The 6 Effective Leg Building Exercises Which No One Does

Pretty much everyone who works out wants strong, sculpted legs.

Not only are tight and toned legs aesthetically pleasing, the strength that comes with them acts as the foundation of every movement we perform, even outside of the gym.

In our quest for lean and powerful legs, many of us do countless sets of machine-based exercises like hamstring curls and leg extensions.

But these exercises don’t measure up to the exercises I’m going to show you today, which are referred to as functional training exercises.

Functional training exercises mimic movements you perform in the real world, and also recruit several major muscles groups at once.

That’s the key to achieving strong and sculpted legs, as these movements (especially when performed with heavy weight) have been shown to increase growth hormone, burn fat for up to 48 hours following your workout, build serious muscle, and increase sports performance.

Below I’ll show you the top weight training exercises to strengthen legs – which will also sculpt and tone every inch of your lower body. 

Exercise 1 : Deadlifts

Deadlifts are unparalleled in their ability to improve leg strength, sculpt the glutes and hamstrings, upper thighs, and even strengthen the lower back and core.

As if that weren’t enough, deadlifts also improve posture along with grip and upper body strength.

It’s also a safe and easy exercise, requiring only a barbell weight, dumbbell or kettlebell.

How to Deadlift:

Proper form is crucial while deadlifting. A popular mistake many make, especially when they start to become fatigued, is rounding the lower spine. 

Exercise 2 : Platz Hack Squats

The legendary Tom Platz had one of the nastiest legs in the bodybuilding history. He came up with this variation of the hack squats. The Platz hack squats target your outer quad sweep and the teardrop in your quads.

Stand with your heels joined together and your toes pointing outwards. Perform a squat while pushing your knees down and forward. Your heels will come off the base as you squat. As you start pressing up, push onto the outer part of your feet. Doing this will transfer the tension onto the outer quad sweep.

 Exercise 3 : Sissy Squats

Sissy squats have been around since the 1960s, but chances are you’re hearing about them for the first time. Don’t let the name of the exercise fool you. The sissy squats are a great finisher and will fill your quads with lactic acid.

If you’re performing this exercise for the first time, hold onto a squat rack around the hip level or slightly higher. Take a shoulder-width stance and slowly start to lower yourself by bending your knees and pushing them down and forward.

Your back will fall backward while you’re on the descent. Your heels will come off the ground as your knees go down. At the bottom of the movement, your quads should be at least parallel to the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat for reps. 

Exercise 4 : Hip Thrusts

Hip thrusts are one of the best exercises for sculpting the glutes and the backside. They can often be lost in the shadows of squats, deadlifts, and lunges, but are truly an exercise everyone looking to sculpt the back of their legs should perform.

Not only are they superb glute sculptors, they can even improve your deadlifts and squats due to fuller extension in the hips (which maximizes the engagement of the glutes).

Exercise 5 : Step-Up

This is arguably one of the more functional exercises on this list. After all, you probably walk up stairs on a fairly regular basis, right? Being a unilateral exercise, it also means a stronger leg can’t compensate for a weaker one, with each leg taking its turn absorbing the full brunt of the motion.

Main Areas Targeted: Quadriceps, glutes

Strengths: The step-up comes in all sorts of variations and can be adjusted to challenge beginners and advanced athletes alike. To provide the resistance, you can hold a barbell, dumbbells or kettlebells (either at your sides or racked at shoulder level), wear a weight vest or just go with your own bodyweight. Step up onto a platform ranging from a height halfway up your shin to where your thigh is parallel to the floor in the start position. Not only does this develop power through the glutes, hips and thighs, but it also helps you practice balance and jumping force, which is helpful if you’re in a sport that requires vertical hops.

Exercise 6 :Walking Lunges

Walking dumbbell lunges are perfect for sculpting the entire leg, but also get your heart rate up while engaging your core stabilizer muscles.

How to Perform the Walking Dumbbell Lunge:

Note that holding the dumbbells above your head (or just holding one with both hands) requires a good deal of balance. If this is too much and you find your form is slipping, try holding lighter dumbbells by your sides during the lunges.

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6 Exercises To Build Horseshoe Triceps

Who in the heck wants big triceps? If observations of efforts in gyms all across America are any indication, then no one wants them! By taking a quick glance at most trainer’s programs, the triceps get little or no attention while the biceps steal the spotlight. “Make a muscle!” I hear across the gym floor and inevitably I see a shirt sleeve roll up and someone is trying to flex their biceps peak while their triceps lies underneath ignored, underused, and underappreciated. What is a bodybuilder to do?

