building muscle mass in your legs by squats?

Hi again everyone, you guys must be sick of excercise questions by now, sorry. Anyway I was reading on the internet to build muscle in your legs "squats" are a good way to do this.

They recommend you stand on your toes, hands behind your back and keep your back straight. Then squat till your butt nearly reaches the floor and hoist yourself up.

Anyway I tried this but the thing is I could I only do it for about 2 minutes because my legs got dead tired and I couldn't do another single squat!

Anyway my questions are do these "squats" really help you get muscle mass in your leg? After I finished my "squats" my legs were so tired I could hardly walk. Felt like my legs where on fire.

Another thing is doing squats for only 2 minutes every second going to actually benifit me? (I would do them for longer if I could, but they are HARD FOR ME!) Or should I do my 2 minute squats, then wait a couple of hours til my legs recover and go again? Thanks guys.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that squats work best for your gluteus maximus (butt). I think that the secondary muscles that squats also tighten are quadraceps and gastrocnemeus.

I do squats only for my gluteal muscles. You did mention that it's hard to do. It sounds like you're actually doing your squats right! No pain, no gain right?

If you want bigger calf muscles, then I think that one of the best exercises is bike riding, you'll build a lot of definition and edurance in your lower leg; especially if you ride on steep hills.

Don't go too far down or you could hurt your back....Keep your back straight...like if you had a pole going through your mouth through your body and out your butt...KEEP YOUR BACK STRAIGHT...go down so that your knees break a 90 degree plain and keep your head up looking at the ceiling or a high point on the wall...you don't have to touch your butt to the floor, that too far...ask someone (assuming you're at a gym) for a little advise...don't worry about how much or how long you can do/go for now, give your muscles time to develop...mahlina is right biking is great for legs

surfdog had good tips for form. Squats are great to build up muscles in the whole leg area. In fact squats are one of the best exercises you can do for your whole body, not only are your legs really working but so are your back muscles, and stabilizers (abs).

I have done alot of studying on weightlifting during the last year, if you have any questions, please feel free to message me.

Squats are a great excercise that will give you overall body strenght. You don't have to do it for two minutes because you are susposed to be doing it in sets. Start with light weights and work your way up. You don't have to go to the floor for them to work. You bend down to where you are comfortable doing it. You can hurt your back and knees way too easily with this excercise so BE CAREFUL. Squats also release some hormones that stimulate muscle growth throughout your body. I like to do my squats in sets of ten with weight that I can barely push up and sets of fifteen of lighter weight. I would start light and work you way up. It sounds like you are over training yourself and you will never see the gains you want by over training. Take your time Rome was not built in a day and neither was muscles. If you train/eat right then you will start to see the gains you want.

I have been working out for about three months now and I am starting to see some gains now. You wont see much in the beginning so don't get discouraged.

PM me if you want some more suggestions.

Hubman

Yes, squats are one of the greatest excercises for you.. When I do squats I use a barbell and put it behind my neck using a squat rack of course.. I usually use 115 pounds and go down 10 times then wait 2 minutes and do it again for about 4 sets.. If you do this right your legs will kill you for about a week...