Build Legs Like Trees JP Rose

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There is nothing worse than building an impressive upper body only to neglect your lower half. Legs are the true indictor to how serious you are about bodybuilding. IFBB professionals like current Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler and Ronnie Coleman, arguably the greatest bodybuilder of all time, place great importance and emphasis on their leg development. Legs are the foundation to a solid, well-built physique. Just like you would not build a house on an imbalanced frame, you do not want to do the same with your body.

Quads, hamstrings and calves make up almost half of your body and they are the strongest muscle group in the human body. Your legs take a constant pounding day in and day out. As a result, you need to hammer your legs into submission using high weights and a relatively high rep range. Because legs are a large muscle group, they take a long time to recover so I recommend working them once per week. If you do work them twice per week, make the second workout a “shaping” workout where your main goal is to create detail, separation and definition.

THE LUXURY WHEELS WORKOUT

I have always found that my legs respond best when I place them first in my training split. I, like most trainers, do not like working my legs. I find that my motivation for working out is highest early in the week and by placing my leg workout first in my split, I know that I will train them with maximum focus and intensity. Additionally, the rest of the week becomes fun because I do not have to worry about hitting my legs until the start of the next week.

I warm-up with a light set of One-leg dumbbell squats for 1-2 sets of 15 on each leg. After this I make my way to the squat rack for heavy barbell squats. I normally do 5 or 6 sets of 4 to 10 reps, using my first 2 or 3 sets as a warm-up. My first set is a set of 10, the second a set of 8 and the last 2 or 3 sets are sets of 4 to 6 reps. I make sure to increase the weight on each set and go through a full-range of motion.

After I finish squats, I then proceed to Barbell Lunges. I do 4 sets of 6 reps on each leg for this exercise. I make sure to increase the weight on each set if I need to. You want to get to the last rep of your set and feel like you cannot complete another rep, that is how you know whether you are using a heavy enough weight.

Once I complete the lunges, I head over to the Leg Extension machine to finish off my legs for the day. 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps makes it so I am unable to stand the next day. I have a technique that I use to make sure that I exhaust every single muscle fiber in my quads. What I do is 8-second reps. I take 8 seconds to raise the weight and another 8 seconds to lower the weight. This practice is excruciating and it finishes off my quadriceps muscles, making for a great end to my quadriceps workout. What I recommend is trying this on your last set for about 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, do your final two sets in this manner and then after 8 weeks, complete all 3 sets with this method.

A bodybuilding diet programme is a simple programme of knowing what types of food to take. You should also know how to incorporate them by choosing from simple charts of food choices for the different kinds of nutrients your body needs.

Now that my quads are exhausted, it is time to work on the hamstrings. I start off with Stiff-Leg Deadlifts. These are a great exercise for hitting the entire hamstring and also the lower back. I usually alternate these with Goodmornings every other workout. I find that 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps gives me a good workout. This is a compound exercise which means that you use multiple muscle groups to raise the weight, so do not be afraid to go heavy. Remember to keep your back straight and your abs tight.

To finish off my hamstrings I use Single Leg Hamstring Curls. I complete 3 sets of 8, in the same manner that I do my Leg Extensions. Doing this exercise single-legged, promotes balance in both strength and muscle mass in your hamstrings. You can also do Leg Extensions one leg at a time. I utilize 8-second reps for these as well, making sure to take 8 seconds to raise the weight and another 8 seconds to lower the weight.

I finish off my leg workout by working my calves. The calf is divided into two muscles, the gastrocnemeous and the soleus with both muscles needing to be worked in order to make the entire calf grow. I have found that calves require a heavy weight and a higher rep range than most muscle groups. I usually do 4 or 5 sets of 15 reps, going as high as 20 at times.

I start my workout with calf raises for 4-5 sets of 15. If your gym has a calf raise machine, then use that, but what I do is put a board on the ground and with a barbell on my back I raise and lower myself by contracting my calves while standing on the board. I alternate between doing sets with my toes pointed forward, toes pointing outward, and toes pointed inward. Doing my sets in this fashion ensures the fact that you hit both the gastrocnemeous and the soleus muscles in the calf.

After calf raises, I head to the seated calf raise machine for 5 sets of 15. I do these in the same manner as standing calf raises, alternating between toes forward, pointed inward and pointed outward.

The final exercise of the day are Donkey Calf Raises. If your gym does not have this machine, take the board and stand on it. While you do, have your partner get on your back while you bend over and hold onto the wall. Proceed to raise and lower yourself by contracting your calves. I complete these only with my toes pointed forwards for 4 to 5 sets of 15.

This workout program will pound your legs into submission and leave them no choice but to grow and become stronger. No muscle in your legs are left unattended to and I think that you will be happy with the results. Like always, make sure to focus on nutrition and rest to recover and grow.