Almost everyday I see John (not his real name) in the gym. Over the last 6 months he has put on about 8kg of lean muscle, impressive progress for a hardgainer. His shoulders are broader, his back thicker, his arms wider, but his legs... the same. So John came to me asking what he was doing wrong with his leg training. So we sat down and went through his current training programme. The result was simpler than you might think. John did: 3x10 back squats, deadlifts, leg press, calf raises
Not unreasonable at all.
Compared to shoulders; 4x8-12 military press, arnold press, front raise, lateral raise, cable variations to finish. The muscles in the legs are big prime movers. They will require larger stimulus to challenge the muscles and instigate adaptive change.
It's not uncommon to see people training 4 different variations of extension at the elbow yet only a couple for the knee. The muscles in the triceps are significantly smaller than the quadriceps. The simple solution is higher volume. You might be thinking John was foolish there but the foolish thing is that he is one of very many who do the exact same thing in the gym.
Are you truly training your legs enough?
B.A.L
Building Athletic Lifestyles
Image:
http://www.kingofthegym.com/quadriceps-femoris/