Leg Exercises for Bigger Wheels

Legs are a bitch to train, but they are also an area that many of us could use some improvement. If you want to beef up your leg development, take a cue from someone known for his insane wheels— IFBB pro Guy Cisternino, who has some of the best legs in the 212s thanks to his intense training and no-bull attitude. Complete with knotted, steel cable hams and beefy calves, Guy’s legs are a strong point on a physique that’s proven to be one of the best in the division. Whatever your legs look like now, they can certainly be much better if you are willing to focus on them for a bit and put some serious effort in.

Don’t Train Like a Powerlifter

Guy has the rare look of quads that hang over the kneecaps, which is what made the quads of men like Tom Platz and Paul “Quadzilla” DeMayo so impressive. While Guy freely concedes that he was gifted with some extraordinary genetics for the entire lower body, he still feels most bodybuilders fall far short of their full leg development potential because they don’t train legs like a bodybuilder should. “Too many bodybuilders try to be powerlifters, and lift way too much weight with absolutely shitty form,” he declares. “I see it every day in the gym, guys doing half-reps, or using momentum to move the weight rather than their muscles. If they understood that judges don’t give a shit how much they lift and understand that they are judged on their physiques rather than the weight they use in the gym, they would have much more developed legs.” Did you all hear and understand that? I sure hope so, because I absolutely agree with Guy that this is what is keeping most bodybuilders from ever having great legs.

As for calves, those too are something it certainly helps to have the right genetics for, but still Guy is certain are not usually being worked properly. Many bodybuilders give up and rarely even work theirs. He recommends two workouts a week, a heavy day with sets of 10-12 reps, and lighter day with 20- to 30-rep sets in order to attack all the different types of muscle fibers.

Now, Guy talks about his favorite leg exercises.

Leg Extensions

“I do these pretty standard,” Guy tells us. “I don’t go all the way down, which takes pressure off the patellar tendon. When I contract at the top, I turn my toes out to focus more on the teardrop.” He usually likes to do three warm-up sets and three work sets for this and most other exercises. The final set is typically a drop set or even a triple drop set, to force as much blood into the muscle as possible.

Squats

If his knee is feeling good, Guy will squat right after leg extensions. Otherwise, they will be done later in the workout after leg presses and hack squats. “With these I use a shoulder-width stance, making sure my heels are on the ground, and I always go below parallel,” he says. Rarely are standard straight sets on squats sufficiently challenging for Guy. He often ends with a drop set starting with 495 for 10 reps, cutting to 315 for another 10, or will superset front squats with squats, going up to 405 pounds.

Leg Press

Speaking of drop sets, the leg press is where Guy usually does the longest and most brutally painful ones. The total number of reps can sometimes be 70-80. “With these, I don’t go all the way down,” he informs us. “Charles showed me to stop right before the hips start to roll. This takes the pressure off the back and hips, and ensures that you are keeping the load on the quads at all times.”

Single-Leg Press, Body Angled Sideways

This is definitely a leg movement you don’t see every day, but Guy is a big fan of it. “Its main focus is on the outer sweep, as well as where the glute and hams meet,” he says. “You have to make sure your body and foot positioning is right, or you won’t feel it where it needs to be focused on.” He emphasizes going very light until you do get that proper feeling and knack for the right motion track.

Hack Squats

“With hacks, I now do them more reverse than the standard way with your back on the pad,” Guy tells us. “What this does is focus more on the quad, and squeezing at the top gives the glutes a ton of focus as well. At the top of the movement, you have to really push your hips forward and squeeze to really feel the contraction.”

Lying Leg Curls

“I make sure before I curl the weight up that I squeeze my glutes,” Guy says. “What this will do is restrict you from curling all the way up to your ass. If you have a spotter or training partner, you have them force the last quarter of the rep up for you. This has dramatically helped my ham development since I made that change in technique.”

Romanian Deadlifts

“For stiff-leg deadlifts, I do them standard with my knees slightly bent,” says Guy. “But what I don’t do is come all the way up. That keeps the hamstrings under constant tension and working at all times.”

Standing Calf Raises

“For this, all I will do is change my toe placements to hit the calves in different angles. Toes angled, toes angled out and toes straight.” Guy also recommends that you always make sure to use a full range of motion on all calf movements, raising all the way up to a full contraction, and lowering for a full stretch.

Seated Calf Raises

“I just make sure to hold at the top to focus on the calves more,” Cisternino notes. “I see people throwing a ton of weight on the machine, when honestly you don’t have to use that much weight. Chances are if you are piling on a ton of plates, your range of motion sucks.”

Quad Workout

Leg Extensions

4-5 x 12-15 (warm-up)

Leg Press

5 x 10-15 (last set is a triple drop for up to 50 reps)

Front Squats

4 x 10

Superset with

Squats

4 x 10

Reverse Hack Squats

4 x 10-15

Sideways Leg Press

4 x 10-15

Superset with

Wide-stance Sumo Squats*      

4 x 10-15

*Holding on to a kettlebell or dumbbell.

Training Split

Monday:            Quads

Tuesday:          Chest

Wednesday:      Arms

Thursday:         Back

Friday:              Hamstrings

Saturday:          OFF

Sunday:            Shoulders

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