As you may have heard many times, the triceps makes up most of the upper arm mass – if trained correctly. The triceps – tri meaning three heads - should be trained and developed just as intensely and methodically as the biceps. Impressive arm development is just that – biceps and triceps. As the antagonistic counterpart to the biceps, the triceps actually will indirectly aid in the development and strength of the biceps creating greater blood flow and nutrient uptake in the upper arm area.

Your goal should be to hit the triceps from all angles utilizing many movements and the right amount of volume so you too can own some impressive and complete “guns” lock, stock, and barrel. Well built, shirt-busting, horseshoe-shaped triceps will make any arm look balanced, proportionate and huge.

Exercise1: Cable Pushdowns – 3 Sets 15 Reps

Cables are a great way to maintain a constant tension on your target muscle throughout the movement. While using the cables, you have the same amount of tension on your triceps at the top of the movement as you have on the bottom.

Stand at an arm’s length from the pulley machine. Attach a straight bar to the pulley and grab it with an overhand grip with your thumbs over the bar. Keep your elbows pinned to your side and hold and squeeze your triceps at the bottom of the movement.

Exercise2: Skull Crushers – 3 Sets 12 Reps

Skull crushers are an incredibly effective exercise when it comes to building ripped triceps. This exercise is also known as head smackers. Skull crushers train the long head of your triceps. The long head is also the hardest part to develop as only a few exercise can target it optimally.

You can use a straight bar or an EZ bar for this exercise. Make sure you have a complete range of motion while performing this exercise. Keep your elbows fixed at a single position, hold and squeeze your triceps at the top of the movement.

Exercise3: Smith Machine Close Grip Bench Press – 3 Sets 12 Reps

Smith machine close grip bench press works on the medial and lateral heads of your triceps. Using a Smith machine adds tension to your triceps while performing this exercise. Performing exercises with a complete range of motion are the secret to building horseshoe triceps.

Keep your elbows pinned to your sides throughout the movement. If you don’t have an access to a smith machine in your gym, you can perform the close grip bench press on a flat bench.

Exercise4: Close Grip Dips

When you want to blast every muscle fiber in the lateral head, close grip dips are the go-to move. Find a narrow dip station, hold yourself as straight up as possible, slowly dip down and back up. The more straight you are positioned, the more the lateral head will be engaged. If you begin to lean forward, the chest will begin assisting the lift. “The tough part is, don’t let your elbows flare out to the sides, press upwards and lock out those bad boys,” Moretti says. Shoot for three sets of 12 to 15 reps.


Exercise5: Hammer Grip Lying Dumbbell French Press – 3 Sets 12 Reps

Grab a set of dumbbells and lay back on a flat bench. With palms facing each other and arms straight up, lower the dumbbells down so they end up alongside your head. Keeping your elbows locked and stationary, squeeze and flex your arms straight up, using a locked, neutral wrist. “Don’t forget, the tricep is comprised of three muscles that need equal attention to develop the complete horseshoe. You can also concentrate on one specific part over another if there is an imbalance or even switch around your grip positioning,” Moretti says.

Exercise6: Close Grip Dips 3 Sets 12 Reps
 
When you want to blast every muscle fiber in the lateral head, close grip dips are the go-to move. Find a narrow dip station, hold yourself as straight up as possible, slowly dip down and back up. The more straight you are positioned, the more the lateral head will be engaged. If you begin to lean forward, the chest will begin assisting the lift. “The tough part is, don’t let your elbows flare out to the sides, press upwards and lock out those bad boys,”.

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The Ultimate Testosterone Diet

The name says it all. The Testosterone Diet. No need to give this meal plan some cute, fancy label. Besides, there’s nothing cute or fancy about building big-time muscle.

What you’re looking for is a nutritional plan of attack that will provide your body with boatloads of the most hardcore hormone in existence so you can build optimal muscle and the most insane strength possible. That’s what we offer here. While many anabolic hormones in the body influence muscle growth growth hormone, insulin and insulinlike growth factor-1 all do it testosterone is the handsdown most important. Not only does it drive muscle growth, but testosterone also has numerous other qualities that make it man’s most crucial hormone namely, masculine traits like body hair, a deeper voice and, of course, larger, stronger muscles. But testosterone also keeps you lean, since it elevates metabolism and increases the release of fat from fat cells and inhibits its storage in the body.


