High volume for all of our leg workouts is expected and today the technique Big Mike picked was supersets for legs.
I completely change my “typical” style of training for something totally different or even off the wall, just for the “shock” value. Such was the case today when we did a session consisting of 100% supersets, which was also very hamstring and posterior chain focused.
Lying Leg Curls: 4 sets x 20 reps
– superset with
Leg Extensions: 4 sets x 12 reps
Machine Squats: 5 sets x 12 reps
– superset with
Leg Press: 5 sets x 12 reps
Hack Squats: 4 sets x 12 reps
– superset with
Walking Lunges: 4 sets x 10 reps (each leg)
Leg Extensions: 4 sets x 15-20 reps (one leg)
– superset with
Standing Leg Curls: 4 sets x 12 reps
– One legged Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlift 3 sets X 30 lb dumbbells X 10-12 reps
Stiff legged Deadlift
1 set X 225 lbs X 20 reps
1 set X 225 lbs X 20 reps
1 set X 245 lbs X 17 reps, pause, then 4 more reps
Post exhaust group supersets
A post exhaust superset is where you select a compound exercise and then follow it with an isolation exercise. Because the compound exercise is performed first in the superset combination, this allows you to train that exercise heavier than if you did the reverse (pre exhaust). Therefore, you could say that post exhaust is “size and strength, then pump” An example is stiff legged deadlift supersetted to dumbbell leg curls. Another example is Any squat exercise (including quad blaster squats as we did today) supersetted to leg extensions
Pre-exhaust supersets
Pre exhaust was invented by Robert Kennedy of Muscle Mag international and popularized in the Nautilus days of Arthur jones and HIT training. A pre exhaust superset is where you choose an isolation exercise first and then follow it with a compound exercise. This allows you to take a target muscle group beyond the normal point of fatigue and failure by using the assisting muscles in the 2nd (compound) exercise. A true pre exhaust superset would be like a leg extension supersetted to a squat, lunge or leg press. Another example would be a leg curl supersetted to a stiff legged deadlift. Today we did a “pseudo pre exhaust superset” by performing lying leg curls to step back lunges. I say “Pseudo” because this was an isolation followed by compound exercise, but lunges hit quads moreso than hams.
Same muscle group supersets
In todays fitness literature there is a ton of information being published about supersets, but most of it is focused on antagonistic supersets such as quads to hams or chest to back (or the opposite movement pattern such as push to pull), or on “non competing body part” supersets like a row (upper body) and a squat (lower body), and so on. these methods can be great for fat loss and conditioning, but for bodybuilding I actually prefer same muscle group supersets. Examples today include quad blaster squats supersetted to leg extensions and stiff legged deads supersetted to dumbbell leg curls
Antagonistic supersets are where you work the muscle on the other side of the joint, Ie, quads to hams, chest to back or biceps to triceps. Antagonistic supersets we used today included leg press (quads) to one leg stiff leg dead (hams) and leg curls (hams) supersetted to lunges (quads)
Hi-low rep supersets
Using different rep ranges in your superset pairs is a great method that is often overlooked. When most people do supersets, they focus mostly on their exercise selection, as rightly they should. But one thing they miss is the choice of rep range.
It can be extremely effective to pair a heavy exercise (6-8 rep maximum) with a lighter exercise (20 reps). For example, we did 20 rep stiff leg deads followed by 8 rep dumbbell leg curls. Next, we selected a 6-8 rep max for lying leg curls (heavy), then immediately went into step back lunges for 20 reps per leg (40 reps total). It knocks the wind out of you, for sure. Excellent for conditioning and fat loss, plus muscle growth at the same time. You cant lose… if you can hack it.
We hit 5 sets of standing calve raises after that. The leg exercises for leg day don’t change much but as stated above, the techniques change (as you can see if you go through my Blog for ‘Leg Workouts’). Make sure you’re mentally prepared and 100% focused before trying this leg workout. I must also mention that we didn’t take long rest periods between the non-supersets. You won’t be doing a ton of weight during this type of leg workout but my legs have grown more from high reps and high volume workouts than going super heavy.