Are you finally tired of skipping leg day? Have you realized that your chicken legs aren't doing your physique justice? Is walking around on wooden stilts no longer your thing?
If so, you might want to look for more basic training methods than this (don't worry, we've got those); what we have here is for the advanced trainee. If you ever skipped leg day in the first place, this article is more certainly not for you. This leg development compilation will be filled with brutal ways to transform your lower appendages into sequoia trunks.
1. Serrano Split Squats by Derek Dolgner
These utilize a triple pause for each rep: the bottom, mid point, and full extension. The pauses eliminate the stretch reflex and force you to keep constant tension on the working muscle. Don't lock out your knee all the way. Instead, keep all of the load on the working leg. These require a lot of mental focus for you get through them.
2. Leg Extension Dumbbell Squat Superset by Mark Watts
This quad-dominant superset will get blood flow to your quads like never before. We see John elevating his heels during the dumbbell squat to further the quad activation. This is a perfect pre-fatigue superset and fit wells into your post main lift work as well.
3. Quad Triset by Steve Gabrielson
I'll let John Meadows describe this one for you:
"I can't even begin to tell you how much pain we were in at this point. We did yolk bar squats, leg curls and then this triset. Something like seven or eight plates on the leg press, then chain lunges (the earlier sets we did more chains), followed by only two plates on the hack squat (that felt like 10 plates). This was the fourth round of this triset. This was pain tolerance at it's finest."-John Meadows
4. 7 Minutes of Leg Hell by Steve Gabrielson
This leg press belt squat superset will drain your soul. It is essentially constant work that begins with a build up of weight, peaks, and finally ends with a strip set. This is one of the most particularly brutal things you'll ever complete in training. Good luck to those of you who attempt it. You won't win, you'll only survive.
5. Lying Leg Curls by Mark Watts
This is no ordinary set of prone leg curls. This strip set with added partials will brutalize your hamstrings. The partials add a particularly intense dimension to the set. Dorsiflex your feet as hard as you can throughout the set for extra hamstring activation
6. Backward Prowler Push by Mark Watts
Using the elitefts drive pad attachment these make an awesome finisher for your quads. Here, we see John really putting a lot of focus into the movement. It is great because it can be done for distance, eliminating the need to count the reps and giving you an external cue to end your suffering.
7. Calf Training: Soleus and Tibialis Anterior Superset by Chuck Kimerline
Last but certainly not least is lower limb training. Even those who don't skip leg day often miss out on calf and tibialis training. This super set utilizing forced stretches and iso holds will pump for lower leg to the point that you stumble around. Don't continue to walk around with bird legs.
Hopefully you enjoyed the mild satirical nature of the article. I strongly encourage you to try the methods I outlined for you. These premier leg routines will be harsh but will put some size on your legs and more than likely some hair on your chest. Hopefully some of the movements and concepts become staples in your training and continue to help your grow. Bands, chains, specialty bars, and accessories will add all of the spice you need to continually keep your training fresh. Enjoy!
Header image courtesy of Jeffrey Sygo at www.symiphotography.com
Andrew Triana is a Springfield College student studying Applied Exercise Science. He competes in Strongman.