Read the 7 steps to a successful testosterone diet in the article below!

The Ultimate Testosterone Diet

 Step 1 – Consume More Calories

The first thing you are going to need to do in order to boost your testosterone levels and keep a successful testosterone diet  is to make sure you are consuming enough calories. If you are currently on a low-calorie diet you can be causing less testosterone to be released and produced in your body.
On the flip side you don’t want to eat too much otherwise you will put on body fat. This is a huge no-no as it contains enzymes that convert testosterone into estrogen – the hormone that literally has the opposite effect as testosterone.
Therefore the ideal calorie consumption is one that gives you enough for muscle growth without going overboard and gaining fat. Aim for a pace of 0.5 – 1 pound per week for new guys and less for experienced bodybuilders. If you are gaining more than that you are likely putting on fat. If your weight is staying the same or decreasing then you aren’t giving yourself the nutrients you need.
It’s also worth noting that you should be avoiding drinking too much alcohol. While having a few drinks a week won’t destroy your progress if you are regularly getting drunk your gains will suffer.
You see, binge drinking lowers your testosterone and increases the amount of estrogen in your body. As a result you will have a much harder time gaining muscle mass and burning fat. Besides, have you ever tried going to the gym the day after a night of heavy drinking?
Usually our performance takes a huge hit and we aren’t able to lift anywhere near what we used to.

Step 2 – Eat those Carbs

As for carbohydrates you want to be consuming 2g per pound of bodyweight each day. Research shows that consuming 2g of carbs for every 1g of protein leads to ideal testosterone production.
Now, that doesn’t mean you should binge on low quality junk-food carbs. These will only cause your insulin to spike and put on more fat. Stick with high-quality complex carbs like oats, and whole wheat pasta and rice.
Fibre is also important so make sure you have plenty of veggies – they actually have a variety of testosterone-boosting nutrients of their own. Having some simple carbs like fruits for example is totally fine particularly around your workouts where an insulin spike is actually a good thing.

Step 3 – Check your Protein Intake

You might be surprised to see protein is number 3 on the list – after all, isn’t protein the most important nutrient for a bodybuilder? Well it is important, you want to make sure you are getting what you need otherwise you won’t get too far.
However, if you consume too much protein relative to carbs it can actually decrease your testosterone levels. As a result it’s only made it to number 3 on the list. Aim for 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight and try to get it from meats. Consuming a vegetarian or vegan diet tends to lower testosterone levels in males.

No need to go exclusively for lean protein – mixing in some beef is fine as it contains saturated fats that are useful for boosting testosterone and making your testosterone diet more successful.

Step 4 – Eat Healthy Fats

Aim to get about 30% of your calories from this important nutrient. While polyunsaturated fats found in salmon and other fish are helpful you don’t want to overload on them.
Look also for monounsaturated fats found in nuts and olive oil as well as saturated fats found in red meat and egg yolks. There is some research out there that suggest too much polyunsaturated fats can lower your t-levels so try and get most of your fats from monounsaturated and saturated sources.

Step 5 – Protein Shakes

A lot of people neglect pre and post workout nutrition to the detriment of their testosterone levels and their gains. You see, this is a key window for nutrition – after working out your body is desperate to replenish itself. As a result you should be consuming a fast-digesting protein like whey.
Additionally you should consume a simple carb source after working out as the resulting insulin jump will increase the amount of testosterone your muscle cells can absorb. As a result you will be able to grow a lot quicker. 30 grams before and after your workout is a solid amount – however you will want to consume more like 40-80 carbs after working out.

Step 6 – Vegetables

Consider eating more cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, arugula, watercress, bok choy, turnip greens, collard greens, rutabaga, radishes, daikon, kohlrabi and kale, all of which have phytochemicals that can lower bad estrogens and potentially lessen their negative impact on testosterone levels. Lastly, watch the drinking. Alcohol does have its health benefits, but too much can lower T levels. Stay under a few glasses per week.

