When you are looking to get big thighs using weight training, you need to focus on both the front and back sides of your upper legs. The quadriceps are the large muscles in the front, and the hamstrings are the opposing muscles in the back. Your exercise selection should mainly involve compound movements that require more than one joint range of motion. This can help create a maximal amount of muscle fiber recruitment.
Step 1
Duck under a loaded barbell in a squat rack to do squats. Place the bar across the top of your shoulders and hold it with a wide grip. Stand up and lift the bar off the supports. Walk back 3 to 4 feet and stand in a shoulder-width stance. Lower your body down by bending your knees. Stop when your thighs are parallel to the ground, and stand back up.
Step 2
Stand in front of a weight bench to do step-ups. Hold dumbbells down at your sides and step up onto the bench with your right foot, then your left foot. Step off the bench with your right foot then your left foot. Continue for a set of reps, then switch your lead foot for another set of reps (see Tips).
Step 3
Lunge while holding dumbbells. Stand with your feet together and hold the weights down by your thighs. Step forward with your left foot and lower your body down by bending your knees. Stop when your left knee is bent 90 degrees and your back knee is 1 inch above the ground. Stand back up, bring your feet back together and step forward with your right foot. Keep lunging back and forth with each leg forward.
Step 4
Lift a barbell off the ground to do stiff-legged deadlifts. Stand in front of the bar with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend down and grab the bar with a shoulder-width grip and stand back up. Keep your back and legs straight and let the bar hang straight down so that it is touching your thighs. Bend forward at your hips and let the bar go down toward the ground until you feel a contraction in your hamstrings. Stand back up and repeat.
Step 5
Execute seated leg curls on a machine. Sit on the chair and place the backs of your lower legs on top of the padded support. Adjust the padded thigh support so it fits snugly onto your thighs. Hold on to the handles on top of the thigh pad and push the lower support down by contracting your hamstrings. Squeeze for one second and let the weight go back up. Stop right before your knees lock and repeat.
Tips and Warnings
- Do four to eight reps and four to five sets of each exercise with the heaviest weight you can handle. Work out three times a week on alternating days. If you do not feel comfortable doing squats, you can use a Smith machine or have someone stand right behind you to spot you. Also, keep your back straight and do not let your knees go past your toes when you are lowering yourself down.
Things You'll Need
- Barbell
- Squat rack
- Weight plates
- Dumbbells
- Bench
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