The Biggest and The Meanest Legs In The Fitness Industry
A pair of big wheels are what separate the men from the boys. Shredded legs are a sign of dedication, commitment, and brute strength. The athletes on the list make gym bros look like light bulbs. These are the best legs on the planet.
For an aesthetic physique, you need to lay equal, if not more, focus on your legs as compared to your upper body and the athletes in this article are the perfect example. The next time you think of skipping leg days, these athletes will haunt you in your dreams.
Tom Platz
If you’re talking about the most insane legs in the bodybuilding world, you can’t leave Tom Platz out of the conversation. The fact that Platz had the legs he had back in the golden era of bodybuilding is nothing but insane. Platz was nicknamed “The Quadfather” for good reason. His legs would give bodybuilders today a run for their money. There was no doubt he’d be on the list of best legs on the planet.
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How did he build those monstrous legs? Let’s take a look.
Squat: 8-12 sets x 5-20 reps
Hack Squat: 5 sets x 10-15 reps
Leg Extension: 5-8 sets x 10-15 reps
Lying Leg Curl: 6-10 x 10-15
Standing Calf Raise: 3-4 x 10-15
Seated Calf Raise: 3-4 x 10-15
Hack Machine Calf Raise: 3-4 x 10-15
Tom Platz used the hack squat a little differently than many, putting more emphasis on the quads. He would put his heels together and his feet directly underneath him in a “duck stance” position. He would go down in sort of a “sissy squat” motion, and explode up.
Platz was also famous for taking things to failure and doing forced reps on top of that. Specifically he would do the leg extension and lying leg curl until failure, then force more half reps on top of it.
Ronnie Coleman
Another man that could not be left out of a list consisting of the best legs on the planet, Ronnie Coleman. He holds the record for the most number of Mr. Olympia title wins. He won the most prestigious bodybuilding show for eight years in a row. Coleman was a force to be reckoned with in his competitive years. He didn’t get to that position with chicken legs!
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Coleman had monstrous legs to match his gigantic upper body, weighing around 300lbs on stage, he certainly had muscle on the lower half. What exactly did he do to build these?
Front or rear squat: 5 x 10 reps
Leg press: 4 x 12-10 reps
Walking lunge: 2 x 100 yards
Leg extension: 3 x 20 reps
Standing one-leg curl: 4 x 15-10 reps
Lying leg curl: 4 x 15-8 reps
Ronnie could be seen moving some serious weights on leg day. He actually suffered from a herniated disc that would eventually require over 13 surgeries while squatting 800 pounds.
Julian Smith
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Julian Smith is also known as “The Quad Guy” and we approve his choice of name. Smith follows brutal leg workouts, and he shares them with his followers on Instagram. You’ll surely be motivated to train your legs after scrolling through his Insta feed.
Weighted Sissy Squat: 4 sets, failure reps
Narrow Stance Squats: 4 sets, 8 reps
Leg Extensions – Note: 10 sec. hold each rep 4 sets, 4 reps
Seated Quad Contraction: 4 sets, 4 reps
Hack Squat: 4 sets, 12 reps
Stiff-Legged Deadlift: 4 sets, 12 reps
Decline Dumbbell Leg Curl: 4 sets, 8 reps
Hamstring Contraction: 4 sets, 4 reps
Good Morning: 4 sets, 8 reps
Branch Warren
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Branch Warren is known for his grueling workouts. He works out at the non-air conditioned Metroflex gym in Texas which goes on to say a lot about his work ethic. Branch’s legs look nothing less than tree trunks with veins.
Leg Extension: 3 set of 30 reps
Squat: 5 sets of 6-10 reps
Hack Squat or Leg Press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Walking Lunge: 3 sets of 100 yards (Similar to Ronnie)
Lying Leg Curl: 4 sets of 15-20 reps
Standing Leg Curl: 3 sets of 15-20 reps
His legs are actually so famous that Chinese bodybuilder Chen Kang is nicknamed “Branch Chen” because his legs are similar.
Jay Cutler
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Being crowned 4X Mr. Olympia is proof Jay Cutler is one of the best bodybuilders in the world. Jay broke all the standards with his size and conditioning when he stepped on the Mr. Olympia stage to dethrone 8x Mr. Olympia winner Ronnie Coleman (another entrant on our list) for the world’s best bodybuilder title. Jay’s leg day looks something like this:
Leg Extension: 2 x 10-15
Squat: 4 x 6-10
Leg Press: 3 x 7-9
Hack Squat: 3 x 8-10
Stationary Barbell Lunge: 2 x 8-10
Stationary Dumbbell Lunge: 2 x 8-10
Smith Machine Front Squat: 3 x 8-10
Leg Extension: 4 x 6-8 (drop set)
Jay’s legs were developed through heavy, high volume, high intensity workouts. This brought him feathering in his quads like no other, and thus the birth of the infamous “Quad Stomp” was born.
