This is Your Fortress: Legs
Seeing as how our legs make up the base of our body and are one the core units of our everyday movement, I wonder, why do people avoid leg day at the gym. No one ever misses chest or arm days so what is the difference? If I had to pick a reason I would say it’s due to the fact that people do not notice your legs, at least not like they notice a well developed set of arms or a thick chest. Well do yourself a favor, develop a part of your body that you actually use everyday and reap the benefits of a sturdy fortress.
Being able to see the three main heads of the quadricep (the rectus femoris is kind of overlapped by the vastus intermedius so you cannot really see it) is definitely an ego boost, and it should be. It means you care about your functional physique and are not in the gym just for show. Working your legs often targets your transverse abdominals, the ab muscles that few people work and are responsible for sucking your stomach in and creating those Spartan like channels between each of the rectus abdominus heads (what we see as a six pack). Exercises like squats demolish everything from your lower back, to your trunk (abdominal region) and then of course every muscle that frames our legs. People will say, oh but squats can hurt me… So can this keyboard I am writing with.
Proper form is a critical part of any lift. It helps you not only hit the muscles you are trying to target but also to keeps you safe. Everyone should include squats in their workout, any of the variations of the squat is fine. The basic action of squatting utilizes half of your bodies muscle mass in one motion and because of this has been shown to significantly spike insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-2 and -3 levels. Not IGF-1 levels as many people seem to believe. Site specific IGF-1 does increase in the tissue being activated, but blood serum levels do not, I repeat do not increase. IGFBP level increases though means that your body is becoming a much more efficient machine at repairing itself and growing by partitioning IGF-1 in a more effective manner. So what does this mumbo jumbo mean? It means you will pack mass on your legs faster than you will pack it anywhere else on your body making leg day that much more rewarding for those that decide to show up for this beast of days.
Give this routine a workout your next leg day and see if your legs don’t feel like rubber bands afterwards.
- Warmup 10 minutes on stationary bike
- Leg Extension Machine
- 4 Sets
- 10~12 Reps
- Hack Squat Machine
- 4 Sets
- 10~12 Reps
- Leg Press
- 5 Sets
- 6~8 Reps
- Barbell Squats
- 3 Sets
- 8~10 Reps
- Lying Leg Curls
- 4 Sets
- 10~12 Reps
- Stiff Legged Dead Lifts
- 4 Sets
- 8~10 Reps
I bet you are saying man this guy is mad. No, I have goals. I do not want to be a monster, or anything close. I want to have a total body physique and that means not ignoring the wheels under me. Trust me, the night after a workout like this, is the best sleep and the feeling of instability from busting your ass is rather pleasing.
Keep in mind that because the squats come in half way through the routine, you do not have to use heavy weights. Two plates on each side will feel like ten. Just keep looking up, do not roll your back and for all that this is worth, push your dam feet through the ground and come up with that barbell. if you are not gasping for air at the end of each set, reanalyze what you are doing and get serious about this.
On the stiff legged dead lifts try putting some plates under your toes to really put some stress on your hamstrings. You WILL feel the difference. I just believe in getting the most out of every second I put in the gym and these little things help me do that.
Until next time, build up that fortress of yours, and let me know what you think about this routine.
