This movement holds a very special place in our hearts. They help give us the sexy, athletic curves we’re working towards, they make us stronger and they work a huge range of muscles. From booty goals, to toned legs, mad strength to boosted muscle mass, we have so much to thank them for.

You might have been squatting from day one, or you might be a little intimidated to head to the bar. Either way girl, we’re here to give you all the hottest tips and direction to help you up your load, or even start your love affair with the weighted squat.

The Benefits of Squats

Where to start? There are so many benefits to squats for women, but to make it simpler for you, we’ve picked out our favorites.

Muscle coordination

When we get down to basics, the squat is one of the key compound movements you should be working on the regular. Compound means it pulls in a variety of muscle groups, working all those big muscles in unison to create a strong, well-balanced physique. If you’re encouraging your muscles to work together effectively, you’ll strengthen the coordination and power of your body.

Strength

By using weighted, challenging squats as the cornerstone of your leg workout, you’re really putting that muscle to work. What’s more, when you’ve got the form nailed, you can start adding weight and building all round lower body strength.

Calories

Because you’re working more muscle groups, you’ll be burning more calories than an isolated exercise. What’s more, extra muscle means your body will need more cals to function on a day-to-day basis, so you’ll be better off in the long run.

Cardiovascular

Working compound movements like the squat uses more muscle than isolated movements. With more muscle tissue firing, your heart will have to work harder to get oxygen to these parts of your body. From this, your heart will grow stronger and more efficient.

Shape

With squats in your routine, you’ll not only feel stronger, you’ll look better too. Your legs will be tighter and more toned, your butt will be perkier, and you’ll feel more confident overall.

How do squats work?

Let’s get down to the science ladies.

As we’ve mentioned, squats are a compound movement and that means you use more muscle with every exercise. With every weighted back squat, you’ll be working:

• Quadriceps
• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Spinal erectors
• Latissimus dorsi
• Abdominal muscles
• Trapezius
• Rhomboids
• Scapular muscles

We’re talking about a huge range of muscles here, girl. While most of the emphasis will be on your quads, hamstrings and glutes, you’re still hitting plenty of other areas too.

A squat is just about one of the most functional movements you can do. Even as teeny tiny toddlers, we were squatting left, right and centre. As soon as our ancient ancestors took their first steps, they were squatting up a storm. Even if you don’t go to the gym, sitting down and standing up again is a variation of the humble squat.

What we’re saying girls, is that we were designed to squat, so learning how to do it properly is a pretty big deal. Luckily, we’re here to help.

How to do squats

You know squats are definitely a good idea to include in your workout routine, the next step is perfecting your form for a killer workout. We’ll teach you everything you need to know to get it nailed down. Before you know it, you’ll be ass to grass with the best of them.

First off, we’ll teach you a bodyweight squat. Get that form looking good and it’s time to head to the bar. First though…

How to bodyweight squat:

Before you begin, here are a few notes you should think about as you do your squat. It might seem like a lot to think about, but it will all start to feel natural pretty soon:

• Keep your weight on your heels throughout the movement. This is important to get right now, as when you add load, you could spill the bar if your body is leaning forward
• Pick a spot high up on the wall and keep your eyes on it. This should help to keep your chest high while you squat
• Don’t let your knees track over your toes. You’ll load at the knees rather than through your glutes, which could leave you with injuries. No thanks
• Maintain a strong lumbar curve. It’s key to get this now, as it can become more challenging to keep your back strong when you add load
• Don’t let your knees drop in. Think about pushing them outwards as you stand up from the bottom of your squat

With these in mind, follow these steps for a squat:

1. Stand with your feet at shoulder width apart
2. Twist your toes out slightly so they’re pointing out around 30 degrees
3. Begin your squat by breaking at the knees
4. Keeping your chest high, bend at your hips and push them backwards and down
5. Stop when your hip crease is in line with your knees
6. Firing through your glutes and quads, stand up completely

How to do a weighted squat:

Now you’ve got the bodyweight squat and you’re feeling strong, it’s time to add some load to the movement. Again, we recommend you start light before you go straight for the big weights. Walk before you run girl.

If you’re feeling a little worried about heading to the bar for the first time, set up the spotter bar or ask your gym girl to spot you. Remember to bear in mind those points you learned for your body weight squat. Tip top form is even more important now you have a weight involved.

1. Grip the bar outside of shoulder-width and duck underneath it so it’s resting across the back of your shoulders
2. Using a lunge movement, push it up and step out of the rack, still holding the bar with your hands
3. Stand with your feet in your squat position
4. Keeping your chest high, your back strong and your weight on your heels, move your hips down and back
5. When your hip crease is aligned with your knee, push back up, keeping your knees out and your chest high

That’s it girl, once you’ve got that nailed you’re on track for some serious leg gains. When the light bar starts to feel too easy, add a little weight in small increments. That way you can find a weight that challenges you and you can start building some muscle and boosting your strength.

Variations on the squat

Once you’ve mastered how to do squats, you’ll start to feel stronger and better than ever in the gym. After that, it’s simply a matter of pushing your body out of its comfort zone again and trying out these squat variations.

Sumo Squat

This wide legged squat is the perfect way to switch the heat to your glutes. Sure, it’s still a compound movement that will be lighting up the muscle throughout your legs, but the focus will really be on your butt. Here’s how to do it:

1. Take a dumbbell and hold it in both hands in front of you
2. Stand with your feet at shoulder width apart and step one foot out slightly further
3. Push your hips down and back. Be sure you don’t roll your feet in or allow your knees to cave inwards
4. Stand back up again

Front Squat

This is very similar to your back squat. However, rather than holding the bar across the back of your shoulders, hold it on the front. Sounds simple, but when it gets down to a muscular level, it’ll target your legs in a different way. Although it pulls the same groups into action, the focus is more on your quads – perfect if you’re looking for that gorgeous quad swoop.