Step 7 – Take a Testosterone Booster That works

We spent over two months researching all these different ingredients found in test boosters.
Although we put this one last on the list it’s still a crucial part of keeping your testosterone levels high. You see, every year tons of bodybuilders inject themselves with synthetic hormones in order to send their testosterone levels through the roof.
They do this because they know they will be able to build way more muscle mass while keeping their body fat levels low if they have high testosterone. It’s obviously quite effective because many of these guys are competing in international bodybuilding competitions.
However, there are a lot of negative side effects that come along with these drugs that make many people think twice about taking them. For the record, we aren’t recommending you take steroids – the negative side-effects are long-term health impacts are not worth the short-term boost in muscle growth.
However, there are ways to boost your testosterone level in a healthy, sustainable way.
Fortunately there are some new products coming out on the market now that are loaded with these ingredients in convenient pill-form. natural testosterone boosters use only ingredients that are scientifically proven to boost testosterone levels.
The best testosterone products only contain scientifically proven ingredients to boost testosterone production. So the real challenge is finding these products that contain the effective ingredients because there are countless of ineffective formulas out there,  you should be able to see the difference if it’s filled with ineffective ingredients or proven ingredients.
That’s why we created a complete report on the proven testosterone boosting ingredients you should be looking for in an effective formula. By having this report available we have saved thousands of guys both time, money and definitely helped them make more gains by consuming the right ingredients.
We are really proud to say that we are actually giving our report away for free even though we spent a lot of money and energy creating it.
Check the list of ingredients – are they natural or are they a bunch of hard to pronounce additives? It’s likely that you will have to pay a bit more for these products but it’s well worth it if you are able to get far better results with them.

Most Important To Remember:

• Eat in a calorie surplus to build more muscles, your body needs more energy to build more muscle
• After workouts don’t forget to eat carbs to refuel your body. If you perform any cardio also consume carbs after that.
• Make sure you are getting in enough of proteins. Especially before and after training.
• Eat healthy fats they will not make you fat!
• Consume protein shakes to get more protein in and drink one after working out.
• Eat your veggies they will help you to build more muscle and stay healthy
• Use an all natural testosterone booster with proven ingredients to keep your t-levels as high as possible.

So there you have it guys, make sure to follow these tips for a testosterone diet and supercharge your results in the process!

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6 Killer Forearm Workouts For Men To Build Bigger And Stronger Forearms

Here are 6 of the best forearm exercises to increase the thickness/ size and strength of your forearms. This list will be broken down into categories of exercises designated for pumping up the size of your forearms, and then following up with exercises designed to increase grip strength (forearm strength).

Utilizing any combination of these 5 forearm exercises after your back workout (that’s the most optimal time to perform your forearm exercises), will yield significant and quick forearm growth and strength increases.

Do These 6 Exercises For Big Forearms

Exercise 1: Barbell Wrist Curls – 4 Sets 30 Reps

Barbell wrist curls are one of the most common forearm exercises and yet most people perform them incorrectly. Don’t let your ego get the better of you while doing this exercise and use weights you can maintain a full range of motion with. The barbell wrist curls work the brachioradialis and flexors.

The best way of performing the barbell or dumbbell wrist curls is to kneel down at the side of a flat bench with your forearms placed on the bench. Grab a barbell with an underhand grip and curl it as high as you can and while lowering the barbell, let the barbell roll down to the tip of your fingers. Doing so will help in recruiting all the muscle fibers in your forearms and hands.

Exercise 2: Barbell Reverse Wrist Curls – 3 Sets 15 Reps

Barbell reverse curls is another common forearm exercise but is a little harder as compared to the normal wrist curls. Use a wrist curl machine if you have access to it at your gym, or use a flat bench.

You will be lifting lighter weights in this exercise as compared to the normal wrist curls. Grab the bar with an overhand monkey (thumbs over the barbell) grip. A monkey grip helps in better targetting your forearms better. The reverse wrist curls work the extensor muscles.

Exercise 3: Farmer's Walk

This is a basic yet successful performing multiple tasks practice that will burn fat while expanding hold solidarity to profit your lower arms.

This move builds the wrist and finger flexors, as well as engaging just about every other muscle in your body. A quality expanding, hold reinforcing, muscle-building exercise!

Begin by picking your variety of the Farmer's walk – dumbbells (overwhelming), short barbells and so on.

Step 1: Begin this activity by situating yourself in the middle of your weights choice.

Step 2: Lower yourself down and grasp the handles immovably

Step 3: Keeping your back straight and head forward, control through your heels to raise yourself up

Step 4: Steps ought to be short – push ahead rapidly for the farthest distance accessible in your exercise center/preparing territory, taking frequent breaths.

Important Tip: Do three reps of 30 - 45 seconds each. Focus on your posture to avoid any kind of injury.

Exercise 4: Zottman Curl

Instructions

Think about the Zottman twist as a two-for-one exceptional. It gives all of the upper arm building intensity of the biceps curl and the majority of the forearm building intensity of the switch twist in a solitary move.

