The legs being the largest and strongest muscle group, require a higher volume, load and variance. Leg sessions can usually be divided into sessions of high volume/low to moderate load, high load/low volume, power/speed/plyometrics, muscle or muscle group specifics, or circuits.
When creating a split, I recommend implementing at least a single leg session a week, and up to as many as 3 sessions, with the higher volume requiring a decrease in intensity and load. Variations in volume, load and exercise selection, on a session to session and/or week to week basis, is always welcomed.
A session and a program should always have a goal in mind, whether that be, strength, hypertrophy, speed, power, conditioning, weight loss or the training of specific movement pattern. A concise goal will allow you to select relevant exercises and set/rep schemes. A well-made program should take advantage of a blend of utensils, whether that be barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, cables and bands, a use of varying degrees of grip and plains, and lastly, a method/format that varies from the standardised straight sets format, I tend to favour supersets as my method of choice, specifically a superset that pairs an agonist with its antagonist.
To reduce the chance of injury, plateauing and mental burnout, I recommend variation. I’m a firm believer in varying exercise choice, program methodology and session goals, whether that be hypertrophy or strength. Slight alterations to programming on a weekly to 10 weekly basis, can do wonders. Like most things in regards to strength and conditioning, there is an opposing view, and in the end personal preference trumps all and if following a singular workout with little to no variation for extensive periods of time, is a preference, by all means, pursue that method. Many a successful lifter has been founded on programs of little variance.
When programming, selecting a tempo for which a repetition is to be lifted at, is important for increasing the time a muscle is eccentrically loaded or the speed of the concentric. Tempo is read as the following, 2:0:1, the first number being the time taken to complete the eccentric (lowering of the weight) portion of the lift, the middle number being the pause held between contractions and the final number being the time taken to complete the concentric (lifting of the weight) portion of the lift. For strength, it is important for the eccentric to be slowed as the human body is roughly 40% stronger eccentrically and it is important to lift the weight as fast as the weight allows, in the concentric portion of the lift. For hypertrophy, a slower eccentric and pauses at the top and/or bottom of the lift, increase the muscles time under tension, thus increasing muscle tissue damage, thus increasing hypertrophy.
If the goal is to increase max strength, rest periods of up to 5 minutes are the most beneficial, as the longer rest allows for the central nervous system to adequately recover, to lift the same weight as previous sets, with minimal fatigue. This long of a rest is not beneficial for hypertrophy, instead, if hypertrophy is the objective of the session, a rest period of 60-120 seconds is more optimal, as blood hasn’t begun to flow out of the muscle, lactate is produced and hormone production increases. For a mixture of strength and hypertrophy, 2-3 minutes rest periods are long enough to allow for the muscle and central nervous system to recover moderately and brief enough to keep blood within the muscle and to stimulate anabolic hormone production.
Listed below are 10 differing upper body workouts, enjoy.
A1. Reverse Lunge, 4 sets of 6 reps
A2. Single leg Romanian deadlift, 4 sets of 6 reps
B1. Bulgarian split squat, 4 sets of 12 reps
B2. Swiss ball Single leg hamstring curl, 4 sets of 12 reps
C. weighted flat single leg calf raises, drop sets, 3 sets of 3 weights, max reps at each weight.
A. Back squat, 3 sets of 10 reps
B. Romanian deadlift, 3 sets of 10 reps
C. DB Lunges, 3 sets of 10 reps
D. Hamstring curl, 3 sets of 10 reps
E. Donkey calf raises, 3 sets of 10 reps
A. Back squat, 5 sets of 5 reps
B. Romanian deadlift, 5 sets of 5 reps
C. Weighted paused calf raises, 5 sets of 5 reps
A1. Donkey calf raises, 4 sets of 20 reps
A2. DB raised heel carry, 4 sets of 20m
B1. Weighted calf raises, 4 sets of 20 reps
B2. Seated calf raises, 4 sets of 20 reps
A. Good morning, 3 sets of 8 reps
B. BB Hip Thrust, 3 sets of 8 reps
C. Nordic hamstring curl, 3 sets of 8 reps
D. Kettlebell swing, 3 sets of 8 reps
A1. Kettlebell walking lunge, 3 sets of 20 reps each side
A2. Kettlebell swing, 3 sets of 20 reps
B1. Kettlebell Goblet squat, 3 sets of 20 reps
B2. Kettlebell power clean, 3 sets of 10 reps each side
C. Kettlebell Turkish Get-up, 3 sets of 5 reps each side
A1. DB front squat, 4 sets of 12 reps
A2. DB Romanian Deadlift, 4 sets of 12 reps
B1. DB Step-up, 4 sets of 12 reps
B2. DB side lunge, 4 sets of 12 reps
C. DB single leg calf raises, 4 sets of 12 reps
45 seconds per an exercise with 15 seconds rest in between, 3-5 rounds.
-Jump squats
-Split Jumps
-Kettlebell single leg Romanian deadlift
-Kettlebell swing
-Medicine ball hurdles
-Medicine ball squat
Use the same weight for both lifts
A1. Front squat, 8 sets of 3 reps
A2. Back squat, 8 sets of 3 reps
A1. Front squat, 10 sets of 6-10 reps
A2. Reverse Lunge, 10 sets of 6-10 reps