1. Grip the bar just at just inside shoulder width apart
2. Step into the bar and bend your elbows, bringing them under it until they’re pointing directly forward. The bar should be resting on your shoulders and your hands should be holding it in place
3. From there, push the bar up and step out of the rack
4. Keep your elbows as high as possible and your weight on your heels as you push your hips back and down
5. Stop when your hip crease and your knees align and stand up again, firing through your quads and glutes

Single Leg Squat

This movement is worth saving for when you’ve got some serious strength in your legs. Usually the bench mark for being able to achieve this is when you can safely squat your bodyweight on a barbell. No doubt it’s a tough one, and we’ve put it in this guide as something to work towards.

1. Stand with one foot in front of you and the other directly under your body. You’ll be squatting on the back leg.
2. To help your balance, hold your arms out in front of you and raise your front leg off the floor
3. Slowly, begin to squat down, making sure your knee doesn’t track over your toes
4. Pause at the bottom of the squat, before pushing up through your heel

There you have it girl, that’s everything you need to know about how to do squats. Now it’s just a matter of including them in your workout routine and growing some strength and muscle in all the right places.

Looking for more straight up amazing workout guides for women? Check these out: 

• Spot Me Girl’s Ultimate Guide to Hip Thrusts
• The Hack Squat: Your Ultimate Guide
• Fat Torching, Muscle Growing HIIT Leg Workouts

Whether you’re a skinny jeans type of girl, or a deadlift-smashing goddess, strong hamstrings are a must.

Working your hamstrings not only looks good, it will help with a huge number of lifts. Boost your squat, add load to your deadlift and take that hip thrust up a notch – all with the best hamstring exercises for women.

Work these moves into your workout routine and girl, you’ll be on track for some peachy gains.

Anatomy of a hamstring

Your hamstrings are made up of three muscles running between your hip and you knee. They are the semitendinosus, semimembranosus and bicep femoris. Together, they provide you with the ability to bend and flex at the knee, along with rotating your lower leg.

Why do you need to perform hamstring exercise?

As well as improving your ability to lift heavier weights, they’re pretty much essential if you’re in a high-speed sport that involves running. For example, soccer and hockey require the ability to sprint and change direction rapidly – that’s where the hamstrings come in.

If you do take part in these sports, you won’t be a stranger to hamstring injuries. They’re notorious for taking down athletes where bursts of speeds and change of direction are important. Usually this is down to underdeveloped hamstrings.

By working your hammys and building strong, powerful legs, you can add an extra layer of protection and reduce the risk of injury.

If you’re more of a lifter than a runner, your hamstring is still essential. As it plays such an essential role in working your knee, it’s little surprise that a weak hamstring can be the cause of knee injuries when you lift.

In these cases, your quads can end up overcompensating for your hamstrings, which in turn can damage your knees and even lead to poor posture.

Basically girls, whatever your game, working your hammys and creating a strong, well rounded leg is essential for overall strength.

Hamstring exercises for women

To strengthen up your hamstrings and really target all three muscles, you should aim to perform a variety of movements. Complement these different hamstring exercises with challenging weights and you’ll create powerful, rounded legs in no time.

Deadlift

The humble deadlift is a key compound lift every fit girl should have nailed. Not only will this one lift strengthen up your hamstrings, it works just about every muscle group in your body. You’re basically guaranteed all-round leg muscles after drilling it.

1. Stand with your feet hip width apart with the bar just in front of your shins
2. Grip the bar so your arms are brushing against the outside of your knees
3. Bend at the knees, keep your back flat and raise your chest up, pulling up on the bar to create tension
4. Maintaining a strong back position, push up through your heels and straighten your legs until the bar is above your knees
5. In the second pull, push your hips through, without over-extending, and stand up
6. Return the bar to the floor by pushing your hips back, then bending at the knees.

Reps and sets: 4 sets of 8 reps

[infobox]Tip: If you’ve not deadlifted before, we recommend you take this easy and start with a lighter weight. If you start to feel strain in your lower back, the load might be too much for you, so give it a rest and come back to it another day with a lighter weight.[/infobox]

Hamstring curl

Much like the name suggests, this is very much like a bicep curl, but for your legs. You’ll find this handy machine in just about any well-equipped gym, so hop on, find a challenging weight and get started.

Reps and sets: 4 sets of 10 reps

[infobox]Tips: Really think about squeezing your hamstrings in every rep. That mind to muscle connection will up the intensity and really get your muscles firing.[/infobox]

Sumo deadlift

This smart variation on the standard deadlift works your hamstrings in a slightly different way and takes the strain off you lower back a little more. By varying up your stance, you’ll be stimulating your legs in a new way, and we all know growing muscle is all about constantly challenging your body by taking it out of its comfort zone.

1. Begin with your legs in a very wide stance. Step out until your legs are near the collars of the bar
2. Bend at the hips to grip the bar. Your arms should be inside your knees in this movement
3. Break at the legs, lower your hips and lift your chest so you’re pulling on the bar but not lifting it.
4. Push through your heels and straighten your legs
5. Finally, bring your hips forward so you’re standing up completely straight
6. Return the bar to the floor by reversing the movement

Reps and sets: 4 sets of 8 reps

[infobox]Tip: Keep your chest high throughout this movement to maintain a strong back.[/infobox]

Good morning

This weighted exercise is one of our favourite hamstring exercises for women. It burns like fire from the back of your knees to your booty. It’s just about as isolated as you can get for your hammys and will put the strain straight through them. Watch out though, if you’ve got lower back problems, you might want to avoid this one.

