{"id":3468,"date":"2018-03-28T21:05:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-28T21:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/leg-progression-build-your-base\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T18:38:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T18:38:41","slug":"leg-progression-build-your-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/leg-progression-build-your-base\/","title":{"rendered":"Leg Progression: Build Your Base"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our legs aren\u2019t just the foundation of our body \u2014 they\u2019re the foundation for total-body fitness. \u201cOur largest muscles are in our legs,\u201d says Gold\u2019s Gym National Manager of Coaching Carlisle Price, \u201cso if you\u2019re looking to maintain weight or gain lean muscle mass, then you\u2019re doing yourself a disservice by not trying to use and grow them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, not working out our legs from top to bottom \u2014 including the hips, glutes, quads, hamstrings, thighs and calves \u2014 puts the rest of our body at a marked disadvantage. \u201cWithout strength and stability through the legs,\u201d Price says, \u201ceverything else up the chain, even into the spine and shoulders<\/a>, could be potentially out of alignment, putting you at greater risk for injury.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This leg workout provides a solid base for you to build the strength, stability, range of motion, and balance crucial to an active, healthy lifestyle. Price suggests doing this regimen twice a week, with two to three rest days in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The warmup<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These steps will properly prepare your body for the workout and help you burn more calories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Incline treadmill<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Warm up<\/a> at a moderate speed with a gentle incline \u2014 a 2.5 speed with an incline of 5 degrees would be a good start. Each minute over the next five, increase the incline by 2 to 3 degrees. Even if only for one minute, try to reach an incline of 15 degrees. Walking on an incline forces you to heighten your step and activates the posterior chain \u2014 especially the calves, hamstrings and glutes, which play a critical role in the stability we need in everyday movements such as climbing stairs. The farther we step away from our center of gravity, the more we need to stabilize the posterior chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal:<\/strong> Walk for 5 minutes to elevate your heart rate, open your hips and knees and get the fluids around your joints moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Lunge and reach<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Stand with feet hip-width apart. Take a large step forward with your left foot, slowly lowering your right knee to the floor. Don\u2019t let your left knee extend past your left foot; if needed, slide your foot forward a few inches. As you lunge, reach your arms toward the ceiling while squeezing your glutes. Hold there for 2 to 3 seconds. Then, lower your arms and drive through your left foot back to standing. Repeat with the other leg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal: <\/strong>Do one set of 12 reps (six on each side) to warm up quads and glutes, activate adductors and abductors (inner and outer thighs) and open the hip flexors, a commonly tight area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workout<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Price recommends doing three to five sets of this four-part workout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Lateral lunge<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From standing, take a large step to the right. Let your hips sink toward your right foot, maintaining knee-to-toe alignment \u2014 that is, your toes should be pointing in the same direction as your knee. Extend arms in front of the body, keeping chest up, core engaged and left leg straight. At the bottom of the lunge, push through the right foot to return to standing. Repeat with the other leg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the knee of your trail leg bends, you\u2019ve stepped too far. Torqueing the knee prevents you from reaping the movement\u2019s maximum benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal:<\/strong> Do 10 reps (five on each side) to feel the burn in your quads and inner thighs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Kettlebell deadlift<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For this move, technique trumps weight, so use the heaviest kettlebell you can lift without compromising a neutral spine. Stand with the weight between your feet. Keeping back flat and shoulders back, hinge at the hips until your chest faces the floor at slightly above hip-level. With hips back, bend your knees, reaching down with both hands to grasp the kettlebell. Next, push through the heels to lift it, and then contract your glutes and drive your hips forward to return to standing. Slowly push hips back to lower the weight to the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/strong>\u201cYou should feel almost all the pressure in your glutes and hamstrings,\u201d Price says. \u201cIf you feel pressure in your thighs, you\u2019re probably squatting instead of deadlifting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal:<\/strong> Do 10 deadlifts to spark fire in your hips, hamstrings and glutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Seated leg extensions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll use a leg-extension machine for this. First, find the right position \u2014 align your knee with the machine\u2019s pivot point, and ensure the leg pad is just above your ankle. Straighten your legs by pushing up against the pad. Then, slowly and with control, bring the legs back down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your knees provide the only movement; anchor your back against the chair to keep the rest of the body still. \u201cWhen you\u2019re on a machine, the idea is that you\u2019re locked in place so you\u2019re not able to gain momentum or advantage against the weight,\u201d Price says. \u201cKeeping your back stable helps you isolate the muscle group you\u2019re targeting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal:<\/strong> Do 15 reps to work the quads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Seated leg curls<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Again, ensure your knee is in line with the machine\u2019s pivot point. This time, the leg pad should be above the back of your ankle, at the Achilles tendon. Bend your knees, pulling heels toward hamstrings as far as comfortably possible. Then return to starting position with control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal:<\/strong> Do 15 reps to isolate and activate the hamstrings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cool down<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Besides easing your body back to a steady resting state, stretching prevents next-day stiffness by ridding the muscles of lactic acid, Price says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/strong>1. Downward-facing dog<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From a plank position, push through the hands to raise your hips toward the ceiling. Imagine your body forming a triangle with the floor. Maintain a straight line from your wrists up to your hips, and another from your hips down to your heels. Don\u2019t lock your knees; a gentle bend is best. If needed, allow your heels to float slightly off the floor, planting the toes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal:<\/strong> Hold for 15 seconds and repeat 2 to 3 times to reverse spinal pressure and stretch the shoulders, hamstrings and calves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Standing quad stretch<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From standing, bend the right knee, raising your right heel toward your glutes. With your right hand, grasp the top of your foot, hinging at the hips if needed. Holding the foot behind you, stand tall with knee pointed down. Brace yourself against a wall for balance if necessary. Repeat on opposite side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal:<\/strong> Hold for 15 seconds and repeat 2 to 3 times to release tension in the quads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check back again for intermediate-level leg exercises and more workout tips from our fitness experts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<p>Our legs aren\u2019t just the foundation of our body \u2014 they\u2019re the foundation for total-body fitness. \u201cOur largest muscles are in our legs,\u201d says Gold\u2019s Gym National Manager of Coaching Carlisle Price, \u201cso if you\u2019re looking to maintain weight or gain lean muscle mass, then you\u2019re doing yourself a disservice by not trying to use […]<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":6567,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_subtitle":"Start with these four exercises to establish a foundation for strength, stability and range of motion.","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[120,199,90,122,91,213,223,95],"class_list":["post-3468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-workouts","tag-build-muscle","tag-glute-workouts","tag-increase-stability","tag-increase-strength","tag-indoor-workouts","tag-leg-workouts","tag-lunge-workouts","tag-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3468"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10108,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3468\/revisions\/10108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}