Whether you love or hate leg day, for more reasons than one, you can’t skip. In fact, you might even need to be doing more of them. “The legs are a huge muscle group that needs to be stressed multiple times a week and in different ways to encourage growth,” says Seth Broadstreet (@SethBroadstreetFit), a Los Angeles-based trainer and guest contributor to HFP.
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This doesn’t mean you’ll simply be doing squats twice per week. It’s broken up into a “push day” and a “pull day” to cover the quads, glutes, and the hamstrings. Along with the physical growth in your legs, Broadstreet says the programming includes a helpful performance touch. We’re not training wide receivers, but you’ll see an athletic bump. “I choose compound exercises that can be done at most gyms, while also making sure there is a functional aspect to the workout.” Some of those functional aspects include balance, coordination, and overall core strength.
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The old school basics are the backbone, but exercises like the single-leg landmine deadlift are added in for improving leg stability and balance, jumping lunges to improve coordination and “overall physical literacy”, and pause squats to boost isometric endurance. According to Broadstreet, all of the free weight movements will make sure every muscle of the core is being worked.
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Not only will you be doing more lower body workouts, you’ll be doing more during them. “I chose sets and rep ranges that really drive up the volume of the workout, which is directly linked to growth,” he says. “More volume equals more growth.”
For this plan, Wednesday’s and Saturday’s are your days.
Switch things up and try the big friggin arms plan when you’re done with this one.
Let’s get to work.
Seth Broadstreet
The big friggin’ legs workout plan schedule
Monday: Upper Push
Tuesday: Upper Pull
Wednesday: Lower Push
Thursday: Upper Push
Friday: Upper Pull
Saturday: Lower Pull
Sunday: REST
To allow for enough recovery, Broadstreet recommends taking 2-3 days between lower body sessions.
How much weight to use
The amount of resistance or weight being used should be chosen based off the rep ranges. “If an exercise is called for 12 repetitions then you should be huffing, puffing, and burning at the 10-12 rep point,” says Broadstreet. While it’s very important to make sure you’re really pushing yourself, don’t get reckless. “Choose a weight that is heavy and tough for the rep number, but not too much to break form and cheat,” he adds.
The big friggin’ legs workouts: Week 1 & 2
You can take between 60-90 seconds between all sets.
Day 1: Push
BB Back Squat (12,10,8,8,8,6)
BB Reverse Lunges (4x 12)
Single Leg Press (4x 15)
Leg Extension (15,15,12,10,10)
Seated Calf Raise Toes Inward (5x 20)
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Day 2: Pull
BB Romanian Deadlift (12,10,10,10,6)
Weighted Hip Thrust (4x 12)
Standing Calf Raise (5x 20)
Lying Single Leg Curl (12,10,8,8,6)
Cable Kickbacks (4x 10)
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The big friggin’ legs workouts: Week 3 & 4
Day 1: Push
BB Front Squat (12,10,8,8,8,6)
BB Pause Squat (4x 10 w/ 3 sec pause)
Goblet Split Squat (4x 12)
Seated Calf Raise Toes Outward (5x 20)
Bodyweight Jumping Lunges (4x 16)
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Day 2: Pull
Single Leg Deadlift w/Landmine Attachment (4×12)
Weighted Glute Bridges (4×15)
Goblet Side Lunge (4×10)
Standing Calf Raise (5x 20)
Seated Leg Curl (12,10,10,10,8,6)
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Leg day…
— humanfitproject (@humanfitproject) December 9, 2018
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