Did you recently watch clips from last year’s Mr. Olympia and get inspired after seeing Brandon Curry’s tree trunk legs? Have you been working hard to look good at the beach and you want to show off your legs by getting them more toned? Are you an athlete who wants to increase your vertical jump? Calisthenics exercises can help you achieve any of these goals.
Calisthenics are bodyweight movements that are easily scalable to increase intensity and resistance. No matter what your goal is, you can adjust the acute variables (sets, repetitions, intensity, etc.) to achieve muscle mass, shredded legs, or performance enhancement. Let’s take a look at the proven benefits of calisthenics leg workouts and hacks to speed up results.
Benefits of Calisthenics for Leg Workouts
Although traditional weightlifting workouts tend to get the spotlight when it comes to building bigger, leaner, or performance-focused legs, calisthenics can also provide these benefits.
Muscle Mass: Studies show that calisthenics exercises can trigger high levels of muscular hypertrophy or muscle growth when you use the following acute variables: moderate to high intensity, slow tempo or how quickly you move the weight, and longer rest breaks.
Getting Lean: Calisthenics workouts can be arranged so that they follow a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) format. This is when the exercises are performed one after another with no rest in between. You only take a break once you perform each exercise on the list one time. Studies show that HIIT-style workouts maximize caloric expenditure during and after the workout. This will promote the needed caloric deficit to achieve fat loss in your legs.
Sports Performance: You can also tweak HIIT-style workouts to focus on building raw power. Studies show that power-driven calisthenics workouts, better known as jump training or plyometrics, can dramatically improve sports performance by increasing explosive strength output.
Overall Safety
We all have a friend who overextended a hamstrings muscle during a dumbbell lunge or strained a quadricep during a barbell squat. While calisthenics leg workouts are not guaranteed to prevent injury, studies show that they have the lowest injury rate of any form of exercise.
Calisthenics are a safer way to achieve those goals of muscle size, leanness, or performance without the risk of traditional weight training.
Read more about the benefits of calisthenics.
Calisthenics Leg Workout for Mass
The following calisthenics leg workout for mass is focused on emphasizing the eccentric or lowering portion of the exercise. Studies show that the eccentric portion of a lift or exercise places the greatest stress on the muscle and promotes the most growth stimulus. The burpees are placed at the conclusion of the workout to exhaust fast-twitch muscle fibers for optimal growth.
For each exercise with the exception of burpees, use the following tempo:
2 seconds to lift (concentric) 1 second to pause (isometric) 3 seconds to lower (eccentric)
Deep Bodyweight Squats: 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions
Three-Way Lunges: 3 x 8 – 12
Step-Ups: 3 x 8 – 12
Reverse Lunges: 3 x 10 – 12
Single-Leg Calf Raise: 3 x 15 – 20
Burpees: 2 x 8
Calisthenics Lean and Toned Leg Workout
In order to maximize fat burning, shorten your rest breaks between exercises. For the following calisthenics exercises for leaner legs, use the following tempo:
1 second to lift (concentric) 0 second to pause (isometric) 3 seconds to lower (eccentric)
Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions
Pause Squats: 3 x 8 – 12
Side Lunge: 3 x 12 – 15
Single-Leg Squats: 3 x 8 – 12
Pause Calf Raises: 3 x 15 – 20
Burpees: 3 x 6
Calisthenics Leg Workout for Sports Performance
In order amplify your performance, you need to focus on plyometrics or explosive-focused movements. The following is a HIIT-style workout. This means that you want to move as fast and as safely as possible without taking any breaks until the end of the list. Do not move on to the next exercise until you complete all prescribed repetitions of the exercise you’re performing.
Jump Squats: 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions
Walking Lunges: 3 x 10 – 12
Imaginary Jump Rope: 3 x 40
Air Squats: 3 x 8 – 12
Jumping Lunges: 3 x 8 – 10
Single-Leg Calf Hop: 3 x 15-20
Extra Tips for Achieving Your Fitness Goals
Once you choose the workout that matches best with your fitness goals, you’ll want to find a fitness hack that helps you to achieve better results faster. Let’s review some of the best things you can do outside your workout to help promote bigger muscles, leaner legs, or better performance
How to Get Bigger Legs with Calisthenics
If leg muscle size is your goal, I highly recommend supplementing with whey protein. Studies show that whey protein supplementation can help to promote muscle growth by increasing protein synthesis or the building of muscle protein. What’s more, whey protein can spike growth hormone levels while minimizing the actions of catabolic or breakdown hormones.
