How Strength Coach Lauren Pak Approaches Athletic Leg Training Beyond Traditional Weightlifting
# How Lauren Pak Trains Legs Like an Athlete Instead of a Bodybuilder
Building strong legs goes beyond just lifting heavy weights. Strength coach Lauren Pak emphasizes that athletic lower-body development requires skills that many traditional gym routines overlook.
In a recent video on the Jason and Lauren YouTube channel, Pak highlighted that athletes need more than sheer strength. They must stabilize on one leg, move efficiently in different directions, absorb force, and generate quick power.
"If you want to build legs like an athlete, you need more than just brute strength in perfectly balanced positions," Pak said.
To cultivate these skills, she recommends three training approaches: single-leg strength work, multiplanar movement training, and loaded power exercises.
### Single Leg Strength (Skater Squat)
Pak believes single-leg strength is often ignored in many fitness programs. While exercises like squats, deadlifts, and leg presses build strength, most sports and daily activities require using one leg.
"Whether you’re walking, running, jogging, jumping, or cutting, you’re doing things on one leg," she explained.
One effective exercise for gaining this strength is the skater squat. Unlike a reverse lunge, the back leg stays elevated during the movement, forcing the front leg to manage balance and force production. Pak used this exercise during her ACL rehabilitation and credits it for helping to address side-to-side imbalances that can occur after an injury. She suggests beginners use TRX straps or rings for support before moving to weighted versions and eventually heavier variations.
### Multiplanar Movements (Slider Lateral Lunge)
The second part of athletic leg training includes moving beyond the traditional front-to-back movement. Many lower-body workouts happen in the sagittal plane, but sports often require side-to-side motion, rotation, and quick direction changes.
"Your body is meant to move in all directions, and so we want to train your legs to move in all directions," Pak stated.
To enhance this capability, she recommends the slider lateral lunge. This exercise, which uses a furniture slider under one foot, works the adductors, glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps while helping athletes control lateral movement. The loading position can influence the training effect; holding a weight in a goblet position helps keep the torso upright and targets the quadriceps, while a lower load emphasis focuses on the glutes and hamstrings.
### Loaded Power (Trap Bar Deadlift Jumps)
The last component of athletic leg training is power. While strength is about generating force, power is about doing it quickly.
"A lot of people can move a lot of weight slowly, but athleticism is also about being able to produce force quickly," Pak explained.
One of her top methods for this is the trap bar deadlift jump. Unlike traditional heavy deadlifts, the aim here is not maximum weight. Athletes use lighter weights to emphasize explosive movements through the hips, knees, and ankles. Pak stresses resetting between repetitions rather than rushing through sets. "It’s not about getting tired; it’s about moving explosively and using power," she added.
### Building Legs That Perform
Pak does not suggest abandoning traditional strength training. Squats, deadlifts, and foundational lifts remain important.
However, by adding single-leg exercises, multiplanar movements, and power-focused workouts, athletes can create lower-body strength that applies more effectively to sports and everyday activities. The goal, as Pak summarizes, is to build legs that not only look strong but also perform strongly.
### About the Author
Jeremiah Oliva is a writer dedicated to fitness, sports, and active living. With experience in content and social media management, he focuses on performance, mindset, and athlete development. Outside of writing, Jeremiah trains in boxing, cycles, explores the outdoors with his children, and plays the guitar.
This content originated from https://www.boxrox.com, your online magazine for competitive fitness.
