The leg workout I am going to describe to you today is one that I have done on and off for the last 3 years. It’s short, brutal, efficient and effective!
Now for a lot of people out there this may not seem like enough work, but if you truly push yourself on all the working sets – you will definitely see progress- maybe even some of the best gains of your life.
I suggest you train legs every 4 to 5 days and alternate between this and your normal leg routine every second leg workout- so this workout is done once every 8-10 days.
The first exercise is the Squat. Perform two warm up sets with 50% and 70% of your working weight for 5-10 reps each. Now load on a weight you can normally get 12-15 reps for and shoot for 20 reps on your first working set. If you make 20 reps you will add 2.5 kg in the next workout. If not stay on that weight until you do. Have no longer than a minutes rest then shoot for 10 reps on the second set.
Once you do this you will realise that even 2 sets can feel like a workout! However we now move onto deadlifts- 2 warm up sets of 3-5 reps, 50% and 70% respectively, then one working set of 5 reps. Have about 30 seconds to 1 minute rest in between these sets. If you reach 5 reps you will add 5 kg in the next workout.
Honestly a lot of people could stop right here and that would be enough to stimulate the development of their legs from top to bottom, however I find tacking on 2 sets of leg press calf raises (for those who need more calf size) for 20 reps, 30 seconds rest, then 10 more reps with the same weight beneficial for me. Again once you reach the target rep goals add 5 kilos to the leg press next workout.
In short:
- 2 working sets of Squats 20, 10 reps
- 1 working set of Deads 5 reps
- 2 sets of Leg press calf-raises 20, 10 reps
I would just like to mention that your Squat and Deadlift technique must be on point for each rep. If you cannot perform another rep in good form stop. Remember there is always another workout to improve your performance (Not if you get injured through sloppy form though).
So there you have it- my favourite 5 set leg work-out. 5 sets of honest hard work that will augment your current leg training programme and help you become a stronger and bigger athlete!