It is a common accusation that Indian men don’t work on their legs. We are a nation obsessed with biceps and pecs. Everybody is too busy looking good rather than staying fit. And you forget that your core and your legs are the most important muscle groups that need to stay fit and the strongest. All around us we see men with buff upper bodies and spindly quads and noodle calves. How is that aesthetic, we have no idea. You want to impress the women with your biceps but what happens when she wants to wrap her legs around your waist and want you to take her against your bedroom wall? What if your weak legs give way?

We could not stress enough on leg workouts. And while all of you know the routine (extensions, presses, squats and calf raises), most of you ignore leg day. Here are a few tips to make the most of your leg workout with optimal effort levels.

Don’t bother with cardio

Swimming, cycling and running work with your leg muscles but won’t help them get bigger. These exercises make your body use up a lot of energy without putting enough strain on the leg muscles and tire you out even before you hit the weights. Do cardio only when your legs are at a size you are happy to maintain.

Train fast

While slow-paced weight lifting exercises put the muscles of your upper body under maximum stress, faster movements builds leg muscles faster, allowing you to do more reps. So, do quick controlled reps for two minutes, taking a short break and repeat.

Don’t ignore your calves

The calves may not be the most fashionable muscles to train at the gym, but they add to the aesthetic value for balanced, thick looking legs. And nothing beats calf raises. For explosive sets, hold dumbbells in both your hands and do quick reps between quad and hamstring workouts. Three sets of ten every leg session will lead to bigger calves.

Warm up, warm up, warm up

We could not stress on this truth more. Raise your body temperature with five minutes of light cycling or running and then do a stretching session for all the muscle groups on your legs. Improper or insufficient warm up leads to injury.

Energise your body

You need to consume a good protein-rich and high-carb snack before the workout and a protein shake afterwards to ensure enough energy prior to the workout and muscle repair and improvement once you are done.