What's more, for this situation, the majority of that building improves you at lifting. So whether you're attempting to lift a few sacks of basic supplies with one arm or press out an additional rep of the draw up with flawless frame, you'll be happy you added the Zottman curl to your daily schedule.

Step 1: Stand tall holding a free weight in each hand at a manageable distance by your sides, palms looking ahead (underhand grasp).

Step 2: Keeping your elbows tucked and bolted by your sides, twist the loads toward your shoulders.

Step 3: Flip your hold 180 degrees (to overhand), let the loads down to your sides, and afterward flip your grasp once more (to underhand) to come back to the beginning position.

Important Tip: Do Two sets of 10 reps each. To change the difficulty of this workout, you should simply alter the measure of weight you use. If you want to make it simpler, utilise lighter loads. In the event that you need to make it harder, utilise heavier loads.

Exercise 5: Behind the Back Cable Wrist Curls – 3 Sets 12 Reps

Behind the back cable wrist curl is a great exercise to isolate your forearms. Using the cables will help you maintain a constant tension on your forearms and will fill your muscles with lactic acid.

Stand with your back towards the cable pulley machine and grab a straight bar. Curl the bar and hold the movement at the contraction for a couple of seconds. This exercise focuses on your brachioradialis and flexors.


Exercise 6: Dumbbell Wrist Extension

Instructions

The inverse of the wrist flexion move, this extension exercise enables to add size and solidarity to your wrist extensor muscles.

Step 1: Sit on the edge of a chair or a bench holding a dumbbell in your left hand, and place your left lower arm on your left thigh, palm down, with your left wrist over your left kneecap.

Step 2: Without lifting your arm off your thigh, curl the hand weight up the extent that you can towards your bicep, keeping up a tight grasp all through the development.

Step 3: Gradually lower the free weight back to the starting position.

Step 4: Switch sides (right) after performing the required number of reps.

Important Tip: Do three sets of 10 reps each. Hold the movement for some time at the peak concentration level before slowly lowering the bar/dumbbells back to the start position.

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Shoulder Workout Tips

This is an unsaid truth - if you have decorated chest and buffed biceps with a combination of narrow or comparatively lesser built shoulder, you are likely to be judged weak on the whole. Not just for looks, brawny built shoulders also helps in almost every other exercise, like pull-ups, deadlifts, bench press and so on so forth. So, Sportskeeda, further, explains the prime muscles of the shoulder and will guide you with proper workouts to build them.

Shoulders have 3 components :

Anterior Head:

o Function: Flexion, Medial Rotation
o Location: Front portion of the shoulder girdle
o Exercise: Barbell Shoulder Press

Middle Head:

o Function: Abduction
o Location: Middle/Side of the shoulder
o Exercise: Dumbbell Side Laterals

Posterior Head:

o Function: Extension, Lateral Rotation
o Location: Back of the shoulder
o Exercise: Bent Over Dumbbell Rear Delt Raise With Head On Bench

What you can see from the anatomy information above is the shoulder is really made up of 3 different small muscle groups. Many beginners treat the shoulder as one muscle group, and train it like the chest; presses, presses and more presses.
All exercises should be performed in perfect form because bad form or habits that you start now will follow you and will lead to lack of progress or worst off injury in the future.

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Top 7 Fat burning Veggies

Belly fat isn't just an eyesore and severely impacts our self-image as well as our confidence, moreover, it is harmful for health. Some scientific studies and research have pointed towards belly fat as being an indication of increased risk of diabetes, heart diseases and other complications. A lot of people struggle to lose the pesky fat that refuses to leave our bellies and with our lifestyles becoming more and more sedentary, our waistlines can only be expected to increase. But, getting rid of belly fat isn't as much about doing crunches every day, as it is about eating healthy. There are some healthy foods that have natural belly fat burning abilities and consuming these foods can help you melt away that fat from your abdomen.

Vegetables and fruits have a lot of fibre and are full of nutrition like essential minerals and vitamins that may help your body improve metabolism and subsequently burn belly fat. Including these in your diet may help you not just in your weight loss journey, but also to live a long and healthy life. The phrase "abs are made in the kitchen" is not an exaggeration and including these fat burning veggies in your diet will help you reach your body goals faster.