1. Step under the rack and take the bar across the back of your shoulders, as if you’re going for a back squat
2. Squeeze your upper back tightly together, keep your lower back strong and break slightly at the knees
3. Bend at the hips, pushing them back as you do so and keeping the weight on your heels. Maintain a strong, flat back with a high chest throughout
4. Stop bending before your back is parallel to the floor
5. Return to a standing position by pushing your hips forward

Reps and sets: 4 sets of 12 reps

[infobox]Tip: Don’t bend too far forward with this one, girls. If you start adding weight to this and go past parallel, you could end up spilling the bar or falling forward, and that could result in an injury. The best way to start with this is keep it light and find that sweet spot where you feel the strain in your hamstrings.[/infobox]

Stiff leg deadlift

Yet another amazing, hamstring-working deadlift. We really do love a good deadlift variation over here at SMG and this stiff leg option is right up there at the top of the list. It’s another really isolated hamstring exercise that will make walking up the stairs a workout in itself. Although, if you’ve got a bad lower back, this one isn’t for you girl.

1. Start light and pick up the bar with a shoulder width, overhand grip
2. Stand with your feet hips width apart and your back straight and strong
3. Squeeze your upper back together and keep your lower back flat and strong
4. Bend at the hips, pushing them back as you slide the bar down your thighs
5. Keep the weight on your heels and bend until the bar is about mid shin or you feel the strain in your hamstrings.
6. Stand up again by firing through the glutes and pushing your hips forward again

Reps and sets: 4 sets of 10 reps

[infobox]Tip: Use a hook grip in this movement. As you add weight, you’ll start to feel the strain on your hands and forearms, so a hook grip will give you a stronger hold on the bar.[/infobox]

There you go girls. We know it’s all about that quad swoop and building a peachy butt, but don’t neglect those hammys. Not only will they give you that gorgeous, curvy aesthetic, a strong hamstring will improve your overall strength and reduce the risk of injury too.

Throw in a couple of these exercises to your regular legs day and you’ll start to see and feel the benefits in no time.

Find more hints and tips on how to make your fitness dreams a reality with these articles from SMG:

• Muscle Activation Exercises to Transform Your Workouts
• The Benefit of HIIT Workouts for Women
• Chest and Shoulder Workouts for Women

If an ass-kicking butt and a sculpted pair of legs is part of your gym goals, you need to hit the bar for legs day. By getting your squats in, you’re guaranteed an athletic, lean and downright sexy figure.

We all love a good ‘life hack’. Something that helps you manage your time and daily activities in a more efficient way.

Well guess what? Now you’ve got a ‘life hack squat’! In this article we’ll show you how to use the hack squat machine to develop your best physique yet in the shortest time possible. Whether you’re just not feeling your squats or are looking to mix it up, the hack squat is your new bestie.

So get on your lifting shoes and get ready to squat…

Preview:

• What is a hack squat?
• Machine and barbell hack squat – the difference
• Muscle involved
• How to change up your technique to hit different muscles

What Is a Hack Squat?: Everything You Need to Know

Hack squats can build beautiful, shapely legs and contribute to the toughest lower body workout you’ve ever experienced! Who else is excited and scared at the same time?

As a regular reader of our training plans and guides you’ll be pretty familiar with barbell squats, lunges and deadlifts. Chances are you already have them firmly rooted in your training plans.

But not everyone knows how to use hack squats effectively. Maybe you don’t know how the machine works or aren’t sure how to include barbell hacks into your workouts.

Master the form and fit it into your program and you’ll reap the reward of a number of benefits. Research shows that regular hack squat training offers:

• Leg and glute development
• Lower body power production
• Better athleticism
• Hightens testosterone levels (which are great for fat loss)
• Faster running speeds and better jumping ability
• Less chance of knee injuries (females are at a high risk of knee injuries when playing sport if they don’t have strong legs)

Muscles involved in the hack squat

As a lower body-dominant exercise, the hack squat is a great way to target all of your leg muscles. Hacks emphasize the following muscles:

• Quadriceps – the muscles on the front of your thighs
• Glutes – the junk in your trunk, your buns and your butt
• Hamstrings – the muscle below yourglutes
• Adductors – your inner thighs
• Abductors – your hips and outer thighs

Whether it’s lean and toned or thick and muscular, the hack squat can help you develop the legs you’re after.

There Are Two Types of Hack Squat – Barbell and Machine

There are two ways you can introduce the hack squat into your strength training program:

1. Hack squat machine
2. Barbell hack squat

The hack squat machine

Machine hack squats isolate your legs by removing upper body and core work from the movement.

The dauntingly large hack squat machine is one of those contraptions that is pretty underused in commercial gyms. If anything it just kind of sits there collecting chalk dust.

But believe us when we tell you… hack squat machines are one of the best leg exercises you can do girl. You just need to know how to use it.

The machine hack squat variation was designed to simulate barbell squatting without as much strain on the lower back. It helps to unload your spinal muscles and takes the upper body out of the equation altogether, isolating the legs.

Because of the design, you can train both legs at the same time but also as as single leg workout. This is great for skill training or transfer to sports performance.

You can also change your foot position to target different muscles as well, making it one of the most versatile machines out there for leg day (more on that later).

Lastly, the hack squat is great for beginners.

If you aren’t confident enough to try barbell back squats yet or just lack the stability and flexibility to program them into your workouts, the hack squat is a great alternative.

Here’s how to perform a hack squat on a fixed machine:

• Set your body so that your shoulders are under the supporting pads and both your shoulder blades and butt are in contact with the supporting back rest.
• Place your feet at around shoulder-width apart and distribute the weight through your heels. This is a safe and effective starting position with good foot positioning.
• Take hold of the hand rests firmly for support
• Keep your head in good alignment and look forward rather than down. This helps you maintain good posture throughout.
• The first thing you need to do is remove the safety catches. All machines are different but usually it involves pushing the hand rests inward to rotate the guide bars away from the catches.
• Bend at your knees and hips and maintain contact with the supporting back rest as you lower yourself down into a squat. Aim to dip your butt just below the height of your knees if you can, but if you can’t, just go as low as feels comfortable.
• At the bottom of the movement you should pause briefly before pushing through your heels until you’re back at the start position.
• Don’t lock your knees at the top of the movement.

