Leg Blasting Circuit - Strengthen, Tone and Sculpt Your Leg Muscles With This Cross Training Workout

By Rick Morris

Watch out! Run for your life! Here they come - biceps femoris, semitendinosus, semimembranosus, rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, vastus medialis, gastrocnemius, soleus, gluteus maximus. Wait – before you run off, screaming in panic, let me explain. These things may sound like something you would run into during a tour of Jurassic Park, but in reality they are among the most important muscles in your body. These are the major muscles in your legs and hips. They are what allow you to walk, run, jump, squat, stand, ski, or any other activity involving your legs. In addition to being functionally critical, sculpted leg muscles are among the most sought after cosmetic attributes among fitness enthusiasts.

Muscle Mechanics

Every muscle is attached to your bones at two points. The muscles two attachment points are called its origin and insertion. A muscles origin is the point at which it begins and its insertion is where it ends. Somewhere between a muscles origin and insertion is the joint which the muscle is able to move. Some muscles affect only one joint, while others are able to act upon two joints. If there is only one joint between a muscles origin and insertion, it is a one joint muscle. If a muscle passes over two joints it is called a two joint muscle and is able to move both joints.

Your Hamstrings

The biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus muscles are located on the back of your upper leg and are more commonly known as your hamstrings. All three of these muscles are two joint muscles. The biceps femoris is a two head muscle, meaning it has two points of origin. The larger head originates on the lower part of your pelvic bone while the smaller head has its origination near the middle of your femur (thigh bone). Both heads of this muscle insert on the upper end of your tibia and fibula (lower leg bones), just below your knee joint. The semitendinosus and semimembranosus both originate on the lower portion of your pelvic bone and insert on the upper end of your tibia. The two joint characteristics of these muscles allow them to perform double duty – extension of your hip and flexion of your knee. You are extending your hip when you straighten from a squat position. You are flexing your knee when you bend your knee from a straightened position. These muscles are used when you run, jump, climb steps or perform lunges, squats and leg curls.

Quadriceps

The muscles on the front of your thigh are called the quadriceps muscles. The four muscles making up your quadriceps are the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius and medialis. The rectus femoris is located directly on the front of your thigh. It originates on your pelvic bone and inserts on the top edge of your patella (knee cap). With it’s origination on the pelvic bone, this muscle passes over both the knee joint and the hip joint. This two joint muscle flexes the hip and extends the knee. The vastus lateralis found just to the outside and the vastus medialis just to the inside of the rectus femoris. The vastus intermedius muscle cannot be seen or felt because it is located under the rectus femoris. All three of the vasti muscles are one joint muscles that originate on the upper part of your femur and insert on your patella. These muscles are used, along with your rectus femoris, to extend your leg at your knee joint.  As with your hamstring muscles, the quads are used when running, jumping and performing squats or lunges.

Calf Muscle

Your calf muscle is comprised of two muscles – the soleus and the gastrocnemius. The gastrocnemius is the large muscle that is easily seen and felt on the back of your lower leg. This is a two joint, two head muscle with an origination on each side of the lower edge of your femur and an insertion on the top of your Achilles tendon. The main purpose of this muscle is to plantar flex your foot. Plantar flexion describes the action when you perform heel raises. This muscle is used intensely when running and jumping. The gastrocnemius is also able to assist with knee flexion, but it is very weak at that job. The soleus is located under the gastrocnemius and cannot be seen or felt. The soleus is a one joint muscle that originates on the upper portion of your tibia and fibula. It inserts on the Achilles tendon. This muscle also plantar flexes your foot, but is more effective when your knees are bent.

Gluteus maximus

The last, but in no way the least, of your major leg muscles is one that you are no doubt familiar with. The gluteus maximus or “butt”muscle. Your “glutes” are very powerful running and jumping muscles, but are not used extensively for walking. The gluteus maximus only comes into play when your thigh is extended behind your body by 15 degrees or more. This only happens during the powerful push off used when running or jumping.  This muscle originates on the inner part of your pelvic muscle and inserts on the upper portion of your femur.

Strengthening and Sculpting

That brief anatomy refresher course was probably about as stimulating as watching the belt spin on your treadmill. But, the results you can achieve by using that knowledge can be very exciting indeed. As a Fitness Rx reader, you know that in order to acquire abs that have a ripped “six pack” look, you must strengthen your abdominal muscles and reduce your body fat so that your new muscles stand out. Your leg muscles are exactly the same. If you want a ripped, chiseled look to your legs, you need to strengthen the muscles and burn body fat. Proper training will build and tone your leg muscles, but if your legs are covered by a layer of fat, they will not stand out.  So, in addition to muscle conditioning you will need to burn fat.  As you become leaner your legs will acquire a more sculpted look. Choosing the appropriate form of exercise is very important in toning and sculpting the muscles of your hips and legs. Now that you know what each of these muscles do, it is easy to design an appropriate workout.