Top 6 Fat burning Veggies

    Cabbage,
    Brussels sprouts,
    Cauliflower,
    Collard greens,
    Broccoli,
    Kale
   Carrots

also read  top10-tips-on-how-to-lose-belly-fat

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6 Barbell Shoulder Workouts To Build Strong And Muscular Shoulders

Aside from strengthening your upper body muscles and the bones beneath them, you’ll safeguard your body against injury and let’s face it, you’ll create an aesthetic men want to replicate and woman go crazy over.

Want an amazing barbell workout to gain shoulder mass and muscle? Try this out!

1.  Please remember that grip is an extremely important part of every exercise. All overhead presses are not the same. It depends on your movements, your posture, the position of your elbows, the position of your arms etc. Be aware of what your form is.

2.  When you are choosing your weights, be practical. Yes, heavy is necessary but know your limits. Since shoulder exercises are complex, going all out without considering your limitations might lead to injuries.

3.  Reps are important but do not compromise quality for quantity. Complete your reps perfectly. Also, the longer the range of motion, the better it is for your muscles.

4.  There are some shoulder exercises that might need you to lock your joints. But if you do it for exercises that do not need it, you might just hurt yourself. So be sure to do your research.

5.  Remember to give your body adequate rest. Do not over train because that will lead to fatigue and breakdown. 3 days a week is perfect for a shoulder workout.

6.  Be sure to work on each part of your shoulder. An all inclusive workout will not only add to the mass but will also make sure that you work on all angles and parts.

Exercise #1 Barbell Overhead Press

Set the bar up in a squat rack or cage, and grasp it just outside shoulder width. Take the bar off the rack and hold it at shoulder level with your forearms perpendicular to the floor. Squeeze the bar and brace your abs. Press the bar overhead, pushing your head forward and shrugging your traps as the bar passes your face.

Exercise #2 Push Presses

Step 1: Pick a barbell and bring it to your shoulder level. Hold it with overhand grip such that your palms face up and your elbows point forward. Make sure that your upper arms are almost parallel to the floor. Let the bar rest on your upper chest.

Step 2: Lower your hips and bend your knees so as to do a half squat.

Step 3: Push through your legs, extend your legs and arms and push the bar over your head. Make sure that your arms are straight.

Step 4: Hold for 2 seconds and get it back to the initial position. Repeat.

Exercise #3 High Pull

Grasp the bar with hands about double shoulder width and hold it in front of your thighs. Bend your knees and hips so the bar hangs just above your knees. Explosively extend your hips as if jumping and pull the bar up to shoulder level with elbows wide apart, as in an upright row.

Exercise #4 Military Press Behind Neck

Step 1: Stand straight with your feet hip-width apart. Hold a barbell behind your neck and a little over your shoulders.

Step 2: Push it straight up until your arms are almost straight.

Step 3: Hold for a second and get back to the initial position. Repeat.

Exercise #5 Barbell Overhead Front Raises

Step 1: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Hold a barbell with your palms facing down such that it is close to your thighs and your arms are extended down.

Step 2: Raise the barbell up to bring it over your head. Keep your elbows slightly bent.

Step 3: Pause for a second and lower it back down. Repeat.

Exercise #6 Javelin Press

Step 1: Grab a barbell and hold it lengthwise. Bring it to your shoulder level. Your elbows must be under your wrist.

Step 2: Push the bar up and go until your upper arm reaches your ear.

Step 3: Hold for a second and lower it back. Repeat.

Also, read   best-dumbbell-exercises-for-shoulders

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Total Body Workout Plan Using Only A Barbell – 15 The Best Barbell Exercises

With this programme you are going to gain lean body mass, lose fat, improve fitness and define your physique. All of this using just a barbell!
In this workout plan, we are going to be giving you step by step instructions for exercises and a programme that will benefit you.
These are easy to perform, even in the comfort of your home. Follow the instructions closely, and you will start benefiting in a short period of time.
The programme is a perfect tool as it fits the ability to perform at any time of the day and does away with the “busy schedule” excuse as well.

The Program:

Reps & Sets
Rest time between sets and exercises must be 30-90 seconds depending on your conditioning level.

If you are a beginner, how can you progress to a more advanced level? You need to increase the intensity of training by doing one of the following:

• Increase the number of repetitions.
• Add sets.
• Increase or extensively decrease the speed of the movement.
• Decrease time of rest between sets and exercises.
• Add weights to the barbell.
• Use advanced training techniques such as:
• Drop Sets: place many plates on each side of the barbell (as much as you can lift for 6-10 repetitions). Perform repetitions till concentric failure then immediately remove one plate from each side and without rest continue the exercise to failure and again remove one more plate from each side.
• Continue this procedure until you’re out of plates.
• Exhaustion-Set System: perform as many repetitions as possible with good technique until concentric failure occurs.