Tip: Try a single leg hack squat to work on your imbalances and build crazy leg strength.

Barbell hack squat

Although awkward to begin with, barbell hack squats will really turn up the heat on those quad muscles.

The barbell variation of the hack squat looks like a deadlift with the bar behind the body.

It was made popular by famous wrestler George Hackenschmidt in the early 20th century and involves keeping a low center of gravity by balancing the position of the bar against the angle of the back (helps to keep you upright).

It’s an awkward lift for some, and many women prefer the machine hack squat. But work through the technique points and you’ve got a hell of a lower body blitz that’ll ignite your quads and engulf your glutes.

Here’s how to perform a barbell hack squat:

• Take hold of a barbell with a shoulder-width grip and hold it behind your body. Rest the bar on your glutes. Your arms should be locked out and palms facing away from you.
• Adjust your stance to between hip-width and shoulder-width dependent on what feels most comfortable.
• Keep you head and chest up as you bend from your knees and hips. The bar will naturally force you to distribute the weight through your heels.Just don’t fall backwards!
• Squat down as low as you can while maintaining good posture. Don’t round your back out at all.
• At the bottom of the movement, drive through your heels and keep a firm grip of the bar until you are back at the start position.
• Avoid locking your knees out.

Tip: You can also elevate your heels slightly during barbell hack squats in order to place more emphasis on your thigh muscles and make the range of motion a little easier.

Changing Leg Position to Target Different Muscles

The beauty of hack squats is in their versatility. The machine variation in particular allows you to target the different muscles of your legs just by changing your stance.

Higher foot position works the glutes more

If your goal is to craft out a peachy butt with shapely curves and athletic power you need to shuffle your feet up higher on the foot plate. The increased range of motion means a greater amount of work is needed by your glutes to extend the hips.

Studies in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning have shown that higher foot positions increase activation of the glutes, whereas lower foot positions decrease it.

Go wide to target your inner thighs

If you’re ‘hacking’ away at your legs and want to try and boost the tone and shape of you adductors you should take a wide stance.

‘Wide’ is classed any stance that’s outside of shoulder-width. And using this sumo stance is great for maximizing inner thigh involvement as the muscle works hard to maintain hip to knee alignment.

Oh, and those wide squats also increase glute activation too!

No difference in upper thigh activation with different stances

There’s only really one muscle that remains active throughout hack squats without change to peak activation patterns.. and that’s your quads.

As a hinge joint, your knee can only flex and extend. And it’s the upper thigh muscles that control this movement. It doesn’t matter whether you’re low, high, wide or narrow – the quad is always involved.

Summary – Hack Squat Ultimate Guide

The hack squat is a great exercise for your legs and butt.

Both the barbell and machine variations target a whole range of lower body muscles; and with room to vary your stance width, you can change the emphasis on which muscles you target most.

That way, you’re guaranteed a detailed leg workout that’ll leave you toned, strong and confident.

Get even more power for your hack squat workouts with a top pre-workout!

Here at SpotMeGirl, we know how difficult it can be when your legs might not be in the best shape. But fear not because we’ve got the best method you can use to get your wheels perfectly in motion!

Follow through our 7-day perfect leg building guide and we’re positive you’ll see a huge difference after the 7th day.

How To Get Perfect Legs In Just 7 Days?

Let’s first start off by saying that everyone is different when it comes to our level of training and our lifestyles. So it’s best to take things in the best way possible that makes sense to you.

After following our 7 day perfect leg day exercise, you’ll see a big difference but results will vary from person to person.

Warm-Ups

Warm ups are very important as they prevent injury and also help you perform better in your workout.

You wouldn’t go into a full sprint straight out of bed on a cold winters morning, would you? No, so why perform any other workout without first getting your body up to the right temperature.

Dynamic stretching, walking, light jogging, or cycling are ideal for warm-ups. Perform your chosen exercise for at least 5 minutes until you feel your body has come up to temperature.

You’ll also feel a lot of benefits from warming up, such as reduced inflammation, more flexibility, and the ability to train more often to name a few.

7 Day Perfect Leg Training Plan

Starting off in the beginning, you’ll be using more volume with heavy compound lifting, and then into lighter isolation movements. Then, tapering off the volume as we develop into the week with cardio based workouts to help show-off your hard earned leg muscles.

As we’ve only got one week, we’ll have to work hard for 7 days straight – stick with it and you’ll see results to be proud of.

Heavy Compound Movements

The high volume section, in the beginning, is to help activate your muscles, create growth, strength, and size – putting shape in all the right areas.

Isolation Exercises 

Then, later in the week, you’ll see the volume decrease where we’ll focus more on isolating the muscles that will give you those perfect shaped legs.

Cardio & Stretching

Finally, on the last day, you’ll work on dynamic movements and cardio to help stretch the muscles and release any inflammation that might be left form the weeks training.

TOP TIP: Try taking a salt bath on the 7th day to reduce water weight and inflammation in your legs, this will help to show off your hard work. 

Workout Plan For Perfect Legs

Day 1 – 5 x 5 for each exercise

• Squat – No workout for building awesome looking legs is complete without the squat. It will build muscle in your entire lower body and core when done correctly.
• Cable Kickbacks – This movement focuses on your gluts – helping you to build a solid round booty.
• Deadlift – Improve grip strength, strengthen your core and build thick hamstrings are all benefits from the deadlift.

Day 2 – 3 x 15 for each exercise

• Bodyweight Reverse Lunges – Reverse lunges are a great exercise for building hamstrings, while also improving balance and coordination.
• Bodyweight Calf Raises – One body part people often forget about is the calves. Build your calves in the right way and you’ll ass perfect symmetry to your legs.

Day 3 – 3 x 15 for each exercise

• Jumping Burpees – Burpees are known to get your heart rate up and help with fat burning. But they’re also good for lower body development and overall conditioning.
• Bodyweight Squat – To keep your legs supple and to prevent form stiffness, we’ve added in bodyweight squats to help loosen any tension that might be left from the heavier workout in day 1 and 2.

