees with no hip movement. In other words, do not push your butt backward.
- Control the eccentric movement by fighting the gravitational forces with all your hamstring strength. If possible, try keeping the eccentric phase to two seconds.
- When your chest reaches the floor, push yourself up using your arms and start over. Or, if you can, try to reverse the movement using your hamstrings in a concentric contraction back up to the starting position.
Barbell Standing Calf Raises
The standing calf raise is just what it sounds like. You stand, and you raise yourself up with your calves.
However, your calf muscles are strong, making this exercise too easy for a consistent gym-goer to use only their body weight as resistance. Therefore, we add the barbell yet again to level up.
When we add a barbell to our back, we also add something else: the impossibility of using our hands for balance. This makes the exercise unstable and, therefore, more challenging for our balance than our muscles’ capacity for contraction. So we add something more, a wall to lean against!
How to Do Barbell Standing Calf Raises
- Place a barbell on the upper back, like in a back squat.
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and the forefoot on a weight plate that allows for a full range of motion in the bottom position of the movement.
- Lean slightly backward so that the weight plates on the barbell contact the wall, allowing for balance.
- Push yourself up as high as possible by extending your ankles. Maybe hold for a second.
- Lower yourself with control all the way until you feel a stretch of the calf muscles, and then repeat for reps.
- All of the above is done with a straight (not overextended) knee.
Alternative exercises could be:
But Wait, There’s More: Enter Progressive Overload!
Alright! You’ve got your workout plan sorted, and you’re ready to pump some iron.
But hold your protein shake; we’re not done yet. One workout does not make a Hercules.
Think of each workout as a stepping stone to the next. You want each session to set the stage for the next, like a good opening act hyping up the crowd for the next event.
Now, why bother with all this fuss?
Because of gains, my friend.
And we’re talking gains over time, not overnight miracles. Building muscle is a marathon, not a sprint. So, always aim to one-up yourself, whether it’s by lifting heavier or doing more reps.
For beginners, it can often look like climbing a flight of stairs—linear progression, which is great! So if you crushed three sets of six reps last time, then maybe it’s time to slap an extra 2.5 kg (5 lb) on that bar and give it a go for the same sets and reps.
But the road might get bumpier for the more seasoned lifters out there. Adding weight to the bar each session becomes more like a game of Jenga—careful not to topple the tower. That’s where mixing it up comes in handy.
In this case, it could be a good idea to mix the two different progression strategies and maybe even add in some really small progressions (maybe only 1kg/2lb) or regressions (deload sessions) where you take a step back to recover your body and mind before jumping back into the chase after heavier or more reps again.
How Long Should You Rest Between Sets?
How long you chill between sets can make or break your gains. Too short, and you’re like a car running on fumes—sputtering and stalling.
Give yourself a solid two-minute minimum, or better yet: 3–5 minutes of rest between sets. That way, you’ll be firing on all cylinders for each set, squeezing out every last drop of muscle-building goodness.
Regardless of how long rest you take, make sure that you rest long enough for you to be able to perform your next set with:
- Proper form
- Desired weight
- Desired number of reps
The Power of Persistence: Why One Workout Won’t Cut It
Sure, sure: doing one workout is great. But let’s not kid ourselves—it’s only one stone to the castle. Results don’t work that way.
So, here’s the lowdown: consistency is key. It’s about stringing those workouts together like notes in a melody without missing a beat.
I’m not saying you need to be a slave to your schedule. The important thing is to show up and do it regularly.
Sure, we all have our days off and need rest days, but when those days become weeks or months of activities other than leg days, we can’t expect the leg results we originally sought.
How Often Can You Tackle This Same Leg Workout?
Once a week is a safe bet for most, but if you’re feeling like Superman after a power nap, why not go for it every 4–5 days? Just remember, recovery isn’t a race against the clock, so give yourself at least a few days before the next session.
Track and Progress Your Workout
Make it a priority to diligently track your weights and reps, pushing yourself to surpass them in your next session. This is often the secret sauce a “non-working” training plan misses.
If you really want to progress in muscle strength and size, make sure to keep track of where you are so that you can take the next step in the right direction.
Our app StrengthLog was built with this important concept in mind and is designed to help you succeed.
Download StrengthLog for free with the links below:
References
- Effect of range of motion in heavy load squatting on muscle and tendon adaptations. 2013 Aug;113(8):2133-42.
- Effects of range of motion on resistance training adaptations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2021 Oct;31(10):1866-1881.
- Effects of squat training with different depths on lower limb muscle volumes. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2019 Sep;119(9):1933-1942.
- Hamstring activation during lower body resistance training exercises. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2009 Mar;4(1):84-96.
- Effects of range of motion on resistance training adaptations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2021 Oct;31(10):1866-1881
- Range of Motion and Sticking Region Effects on the Bench Press Load-Velocity Relationship. J Sports Sci Med. 2019 Nov 19;18(4):645-652.
- Effect of range of motion on muscle strength and thickness. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Aug;26(8):2140-5.
- Triceps surae muscle hypertrophy is greater after standing versus seated calf-raise training. Front Physiol. 2023 Dec 13:14:1272106.
- Comparison Between Back Squat, Romanian Deadlift, and Barbell Hip Thrust for Leg and Hip Muscle Activities During Hip Extension. J Strength Cond Res. 2019 Oct;33(10):2595-2601.
