The Best Leg Workout Routine for Building Mass & Hypertrophy

Most guys would rather have big pecs, shoulders, and biceps over a big set of wheels, and who can fault them? 

Having a muscular, defined upper body feels and looks good.

That said, the fact that you’re reading this tells me that you understand the importance of having big, strong legs, too. 

Not only do strong, muscular legs improve your performance on exercises like the squat and deadlift, they also help balance your upper body development, giving you the “X” physique most guys are after.

If you peruse many articles on the best leg workouts for mass, though, you can easily come away thinking that you need to grind yourself to a pulp with grueling lower-body workouts to make any progress. 

This is silly, and wrong, and unscientific. In fact, trying to do too much, too fast, is one of the worst mistakes you can make, as it quickly leads to injury, burnout, and a plateau in your strength. 

The truth is that although compound leg workouts are some of the most challenging you can do (which is why most people shirk them), you don’t need to run yourself ragged to achieve leg hypertrophy. 

In fact, the best leg workouts involve just a handful of exercises for a relatively low number of sets and reps, that you only need to do once per week.

And that’s the kind of leg workout you’re going to get in this article. 

You’ll learn . . . 

• Which muscles you need to train in your leg workouts for mass
• A full leg workout for adding serious size to your lower body
• A leg strength workout to help you get stronger on the squat and deadlift
• A power leg workout to help you develop explosive power

Lower-Body Anatomy

Quadriceps

The quadriceps muscles work together to extend (straighten) the knee. Because the rectus femoris attaches to the ilium (hip), it also helps you bend at the hips (this means the rectus femoris is also a hip flexor).

Hamstrings

Glutes

Calves

The Best Leg Workout for Mass

Barbell Back Squat

Why: The barbell back squat is hands down the most effective leg exercise you can do for building whole-body size and strength. It also allows you to use very heavy weights, which maximizes tension on your muscle fibers and thus muscle growth over time.

Barbell Front Squat

Why: Research shows that the front squat trains the quads just as effectively as the back squat, even when you use up to 20% less weight. What’s more, research also shows that the front squat places considerably less compressive forces on your knees and lower back, which make it a particularly good alternative to back squats for people who have knee or back issues.

Romanian Deadlift

Why: The Romanian deadlift (RDL) trains the posterior chain in a very similar way to the conventional deadlift. However, because of the difference in form, you put a greater emphasis on your hamstrings and glutes rather than your back. It’s also considerably less fatiguing than the conventional deadlift, which means you can do it more often without wearing yourself to a frazzle. 

Bulgarian Split Squat

Why: Research shows that the dumbbell Bulgarian split squat is a great exercise for training the glutes and the quads. Because the Bulgarian split squat trains just one leg at a time, it’s particularly useful for identifying and evening out any muscle or strength imbalances you might have, too.

Seated Calf Raise

Why: The seated calf raise helps you build mass and strength in your calves which is important if you want to run faster, jump higher and further, and improve stability during lower-body exercises like the squat and deadlift. It also helps improve your muscular proportions to achieve a more symmetrical, “aesthetic” physique.

Leg Workouts for Mass Tips

1. Do compound leg workouts.

A compound exercise is any type of exercise that trains several major muscle groups at the same time, and research shows that these are the best exercises for gaining mass and strength.

Exercises that emphasize just one joint and muscle group at a time—also known as isolation exercises—still have a place in your leg workouts, but if building leg mass is your main goal, you want to put most of your effort into compound leg exercises.

If you want to learn more about the difference between compound and isolation exercises, check out this article:

Are Compound Exercises Better Than Isolation Exercises?

2. Lift heavy weights.

As a natural weightlifter, your number one goal should be getting stronger.

So long as you make that your primary focus in your training, you’ll have no trouble with leg hypertrophy.

What’s the best way to get stronger?

Lift heavy.

And by “heavy,” I mean working primarily with weights in the range of 75-to-85% of your one-rep max, or in the range of 8-to-10 (~75%) to 4-to-6 (~85%) reps, and taking most of your sets within a few reps shy of muscular failure (the point at which you can’t do another rep with proper form). 

Higher-rep sets (10+) can still be used to good effect in leg workouts for mass, but they should be used sparingly (especially on compound exercises like squats).

