Natural powerlifter and bodybuilder Jeff Nippard is all about evidence-backed technique so be sure to lean into these 5 simple leg day tips that will breathe new life into leg day.
Our legs house the largest muscles in our bodies, meaning that DOMS can make lower-body workouts a bit of a sore subject. Still, with coaches like Nippard spicing things up, we could learn to love leg day a little more by honing our technique and earning some extra gains in the process. Here, the exercise and nutrition scientist shares five sensational tips with his Instagram followers, to make those leg days a little less laborious.
Jeff Nippard’s Expert Tips For Leg Day Exercises
1. Hack Squats
“Keep your feet slightly back and let your knees travel forward,” explains the Canadian coach. “This increases knee flexion range of motion and forces your quads to work harder. Don’t be afraid of knees over toes,” he added. “It’s perfectly safe, as long as you’re controlling the load.
2. Romanian Deadlifts
“On Romanian deadlifts, rather than shifting your weight to your heels, keep it centered over the middle of your foot,” offered Nippard along with a further tip for his 2.8 million IG followers. “Remember, the bar should move straight up and straight down. This keeps tension on your hamstrings and prevents your lower back from taking over.”
3. Lunges
Whether you’re performing lunges with simply your bodyweight or the additional load of dumbbells, “Take longer strides,” advised this exercise guru. “And lean forward on each rep,” he continued. “This combination increases the stretch on your glutes and forces them to work harder as you extend your hips.”
4. Leg Extensions
“On leg extensions, pull up on the handles, hard, to keep your glutes locked into the seat,” said Nippard. “If your hips are popping up and down, you’re losing precious quad tension.”
5. Lying Leg Curls
“Press your hips into the pad, as you curl,” explained the coach. “Then, on your last set, take it a step further with lengthened partials.” The ‘long length partial’ technique involves repeating half a rep at the most stressed point, where the muscles are most lengthened. “Squeezing every last (half) rep out of your hamstrings,” he encourages.
Why not make a leg day session out of these 5 exercises? By performing 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps, you will be firmly in the muscle building range of hypotrophy. And, by adding Nippard’s logical tips, you could leverage those legs for further gains.