Top 4 exercises to build explosive and powerful legs

Plyometric box jumps, vertical jumps, tempo squats, and sprinting: these are the exercises you need to do right, if you want to build explosive and very powerful leg muscles.

Introduction

To get a stronger squat, bench press, or any other exercise, you have to train for strength and explosiveness specifically. Doing four sets of 20 repetitions every time you work out to improve your bench press numbers makes no sense. To train for power, you should do a few reps with sufficient rest between your sets. But how you perform each repetition is also essential when you want to train for explosiveness.

In this article, you can read about my exercises to train my legs for explosiveness. I usually do one of the exercises below for explosiveness in my leg workouts. Feel free to use one (or all) of these exercises in your workout routine.

My favorite explosive leg exercises

Jumping is, by definition, an explosive movement because to jump and get your feet off the ground, you have to push yourself with your legs against the ground in an explosive manner. Only what matters is the height of your jump. You can use a plyometrics box (or plyo box for short), but you can also jump freely in the air without needing any equipment.

Plyo box jumps

The plyo box is an (often wooden) box with three different dimensions for its length, width, and height, allowing you to put the box down so that you'll have three different sizes to which you have to jump to get on the box, depending on how you position the box.

How to perform

1. Stand about 1 foot (or 30 centimeters) in front of the box and bend your knees until your thighs make an angle of about 45 degrees with the ground. You can also lower yourself more, for example, until your thighs are almost parallel to the ground.
2. Now, push yourself off the ground with both legs to jump on the box. Try to use your calf and upper leg muscles for the jump, and land on the box with both feet simultaneously.
3. Return to the floor after landing on the box and repeat the exercise.

Sets and reps

Do this exercise for four sets of 10 repetitions per set, and take 1-minute rest between each set.

Vertical jumps

The vertical jump is almost identical to the plyo box jump, except you don't need a plyo box or other equipment. In this exercise, you have to jump straight up instead.

How to perform

1. Stand upright, keep your feet shoulder-width apart, and bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Hold this position for a second.
2. Now jump up as high as possible. When jumping, once your legs extend during the motion, you should contract your calf muscles to use any strength in your calves as well to jump as high as you can. It would help to mentally focus on using every muscle fiber in your legs to make the highest jump.

Sets and reps

Do this exercise for four sets of 10 repetitions, again with 1 minute of rest between each set.

Squats

Squats are the king of leg exercises. It is a compound exercise perfect for building mass and developing leg strength. Whether the focus is more on building mass or on developing strength, again, depends on how you train. Below you can read how to train with squats to build muscle strength.

How to perform

1. While the barbell is in the rack, stand under it with your feet shoulder-width apart and position it on your upper back or trapezius muscles. Now grab the barbell with your hands on each side. You can grab the barbell with a wide grip or keep your hands closer to your shoulders. I suggest keeping your hands at a width that feels comfortable for you.
2. Lift the barbell out of the rack and take two steps backward.
3. You are now standing with stretched legs on the floor and the barbell on your upper back/shoulder muscles. Ensure your feet point slightly outward: you're now in the starting position.
4. From this starting position, slowly lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the ground**. During this eccentric phase, pay attention to the following:
5. • Keep your lower back straight (if necessary, you can use a weightlifting belt for extra support).
   • Your knees may protrude slightly beyond your feet.
   • Your knees should *not* bend inwards or outwards!
   • Keep your feet stable and flat on the floor. When squatting, use shoes with a flat, stiff sole (for example, do not wear shoes with a squishy sole, such as Nike Air Maxes or shoes made for jogging because these shoes provide stability while carrying a heavy load).
   • Make sure your butt tucks out slightly while you're squatting.
6. Once your thighs are parallel to the ground, it's time to start the concentric phase of the exercise. Push with both of your legs against the ground to return to the starting position while keeping the following points in your mind:
7. • At all times, keep your back straight! Do not let your lower back become round.
   • Again, don't let your knees move inwards or outwards.
   • Keep both of your feet flat on the ground and try to keep your balance (having your toes or your heels lifted off the ground while squatting is a sign of losing your balance).
   • Ensure your butt is also slightly tucked outwards during this concentric phase, like when lowering yourself in de eccentric phase.
8. When you're back at the starting position, rest for a few seconds, then repeat the exercise for the required repetitions.

