How to Build Sleek & Powerful Legs
For the kinobody physique, we are after well developed, proportionate and sleek looking legs. Legs that complement our upper bodies, without overpowering them. Legs that are athletic and agile, not bulky and cumbersome. And of course, we want to look fantastic.
If we build up our legs too much (this is actually quite easy to do), they will look shorter and stumpier. We’ll have the inevitable thigh chafe and an excessive feminine sweep along the outside of our quads. Worst of all, we’ll be forced to rock awful looking baggy pants.
So the question becomes, how can we develop legs that look outstanding, are highly versatile and downright explosive? The key is to focus hard on adding muscle in two key areas – the vastus medialis obliquus (the tear drop shaped muscle just above the inside of the knee) and the calves.
Why is this? Well most people have enough base muscle size on their legs and butt from squatting and deadlifting. The two areas that have lagged behind are their VMO and calves. Unfortunately, these two muscle groups give your legs a longer, sleeker and more proportionate look.
Big upper thigh’s and glutes with little muscle on the bottom of the thigh’s and calves causes your legs to look short and stumpy. This absolutely kills aesthetics. If you look at the picture of Henry Cavill above, you’ll notice he has very proportionate thigh’s, from his knees to his hips. His legs look sleek, athletic and long (this also makes him look taller than he actually is).
A Recipe for Sleek and Powerful Legs
The key to building sleek and powerful legs is to focus on maximum explosive power on squats and deadlifts with a submaximal weight. For example, if you were to do sumo deadlifts with a weight you can do for 6-8 reps, but instead just do sets of 2-3 with maximum power, you can get stronger and more explosive without triggering much muscle growth.
In fact, you would likely build the perfect amount of muscle mass for your frame while becoming an explosive beast in the process. This type of training is more effective for building sprint and leap prowess than taking a heavy weight to failure. This is because, sprinting and jumping requires you to display strength in a fraction of a second.
When you’re training with a heavy weight close to failure, you won’t be able to explode up. Instead you will be grinding the reps out. This will build strength and muscle mass, but won’t have as profound an effect on power.
What’s my obsession with sprinting and leaping? Well as far as functionality is concerned, that’s the main purpose of your wheels. Not to mention, sprinting and jumping will enhance your performance in sports, combat and will carryover to pretty much any endeavour.
By being a fast sprinter and great jumpier, you possess the ability to display strength very quickly. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how vital this is to physical capability.
Turning it Up a Notch
I like to do something known as complex drills. This is a strength-oriented movement followed by a plyometric movement. So for example, you’d do a few reps of explosive lowerbody lifts and then you’d go into some squat jumps.
The strength movement potentiates the nervous system so you can display greater force during the plyometric jump. This is an amazing drill to improve your speed and power without adding much muscle mass. Here’s how it looks:
The Next Step
The step for the lowerbody workout is to pick 1-2 lowerbody exercises to work the legs and finish off with some calves. I don’t do a lot of direct hamstring work because this quickly builds up my hamstrings and causes my legs to chafe.
That said, many people are quad dominant and do well with more emphasis on their hamstrings. In this case, I’d suggest doing some romanian deadlifts and leg curls or glute ham raises to balance out your physique. Here are my favorite lowerbody movements:
Final Thoughts
I finally believe that I have cracked the code to becoming stronger and more powerful without creating bulky legs. Moreover, I feel that I have developed a way to make your legs look downright spectacular so that it complements your upperbody.
After all, you don’t want to be that guy that has a super strong and ripped upperbody, but has average legs. The fact of the matter is that your legs are so crucial to excelling physically in life.
Whether you’re playing a game of football, going snowboarding with some buddies or in some life or death situation. The old adage holds true, you’re only as strong as your weakest link.
What Type of Power You Can Expect To Build
I’ve been following the Sleek & Powerful Leg Workout for a few months and have built my vertical up to 30″ and my standing box jump up to 51″. Funny enough, in the past, I always bought those vertical jump workout programs, with little to no results. Most of them are poorly designed with way too much volume.
Fortunately, I’ve been able to craft together quick, simple and massively effective lowerbody workouts that actually add inches to your vertical and boost your sprint power while creating great looking legs. Don’t believe me? Check out this instagram video I posted the other day.
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Hey Greg! I was wondering how I could incorporate this into the Greek god program, currently doing the legs specialization for a small increase in size, I was gonna do it for the next 4 weeks but did know how to put this routine into the program. It would be great if you could help me out :)
Thanks!
