The "Can't Walk Tomorrow" Leg Day Workout
Let’s talk about goals for a minute, or more importantly, actually keeping the goals we set.
Far too often, I see New Year’s resolutions that get forgotten about 3 months into the year. Why does this happen? Usually it’s because either the goal was unrealistic, or the person was not truly motivated.
Personally, I have been both people here. I have set goals that would have taken drastic, unhealthy measures to achieve, and I have also set goals that were not long after forgotten about, which leads to me being discouraged.
When it comes to building muscle, whether you’re trying to grow your biceps, chest, legs or booty, it is important to remember seeing progress in this area is almost like watching grass grow.
There are many different factors that play into building muscle. Your diet, sleep patterns, workout consistency and quality all matter.
Today we’re going to look at a great but challenging, booty/leg workout.
We’re calling this one the “can’t walk tomorrow leg day” workout.
In this leg/booty workout, we will take a look at four different super sets that are guaranteed to leave you crawling out of the gym.
#success
Superset #1
Sumo Squat – 15x Reps
RDL (slow) – 12x Reps
Sumo Squat
1. Stand with your feet wide, toes pointing out. Bend your knees, lowering your hips deeply, so your thighs are parallel with the floor.
2. Then rise back up, straightening the legs completely and squeezing the glutes at the top of the movement to get the most from the exercise.
Pro Tip: To really feel that burn and get the most out of this exercise, perform the squats in slow, controlled movements. Slow going down (eccentric) and slow coming back up (concentric).
This will improve your TUT (time under tension), muscles grow through TUT.
RDL – Romanian Deadlift
1. Hold a bar at hip level with a pronated (palms facing down) grip. Your shoulders should be back, back arched, and your knees slightly bent. This will be your starting position.
2. Lower the bar by moving your butt back as far as you can. Keep the bar close to your body, your head looking forward, and your shoulders back. Done correctly, you should reach the maximum range of your hamstring flexibility just below the knee.
3. At the bottom of your range of motion, return the starting position by driving the hips forward to stand up tall.
The most important thing to remember here is your form. It is crucial to keep your back and neck straight and your head up.
Perform 15 Sumo Squats followed by 12 RDL’s, with 10-15 seconds of rest in between each set. Perform 3 sets in total.
Superset #2
Reverse Single Leg Hack Squat – 12 Reps (each leg)
Reverse Hack Squat – 15 Reps
Reverse Hack Squat
1. Position yourself with your chest flat on the pad and shoulders up against the shoulder pads.
2. Position your feet at around shoulder width apart on the bottom of the platform.
3. Push up to take the weight off the stack, place your arms on the side handles of the machine and disengage the safety bars. This is the starting position for the movement.
4. Slowly lower the weight down until your thighs are at approximately right angles with your calves.
5. Pause, and then push the weight back up to the starting position without locking your knees at the top of the movement.
Reverse Single Leg Hack Squats are performed the exact same way, just with one leg.
Pro Tip:
-Do NOT lock your knees at the top of the reps.
-Make sure your knees do not pass your toes, as this will put unnecessary stress on your knees.
And like any exercise,
Keep your head up, don’t look down, and go sloooooow. Like I mentioned before, TUT is imperative for seeing muscle growth.
Perform 12 Reverse Single Leg Hack Squats followed by 15 Reverse Hack Squats, with about 10-15 seconds of rest in between each set. Perform 3 sets in total.
Superset #3
Landmine Sumo Squat – 12 Reps
Landmine Reverse Lunge – 12 Reps
Landmine Sumo Squat
1. Set up the barbell in the landmine base and load it with a medium to heavy amount of weight.
2. Grab the end of the bar and lift it up with both hands in an overhand grip, propping the bar up by the very end of its collar at head height. Stand with your feet wide and toes pointing out.
3. Squat down to just below parallel depth, holding the barbell at the same height throughout the movement.
4. Explode up from the bottom of the movement, keeping your position strong.
Landmine Reverse Lunges
1. Set up with your feet shoulder width apart while holding the end of a barbell in a landmine attachment at chest height.
2. Step back with one leg and allow both knees to bend simultaneously.
3. Descend until the back knee touches the floor.
4. Drive through the front foot and extend the knee as you stand up fully and return to the starting position.
Pro Tips:
Do NOT allow the weight to pull you forward or change the angle of your torso dramatically.
To emphasize the glutes and hamstrings (during any sort of lunge or split squat pattern), focus on taking a slightly larger step and drive up through the heel of your foot.
To emphasize quads, take a slightly smaller step and drive up through the ball of your foot.
I know I’m a broken record when it comes to saying this, but most importantly, go slow.
Perform 12 Landmine Sumo Squats followed by 12 Landmine Reverse Lunges, with about 10-15 seconds of rest between each set. Perform 3 sets in total.
Superset #4
Leg Extensions – 15 Reps
Leg Curls – 15 Reps
Leg Extensions
1. For this exercise you will need to use a leg extension machine.
2. Choose your weight and sit on the machine with your legs under the pad (feet pointed forward) and the hands holding the side bars. This will be your starting position. Tip: You will need to adjust the pad so that it falls on top of your lower leg (just above your feet).
3. Using your quadriceps, extend your legs to the maximum as you exhale. Ensure that the rest of the body remains stationary on the seat. Pause a second on the contracted position.
4. Slowly lower the weight back to the original position as you inhale, ensuring that you do not go past the 90-degree angle limit.
Leg Curls
1. Adjust the machine lever to fit your height and lie face down on the leg curl machine with the pad of the lever on the back of your legs (just a few inches under the calves). Tip: Preferably use a leg curl machine that is angled as opposed to flat since an angled position is more favorable for hamstrings recruitment.
2. Keeping the torso flat on the bench, ensure your legs are fully stretched and grab the side handles of the machine. Position your toes straight (or you can also use any of the other two stances described on the foot positioning section). This will be your starting position.
3. As you exhale, curl your legs up as far as possible without lifting the upper legs from the pad. Once you hit the fully contracted position, hold it for a second.
4. As you inhale, bring the legs back to the initial position.
Perform 15 Leg Extensions followed by 15 Leg Curls, with about 10-15 seconds of rest in between each set. Perform 4 sets in total.
Superset #5
Hip Thrusts – 15 Reps
Last but not least, was it even leg day if Hip Thrusts weren’t involved? The answer is no, no it was not.
1. Begin seated on the ground with a bench directly behind you. Have a loaded barbell over your legs. Using a fat bar or having a pad on the bar can greatly reduce the discomfort caused by this exercise.
2. Roll the bar so that it is directly above your hips, and lean back against the bench so that your shoulder blades are near the top of it.
3. Begin the movement by driving through your feet, extending your hips vertically through the bar. Your weight should be supported by your shoulder blades and your feet. Extend as far as possible, and then reverse the motion to return to the starting position.
Perform 15 Hip Thrusts, 4 total sets; only rest about 10-15 seconds between each set.
And there you have it, a killer booty/leg work out! Touching back on goals, we challenge you to use this exercise routine for your next leg day. Make it your goal to use these supersets, (or a combination of these exercises in your usual routine), and increase in weight ever week, till the end of the year. Take some before and after photos to keep track of your progress. Let us know how you do! Good luck!