Leg day doesn’t come around often for most but if you’re into your leg training you will understand the importance of leg day gear. Training legs usually consists of heavy squats, lunges, leg press and some other big lifts. These lifts put a lot of strain on your lower back, knees and the entire lower body. It’s important to understand the technique behind the squat before even looking at buying leg day essentials but this guide assumes you are past that point. Here’s a list of the things you need for leg day, I guarantee it will make leg day more enjoyable and will improve your lifts dramatically over a few weeks.
Weight Lifting Shoes
Weight lifting shoes help, A LOT. The concept behind them is to elevate the heel so that you can reach depth far easier than if you were wearing flat shoes. The shoes are also very sturdy and usually quite heavy. This not only makes you feel comfortable but it literally clamps your feet to the floor, this comes in useful when you’re really struggling on that final rep, the shoes help keep balance. Nike Romaleos 2 are recommended even though they are a bit pricey. Using just weight lifting shoes can add 10kg to your squat immediately.
Knee Sleeves
Knee sleeves or knee wraps are used by most powerlifters and olympic lifters. Rehbands Knee Sleeves are perfect for giving your knee support while going heavy and it also helps by not making your legs feel “bare” while squatting. What I mean by this is, when you squat in just shorts your legs feel bare and there is nothing to keep most of your legs warm. Knee sleeves help your knees feel warm, secure and keep them fixed. This stops wobbling to a degree and gives you the confidence you need to push on them final few reps.
Compression Leggings
Squatting with shorts has always been a preference over bottoms until compression leggings of high quality came into the market. Compression leggings help circulate blood around the legs, keep them warm and help you feel “secure”.
Tip: Put your knee sleeves on over your leggings to help slow down or stop the bad smell that builds up with the knee sleeves. They smell really bad if used on just skin. Compression leggings or joggers eliminate this problem.
Lifting Belt
Lifting belts help support your lower back. When you squat heavy it’s easy to leave your torso and back loose and that causes your form to drop. Another benefit of the lifting belt is when you breathe in on the way down with squats and blow out hard on the way up, you can push your stomach and blow out against the belt. This helps make you feel a look more sturdy and tighter and always helps me on the final few reps. The recommended belt of choice is a lever belt by the Strength Shop, great value for money and amazing customer service.
Wireless headphones/Ear phones
There is nothing worse than squatting with cable headphones and the cable getting pulled or tangled while squatting. Music gets cut off and it just puts you off, nightmare. You guys will know what I’m on about if you’re still using cable headphones. Invest in some wireless headphones, seriously! You can keep your phone in your bag and squat without worrying about cables getting tangled under the belt or pocket.
Hoodie or Jacket
Hoodie or jacket essential for leg day!? What? Let me explain. This is down to personal preference. I like feeling warm when squatting. Wearing a hoodie or jacket helps me feel comfortable and “solid” while squatting, as weird as it sounds. Try your next squat day in a hoodie, compression leggings and a knee sleeve and you will immediately feel the difference!
Conclusion
That’s pretty much it guys! Leg day is an important day of the week. Feeling mentally and physically prepared for it means you may start enjoying it and hitting it hard. Improving squat strength will translate to a more powerful athlete on the field no doubt. Using the gear in this guide will also reduce the risk of injury. Comment below what your leg day essentials are and I will add them to this article!
Leg Day Quotes:
“Friends don’t let friends skip leg day!” via @rugbywarfare
“Squats are like life, it’s about standing up when something heavy tries to keep you down”
P.S You can buy any 3 items from our new range for £50 (saving you £25), We ship globally too.
Use code “RVSA50” to apply the discount.
