Killer Leg Routine

'Fry those Thighs' Leg Workout

Training the leg muscles can be an exhausting but rewarding experience but, if you're finding that gains have stopped and the next day soreness and/ or tightness has gone (technically referred to as DOMS, which stands for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), try the following (not recommended for those with less than 12 months of leg training experience):

Big Al's Killer Leg routine

We're going to approach the legs with only 3 exercises - the Squat, Leg Press and Calf Raise.

The Squat is approached as a power movement in this routine, and will rewards you with strength gains, so keep the working reps heavy and maintain good form. The downward movement must take your thighs so they are parallel to the floor or slightly below.. and keep your spotter close by just in case:

Pre-Exhaust Set: 12 reps at 60% of 1RM
Working Set: 4 Sets x 6 Reps at 100-85% of 1RM
Descending Set: 20 Reps at 40-50% of 1RM
Rest for 120s, take a drink then hit the Incline Leg Press...

Working Set: 4 Sets x 10-12 Reps at 75% of 1RM
Descending Set: 15 Reps at 50% of 1RM

Wipe the sweat off the leg press station, and stagger over to the Standing Calf Raise machine (or Donkey Calf Raise station if there's one available in your gym). Pump out 3 sets of 20 reps, ensuring full contraction at the top of the movement... and keep it moving!

Now..this is the hard bit... try remember those deep knee bends from primary school... ever tried Hindu Squats(try 'Google' this to get the proper technique)?

As a finishing move, belt out 50-100 Hindu Squats... your legs will truly fail if you've worked them hard.

Finally, stagger back to the changing room... and next day, if you find it difficult to walk, or pain when you get in and out of your chair... please don't go crying to your Mum!!

One important point worth stressing is that the last 2 sets of every exercise must take you to failure - so for squats that would be the final working set and the drop (i.e. descending weight) set, and similarly for the Leg Press. There is perhaps little point in explaining what we mean by 'failure' but for those who may not have experienced muscular failure before (silly assumption, but it does happen!), you should be in a state where you cannot physically manage another rep. We sometimes refer to this as the 'white noise' moment (i.e. you dont really hear anyone around you, you dont care who's watching... your whole being is focused on moving the weight). You know, once in a while, it's okay to scream when your getting that last rep out... just make sure you keep good form, otherwise you may open yourself to injury, and may find yourself unable to train again for some weeks. ( 1RM = One Rep Max)

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