The following details my primary leg workout from this past Saturday at Kirkland Gold’s Gym. I trained with Christina and the workout was designed by my coach, John Meadows. I made a few modifications along the way. Here is the workout…
Seated Leg Curl
I used the only leg curl machine available – a unilateral Life Fitness machine. Weight is per each leg.
Set 1 x 12 reps with 40lbs (warm-up)
Set 2 x 12 reps with 45lbs (warm-up)
Set 3 x 12 reps with 50lbs (warm-up)
Set 4 x 12 reps with 60lbs
Set 5 x 12 reps with 60lbs
Set 6 x 12 reps with 60lbs
Set 7 x 12 reps with 60lbs -> drop to 50lbs x 8 reps -> drop to 40lbs x 8 reps
*Hold the contraction for a spit second and perform perfect reps on every set. Finish with a drop set.
Leg Press
Set 1 x 15 reps with 2 plates/side
Set 2 x 15 reps with 3 plates/side
Set 4 x 8 reps with 4 plates/side
Set 5 x 8 reps with 5 plates/side
Set 6 x 8 reps with 6 plates/side
Set 7 x 8 reps with 7 plates/side
Set 8 x 8 reps with 7 plates/side -> drop to 6 plates/side x 8 reps -> drop to 5 plates/side x 25 reps
*The key here is to perform all your reps rest-pause style. Try to set the stops on the leg press so you come down until your knee is at 90 degrees before the weight bottoms out. Pause in the bottom position and then fire up as hard as possible. Finish your last set with 2 drops. On the final drop go all out for as many reps as you can get. I did 15, paused for oxygen, did another 5 reps, paused and finished with a final 5 reps for a total of 25. Brutal!
Hammer Strength V-Squat
John is using a Trusquat machine for this exercise, but most gyms don’t have it. Simply find something with some back support. I normally do hack squats, but opted for something a little different today. Since it doesn’t matter if the plates are even on each side I’m listing the total plates I used on the Hammer Strength V-Squat Machine.
Set 1 x 8 reps with 1 plate (feeder set)
Set 2 x 8 reps with 2 plates (feeder set)
Set 3 x 8 reps with 3 plates (feeder set)
Set 4 x 8 reps with 4 plates
Set 5 x 8 reps with 5 plates
Set 6 x 8 reps with 6 plates
Set 7 x 8 reps with 6 plates -> drop to 5 plates x 8 reps -> drop to 4 plates x 8 reps
*I used a narrow foot placement to hammer the quads. Work your way up doing sets of 8 reps until you get to a tough weight and then finish with a drop set.
Smith Machine Hip Thrusters
Set 1 x 12 reps with 95lbs
Set 2 x 12 reps with 145lbs
Set 3 x 12 reps with 195lbs
Set 4 x 12 reps with 245lbs -> drop to 195lbs x 12 reps -> drop to 145lbs x 12 reps -> drop to 95lbs x 12 reps
*Work your way up doing sets of 12 reps and holding the contraction for a split second at the top. On your final set do a drop set and hold in the contracted (top) position while your training partner strips the weight.
Cable Pull-Through
Set 1 x 10 reps with 170lbs
Set 2 x 10 reps with 170lbs
Set 3 x 10 reps with 170lbs
*Face away from the weight stack, hinge at the waist, allow your hips to drop back at the bottom and pull the handle attached to the lower cable pulley through your legs as you come up.
That concluded this primary leg workout. No videos as Christina was too busy helping to strip weight on most exercises today.
Train hard!
Mark