I haven't gone through all of this thread, but I do want to step in and say that I incorporated the walking squats in my cardio session this afternoon and really liked them, Lori! Thanks for that tip, along with the backwards stairs and the squat steps down the stairs.
I would say that the following exercises helped me the most in building thick, hard, round glutes and creating more mass in my quads, though one must remember that I have a propensity through genetics in building a bubble butt and very thick quads. I am very short (4'11") and have very long muscle bellies...a good combination for both powerlifting and bodybuilding. And I began in powerlifting, which allowed me to build a foundation that cannot be replaced with anything else.
Free rack squats, wide stance. I used a wider than shoulder width stance when preparing for powerlifting meets and in fact did not change this stance until I began training for figure competitions. This exercise was a huge, huge, huge factor in building my glutes and creating enough muscle that would not disappear even when dieting. Squatting lower than a 90-degree angle is another key, and I continue to do that even when keeping my feet at shoulder width apart. I will squat somewhere between 135 pounds to 185 pounds for reps when prepping for shows, especially now that I'm back in bodybuilding. I will also incorporate drop sets, and I will typically superset these with very heavy leg presses in order to truly kill my lower body.
Walking lunges with either dumbbells or a bar on the back. I will use 35 or 40 pound dumbbells or an 80 pound bar on my back and do reps of 12 to 20 per leg, long strides, low to the ground. Make sure you create a 90-degree angle with the knee with every single step and push through the heel when rising up. I do not rest in between each step; I do not try to steady myself. I simply stride in the same manner as if I were walking. I will also throw in walking lunges (regular or diagonal) in cardio intervals when I'm outside and do as many as 50 to 100 per leg. I've walked an entire football field and back with these things.
Leg press with feet high on the platform. Make sure you do a real leg press, not a sissy one where the platform moves only a few inches. Knees to chest without rounding out the back or bringing it off of the bench. I put anywhere from four to six plates on each side of the leg press and do 12 to 20 reps. I usually superset this exercise with leg extensions, walking lunges, or heavy squats.
Smith machine squats with feet narrow and far out in front of you. When you sit down into this exercise, you should be at a perfect 90-degree angle at the knee, the thigh parallel to the ground. Push through the heels and use the glutes to rise up to starting position. The Smith machine is also good for stationary lunges.
I could go on and on and on. I just try to vary it up, pile up exercises one right after the other for supersets and trisets, and work my ass off to build it up. If you don't feel dizzy, aren't seeing spots, don't have a ringing in your ears, or think you are about to vomit on leg day, then you aren't training hard enough.
I also use the stepmill, the stepper, and a high incline treadmill for cardio (12% incline). Running stairs and sprints also work very well.
I don't have a problem with building my legs. I just have a problem in getting rid of the fat and water in my lower quads, and it's something I continually strive to achieve for each show. It will be very important to do at the World Championships. I'm incorporating a lighter leg day in addition to the heavier leg day and using very high reps and burning out the muscle. Plyometrics will have a bigger role in my training as well. We shall see how it all pans out in eight weeks.