Burn System: perform a set till concentric failure, then proceed with half or partial repetitions.
Pyramids: Start with a set of 10-to-12 repetitions with a light resistance, which is increased over several sets so fewer and fewer repetitions can be performed, until reaching 1 repetition maximum. Then repeat the same sets and resistances in reverse order, with the last set consisting of 10-to-12 repetitions.
Super Slow System: perform very slow repetitions ranging from 20-to-60 seconds per repetition.
Super Setting Systems: In the first type, you use several sets of two exercises for the agonist and antagonist muscles of the body part. In the second type use one set of several exercises in rapid succession for the same muscle group or body part.

Training programme:

Once a week total body training workout:

• Squat – 4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Stiff-Leg Deadlift – 4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Lying Press – 4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Bent-over Rows – 4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Military Press – 4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Shrugs – 4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Biceps Curls – 4 sets, 8-12 reps
• Lying Triceps Extensions – 3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Good Morning – 3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Twists – 3 sets, 8-12 reps

Twice a week total body training workout (Take Two-Three days rest after each session):

Day 1:

• Squat – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Stiff-Leg Deadlift – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Lying Press – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Bent-over Rows – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Military Press – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Shrugs – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Biceps Curls – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Close Grip Lying Press – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Twists – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Crunches – 2-3 sets, 12-15 reps

Day 2:

• Lunges – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Calf Raise – 2-3 sets, 12-15 reps
• Wide Grip Lying Press – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Pullovers – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Reverse Close Grip Bent-over Rows – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Front Raise – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Upright Rows – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Reverse Grip Curls – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Lying Triceps Extensions – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Good Morning – 2-3 sets, 12-15 rep

Three times a week total body training workout (Take one day rest after each session):

Day 1:

• Squat – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Lying Press – 2-3 sets, 12-15 reps
• Military Press – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Bent-over Rows – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Biceps Curls – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Lying Triceps Extensions – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Good Morning – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Crunches – 2-3 sets, 15 reps

Day 2:

• Lunges – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Calf Raise – 2-3 sets, 12-15 reps
• Wide Grip Lying Press – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Reverse Grip Bent-over Rows – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Front Raise – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Shrugs – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Reverse Grip Curls – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Close Grip Bench Press – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Twists – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps

Day 3:

• Stiff-Leg Deadlift – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Pullovers – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Reverse Close Grip Bent-over Rows – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Upright Rows – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Standing Overhead Extensions – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Bent-over Concentration Curls – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Wrist Curls – 2-3 sets, 8-12 reps
• Side Crunches – 2-3 sets, 12-15 reps

Exercises

Front squat

How to: 

• Stand with the bar across your shoulders, resting on your fingertips as shown. It’s a light grip, but don’t even think about dropping the bar.
• Now place all your weight through your heels as you bend your knees and push your hips back – sink as low as you can, but keep your back straight.
• Push through the heels to drive back up.

Romanian deadlift

How to:

• Stand tall with the bar at your waist and a slight bend in your knees.
• Now shift your hips back and let the bar slide down your legs. Stop when your hamstrings tighten.
• Keep your back neutral.
• Drive your hips forward and squeeze your glutes to stand back up.

Snatch grip deadlift

How to:

• With your feet hip-width and shins touching the bar, bend down to grab it.
• Your index fingers should rest on the outer ring of the knurling.
• Pull your hips down and raise your chest.
• Take a deep breath to stabilise your lower back, then drive up, thrusting your hips.
• Straighten your knees, then slide the bar back down the front of your legs to the start position.

Side lunge

How to:

• Stand with the bar across your upper back, pulling it tightly into your traps.
• Step one leg out; let the heel of the opposite leg take your weight.
• Push your hips down, keeping the trail leg straight and foot flat.
• Drive through the heel of your bent leg to stand back up.
• Repeat on the other side.

Pull over

How to:

• Lie on a flat bench with a good base (in the same position as for the California press) and hold the bar above your chest with a slight bend in your elbows.
• Keep your arms in that position, then lower the weight in an arc over and behind your head.
• When you feel a stretch in your pecs, bring the bar back up.