You’re over half way there, girl! Keep up the good work.

Day 4 – 3 x 10 for each exercise 

• Kettlebell Deadlift – Back into some weighted movements in day 4. The kettlebell deadlift will help to activate your glutes and hamstrings. Take a lighter weight than in day 1 – the name of the game her is to keep your muscles activating throughout the week without overloading to the point of fatigue.
• Kettlebell swings – Good for core strength, fat loss, and also the hamstrings – kettlebell swings will give your whole body a workout helping you feel more energized.

Day 5 – Light Cardio

On day 5 you’ll want to get the blood flowing and loosen up those legs which should be sore at this point in the week.

You can do any activity you like, from rowing – cycling – walking – jogging for 15 – 20 minutes of light activity to promote recovery and help blood flow.

Day 6 – Leg Focused Cardio 

On day 6 you’ll now be focusing on cardio again, but this time on leg based training such as the stair master or hill walks for 15 – 20 minutes.

This will also help to create blood flow in your legs and strengthen those legs muscles.

Day 7 Stretching Recovery Day 

Dynamic Stretching, light walking, swimming or any light activity to loosen off any tension in your muscles is on the agenda today.

This is your last and final day, so take it easy, stretch off, get a massage and relax those muscles because you’ve put in the hard work.

By now you should be seeing some amazing results. If not, don’t worry, we’re all different and as the saying goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Keep going and you’ll eventually have those perfect legs that you’ve always wanted.

Best Diet For Perfect Legs in a Week

The best diet for this plan is one that will keep you energized, promote recovery and help you to rebuild your torn muscles throughout the whole week and beyond.

Stick to foods that you like which fall into the category of healthy whole foods such as lean meats, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.

Best Foods For Muscle Building and Recovery:

• Lean Proteins – Chicken – Tofu – Eggs – Steak
• Whole Grains – Oats – Whole Wheat Pasta – Whole Grain Rice
• Fruits – Bananas – Apples – Berries etc..
• Vegetables – Broccoli – Carrots – Potatoes etc..
• Fats – Brazil Nuts – Olive Oil – Avocado etc..

Add a fat burner alongside these foods to really boost your efforts!

To Sum it Up!

While it might not be possible to look like a bikini competitor on stage flashing your toned and strong legs – you can certainly make a big difference with our ‘ 7-day perfect leg workout’.

Do these quick and effective workouts throughout the week and we’re positive you’ll see great results.

Let us know how you get on with this workouts, was it difficult or easy? We’d love to hear what you have to say. Drop your comments in the section below!

If you’re like us then legs day isn’t done unless you feel the burn as you walk out of the gym. One of the best ways to get in an all-around leg workout that’s sure to bring in the gains is by hitting the bar.

We all know squats are good for you, but there are so many more ways to use this versatile piece of kit to maximize your leg and booty gains. Find out how with these barbell legs workouts for women.

Article preview:

• Why use the barbell in legs workouts for women?
• Quad workouts
• Hamstring workouts
• Glute workouts

Why use the barbell in legs workouts for women?

Let’s get straight to the point. By using a barbell you can incorporate more compound movements into your routine.

Compound movements work several muscle groups at once, so your body is recruiting a number of muscles at any one time. Therefore, they’re great for developing well-rounded muscular strength.

By working your squats and deadlifts on the bar, you’ll be building more muscles than if you were working isolated movements alone. There’s a reason they’re a staple of most bodybuilding and lifting workout plans.

On top of that, the bar is incredibly versatile and can help you target specific muscle groups in ways machines just can’t. With the right movements and the perfect technique, the barbell could be exactly what you need to take your gym sessions to the next level.

In short, the barbell is a must for legs workouts for women. By incorporating a few of these movements into your normal workout routine you’ll soon be on your way to creating those perfectly sculpted legs.

Barbell legs workouts for women

To help you achieve those perfectly sculpted legs, we’ve created a range of leg workouts for women, designed to help you build different muscles. Whether you’re working on defined quads, hamstrings that pop or that perfectly round butt, we’ve got the barbell workout for you.

Quads

Your quadriceps are essential to creating a shapely leg. By drilling this muscle you can achieve that all-important quad swoop, so get to the bar and start working these exercises.

Back squat

This is an essential exercise to add to your fitness repertoire. The back squat is like the foundation of legs workouts for women. They work just about every part of your legs and they’re a fantastic way to tone up those quads.

How to do a back squat:

1. Step under the bar, with it resting on the back of your shoulders.
2. Hold it in place with your hands, keep your elbows back and step out of the rack
3. Place your feet just outside hip-width apart, flex your knees and break at the hips
4. Keeping your chest raised and maintaining a strong arch in the lower back, drop your hips back and down, bending at the knees
5. Stop when your hip is just below your knee
6. Stand up again by firing through the quads and glutes

Complete five sets of five reps at about 70 percent of your one rep max.

Barbell hack squats

This variation on the squat will really put the focus on growing your quads. By slightly altering the weight distribution of the movement, all the power will come from the front of your thighs. This will give you a killer, quad-sculpting workout.

How to do a barbell hack squat:

1. Begin by standing up straight, holding the barbell behind you at arms length
2. Your feet should be about a shoulder-width apart
3. Keep your head up and your back strong while you squat
4. Stop when your thighs are parallel to the floor and keep your weight on your heels throughout
5. Stand up again by firing through the quads

Complete four sets of 10-12 reps at a challenging rate.

Hamstrings

If your booty is your main focus, you should still aim to frame it with strong hamstrings. Working on this muscle is the key to a well-rounded look for your legs.

Deadlift

The humble deadlift is a must if you’re looking to build muscle. As a compound movement, it recruits more muscle than just about anything else you can do in the gym. But when it comes to legs, they’re your go-to for building strong hamstrings.

