Leg Day. The day we love to hate at the gym. Wobbling from station to station or machine to machine. Ugghhh. The workout is grueling. The next day is worse, especially if stairs are involved. This cycle I have two leg days each week: the first to concentrate on isolations the second is a compound day I like to call "I wish I'd never been born."
Isolations:
- Leg press to start (technically a compound, but it warms up my entire lower body): 2 warm up sets of 8-10x4pps, 4 working sets of 8-12x6-8pps (pps=45lb plates per side). Adjust foot placement to work different parts of the thigh: High=posterior chain (hams and glutes), Low=Quads, wide=inner thigh, narrow=outer thigh.
- Leg extensions (I prefer unilateral to prevent one leg overcompensating): 2 warm up sets of 10x40lb, 4 working sets of 8-12x75lb. Let the wobbling begin! If I don't feel wobbly after my four working sets, I'll seal the deal with 3-4 x 20-30second isometric holds of 55lbs per leg.
- Seated (Not Prone!) Leg curls: 2 warm up sets of 10x100lb, 4 working sets of 8-12x135-150lbs. Everyone's physiology is different, however for most people putting the hip in a hinged position (seated) allows for a better resistance curve and more activation of the hamstrings.
- Hip Abduction: 1-2 warm up sets of 10x165lbs, 4 working sets of 8-12x215lbs. Not just for the ladies guys, these outer thigh muscles are crucial for balance and stability of the upper leg, hip, and knee. Use the machine. The machine will protect you from tearing something if you try to go too heavy with cables.
- Hip Adduction: 1-2 warm up sets of 10x210lbs, 4 working sets of 8-12x310lbs. I call these my cowboy muscles. Hold on tight. You may lose the gap, but you'll be good for those late night rides.
- Standing Calf Raises: Technically I do these as a superset with extended range of motion (erom) raises without weights on an aerobics step (using a foam roller to assist with balance) and weighted flat-footed raises holding a 60lb dumbbell in each hand. 20 eroms immediately followed by 20 with weights. To hit the entire calf you can change the angle of your toes while maintaining a shoulder-width spread, or if that tweaks your ankles or knees you can simply change the width of your stance. I start out wide, go to shoulder width, then finish narrow. You can further combine the flat-footed raises with tib raises (toe raises), but I find it encourages rocking which leads to using more momentum than contraction to get me up on my toes. I've already said a lot, but I'm going to go on. Standing calf raises put more stress on the gastrocnemius (the part everyone wants to show off) and seated calf raises put more stress on the soleus which adds bulk, strength, and resilience to the lower leg, but is much harder to see in most people. The eroms are important for achilles tendon health, take it from someone who has torn both.
If you're still with me baby deers, it's time to tear it up.
Compounds:
- Bulgarian Split Squats: 2 warm up sets without weight, 3-5 sets of 8-12x35lb dumbbells in each hand. YouTube the form to make sure you get it right, otherwise you could blow out your knees. Doing these first ensures the rest of the workout is going to suck...but in a good way.
- Barbell Squats: 2 warm up sets with just a 20kg bar, 3-5 working sets of 8-12x155lbs. Focus on form. I go fairly light on these because I've had two back surgeries.
- RDLs: 2 warm up sets with 40lb kettle bells in each hand to focus on hinging and not bending. 4 working sets of 8-12x145lb barbell. I use lifting straps, I don't know how much they help, meh. I use an over/over grip instead of the more recently popular over/under grip. The over/under grip is a good way to tear your bicep. YouTube it. I like RDLs over other deadlifts because it really hits me in the hams.
- Walking Lunges: 2 warm up sets without weight, 3-5 working sets with high-hold 40lb kettlebells. This will get your wind going. Again be careful with your step length, you don't want to kill your knees.
- Step Ups: I use a 30" Rogue box for these. You can use any STABLE platform you have around. I don't recommend chairs. 2 warm up sets without weight, 3-5 working sets with 35lb kettlebells.