Kai Greene
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Kai Greene was the contender for the Mr. Olympia title for the longest of times and some people consider him an uncrowned Mr. Olympia. Having a long lasting rivalry with the Great Phil Heath, it’s almost a given that his legs would be massive. Kai gave Phil a tough competition, and his legs had no problem making the list for best legs on the planet. Kai has a high volume style of training, and he includes a variety of exercises to target and develop his legs.
Lying Leg Curl: 4 x 15-20
Standing One-leg Curl: 4 x 12-15
Stiff-leg Deadlift: 4 x 15-20
Walking Lunge: 3 x approximately 40 yards
Leg Extension: 4 x 20, 15, 12, 12
Squat: 4 x 20, 15, 12, 12
Leg Press: 4 x 15-20
For many bodybuilders, they do not go above 8 reps on certain lifts. Kai definitely goes against all that, hitting sets of 12+, and it has proven time and time again to work for him.
Dorian Yates
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Dorian Yates is 6X Mr. Olympia and is the person responsible for starting the trend of pushing the human muscular size into the stratosphere. He is the original mass monster. Yates dwarfed everyone when he stepped on stage and dominated the bodybuilding world for years. As a Mr. Olympia, he at one point had the best legs on the planet, and the workouts are what got him there.
Leg extension: 2 x 10-15
Leg press: 2 x 10-12
Hack squat: 2 x 10-12
Lying leg curl: 1 x 10-12
Stiff-legged deadlift: 1 x 8-10
Single-leg curl: 1 x 10-12
Standing calf raise: 1 x 8-10
Seated calf raise: 1 x 8-10
Yates poured his blood and guts into his workouts. His approach to training resembles that of Mike Mentzer, heavy weight, heavy intensity, high volume. Dorian Yates has stated that he would struggle to get off the toilet for days after a leg day.
Ben Pakulski
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Ben “Pak Man” Pakulski has one of the freakiest legs in the bodybuilding industry. His quad sweep is so defined, it looks like it’s morphed. It doesn’t end here, his 23-inch calves act as the show stoppers when he turns around to hit his posterior poses. Some of his favorite exercises are:
Lying leg curls: 5-6 sets of 6-8 reps
Leg presses: 6 sets of15-20 reps
Hack squats: 4 sets of 6-10 reps
Walking or stationary lunges: 3 sets of 12-15 each leg
Leg extensions: 3 sets of 15-20 reps
Pak Man keeps it fairly simple with these exercises and rep ranges. It definitely is an old school style workout resembling that of Tom Platz, and it put him on the list for best legs on the planet.
Joey Swoll
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The Tik Tok king. Joey’s legs look like a ton of meat has been slapped onto them, no doubt he’d be a contender best legs on the planet. Swoll is one of the most famous internet fitness celebrities, and his popularity is growing with time. His aesthetic physique and insane athleticism have made him a crowd favorite. His leg day is no joke either.
Seated leg curl: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
Seated leg extension: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
Leg press: 5 sets of 8-15 reps
Smith machine squat: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
Dumbbell stiff leg deadlift: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
Seated calf raise: 4 sets of 15-20 reps
Joey is another one of these guys that hits high rep ranges. Clearly, it works out well for him.
Flex Lewis
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Flex Lewis is the king of legs, and only a few people can challenge him for the throne. Lewi’s legs are perfectly proportionate, have the size, and his calves look like they have a life of their own. His leg day is a lot of exercises, and a lot of volume.
Leg Extension: 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Leg Press: 4 sets of 10 reps
Hack Squat: 4 sets of 10-12 reps
Reverse Lunges with Barbell: 4 sets of 12 reps
Hip Extensions: 4 sets of 12 reps
DB Lunges: 4 sets of 12 reps
Standing Machine Calf Raises: 4 sets of 12-15 reps
Leg Press Calf Raises: 4 sets of 12-15 reps
Flex’s legs don’t look the way they do for no reason. His leg workout involves a bit more than some of the other guys on the list, but it definitely works in his favor.
Best Legs Wrap Up
These guys listed have some of the best legs not only in the fitness industry, but the best legs on the planet. Their legs along look like something out of a comic book. The workouts they use to grow them are a force to be reckoned with.
Who was your favorite on the list, and which of the workouts was your favorite? Are you going to give any of these a shot?
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