Before you start, remember to keep your back flat and your shoulders back and tight to protect yourself from any injuries. Whether you’re lifting or placing the bar back down on the floor, always think about keeping your back flat and tight.

How to deadlift:

1. Place the bar on the floor and stand with your feet hip-width apart. Your feet should be under the bar and when you look down it should be covering the top of your laces.
2. Grip the bar about a shoulder-width apart with your palms facing down.
3. Bend your knees until your shins touch the bar. Flatten your back and raise your chest so you’re gently pulling on the bar without dropping your butt.
4. Keeping your back in the same flat position, complete your first pull by straightening your legs, lifting the bar off the floor. Keep it in contact with your shins and thighs throughout the movement.
5. Next, fully stand up by pushing your hips through. Try not to lean back or over-extend.
6. Return the weight to the floor by pushing your hips back, keeping your back flat, and bending your knees.

Tip: Throughout this movement aim to keep the bar in contact with your body for a more efficient lift.

Complete five sets of five reps at around 70 percent of your one rep max.

Good Mornings

Once you’ve completed your set of deadlifts, move on to good mornings straight away to really get your hamstrings burning. This movement really focusses in on your glutes, hamstrings and lower back. So, you can really target the areas you want to improve.

How to do a good morning:

1. Start with the back on your shoulders as if you were going to do a back squat
2. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and flex your legs slightly, moving your weight onto your heels
3. Begin to bend forward whilst moving your hips backward, keeping your weight on your heels
4. Stop just before your back is parallel to the floor
5. Stand up straight again by firing through the glutes and hamstrings

Tip: Keep your back strong and flat throughout this movement. If you feel your back begin to arch, drop the weight a little and try again.

Complete four sets of 10-12 reps at a challenging weight.

Glutes

Many of us spend hours in the gym sculpting that perfect peachy booty. To create that well-rounded shape you see on Instagram, you’re gonna need some barbell exercises in your legs workouts for women. Here are a couple of things you should think about including if you really want to feel the burn.

Front Squat

We all do back squats but think about changing it up a little with a booty burning front squat. This slight variation allows you to drop deeper into the movement, putting more pressure on your quads and your glutes. Perfect for sculpting your butt.

How to do a front squat:

1. Begin with the bar on the front of your shoulders. Hold it in place by raising your elbows up until they point out in front of you and gently secure the bar against your shoulders with your index and middle fingers.
2. Place your feet just slightly wider than hip-width and point your toes about 30 degrees outwards.
3. Break at the hips, keeping a strong curve in your back and your chest raised
4. Bend your knees whilst moving your weight to your heels
5. Push your hips back and down until they drop just below your knees
6. From there return to a standing position by firing through the glutes, keeping your chest raised and your elbows up

Complete five sets of five reps at around 70 percent of your one rep max.

Hip Thrusts

We’ll call this one the booty maker. If you’re after a butt-sculpting-burner, look no further. The hip thrust is an excellent way to put your glute strength to the test and get some serious muscle-building, high weight reps on the bar.

How to do a hip thrust:

1. Begin with your shoulders and upper back on a bench and your feet flat on the floor. When you extend your hips up and straighten your body, you should achieve a 90-degree angle at the knee joint.
2. When in a relaxed position with your butt a few inches off the floor, place the barbell over your hip crease. It’s a good idea to invest in a bar pad, otherwise you could bruise your hip bones
3. From this relaxed position, push the bar upward by firing through the glutes.
4. Return to your start position by lowering the hips again.

Complete four sets of 12 reps at a challenging weight.

Tip: The trick with this movement is to take it slow and don’t overextend at the hips. This way your glutes will really feel the burn and you’ll get the maximum benefit. If you really want to take it up a notch, put a resistance band around your knees as you perform the movement.

Start transforming your lower body and craft the perfect barbell legs workout for women with the help of this guide. Kick start your workout and get your body in gear to work harder with a high-quality pre-workout. Combine supplement with your new barbell leg exercises and you’ll have that Instagram-worthy physique in no time.

Looking for more workouts? Find them here:

• Booty Builder – The Ultimate Round Butt Workout
• How to target Glutes with Deadlifts and Build Your Bum
• MMA Workout Routine for Female Beginners

And that’s the key point here. Everyone knows that female fitness models can be strong and sexy.

For this very reason, one of our most popular posts is “Top 10 Female Bodybuilders With Biggest Biceps“. But we’re focusing on the lower body in this article.

Here, at SpotMeGirl, we don’t think enough credit has gone to the female fitness models with the biggest & hottest legs!

As a result, we’re making this page a shrine for these inspirational women. Hopefully, this will further the belief that ‘strong is sexy’ and encourage women to build bigger and hotter legs.

No more size 0, pencil thin figures, ladies!

Check it out:

Top 5 Females With The Biggest & Hottest Legs

1. Bakhar Nabieva

If you’re up-to-date with the fitness community; you’ll know that Bakhar Nabieva is one of the leading female fitness models – when it comes to the biggest & hottest legs we’re all jealous of.

In fact, this girl from Azerbaijan was probably the very first that become known purely for her strong glutes, hamstrings and thighs.

Since she gained over a million followers on Instagram, other females have jumped on the bandwagon – focusing on sculpting a powerful lower body.

As a result, Bakhar deserves her place at the top of our list.

2. Viviane Winkler

Since the start of 2017, Viviane Winkler has become recognized as other fitness sensation – due to crafting a strong and sexy set of wheels.

She’s continued the rise in female fitness models with the biggest and hottest legs; regularly posting videos of her INTENSE lower body workouts on social media.

Although Brazilians have become known for their glutes – Viviane is one girl who’s set the fitness world on fire with her rock-hard thighs.

3. Gracyanne Barbosa

If you’re looking for an inspirational female with the whole lower body package – Gracyanne Barbosa is your girl!

The second Brazilian on our list, Gracyanne has managed to sculpt a truly impressive, curvaceous figure; this is a result of her hard work in the legs and glutes department.

