Leg Day Additions

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Soo, did my “heavy” leg day today, and felt like i had a little something in the tank, but i didn’t know where to go, since realistically i should be tired. anyhow, i’ll break it down in hopes you’re able to shed light/info:

Tuesday is a “dynamic” day, as i’ve slightly modified the WSBB4SB. something like; (setsxreps)
Depth jumps/box jumps 6x6
calves 3x24
lunges/step ups/bulg split-squats 3x12/leg
front squat/goblet squat 4x12
leg extensions 12,9,9
swiss ball curls/lying leg curls 12,9,9

Friday,“heavy” day looks like (weightxreps)

squat 135x12, 225x12, 275x10, & 315x6-7 for 3 ‘work sets’
Deadlift 225x12, 275x9, 275x9, 315x6-7, 315x6
calves

Today i did unilateral leg extensions cuz i just wasnt as gassed as i felt like i should be

what can i add to the heavy day in order to BLAST the shit out of my legs? i have 2 rest days to recover from whatever havoc i’ve wreaked upon myself. hack squats? pull throughs? I feel like it’s my quads that are the most energized, but don’t know any good lifts for them
thanks guy

-805

2

go check out ebomb’s training log. should give you some good ideas.

3

Hmmm, quads you say? I’ve taken mine from a weak point to a somewhat strong body part.

A few ideas, (that E-Bomb has done/does as well, FTR,)

  • Leg Press. Close stance, low on sled, toes slightly pointed. 5 second negatives, no lockout. 12+ reps for sets

  • Hack Squats. See above.

  • 100-rep leg extensions. Throw a weight on leg extensions, and see how many sets it takes to do 100 reps. No pussy-cheating squeezes and lockouts, though.

Do these, and you will be a better/lesser/much more fatigued man.

4

^all of those that SSC listed are great.

I really like sissy squats as a finisher…you can do them on the smith machine or on the hacksquat. 100 reps of those should do the trick.

I love walking lunges. One all out set with the heaviest weight possible for 25-50 steps or so is brutal especially after all other leg work.

There are so many more, but I usually think of them as I go along, can’t really do it off the top of my head…some of them are created in the ‘heat of battle’ lol, so check my log if you want, but I really like those that SSC said and the two I listed above.

5

I personally love hack squats. I still do regular barbell squats first in my workout, but I’d attribute most of my leg size to hack squats.

6

Anyone have/know of a GOOD tutorial vid for hacks? Obviously i could youtube it, however there are lots of jokesters whom think they know what they’re doing and are way off. I know the general idea and principle, however i’m sure my form will lack. thanks for your help dudes

**edit
sloh! good work man, your progress is fucking awesome! keep it up

7

Skip to 137

This is john meadows and dave tate. Also check out John’s article

I feel that really helped out my leg training. I also like leg ext at the beginning of quads to per-exhaust.

8

[quote]eightohfive wrote:
Anyone have/know of a GOOD tutorial vid for hacks? Obviously i could youtube it, however there are lots of jokesters whom think they know what they’re doing and are way off. I know the general idea and principle, however i’m sure my form will lack. thanks for your help dudes

**edit
sloh! good work man, your progress is fucking awesome! keep it up[/quote]

I don’t quite get it man. Your hack squats should be good form just like anything else. Ass out, shoulders back and tight, head neutral/slightly pointed up (whichever works best for you, personally,) and as was mentioned multiple times, put your feet low on the sled and semi-close together. It doesn’t need to be retartedly close together, though. Be smart about it.

Then… you squat with the weight. I’m really not sure what more there is to hack squatting, lol.

9

Thanks! I second the way John Meadows does it as shown above. Feet close together, all the way down past 90 degrees, don’t lock out, constant tension like a piston

10

Glute Ham Raises…(with proper form - a couple great articles here on T-Nation)

Best hamstring and glute-specific exercise there is IMO. I wish I had started doing them years back.

11

[quote]PimpBot5000 wrote:
Glute Ham Raises…(with proper form - a couple great articles here on T-Nation)

Best hamstring and glute-specific exercise there is IMO. I wish I had started doing them years back.[/quote]

Ya, these are great.

Like many have said already, check out Meadows’ leg training techniques, amazing stuff.

