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Killer Quads
By Karen Sessions NSCA-CPT MsFit
A nice set of legs is what
really makes a bodybuilder outstanding! Leg training is
very popular and knowing how to effectively train your
legs will bring you to greater heights.
While many bodybuilders focus on quality leg training, all
too many are either overtraining, undertraining, or
keeping their leg training stagnant, in turn, halting
their potential leg development.
Building a nice pair of
legs takes work from the mind and the body, as well as
proper training and adequate rest. While minimal sets
and repetitions will build muscular legs, many are stuck
in a rut and need a shock.
Note: This newsletter is not about "ripping" or
"cutting" your legs. You have to have a foundation built
before you can sculpt the muscle. Focus on building mass
now and sculpting later.
Overtraining The Legs
I have seen many ladies
training in the gym who had awesome potential to build
some muscular legs, but all I saw them doing was over
taxing them. |
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Overtrained legs will never produce desired
results.
If you are among those who
take part in leg training for mass, then you should
limit your cardio to only three times a week for twenty
minutes at most. Excessive biking, the elliptical, and
other such high impact cardio techniques will not allow
your leg muscles to rest properly. A muscle can only
grow when it is allowed to rest.
Intensity, stimulation, proper form, and rest will build
muscular legs. Save the extra cardio after you have
built your legs and when you begin to diet down.
For best results, keep your leg training limited to only
once a week. More training does not produce faster
results or larger muscles. You are not growing in the
gym. Growth takes place outside of the gym when you feed
your body nutrients and allow it to rest.
Keep your training time in
the gym limited to an hour. Training over sixty minutes
can do more damage than good. Any training you need to
do can be done in a relatively short amount of time.
Remember, less is more.
Focus on the mass building exercises (compound
movements) for the bulk of your training. This includes
primarily squats, leg press, Romanian deadlifts, and
stiff-legged deadlifts. Add one or two auxiliary
movements, but don't over do it. When you do compound
exercises for mass, all the areas of the legs are
targeted simultaneously.
The key to building legs lies in variety. Vary your
poundage and repetitions. It's good to keep these in
rotation constantly, and shock the lower body often to
produce results. Don't get stuck into one mode of
training legs. Venture out and keep the body off guard.
Build Beautiful and Power Legs!
Undertraining The Legs
Just as I have seen many ladies overtraining legs, I do
witness many undertraining their lower body, leaving the
last few minutes in the gym dedicated to their
ten-minute leg routine.
You may be undertraining your legs if you engage in only
a few sets of light squats or leg presses, or totally
neglect these mass building exercises completely. There
is a certain amount of effort and determination that
goes into leg training to provide desired results.
However, too much exercise can lead to overtraining, so
you need to find a happy medium.
Don't expect to build a nice set of legs by skimping on
leg training or thinking a lot of light squats and
lunges will do the trick. Legs require work. This is why
the majority of the lifters don't have legs that are
balanced with their upper body. It's just plain hard
work and you have to make the decision to do it
constantly!
MsFit's Power-Mass Routine for Killer Quads
Warm-up before attempting any training program.
Note: Each week your sets and repetitions will vary, so
it is essential that you log each workout. If you cannot
get the minimal number of repetitions the weight is too
heavy, and if you can complete more than the maximum
number of repetitions then the weight it too light. Week
#3 and #5 are heavy, so be sure you have a spotter.
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Weeks #1 - #2 - #3
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Week #1
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Week #2
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Week #3
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| Squats 10 x 10
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Leg press 4 x 12
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Squats 3 x 8 |
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Stiff deads 4 x 12
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Leg curls 3 x 8
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Extensions 4 x 12
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Hacks 2 x 8 |
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Weeks #4 - #5 - #6
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Week #4
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Week #5
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Week #6
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| Leg press 3 x 15
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Squats 2 x 8 |
Leg press 4 x 15
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| Leg curls 3 x 15
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Romanian deads 2 x 8
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Stiff deads 4 x 15
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| Sissy squats 3 x 15
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Hacks 2 x 8 |
Extensions 4 x 15
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| Lunges 2 x 20 |
Extensions 2 x 20
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Lunges 2 x 20 |
The above is a shocking
routine to wake-up your leg muscles. To continue
building after Week #6 follow the program below. Routine
#1 should be followed on the odd weeks (1, 3, 5...) and
Routine #2 should be followed on the even weeks (2, 4,
6...)
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Routine #1
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Routine #2
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| Squats 3 x 6
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Leg press 3 x 6-8
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| Stiff deads 3 x 6-8
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Leg curls 3 x 6-8
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| Extensions 3 x 6-8
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Hacks 3 x 6-8
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To add the finishing touch
to your muscular and powerful legs check out my
leg-sculpting article. It's the guide to follow AFTER
you built leg mass.
Fitfully Yours,
Karen Sessions NSCA-CPT
aka: MsFit
P.S. Get my ADVANCED leg training secrets that I
used to build ultimate mass in
Killer Quads.
You will be able to partake in my personal training
program that I used to build my legs in as little as
eight months!
About the Author
Karen Sessions has been in the fitness industry since
1988 and is a certified personal fitness instructor and
specialist in performance nutrition. She is a nationally
qualified natural female bodybuilder, holding numerous
titles in the southern states including two overalls.
Karen has written six eBooks on fitness. She also writes
articles for several fitness websites, and distributes
two monthly newsletters regarding weight loss and female
bodybuilding.
Karen has helped hundreds of clients reach their goal of
transforming their body. Her success and success stories
speak for themselves.
www.Killer-Quads.com
**The contents of this article should not be
considered as medical advice. You should consult a
physician before starting a fitness program.
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