SO IT’S LEG day today and you need some guidance or a fresh new programme.
Follow this plan and you’ll have quads like world-renowned track sprinter and quad King Robert Forstemann in no time….
Well, maybe not quite, but more definition and strength in them than you currently have.
We’ve a six-exercise plan designed here and a detailed routine for you to follow over the next couple of months. The exercises are; front squats, static lunges super setting leg curls.
Enjoy.
A) Front squats
The front squat is an excellent exercise to develop quad strength but it does take a while to master. To that extent, we suggest using just a barbell with no weight to start with. You can add the weight afterwards as you progress.
Starting position: Place the bar on a squat rack around shoulder height. Rest it across your upper arms and shoulders. Now lift it and step forward and away from the rack. Ensure you’ve a comfortable foot stance, shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed slightly outwards for stability.
Action: Lower the bar by driving your hips back, keeping your chest tall and knees over your heels as best you can. It’s important to keep your feet pressed into the floor and resist the temptation to rock forwards or backwards.
Squat down until your thighs are parallel with the floor, hold for a second and slowly lift back up, exhaling as you return to the starting position.
Do eight reps, re-rack the bar and rest until the top of the next minute. Your eighth rep should almost be to failure. Perform three more sets of eight.
This type of squat places the emphasis on your quads as well as your core muscles.
B) Static lunges super setting kettlebell pistol squat
This next set of exercises is a super set; it will be done with no rest in between sets or exercises.
1. Static lunges
These are excellent for your hamstrings and glutes but especially your quads muscles.
Starting position: From a standing position take one long step out in front of you and plant the knee of the opposite leg into the floor. Go without a weight to start with. Add these later.
Action: With your hands hanging down by your sides, lift upwards, hold for a second and return to starting position. Repeat eight times (eventually with weights) and change legs. This can be done with either a barbell across the shoulders or with a dumbbell in each hand. For an additional stretch, place the rear foot on a bench.
2. Kettlebell pistol squat
Starting position; Pick up a kettlebell with two hands and hold it into your chest. Take one leg off of the floor and squat down on the other flexing the knee and sitting back with the hips, holding the kettlebell up in front of you.
Action; Hold the bottom position for a second or two and then reverse the motion, driving through the heel and keeping your head and chest up. Lower yourself again and repeat 15 times on each leg.
3. Back squats
Starting position: Place a barbell on the meaty part of your back muscles – not on your neck.
Lift it from the squat rack using both feet, step back and keep you feet and arms shoulder width.
Action: Drive the hips back, keep chest tall, spine neutral, heels below the knees and your belly tight. Lower your rear like you’re going to sit in a chair. This step is the most important because you cannot let your upper body go past your knees.
Three sets of eight followed by a one-minute rest is adequate to generate a muscular adaptation.
C) Leg extensions super setting with dumbbell seated box jumps
This next set of exercises is a super set; it will be done with no rest in between sets or exercises.
1. Leg presses
Most gyms will have these machines and they’re as easy to use as they are beneficial.
Starting position: Sit on the machine and place your legs on the platform directly in front of you and maintain a shoulder-width foot stance. If you’re a beginner, add a weight you know you can push. Don’t surprise yourself by putting too much on as this is a potentially dangerous machine. Now, disengage any safety locks and lower yourself until your knees are bent at 90 degrees, keeping your back pressed firmly against the machine.
Action: As you inhale, push yourself back up using your quadriceps before slowly lowering yourself back to the starting position as you exhale.
Repeat 20 times for one set.
2. Dumbbell seated Box jumps
Starting position: Position a box a couple of feet away from a bench. Hold a light dumbbell close to your chest using both hands and seat yourself on the bench facing the box.
Action: Now, in one fluid movement, plant your feet, leap up onto the box and land on it with both feet, absorbing the impact by allowing your hips and knees to bend. You can even perform a slight squat on top of the box. Step off the box and return to the starting position.
That’s one, we suggest 10 reps, supersetted with the leg presses.