Will squats help me build stronger legs

Question

My goal is to make my legs strong and hard. Currently I do 60 Squats daily, and have done so for the last 7 days.

Are squats a healthy/safe/effective way to build stronger leg muscles? Please keep in mind my gender is male. If they are effective, at what timing/frequency will they be most effective for my goal of stronger muscles?

Answer 1

If your goal is to make your legs strong, then squats are without a doubt the best exercise you can do to achieve that goal.

Squats are a universal exercise that both men and women can do with equivalent results and success, so there is no reason to be worried about results depending on your gender.

Now, any exercise is better than none, so it's good that you're doing daily squats. That being said, it is definitely not the most optimal solution to building "strong" leg muscles. Here are a few takeaways for you:

• High rep + low intensity exercise is more equivalent to cardio and endurance training.
• Strength training requires low reps (3 - 5 is the sweet spot) and high intensity (use weights).
• To ensure safety, use good form (especially with regard to squatting to parallel).
• Lastly, to build strength, you need to facilitate muscle growth. This means eating enough calories and getting sufficient rest. If you're on a diet, or if you're getting inadequate sleep, or if you're doing loaded squats every day, then you're actually hurting your muscle growth.

If you're very committed and have a squat or power rack with olympic barbell, then this is the best approach for you: use an olympic barbell and do back-squats, then progressively load the bar each exercise to increase intensity. This has been demonstrated to be the most effective way to increase strength.

If you don't have access to a barbell, then the next best alternative would be to do goblet squats using a dumbbell.

Whether using a barbell or dumbbell, I suggest the same timing frequency, which is:

• 3 times a week with rest day in-between (e.g. M-W-F)
• 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps (your choice)
• Start with light weight (empty barbell, light dumbbell)
• Progressively add weight more each workout (go in 2.5 or 5 lb increments)