12

[quote]eightohfive wrote:
Soo, did my “heavy” leg day today, and felt like i had a little something in the tank, but i didn’t know where to go, since realistically i should be tired. anyhow, i’ll break it down in hopes you’re able to shed light/info:

Tuesday is a “dynamic” day, as i’ve slightly modified the WSBB4SB. something like; (setsxreps)
Depth jumps/box jumps 6x6
calves 3x24
lunges/step ups/bulg split-squats 3x12/leg
front squat/goblet squat 4x12
leg extensions 12,9,9
swiss ball curls/lying leg curls 12,9,9

Friday,“heavy” day looks like (weightxreps)

squat 135x12, 225x12, 275x10, & 315x6-7 for 3 ‘work sets’
Deadlift 225x12, 275x9, 275x9, 315x6-7, 315x6
calves

Today i did unilateral leg extensions cuz i just wasnt as gassed as i felt like i should be

what can i add to the heavy day in order to BLAST the shit out of my legs? i have 2 rest days to recover from whatever havoc i’ve wreaked upon myself. hack squats? pull throughs? I feel like it’s my quads that are the most energized, but don’t know any good lifts for them
thanks guy

-805
[/quote]
That is a good deal of work. Are you convinced that more work will yield more results? I am pretty sure that some, hell I am included, train because they simply like to train. Do you want to do more to get more of some result, be it size or strength? If strength, in which lift? Or do you want to do more because you feel you can?

13

I enjoy the benefits of training, mostly for it’s aesthetic and physical capability development. I love playing “backyard” sports and dominating the rec leagues. I’m not sure if more sets will produce greater results, thats kinda why i asked! i do feel like i can do more, so i would like to add what will be the most beneficial. I’m about an inch away from being able to dunk, and powerful legs should help me get there. Size would be good, however i am not looking for monster BB legs

14

Body-weight squats with one leg elevated are a great leg exercise; good for flexibility, too. Louie Simmons recommends them in his book and in at least one article. They sound much easier than they are, just bang out reps alternating legs until you can’t do any more. They are a really useful simple exercise for warming up or ‘finishing’. I also like Bulgarian split squats. KB swings will fry your posterior chain and most of the muscles of the thigh, too. If I use the leg press I’ll do a drop set which seems to fry the quads quite effectively.

Timed sets on pretty much any worthy leg exercise will leave you limping…

15

finished with hack squats today, did 4 sets of 12 @ 225, high tempo. BLASTED. still hurts to walk haha thanks guys

16

<–relative beginner, but I just wanted to contribute a bit:

[quote]buddaboy wrote:
If I use the leg press I’ll do a drop set which seems to fry the quads quite effectively.
[/quote]

I’ve been incorporating a drop set at the end of LP for the past few weeks. While I definitely agree with your assessment, I do want to ask: do you get a lot of lower-back stiffness after the drop set? I’m having trouble telling whether my form is going to crap by the end (i.e. I’m perhaps rolling my back a bit to grind out some of the final reps) or whether it’s just a consequence of doing so many reps in one sitting (total reps ends up being roughly 45).

[quote]buddaboy wrote:
Timed sets on pretty much any worthy leg exercise will leave you limping…
[/quote]
This is QFT. I remember when I first started a program that called specifically for set rest periods, it left me smoked. Now, I always track every rest period and keep them short. Makes a big difference for those last few sets.

17

[quote]The3Commandments wrote:
<–relative beginner, but I just wanted to contribute a bit:

[quote]buddaboy wrote:
If I use the leg press I’ll do a drop set which seems to fry the quads quite effectively.
[/quote]

I’ve been incorporating a drop set at the end of LP for the past few weeks. While I definitely agree with your assessment, I do want to ask: do you get a lot of lower-back stiffness after the drop set? I’m having trouble telling whether my form is going to crap by the end (i.e. I’m perhaps rolling my back a bit to grind out some of the final reps) or whether it’s just a consequence of doing so many reps in one sitting (total reps ends up being roughly 45).

[quote]buddaboy wrote:
Timed sets on pretty much any worthy leg exercise will leave you limping…
[/quote]
This is QFT. I remember when I first started a program that called specifically for set rest periods, it left me smoked. Now, I always track every rest period and keep them short. Makes a big difference for those last few sets.[/quote]

I have had a lot of lower back problems, and I pretty much NEVER use the leg press because it tends to aggravate my existing injuries. However, I have joined a commercial gym which has a half decent leg press, the only reason I experimented with it was because the squat rack was occupied, I use high rep drop sets so I can keep the weights low and protect my back.

I wouldn’t go heavy on the leg press for two reasons, firstly, to protect my back, and secondly because for me they don’t seem to build strength; but as a finisher after a heavy low rep front squat workout they are great for me.

18

How about high reps with heavy weight for leg press :P.

If you have an injury and can’t, then don’t push it, but IMO, high rep, heavy weight and continuous tension leg presses have helped me build some good legs.

19

How about high reps with heavy weight for leg press :P.

If you have an injury and can’t, then don’t push it, but IMO, high rep, heavy weight and continuous tension leg presses have helped me build some good legs.

20

I’m gonna do leg presses at the end this week… i’ll repost with my findings (levels of pain haha).