Size and strength do not necessarily coincide with one another but in many cases your legs will grow size as your strength builds. This can be the case for most body parts but today we are strictly focusing on legs.
The first way to do this actually works in both cases of gaining size and strength and this is squatting. Squatting is the most essential part for size and strength of your legs, it is the trademark. To do this in the most effective manner is by volume. I have noticed over the years that the way my legs respond the best is by doing a lot of volume work with my squats. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do 20 reps a set to get volume but if you are going to do lower reps per set just add in more working sets to you program. This will keep the weight load pretty heavy for your sets but will give you a lot of volume in the same workout session. I would say this was the most beneficial and effective way I have found to maximize both strength and size in a relatively fast manner.
The next tip would be mainly for strength gains in your legs, and that is pause reps. Doing pause reps keeps the weight load on your back in a flexed position much longer than your body is used to thus resulting in gaining strength at the bottom part of the movement where most people are the weakest. So instead of using the reflex portion of your muscles and joints we are used to using by for example flying out of the bottom part of a squat, we train ourselves to control the weight better and withstand heavier weights for longer periods of time. I find this tip most effective strength wise using the squat or the leg press. This pause rep technique is also very beneficial for size gains as well if you were to incorporate it into accessory leg work such as the leg curl or leg extension. For these, instead of pausing the rep at the bottom part of the movement, pause at the top most contracted part of the movement. This will give your legs a good burn and keep pumping that blood into the muscle.
Another tip to build your legs is to work on your weak points. Everyone has a weak point of their legs or some part that is underdeveloped. For me those parts are my hamstrings (not so much anymore) and my calves, this is common for a lot of people but obviously not for everyone. To get passed these weak points you must work extra hard to make sure they aren’t a problem for much longer. For me knowing that my calves and hamstrings were my weak points I began to incorporate one of the two body parts into whatever workout I am doing that day. For example, on Monday I may have chest day but at the end or at the beginning of the workout I would add 3-4 sets of calves in. And then on Wednesday, I would add some sort of hamstring workout into that day. This is just what I did to overcome these weak points (which I still do) but it is not the only way to do so. You could also add in extra sets of both on your leg days to give them a little extra push on that day.
Although these are some tips to try and build your legs up the only real way to do so is to work hard everyday in trying to progress your legs. A lot of people will get discouraged that they are not seeing progress after a while but you cant give up you have to keep pushing yourself and you WILL see results!!