Sets and reps

When I do squats for strength and explosiveness, I mostly do four sets of 4 repetitions and take 2-minute rest between my sets. I found that that works well for me, so maybe you can try it too.

Sprinting

Sprinting (and I mean sprinting as fast as you can) is a hefty and energy-consuming exercise that is ideal if you want to train for explosiveness.

To make a sprint, start from a standing position and run as fast as you can for a certain distance or set time. For example, you can pull a sprint of 50 meters or sprint for 10 seconds. Regardless of whether you will make a sprint for a set time or distance, running as fast and as hard as you can is essential. And you have to sprint as if your life depends on it!

You'd be surprised to realize how much energy it consumes and how sore you'll be in the next few days, particularly in your leg muscles and abs!

Practical tips for sprinting

I'm not a professional (or even intermediate) sprinter by all means, and it's not my primary type of training, either. I do sprints every once in a while (on average, once every two months for a week or two).

Here are my practical tips that I have figured out by trial and error to make it easier for you if you want to start sprinting occasionally.

Clothing:

Don't wear too loose clothing because when you sprint as hard as possible, everything will flap around like crazy. The more fitting your attire is, the less it will get in the way of your movement. Just make sure that the tight fit of the sportswear does not limit your ability to move freely.

Headphones:

If you want to make sprints while listening to music from your phone, don't use a headphone, and don't use corded in-ears. A headphone will slide off your head because of the intense movement, while corded in-ears (or worse, corded headphones) will get pulled out of your ears because the wire will get caught by your arms' movements.

Shoes:

Wear tight and light shoes made for sprinting. There is a reason that sports shoes exist for all types of running. The lighter the shoes are, the easier it'll be for you to sprint. Also, light and tight shoes specifically designed for running have less cushioning in the soles compared to shoes designed for long running distances. This way, you'll have much better 'contact' with the ground.

Sets and reps

When I pull some sprints during explosive workouts, I mostly do three sets of 3x10-second sprints with 45-60 seconds rest in between, and where 1 set consists of 3 times 10-second sprints. Between each set, I take about 2 minutes of rest.

You may, of course, choose to sprint based on distance, for example, sprinting for three sets of 2x50 meters (where one set consists of 2 sprints, each that covers a distance of 50 meters, where you'll take 45-60 seconds of rest between each sprint. After the second sprint, rest for 2-3 minutes before doing the next set).

Important note for explosiveness

Exercising as explosively as possible is crucial to train for explosiveness and strength. For example, try to jump as high as possible during jumping exercises. Don't just jump, but focus on using all your muscles to jump as if your life depends on it.

The same also applies to squats. Try to lower yourself slowly, smoothly, and in a controlled fashion. For example, it should take about 3 seconds to lower yourself from the starting position until you've reached the point where your upper legs are parallel to the floor.

On the other hand, the concentric phase needs to be performed with maximum force and as explosively as possible. The concentric phase should take less than one second to complete! If you feel like taking longer, you've loaded the barbell with too much weight. In that case, lower the weight a bit. Remember you're training for explosiveness, not for a one-rep max.

That way, you activate your fast-twitch muscle fibers the most.

Conclusion

Try one of these exercises in your workout routine and keep at it for a while. Sooner or later, you'll notice the gains you made. Just remember to eat correctly with plenty of protein and carbohydrates to have enough nutrients for the increase in muscle mass that inevitably comes with strength training and enough energy to do your workouts.

What are you currently doing to increase your explosive power? You may be doing it differently than I do, or you found out some exercises helped you more than others. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for this post, and I'll update the post accordingly!

Good luck implementing an explosive leg exercise in your leg workouts!