3. Emphasize progressive overload.

Progressive overload refers to making your workouts more challenging over time, and it’s important because it’s one of the best ways to maximize the muscle-building effects of weightlifting.

When you’re new to lifting weights, the simplest and most effective way to do this is to strive to add weight or reps to every exercise in every workout. If you bench pressed 135 for 5 reps last week, you try to bench press 145 for 5 reps this week. It’s that simple. 

This forces your muscles to produce greater and greater levels of tension over time, which in turn helps you grow bigger and stronger.

If you want to learn more about the best ways to implement progressive overload, check out this article:

What Is Progressive Overload Training?

4. Eat enough calories and protein.

That is, you need to eat about 110% of your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) every day.

The reason for this is a calorie surplus optimizes your body’s “muscle-building machinery,” greatly enhancing your ability to recover from and positively adapt to your training.

That’s not all, though—you need to eat enough protein to allow your muscles to recover, repair, and grow effectively, too.

For most people, that means eating 0.8-to-1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. 

If you want to learn exactly how many calories you should eat maximize leg hypertrophy, check out this article:

How Many Calories Should I Eat? 

5. Take the right supplements.

• 0.8-to-1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. This provides your body with the “building blocks” it needs to build and repair muscle tissue and help you recover from your leg workouts. If you want a clean, convenient, and delicious source of protein, try Whey+ or Casein+.
• 3-to-5 grams of creatine per day. This will boost muscle and strength gain, improve anaerobic endurance, and reduce muscle damage and soreness from your compound leg workouts. If you want a 100% natural source of creatine that also includes two other ingredients that will help boost muscle growth and improve recovery, try Recharge.
• One serving of Pulse per day. Pulse is a 100% natural pre-workout drink that enhances energy, mood, and focus; increases strength and endurance; and reduces fatigue. You can also get Pulse with caffeine or without.

FAQ #1: What’s the difference between a leg workout for mass and a leg strength workout?

Leg strength workouts . . .

• Emphasize sets of lower reps (usually 6 or fewer) over sets of higher reps (usually ~7-12+) because lower rep ranges allow you to move the most weight.
• Often employ slightly longer rest periods to ensure that you can maintain proper technique when using very heavy loads.

If you want to change the above leg hypertrophy workout into a leg strength workout, here’s a good way to go about it:

• Barbell Back Squat: Sets: 3  |  Reps: 3-to-5  |  Rest: 3-to-5 min
• Barbell Front Squat: Sets: 3  |  Reps: 3-to-5  |  Rest: 3-to-5 min
• Romanian Deadlift: Sets: 3  |  Reps: 6-to-8  |  Rest: 3-to-5 min
• Bulgarian Split Squat: Sets: 3  |  Reps: 8-to-10  |  Rest: 2-to-3 min
• Seated Calf Raise: Sets: 3  |  Reps: 10-to15  |  Rest: 2-to-3 min

FAQ #2: What do you have to change to create a power leg workout?

Most people work out because they want to build muscle, lose fat, and stay healthy. This is best achieved by doing a mixture of strength and hypertrophy training, rather than power workouts, which involve performing your reps as quickly as possible with relatively light weights (usually no more than ~70% of your one-rep max.

That said, if you do want to increase your leg power, here are some general recommendations:

• Start your power leg workouts with exercises that allow you to lift weights explosively, such as the power clean or jump squat, or by doing a regular squat, deadlift, and so forth with light weights as quickly as possible. 
• Pick a weight that’s about ~70% of your one-rep max and do 3 sets of 3-to-5 reps, resting at least 2-to-3 minutes between each set.
• Finish your workout with several compound leg exercises in the 4-to-6- and 8-to-10-rep ranges, like this:

Barbell Back Squat: Sets: 3  |  Reps: 4-to-6  |  Rest: 3-to-5 min

Barbell Front Squat: Sets: 3  |  Reps: 8-to-10  |  Rest: 2-to-3 min

Romanian Deadlift: Sets: 3  |  Reps: 8-to-10  |  Rest: 2-to-3 min

FAQ #3: How many days a week should I train for leg hypertrophy?

The Best Training Frequency for Building Muscle (According to 20 Studies)