How to Train Your Legs for the Hollywood Body
I first got into lifting when I was 16 years old.
I was tall, skinny, and had a narrow rectangular frame.
For as long as I can remember I wanted to have the body of a male model with more muscle.
Greg O’Gallagher of Kinobody and Rusty Moore of Fitness Black Book (which he rebranded to Visual Impact Fitness) were two of my early mentors.
Both of these guys refer to this look as the “Hollywood body”.
A physique with a wide back, broad shoulders, a strong upper chest, and strong arms while keeping your legs in proportion.
After years of following their programs, I realized my legs were not in proportion.
They were small.
Their programs did not include enough volume for the quadriceps, hamstrings, or calves.
As a result, I became upper-body heavy.
So I got to work.
I ditched those programs I was on in favour of the conventional advice: squats and deadlifts
After a few bulking cycles and 20–25 pounds of lean mass later, I still didn’t have the look that I wanted.
I was squatting and deadlifting every week, focused on adding weight to the bar, and it wasn’t working.
Common Advice
“Your form just stinks.”
“Squatting and deadlifting aren’t bad for aesthetics as long as you’re training your upper body hard.”
“Back squats and deadlifts are the kings of lower-body exercises.”
“They’re the most effective at building muscle.”
That’s true.
However, let’s discuss two important arguments here:
There are many queues to keep in mind when squatting.
Elbows back, chest up, brace your core, take exactly three and a half steps back after un-racking, etc.
The stronger you get, the more difficult it becomes to hit new PR’s, and your form breaks down.
You might not go as low as you’d like to and this leads to poor results and a lack of gains.
It won’t be the look you desire
Squats and deadlifts are stupidly effective for adding mass to your hips and glutes.
There are far better ways to train your legs for aesthetics (that I’ll get into down below).
You want to become bigger and stronger and work towards your genetic potential as a natural lifter.
That will never change.
But if you have a smaller frame, you shouldn’t add muscle wherever it ends up.
Don’t train like a powerlifter if you don’t have their frame and don’t want to look like them.
It’s simple.
You don’t have as much muscle-building potential as a lot of other guys.
The last thing you want to do is add excess muscle to your hips and waist.
Now, this doesn’t apply to guys with a larger frame.
Their potential to build mass in the upper body is much higher than that of those with a smaller frame.
Then again, individuals with a larger, stockier build aren’t after the male model type of physique.
The average lifter can’t train their whole body with big compound movements and cross their fingers that they appear aesthetic.
You need to be strategic in your approach to lifting weights.
And that includes how you approach training your legs.
How to Train Your Legs for Aesthetics
The key to developing a jacked and attractive body is to become bigger and stronger while emphasizing that v-shape.
You need to be selective about where you add muscle while also ensuring you have the proper size in your legs.
Build a physique that you can be proud of and train in a fashion that fits your lifestyle.
This is what will make you look attractive.
Being able to build proportionate legs without years of squatting and deadlifting.
The goal is not to have the biggest legs possible.
The goal is to have enough size.
So, you want to perform exercises that give you full control over your lower body size.
Here is an excellent training video by the popular YouTuber Will Tennyson.
He explains how he was able to grow his legs fast with machines (no heavy back squats).
His legs are massive and too big for his body.
You follow a workout like this until your legs are proportionate, and then cut the volume in half.
Choose exercises like:
- Hack squats
- Stiff-legged deadlifts
- Bulgarian split squats
- Barbell lunges
- Leg presses
These movements will take your lower back out of the movement and allow you to focus on the muscles you’re trying to target.
Work in an RPE fashion, leaving 2-3 reps in the tank, so that you can train your legs with a higher frequency without getting burned out and overtraining.
3 or 4 sets of 8–15 reps will do the trick. Some will argue this puts too much emphasis on hypertrophy and not enough on strength.
Your legs will respond better to high-volume, high-rep training that triggers muscle growth.
Low-rep sets are more geared toward explosive strength and power.
Greg from Kinobody has a phenomenal upper body, but his legs are disproportionate.
I don’t think he has smaller legs because he doesn’t squat and deadlift.
It’s because he doesn’t train his legs with enough volume.
Perform strength-based exercises at the start of your workout. Then transition to high-rep machine work.
One last thing:
I recommend a push/pull/legs split three days per week if you’re a beginner.
If you are at the intermediate or advanced level but your legs are small, go with a lower/upper split four days per week.
Two leg workouts will allow for double the weekly volume, and your legs will grow like f***ing crazy.
Summary
Don’t be upper body big.
Train your quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves with enough volume.
Make sure to choose exercises that allow you to isolate each one of those muscles with great form.
Structure your workouts like I explained above and watch the video.
You’ll know it’s working when you can’t stand up and your thighs have a massive pump.
I guarantee you will achieve the level of mass you desire in 3-6 months.
Talk soon.
-Brandon