Look at the picture and try to tell us we’re wrong here. More importantly, she possesses one of the biggest and hottest legs in the fitness industry.

4. Valentina Mishina

Not much is known about this female fitness model, except one thing; she has amazing legs.

Actually, Valentina has an incredible figure in general – which explains why she’s an IFBB Pro athlete.

After doing some research, we found that she was Russian. So Valentina provides a nice diversity after placing behind 2 Brazilians too.

5. Syleena Adams

Syleena is the most unknown of the bunch. But that doesn’t mean her legs are any less impressive.

As of 2017, she has just over 10k followers (so we’ll claim we helped make her famous once she gains millions of fans on social media).

She’s a competitive fitness model & personal trainer, proving that American girls can build equally as strong legs as the Brazilians.

Summary: Bigger Is Better With Female Legs!

Personally, we’re glad that the ‘craze’ for the slimmest legs has ended. What the f*ck was that all about anyway? Who wants to seriously be size 0?!

We’re glad that girls know strong is sexy now. And these 5 female fitness models with the biggest & hottest legs prove it.

Delay fatigue, smash leg day and make those bigger gains with the right pre-workout!

But don’t fear, because I’ve listed some of the best ways to get skinny legs in no time.

Perhaps you have naturally muscular legs, or you need to lose a little weight around your hips, and legs. If that’s you, then you’re in the right place.

Let’s run through some of the best ways you can get skinny legs:

Cardio

One of the best ways you can get skinny legs without building muscle is by doing cardio.

However, not all cardio sessions will give you skinny legs, some will add on muscle. So, it pays to know which cardio you should be doing to get the best results.

Let’s look into cardio, and how it can help you get skinny legs:

How Long To Exercise ?

The duration of cardio is an important factor when building skinny legs. Take a sprinter for example, they run hard, with the most resistance at the highest level possible, and their legs are big and muscular.

On the other side, a long distance runner will have skinny, and toned legs, as they run with less resistance for longer periods.

So, if you want skinny legs, make the duration of your workouts slightly longer at a low intensity.

Light Cardio For Skinny Legs

Cycling is a great option to get skinny legs, as you can adjust the resistance on the bike, which means, you’ll be able to burn those legs and tone up your entire lower body.

Swimming is another great cardio exercise that will make you lose weight all over you body, including your legs.

The kicking motion in the water is light, with limited resistance, which means your legs will become toned, instead of bulky.

On the other hand, running, or cardio machines such as the stair master are great for overall health, and improving your fitness leves.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The exercises that creates the most resistance will build more muscle. The exercises that are light, and easy, will build skinny legs.

Running hard, or the stair master also promotes new muscle growth, as the resistance is high – therefore, you’ll want to limit these, but not avoid them altogether.

Best cardio exercises for skinny legs:

• Cycling
• Swimming
• Walking
• Running
• Stair master

Weight training

Exercising with higher reps, just like cardio sessions such as cycling and swimming as we’ve already discussed, will help you to get skinny legs.

By using resistance machines like the leg extension, leg press, or body weight squats for a higher number of repetitions, will help you to create that toned look, and skinny legs.

This works in exactly the same way as long distance cardio. The higher number of repetitions you do for a longer period of time, will allow you to feel the burn in your muscles and tone your legs.

Think of a boxer, they are lean, toned, and muscular. Why’s this? because they do a high number of repetitions in their workouts, sometimes hundreds of reps using lighter weights.

So don’t fear the weights ladies, they can be a great tool to keep you in shape.

Resistance tips to make skinny legs:

• High reps
• Choose lighter weights
• Use resistance machines that are easy to adjust the weight

Best resistance exercises for skinny legs:

• Leg extension
• Leg Press
• Lying Leg Curl
• Lying Hamstring Curl
• Body weight Squats

Diet

You can’t get skinny legs if you don’t have the right diet in place. Eating the right foods depending on your exercise plan, and daily activities is ‘key‘ when creating skinny legs.

If you want to lose weight, or just tone up, it pays to eat whole foods, and avoid processed foods as much as possible.

By eating whole foods such as sweet potato, brown rice, green vegetables, and lean meats, you’ll start to see results in no time.

Why is this? because your body will find it much easier to digest to these foods, than processed foods, which contain numerous ingredients that are hard for the body to process.

Best foods for skinny legs:

• Sweet potato
• Brown rice
• All vegetables
• Fruits in moderation
• Lean meats
• Nuts and seeds in moderation

Eating clean food is not the only way you can tone up your legs. You can also use supplements, such as multivitamins, to make sure you’re getting everything your body needs.

If you want to kick it up a notch, you can also use fat burners, and pre-workouts which are great for toning the body, and giving you a clean burst of energy for your workouts.

Best supplements for skinny legs

• Fat burner – See our best fat burner for women page

• Pre workout – Check out our best pre-workout supplements page

Conclusion

If you’re looking to get skinny legs without building muscle, all it takes it a little dedication, and planning.

Armed with the tips I’ve given you, you’ll be on your way to having toned, and slim legs in no time without the bulky muscle.

The only thing to do now girls, is to get out there and start making it happen!

Many of the individuals don’t know how effective a cable machine can actually be to train your lower body muscles. Though the free weights are effective, the cable machine involves resistance that allows you to take your exercise to the next level.

Alongside a pre-workout, you could make your gym sessions even harder.

So, here are 5 best cable machine exercises that you must do for a leg day workout.

5 Best Cable Machine Exercises EVER

1. Front Squats

This exercise will target the glutes and quads and we’ll use a long bar with low cable position to execute.

Front Squat How-To:

• Start by standing in between the two stacks and position the bar by stacking it on top of the shoulders.
• Keep your arms crossed at your chest’s height and your elbows in front.
• Maintain this upper body position and perform a squat as deep as you can. Your bodyweight should shift on the hips, back, and heels.
• Now, push through your heels to stand up back to your starting position by squeezing your glutes.
• You can hook in the weight as you desire but don’t keep it too heavy.