I wouldn’t combine them. use it after leg specialization
Hey Greg. Genetically I have very muscular upper legs(without a single leg day), but small calves… Anyway I don’t think I should attempt to decrease the size of my upper leg,but rather get them stronger and more explosive without additional mass. I can fit well into slim fit pants for men, but not skinny jeans which i’m ok with. I just don’t want to have to wear loose fit because my legs got really bulky. Can a couple of heavy 1-3 rep sets for squats still induce a lot of muscle growth, because I still like being really strong on squats.
I very much appreciated your answer to a previous comment of mine and I wanted to say I’m loving your “Sleek and Powerful Legs” guide. It’s made me obsessed with the pistol squat! Have you thought of creating a guide that incorporates lateral movement training?
Hi Greg!
Great site, love the work you’re doing. I was putting together a workout based on your leg and jumping program (with the hope that I can improve my jumping ability specifically) and I was wondering if front leg elevated split squats as a reverse pyramid set up (specifically 2 sets of 6-8 reps) would be an acceptable substitute for leg extensions. The leg extensions aren’t written as a reverse pyramid set in the program, so I just want to be sure I’m aiming for the same overall benefits.
Yeah that will work!
Awesome, awesome to the max. Thanks for the response!
Howe it going Greg! Informative article as usual. I had a questioning regarding legs/glute. I naturally have large glutes and legs, and I’ve been looking for ways to decrease their size. I’m pretty lean but for some reason, my glutes have always been flabby. What would be your recommendation to at least minimize the size of my glutes and to get them tight.
Thank you so much Greg,
– Joe
Stop training your glutes. Cut out the leg work for a couple months and just do jump rope and possibly sprints. Also lean down to a lower body fat and your butt will be smaller.
How long is the rest period between sets? How many sets should I be doing?
I rest about 3 minutes between sets for maximal recovery. I do about 2-3 sets.
Hey Greg !
I’d just have a question regarding Progressing through some bodyweight movements that I forgot to ask you during the last Kinobody Elite group call, hope you can help me :)
I’ve built my Pistols and one arm pushup to 1-2 sets one 10 reps, is there any benefit to go higher? I was thinking maybe to start elevating my feet progressively for the 1APU and add weight to my pistols. My goal would be a combination of strength+mass on my pecs and legs (the two weakest links in my physique).
So I now need to calibrate the elevation and the added weight, but I wanted to have your opinion about the rep range I should aim for and stick to through my following progression, what do you think?
Thanks a lot for everything man, you are doing an absolute amazing work with all you have going on !
Eric
2 sets of 10 is very good. Start doing feet elevated on a low box. And yes add weights to pistols.
I’m an Elite member but can’t find this workout on the member site. Where exactly is it? Thanks.
Seriously? It’s called leg domination workout. May 2014. It’s under muscle specialization.
Do you recommend anything for the muscle opposite the calve, the Tibialis, or is that just a waste of time?
cheers man!
Waste.
Thanks!
second question: are there any big difference between standing calve raises and seated?
right now i’m doing standing once per week, but was thinking about putting them in twice per week. would it be better to stick to standing 2xweek, or do standing and seated, each once per week ?
cheers man!
Standing hit’s more of the major calf muscle and seated hits more of the smaller calf muscle (soleus). If you’re doing one or the other, do standing.
Hey Greg, I have your greek god program and I love it, I do have a question regarding leg development though. Currently I’m 5’11 155 and I have fairly skinny legs, I can also only just about squat slightly over my body weight for 5 reps. Would you suggest following a routine like this or doing the leg specialization routine in GG program?
Leg specialization. Build up your squats to 1.5 bodyweight for 5.
Hey Greg,
Whats your thoughts on using rest pause for calves? Due to genetics my calves are very slim and so need to put as much size on those bad boys as possible. Your thoughts would be much appreciated.
CHEERS
Works very well! I talked about this in the kinobody elite lowerbody workout.
I have fairly large legs proportionally to the rest of my body. I don’t do a ton of leg work. Is there a way to make them smaller?
Drop the calories and cut out leg training.
Greg, I have the same issue. Does “cut out leg training” also mean cutting out cardio?
I can just look at the squat rack and my legs grow…
No you don’t have to cut out cardio. I’d suggest doing some explosive box jumps and sprints to stay athletic and powerful.
Cool, thanks for the input.
Hey Greg, do you recommend changing any exercise to develop a nice muscular butt? I know about the squat ass but I see you don’t recommend a lot of back squat. Being low body fat I feel my glutes are a little bit flat and I want to make it more greek god like for my girlfriend haha ! Am I all good if I follow your May kinobody elite programs?
