Back with another bomb workout,today we'll be working legs(most painful part),we're targeting every muscle in the lower body ,our routine is combined of eight exercises be prepared to spend at least an hour and half doing these exercises,every set should be taken for granted ,we're not going to failure until the last set or maybe not ,try to feel the contraction in the muscle for every rep ,be slow,smart and effective,doing these exercises is beneficial for strength ,coordination and longevity .
With that said ,prepare your water bottle and your favorite playlist and let's do it !
Warm ups(20s):
1-Slow high knees
2-Arm circles
3-Slow butt kicker
4-Toe touch circles
5-Torso twists
6-Leg swings
7-Air Squat
8-Warrior two
9-Jumping jacks
Strength Routine:
Exercise One:Box jump squat twists [4 sets,from 3 to 5 reps each side,30s to 1 min rest]
Note:for a more easy version ,cut off the jumping part, do it on the floor maintaining a good squat form ,with abs contracted and a straight back ,that's important .
Exercise Two:Squat (normal stance and narrow stance) [6 sets ,From 10 to 16 reps,1 min rest]
Set 1 (Normal stance):pick a weight from 15 to 30 lbs ,abs and traps contracted ,looking straight ahead do 10 to 16 reps with it ,try pushing with the heels from the floor up,squeeze the quads and glutes ,always make balance for both legs, if you're feeling it more on one side change foot position look at yourself in the mirror ,maybe you're rushing one leg from the other ,make room for changes.
Set 2 (Narrow stance ):use same weight but narrow your squat position ,the foots should be parallel to the shoulders ,it's a little bit challenging ,now you're involving more of the glutes ,contract them throughout the motion ,be careful not to make pressure on the knees .
Set 3(Normal stance):Add from 50-70% the previous weight and do 12 reps.
Set 4(Narrow stance):Same weight ,do 12 reps.
Set 5(Normal stance):Use heavier weight and do from 8 to 10 reps.
Set 6(Normal stance):Get lighter weight and do 10 to 12 reps.
Exercise Three:Bulgarian split squat [4 sets left and right leg,10 to 20 reps]
Use a chair or your bed or in any other higher platform that should be at your knee level ,get in a lunge position ,the front leg with the feet on the floor,knee bent at 90 degrees and the back leg resting on the chair ,the back feet should rest on the edge of the chair allowing mobility of the ankle,now in this position you can either bend forward with the chest which will involve more of the quads or staying in the center involving more of a glutes and hamstings ,it's up to you ,from this position holding dumbbells on both sides, let yourself sink in the bottom with a vertical line by bending the knees until the back knee almost touch the floor ,contract the glutes ,quads and hamstrings ,at position B push up with the heel ,squeezing the glutes and every muscle until you are back at the first position,do this until the reps are finished ,then switch legs .
Exercise Four:Hip thrusts [5 sets,12 to 16 reps]
Set up between 15 to 30 lbs in the barbell ,for the first set do 12 to 14 reps ,push with your heels squeezing the glutes , quads and hamstring to the top ,then still maintaining the contraction let the weight go down slowly controlling everything .
Note:the hip thrust should not be exaggerated ,make a straight line with your back ,with the legs at 90 degrees .
Exercise Five:Pistol squats [6 to 10 reps ,5 sets]
or assisted holding to a strap or a chair:
What you should start with is an assisted pistol squat ,this exercise is for advanced but you can get the benifit of it only when exercuting it properly ,so here is how to do both assisted and normal pistol squats:
First ,starting with the left leg ,raise the other leg a feet from the floor ,next contract the glute of the left leg ,squeeze the abs and slowly start bending the knee letting yourself going down ,note that you are not going down in a vertical line ,that would load the knee causing you to lose balance and eventually leading to knee problems ,try going more on a diagonal line ,this will result in a more wide angle between the glutes and the calves making them resist your weight and obviouslly the more you go going the harder it becomes to maintain that position which would result in strengthening your glutes and calves ,next step starts when you reach your threshold ,for assisted squats ,you can use a box to rest on it or use resistance bands to hold on to ,either ways you're at a sitting position ,for non-assisted squat ,you let the leg fully bend (ass to the grass),the other leg straight forward to maintain balance ,the next phase is going up to a standing position ,and how to do that is by follwing the same steps as before ,contract the glutes ,hams and quads ,push yourself with the heel ,contracting the abs ,breath deep ,feel the weight of your body on one leg ,finally go up straight to a stranding position ,this is one rep.
Exercise Six (Burnout/optional):Goblet squat [4 sets,12 to 16 reps,1 min rest]
This exercise tagets primarily the glutes ,you hold a dumbbell in the centre and squat as deep as possible ,some people prefer to stand on two dumbbells to get more depth which is risky at this point ,just have both feet on the ground and squeeze the glutes from the bottom up .
Exercise Seven (Burnout/optional):Reverse lunges[4 sets,12 to 16 reps,1 min rest]
Exercise Eight:Calf raises [3 sets ,10 to 20 reps,1 min rest]
You can do the normal version or the modified one ,for the modified one the foot are either 45 degrees out ,or in ,split the workout by doing 10 reps with each version .
Cool Down (20 s):
1-Toe touch stretch
2-Standing Quad stretch
3-Inner thigh stretch
4-Pigeon stretch
5-Deep gluts stretch
6-Supine twist stretch
7-Butterfly stretch
