One 
of the biggest criticisms I hear about Men's Physique competitors is that they have no legs. They are simply average gym-goers absent of leg development who wake up one day and decide to donn some Hurley board shorts. I beg to differ. My leg training requires a 24-hour commitment. Some weeks I literally cannot sleep before "leg day" because I am so excited.
One cannot have an aesthetically pleasing (and contest-winning) body with "chicken-legs." I'm going to walk you through an intermediate leg workout for those competitors looking for award-winning wheels.
Please don't ignore or shortchange your warm-up. I'm sorry but walking on an incline for 5 minutes is not good enough for me. My warm-up consists of a handful of dynamic movements (legs swings, high knees, twisting lunges, etc.), light foam-rolling and some hip mobility work. After I am done with this (10-15 minutes later) I jump on the leg extension and do single-leg sets of 15-20. Not to pre-exhaust my legs but to drive blood into them and warm up the knee joint (similar to rope extensions before a close-grip bench press). After a proper warm-up, move on to:
Barbell Squats
You can't beat the basics. For a pure quadriceps builder, try some barbell front squats. Hold the bar with arms crossed on your upper chest and shoulders, unrack the weight and elevate your heels on 2.5 pound plates – this will aid in your flexibility and increase your range of motion. For overall leg development, stick to regular back squats. Make sure you keep your torso relatively upright, you attain the proper depth (depending on your goals) and you prevent your knees from caving in. 5 sets of 20/15/12/10/8.
Hamstring Curls
Since most average lifters tend to neglect their hamstring training, curls are inserted second for added emphasis. Your hamstrings have two functions: bending the knees and extending the hips. Hamstring curls will work the former (we will attack the latter in a second). Your hamstrings are used extensively in running and sprinting (fast-twitch dominant movements), so I recommend lower rep ranges (below 8-10) on curls for non-beginners. Lift the weight with your toes pointed up towards your knees explosively, pause briefly, then lower the weight SLOWLY with your toes pointed away from your body. Go heavy: 4 sets of 8/8/6/5. Exaggerate the negative.
Leg Presses
It's all 
about the foot placement. Since we have already abused our hamstrings, use a medium stance or narrower with feet placed towards the middle or lower portion of the platform. Put ego aside; I see countless individuals use horrible form when leg pressing. It's like everyone aced the "how not to leg press" class in high school. I hear it was an elective. No one cares if you can press 1,500 pounds with a 2-inch ROM. I'd rather you lower weight and actually feel all of your muscles working. 3 sets of 15-20 reps with a full ROM and slower, controlled negative.
Bonus: Try the "Ed Honn-patented-leg press-death-drop-set." For your last set (assuming you’re using a decent weight) do an extended set, going down one plate with each drop. Grit out those reps and aim for 75-100+ reps total (go to your happy place). Set up a pillow and "blankie" on the floor before the set so you have a place to take a small nap afterwards.
Romanian Deadlifts
Now we are focusing on the other function of the hamstrings – extending the hips. Since the glutes and spinal erectors are utilized during the RDL (good morning, back extension, etc.) make sure to keep the reps above 8-10. Go lighter with your deadlifts, 10-15+ reps and focus on using your glutes and hamstrings not simply your lower back.
Stand on a small box or step (for a better ROM) using a bar or dumbbells, slowly lower the weight – pause to re-engage the hamstrings – and come back up squeezing the glutes at the top of the lift. If you want to completely focus on hamstrings, come up to 3/4 range of motion then go back down -- constant tension for the hammies. Real men RDL. 3 sets of 15-20 reps.
Lunges
My God, do I love me some weighted lunges. What's that you say? Lunges are a female-only exercise? Really? Let’s walk to the parking lot and ask Mr. Coleman what he thinks of your statement. Think about what you need to bring up on your body and step accordingly; smaller steps for quads and bigger steps for hamstring/glutes. Find a nice long hallway (or parking lot) and start walking.
I take big strides for 15-20 reps per set. Sometime there are no numbers – only pain. ("My prediction... PAIN!") I love to do drop-sets for this exercise (Surprised?). After several walking-lunge drop-sets, you will need to call someone to pick you up from the gym (driving skills incredibly inhibited). 3 sets of 15-20 with one death-drop at the end.
There it is. I try to pick the exercises that give you the most bang for your buck then lay them out in a somewhat organized, intelligent matter. Let me go over a few key points: If you can squat pain-free then by all means GO SQUAT. Make sure you prioritize your hamstrings if they are lagging and work both functions of the muscle.
Yes, I'm sure you can "leg-press a house" but in all actuality your ROM sucks. So, please, lower the weight and focus on FORM. Drop-sets = new best friend. Real men RDL... and LUNGE. Whatever your fitness goals are, please train legs. Give them the love and attention they rightfully deserve. Because we all can't train chest and biceps 6x a week – that's another story...
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