The following details my primary leg workout from Saturday morning. I needed to deal with some things at my business so I went in extra early to train. This meant I trained alone at Eastside Gym in Redmond because I have a key and Gold’s Gym wasn’t open at 5:30am. My workout deviated rather heavily from what my coach, John Meadows, programed for a few reasons. 1) This is the final week of a 12 week program which was designed to lead up to a contest. I’m 6 weeks out from competing, not 1 week, so I wanted a bit more volume and intensity. 2) Training alone makes it a little less safe to push the limits on some exercises. 3) Eastside didn’t have all the necessary equipment to follow John’s program. Regardless, here is what I did…
Lying Leg Curls
I first performed 3 warm-up sets in the 12-15 rep range – FYI.
Set 1 x 8 (1.5) reps with 60lbs and plantar flexion
Set 2 x 8 (1.5) reps with 60lbs and plantar flexion
Set 3 x 6 (1.5) reps with 115lbs and dorsiflexion
Set 4 x 6 (1.5) reps with 115lbs and dorsiflexion
Set 5 x 10 (unilateral) reps with 50lbs
Set 6 x 10 (unilateral) reps with 50lbs
*The key on sets 1 & 2 is to keep your foot in plantar flexion (point toes) the entire time and do 1.5 reps with the half rep being from the peak contraction portion of the movement. So, you point your toes, curl the weight up until the pad hits your hamstring/glute, lower the weight half way, curl it back up to peak contraction and lower all the way. This counts as 1 rep and you will do 8 reps total. On sets 3 & 4 you will dorsiflex your foot (toes pulled back) the entire time and do 1.5 reps with the half rep being out of the stretched position. Basically the same concept as sets 1 & 2, but only 6 total reps and the half rep out of the bottom of the movement. Lastly, sets 5 & 6 you will alternate between legs doing straight full range reps until you get 10 reps on each leg. This was a complete departure from John’s program.
Leg Press
Set 1 x 25 reps with 1 plate/side
Set 2 x 20 reps with 3 plates/side
Set 3 x 15 reps with 4 plates/side
Set 4 x 15 reps with 5 plates/side
Set 5 x 12 reps with 6 plates/side
Set 6 x 12 reps with 7 plates/side
Set 7 x 10 reps with 8 plates/side
Set 8 x 8 reps with 9 plates/side
Set 9 x 8 reps with 9 plates/side + 1 plate on top
Set 10 x 8 reps with 9 plates/side + 2 plates on top
*John did call for leg press today, but for sets of 8 going up in weight until you hit a tough set of 8 and then adding weight for two additional sets of 6 reps. I simply started with high reps and worked up in weight allowing the additional pounds to drive my reps down. I planned to go until I couldn’t get 6 reps, but never made it. The leg press I used was different than the ones I typically use at Gold’s Gym, primarily due to the fixed seat position. I was forced to go with a high/wide foot placement so my knees traveled outside my torso as I came down with the weight. I was fairly strong in this position, but cut the exercise off because I was nervous about tearing something if I went any higher in weight despite still getting all 8 reps on the final set. I counted this as 5 working sets.
A picture of my foot placement:
Barbell Squats
I normally only do these with a cambered bar, but Eastside only had regular barbells. Also, my chiro has given me the green light to squat provided I use very light weight. Squatting is actually helping my lower back as my body relearns proper squatting mechanics. I tend to bend or squat crooked due to my lower back. At any rate, adjust your weight according to your ability.
Set 1 x 10 reps with 135lbs
Set 2 x 10 reps with 135lbs
Set 3 x 10 reps with 135lbs
Set 4 x 10 reps with 135lbs
*The key here is to utilize a medium to narrow stance and pause each rep at the bottom to really engage the quads. Also, don’t come up all the way at the top to maintain continuous tension. This was a departure from John’s program.
Hip Thrusters
Set 1 x 15 reps with 135lbs
Set 2 x 15 reps with 135lbs
Set 3 x 15 reps with 135lbs
Set 4 x 15 reps with 135lbs
*The key here is to hold the weight and flex your glutes for a 1 second count in the contracted position at the top on each rep until you get to rep 12. At that point pump out the last 3 reps. This was not in John’s program.
Barbell Stiff Legged Deadlifts (elevated)
I stood on a small platform to ensure I good stretch since I used the same weight I had set up for hip thrusters as per this picture:
Set 1 x 12 reps with 135lbs
Set 2 x 12 reps with 135lbs
*The small platform forced me to use a narrow foot placement which was actually a nice change. I primarily focused on the stretch and only brought the bar up to just above my knee on each rep.
That concluded this primary leg workout.
Train hard!
Mark