The following details my Tuesday morning depletion leg workout. I train alone on Tuesday morning because I go into Gold’s Gym really early – 5am. This is officially my last day for training legs before competing in a Saturday competition. Here is the workout…
Seated Leg Curls
I used a unilateral Life Fitness machine so the weight listed is per each leg – FYI.
Set 1 x 20 reps with 40lbs
Set 2 x 20 reps with 40lbs
Set 3 x 20 reps with 40lbs
Set 4 x 20 reps with 40lbs
*The key here is to simply pump out the reps to deplete muscle glycogen and stop well short of failure.
Alternate: Hip Thrusters & Leg Extensions
I alternated between these two exercises to speed up the workout and minimize rest breaks – FYI.
Hip Thrusters x 20 reps with 135lbs
Alternate with…
Leg Extensions x 20 reps with 110lbs
*The key on the hip thrusters is continuous tension so pump out all 20 reps non-stop. Use the same technique on the leg extensions.
Banded Leg Press
I used two of these bands: https://www.elitefts.com/pro-light-resistance-band.html.
Set 1 x 20 reps with 1 plate/side + band
Set 2 x 20 reps with 2 plates/side + band
Set 3 x 18 reps with 3 plates/side + band
Set 4 x 15 reps with 4 plates/side + band
Set 5 x 12 reps with 5 plates/side + band
Set 6 x 8 reps with 6 plates/side + band
*I would normally stay away from bands on a depletion workout because they tend to overload the eccentric phase of the rep leading to excessive muscle trauma and soreness. However, my quads recover really quickly and I like pushing a little more weight on leg press. Start with the reps high and work your way up in weight and down in reps until you get to 6-8 reps and then call it a day.
Walking Lunges
Set 1 x 12 strides/leg with bodyweight only
Set 2 x 12 strides/leg with bodyweight only
Set 3 x 12 strides/leg with bodyweight only
*Alternate legs and gently touch your trailing knee with each stride pausing briefly at the bottom to stretch out your quads and hip flexors. I stretched my quads and hamstrings really well between each set.
That concluded this depletion leg workout.
Train smart!
Mark