Leg Blasting Circuit

The ideal workout for leg sculpting is one that combines the fat and calorie burning potential of running with the muscle building of strength training. This leg sculpting circuit gives you everything you need to define your leg muscles and decrease your body fat.  To perform this circuit all you need is your treadmill and a workout bench.

The fat burning cardiovascular portion of this circuit will use hill running repeats at various inclines. When you are running hills, you must push off with more intensity and further behind your body. That action requires a greater activation of your butt muscles and all of the muscles in your hamstrings. The strength training exercises are stride step ups, one-leg squats, calf raises and one-leg hops in place. These exercises will strengthen tone and sculpt all of the major muscles of your butt, hamstrings, calf and quadriceps. Advanced athletes may add difficulty to the strength exercises by holding a lightweight dumbbell in each hand. This circuit is designed for the treadmill because of the requirement for hill running and because you are switching constantly from running to strength training. If you can find an appropriate hill in your area you can also do this workout outside.

• Warm Up - Set your treadmill elevation at 1 percent and warm up with 5 minutes of running at a pace that feels easy to moderate.

• Hill Run - Raise the incline on your treadmill to 3 percent and run at a pace that feels moderately hard for 5 minutes.

• Stride Step Ups - Stand on your bench in an upright position, with your weight on one foot (support foot). Your other foot (trailing foot) should be held off the bench and slightly behind your body. Keeping the weight mostly on the heel of your support foot (foot on the bench); slowly step down until your trailing foot just touches the floor. Do not allow the knee of your support leg to move in front of your support foot.  Keep your weight on the support foot and forcefully push off with your support foot (the one still on the bench) and drive the knee of your trailing leg upward as in a running stride. Now slowly with full control, lower your trailing leg back down until it just touches the floor again. That is one full stride step up. Repeat this for twenty strides, then switch legs and do 20 more strides. This exercise will develop the muscles of your butt, hamstrings and quadriceps.

• Hill Run - Set your treadmill elevation to 5 percent and run for 5 minutes at a pace that feels moderately hard.

• One-Leg Squats - Stand in an upright position with your back to the side of your bench. Place one foot (rear foot) behind you with your toes on top of your bench. Your other foot (support foot) should be flat on the floor and directly under your center of gravity. Bend the knee of your support foot and allow your body to drop until your leg is bent at a 90 degree angle. Do not allow your knee to move in front of your support foot. Keep your rear foot stationary on the bench. Slowly straighten your support leg and return to the starting position. Repeat this 20 times, then switch legs and perform 20 more repetitions. This exercise also works your butt muscles, hamstrings and quadriceps.

• Hill Run - Set your treadmill elevation to 7 percent and run for 5 minutes at a pace that feels hard.

• Calf Raises - Turn your treadmill off. Stand with your toes and the balls of your feet on the side edge of your treadmill. Your heels should be unsupported. Slowly raise your heels by contracting your calf muscles and standing on your toes. Now slowly drop your heels to below the level of your treadmill. You should feel a slight stretch in your calf muscles. Now slowly raise your heels until you are standing on your toes again. Repeat this 30 times. This exercise strengthens and tones the muscles of your calf.

• Hill Run - Set your treadmill elevation to 8 percent and run for 3 minutes at a pace that feels hard. Then raise the elevation to 10 percent and run for 2 more minutes. Decrease the elevation to 5 percent and run for 5 minutes.

• One-Leg Hops in Place - Stand in an upright position with your back to the side of your bench. Place one foot (rear foot) behind you with your toes on top of your bench. Your other foot (support foot) should be flat on the floor and directly under your center of gravity. Bend the knee of your support leg slightly. Do not allow your knee to move in front of your support foot. Now, keeping your rear foot on the bench, hop up and down on your support leg as quickly as you can. Concentrate on quickness, not on height. Perform 30 repetitions, then switch legs and perform 30 repetitions using your other leg as the support leg.

• Hill Run - Set the treadmill elevation to 5 percent and run for 5 minutes at a pace that feels easy to moderate. Decrease the elevation to 2 percent and cool down with 5 minutes of easy running.

This leg sculpting circuit includes 40 minutes of hill running and strength exercises that target each of the muscles in your legs. It burns fat, builds strength and sculpts the muscles in your legs. Perform this workout once per week in addition to your other weekly workouts, follow a sensible diet and you will soon achieve the “ripped” legs you are looking for.

Running Planet

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