Yeah do the Sumo deads and bulgarians that will work your butt well. If you want to hit your butt harder on Workout A then add some step ups.
My legs are well developed except for my calves. What do you reccomend for them?
Thanks
Hit calves 2x per week. Standing calves and seated calves for high reps with short rest periods.
Is just Rest Pause good for calves or it’s good to have some straight sets or RPT?
It’s good for the calves!
Is rest pause alone enough or do you recommend mixing it up with RPT or straight sets?
Definitely do reverse pyramid training too.
Hey Greg, awesome article! I had a quick question. Do you think the following would be enough to have proportionate sleek legs:
1. Pistol squats 3×3
2. Step jumps 3×3
3. Standing DB one leg calf raises: 6 sets Standard Pyramid Style
That can work well if your legs are already the size you want or a little too big. If you want to build up the VMO I’d suggest some leg extensions (toes pointed out) or front foot elevated split squats.
Thanks for the respond Greg. I am happy with the size of my upper thighs but yes I definitely need to build VMO.
Are you suggesting switching Pistol Squats with Leg Extensions or adding them on top of it? And for leg extensions should I keep reps low or is it okay to go high without adding muscle mass to upper thigh?
Add leg extensions to pistol squats. Go with higher reps – 10-15
Good article as usual. What if you already have thick thighs and would like just to tone them up, should you still work them>
Thanks.
Yeah you can follow that workout while leaning down and you will hit your goals.
Hey Greg!
Splendid article as usual! I’m currently following your warrior program and in 2 weeks there is an amazing improvement! but at the same time I feel that my workouts are very short and that i’m not doing enough, anyway to overcome this feeling?
Thanks
The best way to overcome this feeling is to track your lifts each week and see how much stronger you get. If you’re making better gains then you’d be a fool to think you’re not doing enough
Enjoying these videos & articles!! Thanks.
Thanks man!
Hey Greg I’m doing warrior program right now and am confused with measurements is rice to be measured cooked or uncooked?
Great article as always
Definitely uncooked.
Chipoltle raised their prices today!!!! The horror… Hahah
On another note. Great Article Bro!
Noooooooo! You’re kidding I hope.
Greg, what are your thoughts about breathing squats, 1×20, say every other week thrown into ones routine?
Nope. It will add too much muscle and it will negatively impact power and performance since endurance work will impair strength and power production.
Hi Greg!
Is it ok to change my workout every 4 weeks or is it too frequent to change. The reason being is that after few weeks i get bored with the workout and want to change it. I do still stick to your protocol and do the base movements such as heavy chins and bench presses. I just change the workout split and change the supplemental exercises.
Yeah you can change up the supplemental exercises every four weeks. That’s fine! But if you’re still making gains, you don’t want to change too much.
Thanks for the great post Greg. I’ve purchased this program and love the look of it. I’d ideally like to do this program for two days (Monday workout A & Thursday workout B) with an upperbody workout on Saturday that takes care of some key upper body lifts (Incline press, Shoulder press, Weighted chins). Would be interested in your thoughts as to whether this would be an appropriate three-day weekly routine for someone on your warrior shredding program who is trying to get from 188 lbs down to around 175 and whose key upper body lifts currently sit between the Kinobody good and great benchmark targets. (getting closer and closer to great in quick time thanks to your warrior shredding program and in particular thanks to that brilliant article on warm up sets that featured the stretching tiger as the headline photo)
Yeah that would definitely be a great protocol to do for 2-3 months at a time. Then I’d go to two upperbody workouts per week and just one lowerbody workout per week. You can still make improvements with one leg workout per week. It’s just a little slower.
Greg loving the Greek God Program.
Anyone who hasn’t picked it up do so immediately!
I have two questions:
1. Did not have gym access because I was in Afghanistan past few months, my workouts were basically weighted pullups, pull ups, and push ups. Usually would do 10 pull ups with 50 lbs, 25 with 25 pounds, and then 50 BW pullups. Coming back to the gym, my shoulders are killing me in overhead press and incline press, took off a couple of weeks, and still the same problem, although I didn’t cut out the pullups. Any advice? Only hurts me when I’m in the gym.
2. What would you say is the max amount to go up on in terms of weight for squats and deadlift?
1. Like you’re having legit shoulder pain? May just have to start lighter and really get the form down. May also need to do some stretching and ensure you’re not tight anywhere and work your rear delts and rotator cuff.
