If you're doing it right, leg training is both extremely fun and totally not fun...all at the same time.
You see, real, effective leg training is hard. Your legs are designed to WORK.
And I'll tell you right up front, a few half-hearted sets of leg curls and leg extensions doesn't count (though being honest, if you think it does then you're probably not reading this anyway).
Real leg training should challenge you and if you like a challenge, that's what makes it fun.
And that's where THIS exercise technique comes in.
I call it an In-Set Superset... it's simple in concept and INCREDIBLY effective in execution.
You'll be alternating reps of two different exercises that share a similar start position. For legs, this is going to be the Barbell Squat and the Barbell Reverse Lunge (and yep, before you ask, you can do this with dumbbells very effectively as well).
By alternating reps of these two, you're going to be covering pretty much your entire lower body in one set, targeting a quad-dominant movement in the Squat and a hamstrings and glute-dominant movement in the Reverse Lunge (calves are worked passively in both movements as stabilizers).
This combination is extremely effective and will not only hit your legs hard, it'll challenge your cardiovascular capacity strongly as well.
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So first you'll need to set up in the squat rack, just as you normally would. Since the weaker exercise is the Reverse Lunge, select a weight you can do for at least 6 to 8 reps for THAT exercise.
Get under the bar and do a single rep of the Squat.
Once you come back up to the top, step back a few feet with your right leg then come down into a Reverse Lunge (also known as a Step-Back Lunge).
When doing the Reverse Lunge, focus on sitting back and pushing with your heel. This is going to help target the hamstrings and glutes more.
Come back up to the top then do another rep of the Squat.
Now step back with your left leg (the camera angle made this position look a little weird, just FYI). You should be striving to keep your torso fairly vertical as you do the Reverse Lunge, as well as maintaining a fairly vertical front shin.
Come back up then do another rep of the Squat.
Then repeat the sequence until you get to the point where you're struggling to maintain good form on the Reverse Lunge (either leg).
At that point, you've got two choices...you can either end the set (this is what I recommend if you're on the first set or two of the In-Set Supersets that you're doing) or burn out on the stronger exercise, the Squat (recommended if you're on your final set).
This combination exercise uses a LOT of muscle mass...pretty much everything in the entire lower body and a fair bit in the upper body, too (when supporting the barbell). Naturally, you're not going as heavy as a regular barbell squat but you're more than making up for it with the alternating single leg work.
By the time you've completed 3 sets of In-Set Superset for legs here, you will KNOW what effective leg training is all about.
Also, if you're training for fat loss, this is a GREAT metabolic booster exercise because of the tremendous amount of muscle mass it affects.
Try this In-Set Superset of Braced Leg Squats and Barbell Hack Squats.
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