Leg training in the volume phase: the difference in leg training for men and women

In this video, we'll show you what our current leg workout looks like. My friend and I compete in the NPC federation, which is a bodybuilding federation that is more prevalent in America, but is also gaining more and more awareness in Europe these days.

Our current goal is to make progress for the next competition season, which we are tentatively planning for the spring if all goes according to plan. For the first time we will be preparing for races at the same time, so it will certainly be a challenge for us. We would like to document some part of our preparation, so you can definitely look forward to more training or other videos.

In this workout we primarily focused on the front thighs and glutes. Secondarily, I focused on the top of the glutes and my friend focused on the back thighs. While everyone's goal is a little different and specific, our workouts don't have to be completely different. In fact, at a basic level, a woman and a man can train exactly the same, it's just that each individual's particular preferences will likely differ. My goal is specifically to increase overall lower body strength, but I also target the glutes with some isolated exercises, such as unweighted lower pulley (the last exercise in the video), which I honestly don't see men doing very often. And I don't blame them, either, because instead of this exercise, there's a seated abduction that targets the same area, only this execution will probably be more comfortable for men than training the butt on the bottom pulley.

But speaking of those glutes, I don't think men should skip training them either. Granted, we do engage the glutes a lot in squats and lunges and variations thereof, but these exercises only work the glutes in the extended position, not the contracted position, and that can be a problem. The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle on the body superficially, so it's a good idea to exercise it in all directions. Not only will a strong glute look proportionally good to your legs, but you will also be more functional, have more strength in deadlifts, for example, and thus not be limited in any way.

Similarly, women should not neglect the leg muscles in training, because training the butt is not enough. If the buttocks are stronger than the legs, the body will not be in balance and thus it can again limit us not only in training but also in everyday life. I understand that women often don't want big thighs, but at the same time, firm thighs don't immediately mean big thighs. Just because you have a genetic predisposition to store more fat on your legs and butt, doesn't mean you should only train your butt so that those aforementioned thighs don't accidentally get too big. In this case, if you exercise your thighs, your body will look better as a whole. And if you also lose a little weight, you definitely don't have to worry about your thighs getting abnormally big. Rather, they will firm up and with them, maybe some cellulite will disappear and you will feel more fit.

So, this is to point out that both women and men can exercise very similarly, even though their goals differ. Everyone needs some form of strength training for their overall health. And the very last thing I would worry about is that an area will get significantly bigger if we exercise something that is not natural for us. Rather, what will happen is that we will have more strength and a better, more functional body.