Personally, I use a whey protein supplement about two hours before my workout and then immediately after. For the rest of my day, I focus on whole food choices for lean protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
How to Get Leaner Legs with Calisthenics
Leaner legs can mean different things to a variety of people. For example, some people might want to only tone their legs, which slightly accentuates the shape of the legs. Others might want to get shredded legs for a competition or show. This is where the muscle fibers are highlighted so people can see the separation in each muscle group.
For either situation, you need to cut your caloric intake while maintaining your exercise program from above. On top of this, I’d recommend implementing an intermittent fasting program. Intermittent fasting involves abstaining from food or caloric beverages for a set amount of time then only eating within a feeding window. Intermittent fasting has been shown to significantly increase fat burning while preserving muscle gains.
The traditional 16/8 seems to work best for most people. For 16 hours on most days, you’ll only consume water or calorie-free beverages like black coffee. Then you have eight hours to consume your daily calories. Most people will begin their fast at 8 p.m. and then start their feeding window at 12 p.m. the following day.
How to Increase Sports Performance with Calisthenics
To increase sports performance with calisthenics, the majority of the exercises will be focused on explosive-type movements called plyometrics. While effective, this type of exercise is high impact and intense. You might notice an increase in muscle adhesions, or you may not be used to how sore you are the first couple of weeks.
This is why I highly recommend investing in some form of muscle therapy. Here are a few examples that are effective and budget-friendly:
Lacrosse / Massage Balls: Unlike tennis balls that are too soft and baseballs that are too rigid, lacrosse balls are a perfect balance that allow you to dig in and work out muscle knots.
I recommend the Kieba Massage Lacrosse Balls.
Foam Roller: The next level up from lacrosse balls, a foam roller is a piece of hard foam or plastic that you sit or lie on. Working in one small area at a time, you focus on rolling over a tight spot until it releases.
I recommend the Triggerpoint GRID Foam Roller. It includes instructions on how to properly roll out muscles.
Massage Therapist: I can’t stress enough how important it is to see a professional massage therapist at least once a month if you’re working out several days per week. From tight muscles to adhesions to muscle distortion patterns, these workouts add up and do a number on your muscles. Getting a deep tissue or sports massage can help to alleviate soreness, decrease and eliminate knots, and improve muscle length-tension relationships.
Calisthenics Leg Workouts: Share Your Results
Are you using any of the workouts from above? I want to hear about your results! If you enjoyed these workouts and want more free calisthenics workouts, be sure to sign up for my newsletter. You’ll get the update when new blog posts come along with special offers and other news.
References
Kotarsky CJ, Christensen BK, Miller JS, Hackney KJ. Effect of Progressive Calisthenic Push-up Training on Muscle Strength and Thickness. J Strength Cond Res. 2018 Mar;32(3):651-659. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002345.
Willis LH, Slentz CA, Bateman LA, et al. Effects of aerobic and/or resistance training on body mass and fat mass in overweight or obese adults. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2012;113(12):1831–1837. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01370.2011.
Pinillos, Felipe & Cámara-Pérez, Jose & Soto Hermoso, Victor Manuel & Latorre Román, Pedro. (2016). A HIIT-based running plan improves athletic performance by improving muscle power. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 31. 1. 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001473.
Hody S, Croisier JL, Bury T, Rogister B, Leprince P. Eccentric Muscle Contractions: Risks and Benefits. Front Physiol. 2019;10:536. Published 2019 May 3. doi:10.3389/fphys.2019.00536.
Stark M, Lukaszuk J, Prawitz A, Salacinski A. Protein timing and its effects on muscular hypertrophy and strength in individuals engaged in weight-training. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2012;9(1):54. Published 2012 Dec 14. doi:10.1186/1550-2783-9-54.