2. Standing Abduction

It’s time to target the glutes and outer thighs. Once again, we’ll position the cable low and the attachments will be handle bars. Of course, we’ll be using our feet to execute the exercise.

Abduction How-To:

• Once the handle is attached, stand on the right side of the cable stack with your left foot into the handle, just around your ankle.
• Now, bend both your knees and hold the machine using your right arm for support.
• Finally, lift your left leg as far as you can towards the left side. Work against the resistance of the cable and lower it gradually.
• Switch sides and repeat.

3. Glute Kickback

The glute kickback exercise, as the name resembles, targets your glutes. Once again, the cable position would be low and we’ll use the handles.

Kickback How-To:

• Stand facing towards the cable machine and step in your right foot into the handle.
• For support of your upper body, gently hold the machine.
• Now, bend your left knee slightly and lift the right foot off the floor.
• You have to push through the right heel and extend your right leg as much as you can behind you.
• Do not arch the back and gradually return to your starting position.

4. Deadlift

Whaaaat…??? Yup! You can perform the deadlifts for training your glutes and hams. Position the cable low and attach a pair of handles.

Deadlift How-To:

• Grab a low step or a box and position it in between the cable machines and slightly away from them.
• Stand on top of the box with your feet hip-width apart.
• Grab the handles in each hand by extending your arms at sides and keep the knees soft.
• Now, hinge forward from your hips and bring the torso parallel to the floor by bending the knees.
• Finally, pull through your glutes and return to standing position.
• You have to keep your arms extended throughout the exercise and squeeze the glutes at the top of the movements.
• Go for maximum reps.

5. Hip Bridge

The last exercise is the hip bridge and it targets the glutes and hamstrings. You’ll position the cable low and only use a resistance band for this exercise.

Hip Bridge How-To:

• Lie down on the floor between the dual stacks and have the resistance band tied around the base of each stack.
• Now, gradually slide your body under the band just below your hips.
• Finally, lift the hips off the floor to form a straight line from your knees towards your shoulders and push hard against the resistance.
• Slowly lower your body back to the floor.
• Go for the maximum amount of reps.

Cables can be especially helpful for people who are suffering from back pain or any other issue which keeps them from using free weights. Using cables can greatly reduce your chances of injuring yourself while working on your legs and not to mention how short your workouts will be.

By no means think this workout is going to be easy. At the end of this workout, if you feel this was a walk in the park, it’s you who made it this way. This workout will – if done correctly – smoke your legs and make you crawl out of the gym by your lips. Grow your glutes and legs with this cable workout:

Cable Workouts for Your Glutes and Legs

1. Cable Squats: 4 Sets X 15 Reps

Be it a barbell, dumbbells or cable, nothing can beat the effectiveness of squats. Squats are great leg builders which not only work your legs but will tone your entire body. Start your leg workouts with cable squats.

• Start by standing in front of the machine with the D handles attached to the machine.
• Maintain a distance from the machine so there is constant tension on your legs even while you’re on the top of the movement.

2. Cable Glute Kick-Back: 4 Sets X 15 Reps

If you fancy having a well-shaped butt, nothing is as effective as cable butt kicks. This isolation exercise focuses on your glutes. Make no mistake, by the end of this exercise, your glutes will be flushed with lactic acid.

• Start by setting up an ankle strap on the machine.
• Stand at an arms distance from the pulley and hold the machine.
• Lean on the machine, bend your knee and kick back while focusing on your glutes.

3. Cable Hamstring Curls: 4 Sets X 15 Reps

Hamstring curls on cables aren’t for the faint-hearted. This exercise will give you a muscle popping pump which is equivalent to the one you get while doing biceps curls on the cables. You can maintain your balance in the exercise by asking your training partner for a spot.

• Stand at an arms length distance from the machine.
• Use ankle straps to strap the weights to your ankles.
• Mimic to motion you would while doing bicep curls. Keep your knee locked at one place while flexing your hams.

4. Cable Lunges with Knee Lift: 4 Sets X 15 Reps

This exercise is indispensable if you’re looking to develop tear drop quads. Cables lunges are an incredibly effective exercise for getting muscle definition and a peeled look in your quads. Do it correctly and you’ll get an intense pump in your glutes as well.

• Start at a position where the plates aren’t touching the stack. This will result in a constant tension on your legs throughout the exercise.
• Use ankle strap to strap the weights to your ankle. Step back and do a lunge.
• On the way back lift your knee so your quads are parallel to the ground.
• Return to the starting position.

5. Cable Romanian Deadlifts: 4 Sets X 15 Reps

Cable Romanian deadlifts are a great exercise for developing your hams and glutes. If you found doing deadlifts on a barbell difficult, add this variation to your exercise arsenal. This exercise brings the goodness of isolation exercises and with it the pump to your legs.

• Start at a position where the weights aren’t touching the stack when you come down in the movement. Attach a crowbar to the machine and hold it with a wide grip.
• While on top of the movement, hold the position for 2 seconds and squeeze your glutes and hams.
• Maintain an arch in your back throughout the set.

6. Cable Calf Raises: 5 Sets X 20 Reps

Calves can be one of the most stubborn muscles to grow. Adding cables to your calf workouts can be the extra something your calves need to turn into bulls. Using cables provides a constant tension which is needed by your body if you’ve hit a plateau.

• The cable calf raise can be done using a dip belt or by holding a rope or straight bar.
• Attach an extension and dip belt to the low pulley and select the weight you want to use on the stack.
• Step onto an aerobic stepper or blocks with the balls of your feet on the edge and let your heels drop as far as possible without hitting the floor. This is the starting position.
• Slowly raise your heels as far as possible.
• Pause and squeeze the calves. Then slowly lower back to the starting position.

Related: Best Fat Burners for Women in 2019