6 Best Leg Exercises for Men to Build Massive Quads

To build massive quads, one must focus on leg exercises that activate the smaller and bigger muscles in the muscle group. It’s extremely important to work on every type of muscle fiber, especially if you want to have well-developed quads.

You need to use a combination of compound and isolation exercises if you want to boost muscle growth, improve muscle endurance, and increase muscle strength.

Leg Exercises for Massive Quads

The following are six of the best leg exercises for men that you can incorporate into your workout routine to build massive quads and focus on improving strength.

1) Squat

One of the most important leg exercises are squats. You can do the exercise using dumbbells or barbells. However, it’s important to understand the proper form before moving to complex movements such as using barbells.

You can do the squats using dumbbells or barbells. (Image via Unsplash/ Meghan Holmes)

When you’re doing squats, ensure that you engage your core muscles for proper balance and stability.

You can find a guide for doing squats here.

2) Front Squat

Front squats are similar to back squats, but in this variation, you keep the barbell on your shoulders instead of behind your neck.

It’s slightly difficult to do front squats as opposed to back squats. With such variations, it’s better to lower the weight and focus on form and reps rather than trying to lift heavier weights.

You can find a complete guide for doing front squats here.

3) Lunge

An excellent leg exercise, lunges can be done unilaterally, one of their biggest advantages.

That means you can work on one leg at a time, which will allow you to fix any strength or muscle imbalance between the two quads. Ideally, you should use lunges somewhere between compound and isolation exercises, as lunges can activate bigger and smaller muscle fibers in the quads.

You can find a guide for doing lunges here.

4) Leg Press

It's an important compound exercise for building massive quads. Almost every fitness establishment has a leg press machine. If you have access to one, you should use it in your leg workout routine.

Ideally, you can work on your quads, hamstrings, and calves using the leg press machine, depending on your foot placement. To work on your quads, keep your feet towards the lower end of the leg press platform.

Find out more about how to use the leg press here.

5) Leg Extension

The leg extension machine is one of the best leg isolation exercises. You can use the machine to work on both quads at the same time, or on one quad at a time.

To use the leg extension machine, keep your back against the backrest on the machine. Start with smaller weights, and push yourself to heavier weights as you become stronger.

Lunges can activate bigger and smaller muscle fibers in the quads. (Image via Unsplash/ Madisonm Lavern)

You can find out how to use the leg extension machine here.

6) Supported Squat Hold

Squat holds are a good leg exercise as a finisher workout. To do squat holds, place your back against a wall, and assume the chair position.

Your thighs should be parallel to the ground. This is your starting position. Keep holding this position for as long as you can, preferably for at least 30-seconds or more. You have to wait till you’ve reached a point of almost failure before relaxing the hold.

You can use the same exercise for warm-ups or as part of supersets as well.

Bottom Line

The aforementioned leg exercises for men cannot help you build massive quads if you’re not consuming enough protein.

It’s important to understand that you need to provide your muscles with nutrition so that they can rebuild themselves stronger and thicker. Additionally, providing your body with ample rest is just as important for muscle growth as lifting weights.