F U N F E A R L E S S F I T N E S S . C O M
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On the road to a healthy lifestyle, fitness is your essential traveling companion. Have fun together!
| Here's the plan - Get a Great Leg Workout that leaves you exhausted yet satisfied. For clarification, this is a quadricep-focused leg workout. And the weights listed are what I used, but they are just for comparison. In general, I prefer to train the lower body using a higher rep range. I believe that this gives the best results - both aesthetically and functionally. 
So let's do it!Leg press. 4 sets of 8 reps @ 315 lbs
Dumbbell plie squat. 4 sets of 15-20 @ 80 Leg extension. 5 dropsets of 15 total reps @ 75, 62.5, 50 Walking lunges. 4 sets of 30 reps, bodyweight Sideways kettlebell pick-up. 4 sets of 15 @ 35 (two sets on each side, see below *) Seated calf raise. 3 sets of 12 @ 70 Standing calf raise. 3 sets of 20 @ 100 If you dare, complete this workout with intervals on either the stairmaster or a treadmill. Spike that heart rate and burn those legs!! * Sometimes called a Suitcase Pickup, this unilateral exercise is performed with feet shoulder-width apart and the weight held in your right hand. Bend knees and stick butt backwards until weight touches the ground near your right foot. Stand up again, remembering to keep shoulders back. Repeat for reps, then switch sides on the next set. _________________________________________________________________________
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| Thanksgiving Day Pain.
While others slaved over a hot oven or argued with inlaws, I went to
the gym. Despite the intensity of the workout, it was an altogether
rewarding experience!
6 sets Smith Squats with between 140 and 150 lbs on the bar for 8-10
reps per set. Remember, for optimal safety and muscle recruitment, feet
should be placed well in front of the machine - such that at the bottom
of the squat upper and lower legs form a 90-degree angle hinged at the
knees. Push up through the heels and squeeze those glutes at the bottom!
4 sets of Kettlebell Deadlifts for 15 reps apiece. If kettlebells are not available, dumbbells of an appropriate weight may be substituted for equal effect. Remember that we are isolating the hamstrings - legs should be only slightly bent and back should remain perfectly flat - no hunching allowed as you hinge forward from the hips. 4 tri-sets of dumbbell plie squat + kettlebell deadlifts + standing calf raises in smith machine. For the plie, hold a single dumbbell (I used a 45) in both hands with feet spread wide and toes pointed 45-degrees out. Upper body should remain upright with shoulders back. Kettlebell deadlifts (see above) performed immediately after squats to maximize the burn. Standing calf raises using a full range of motion and moderate resistance (for me, 90 lbs on the bar) to challenge the muscles of the lower legs. 3 supersets of machine quad extensions + hamstring curls. This is the final strength exercise of the workout, and I kept reps between 10 and 15 at moderate weight to finish off those muscles. Then, if you dare, follow me to the stairmaster for 20 minutes of heart-pumping intervals! During this workout, all the major muscles of the lower body have been challenged. The lower body contains some of the largest muscle groups of the body, so building mass here will make the most profound metabolic difference. Plus, who doesn't like a shapely body? Now, wasn't that more fun than listening to gramps? And dinner is totally guilt-free! _________________________________________________________________________
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| At Fun Fearless Fitness, today's Workout
was all lower body: After 20 minutes of intervals on the stairmaster, I
moved to the weight room for an intense 45 minutes. Sweat poured and
muscles screamed, but the conquest was worthwhile. Keep up if you can ;) 4 tri-sets consisting of: Static
Lunges (10 reps per leg holding 20 lb dumbbells) + Plie squats (holding
a single 45 lb dumbbell for 20 reps) + step-ups onto a 12" or 15" bench.
Remember, tri-sets, like supersets, are performed with as little rest as
possible between exercises.
5 supersets consisting of straight-legged deadlifts (45 lb dumbbells for 12 reps) + unweighted step-back lunges. On the last set of deads, I did a dropset, lowering weights to 35's after the first 8 reps. 4 supersets of quad extensions + hamstring curls. On the third and fourth set of each, I dropped the weight after 10 reps and did another 10 til the burn was unbearable. The first and second superset were done for 15 reps. 4 supersets of Smith machine squats (75 lbs on the bar for 10-15 reps) + more stepups. For optimum safety and muscle action, squats on the Smith machine are performed with legs far in front such that at the bottom of the squat, knees form a right-angle between lower leg and thigh. 4 sets of standing calf raises in the Smith machine, 100 lbs on the bar and repping til failure (about 20 to 25 for me today). Immediately after each set, performed 10-15 unweighted calf raises to really get the burn into the lower leg muscles. 5 sets of seated calf raises. 55 lbs for the first 4 sets (aiming for 15-20 reps) with the last set being a burnout to failure using a 45 lb plate. Walking slowly, I exited the weight room, feeling the familiarly welcome tightness from calves to hamstrings to quads to shapely glutes. As a reminder, we are training the lower body with higher repetitions (and thus lower weights) than the upper body due to the functional demands upon our legs. After all, our legs must carry us though the entire day - performing activities like walking and bending - whereas the upper body's muscle recruitment is much briefer and more intense in nature. While a balanced fitness program will also include high-rep endurance work for the upper body and low-rep strength exercises for the lower, it makes sense to train muscles according to their function. In this way we can achieve the best balance between performance in and out of the gym. In good health and sore gams . . . Til the next workout . . . _________________________________________________________________________
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