2. I think building up to 1.5x bodyweight for 5 reps on squats is pretty good. After that, you should focus on low reps but with maximum acceleration and power. Using a weight you can explode up with instead of adding more and more weight to the bar. For deads, getting up to about 2x bodyweight is good. I like the sumo variation and like to do a controlled explosive lift with proper form.
Agree 100% with this approach to leg training…I would rather be able to explode off the ground and throw down a powerful dunk than back squat 315.
That being said, what are your thoughts on minimum strength for legs? I’ve seen you recommend barbell squatting 1.5 x BW for 5 reps as a good baseline. The only reason I’d want to train squats is to eventually move onto pistols and explosive work like this, but I can’t yet squat 200 lbs.
What are your thoughts?
I did heavy barbell squatting up until the point I was doing 275 lbs squats for 5 reps at 180 lbs. That’s a pretty good base level of strength. But once you get up to bodyweight for 5 reps, you should be able to do pistol squats with some practice and then you can just do weighted pistol squats instead of back squats.
Hi Greg!
I stumbled about this exercise technique. What do you think of it? Do you recommend me incorporating it for triggering more muscle building stimulus?
here is the link:
http://www.davidkingsbury.co.uk/join-50-club/
thanks!
I think that can work well at triggering sarcoplasmic muscle growth. It shouldn’t be the foundation of your training but is a nice supplement.
Hey Greg!
I just purchased your Greek God program and love it so far but I have a question:
When doing RPT in the S&D section it says 3 sets (5,6,8). Does this mean it will be 9 total reps with 3 minutes rest between each rep?
No 3 sets total. You only do 5, 6, 8 once.
Impressive !
Greg have you used/are you using fat gripz in any exercise? Are they good for forearms?
I don’t use fat grips. Definitely great for forearms but the problem is that if you’re doing fat grips rows or curls then you won’t hit your back/biceps as hard.
Hey Greg!
I just purchased your Greek God Program and have started using it. I had a question about about the S&D section for the key exercises.
When it says incline bench 3 sets [5, 6, 8}, this means you would do a total of 9 reps correct? While still following pyramid trying during every set and resting 3 minutes right?
No.. Only 3 sets total. 5, 6 and 8 reps are your three sets.
Hi Greg
Great post as always, and being 6ft 3 with long legs, there is a real need for me to focus on building the lower legs and well as concentrating on the thighs and glutes. So, some useful stuff here.
I listened to the podcast when you mentioned how your plyo jumps had exploded through your lifting etc. I’m not a youngster like you :-) but definitely don’t rally have that athletic spring in my legs, although I do a little sprinting occasionally, but mainly focus on lifting 3 times a week, RPT style etc.
Thanks for the post, I need to get my plyo box out TODAY!
Best
Steve
Thanks Stephen!
BTW Greg, are you still doing 3 x week workouts and using RPT? Is it still your system of choice to keep yourself progressing?
Best Wishes
Steve
Yes, you know it Stephen! I have yet to discover a better training system. I am doing some rest pause and standard pyramid training as well, but the bulk of my training is reverse pyramid.
When i’m not having much fish ive been using the ascenta fish oil. Listening to old podcasts i know that youve used it before, and recently ive seen you mention the carlsons fish oil a couple times. Is there any reason you made the switch?
Also i just wanted to say that ive implemented some of the techniques in last months kinobody elite to bring the power up in my legs. It seems like a great way of doing it and i look forward to see results in the months to come!
Yah I think they are both very high quality. I like carlsons a bit better…. The reviews of it on amazon are incredible. Also it is naturally very high in vitamin D and vitamin A. But you can’t go wrong with either.
What if we’re new to lifting and haven’t developed our glutes, hams, and quads? What exercises would you recommend us doing if we want to develop our glutes, hams and quads along with the teardrop muscle while also building our power and speed (Vertical jump etc.)?
Thanks!
I’d focus on getting strong on squats and deads and hitting some single leg work, leg curls and calf raises.
Hi Greg, I am already doing your Warrior program and I can see some differences in my body in just two weeks!
Do I need incorporate this workout for legs or those in warrior program are enough?
I am preparing myself for the Toronto Challenge (5km running), so I am running 4 days a week during 35 minutes to develop stamina. Doing this can I lose the good proportion of my legs?
One more question; I include your workout to V-shape abs, two days a week. Do you see any problem?
Those in the warrior program are enough! Best way to train for a 5km race is with 400 and 800m intervals. 3 days of running is more than enough. 4 is overkill. Nothing wrong with hitting abs 2x per week.