Good morning

How to:

• Hold the bar across the back of your shoulders, then lean forward and push your hips back as far as possible.
• When your hams start to tighten, push your hips straight forward and bring your chest up as you straighten.

High pull

How to:

• Start the same as the power clean, generating momentum from your knees, hips and shoulders to drag the bar up from the floor close to your body.
• But instead of catching, keep pulling it up, flexing your elbows to shrug the bar up to your chin like an upright row.
• Lower it quickly – going slowly will only hurt.
• One for the impatient.

Reverse curl

How to:

• Hold the barbell at shoulder width with an overhand ‘motorbike’ grip.
• Keeping your wrists still, use your biceps to curl the bar up; squeeze the muscles for a second at the top.
• Slowly lower the weight back down, always keeping your elbows tucked in.

Cuban press

How to:

• Hold the barbell at your waist, slightly wider than normal with an overhand grip.
• First, row it up to your belly button.
• Then rotate the bar to your forehead, palms facing forward.
• Press the bar above your head.
• Reverse the movement to bring the bar back to the start position.

Weighted hip extension

How to:

• Sit with your knees bent and upper back resting on a bench behind you.
• Roll the bar on to the top of your hips and hold it in place.
• Now push your feet down, lifting your hips up until your upper body is fully supported by the bench.
• Squeeze at the top for a second and slowly lower back down to the floor.

Meadows row

How to:

• Place the end of the barbell in a corner, or the base of a bench, and stand at the front end of the bar at a right angle.
• With an overhand grip, row it to your armpit.
• Squeeze your shoulder at the top of the movement, then lower the weight back down until you feel a stretch.

Javelin Press

How to:

• Hold the barbell at shoulder height length ways, as if it was a javelin, with your elbow underneath your wrist.
• Don’t actually throw it.
• Keep your grip tight and drive the bar up until your bicep is next to your ear.
• Try to stop the bar wobbling, then lower it back to the start.

Perfect curl

How to:

• Hold the barbell with a grip slightly wider than your shoulder width and pin your shoulder-blades back.
• Push your hips forward and lean back.
• As you bring the bar up, push your hips back and lean forward.
• At the top of the curl you should be bent forward and the bar should be close to your face.

 source: gymguider.com

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4 tips and exercoses to build big forearms

Stop droning through endless sets of wrist curls. Try these tricks of the trade and build forearms that would make Popeye jealous.

From a purely cosmetic angle, lagging forearms can kill the overall look of your arms. Sure, there are certain bluffs that can be employed to offset that imbalance like wearing sleeveless shirts and tank tops as often as possible. However, up here in the true north, those with poor forearm development are eventually left with a choice – look like a fool and get hypothermia in December or do something about it.

From a performance angle, both in and out of the weight room, grip and forearm strength can do a lot of good. Whether you’re a domestic worker, or a mixed martial artist, having claws of death puts you one step ahead when carrying loads, grappling with an opponent or performing submission holds. All this being said, here are a few tricks that are sure to make your forearms more impressive in terms of both looks and functionality.

1. Hammer Grip

Using a hammer grip (palms facing each other) when performing your sets of biceps curls and chin-ups can prove effective simply because the neutral palm position allows the brachioradialis – one of your beefiest forearm muscles – to get involved. This lesson is a simple one: ditch the standard curls and wide grip pull-ups, and use a palms facing in (or even reverse) grip where you can. You’ll be glad you did.

2. Bottoms-up exercises
Here's what you need to know...

    Bottoms-up training has incredible benefits. It improves strength, size, athletic performance, mental focus, anaerobic conditioning, posture, and more.
    Hold a kettlebell with the bell up, handle down. The instability requires you to recruit additional muscle fibers and motor units to control the volatile load.
    Kettlebells and Iron Grip plates work best. You can also use bumper plates and hex-style dumbbells for 9 different exercises.

Few exercises obliterate the forearms, hands, and finger muscles to the extent that these do. You'll be required to activate every muscle in the hands and forearms to stabilize an unstable kettlebell or plate. Bottoms-up exercises also teach grip stability and motor control in the fingers, wrists, and hands which pays dividends when it comes to long-term development of the forearms.

3. Start Doing Strongman Stuff

You’re off to a good start with the loaded carries. I’m not saying you have run out and enter a strongman competition with the intention of setting a new meet record. However, depending on your gym, you may have access to some thick ropes to climb or pull, tires to flip, or stones to carry (those are little bit tougher to get a hold of). If so, don’t hesitate to incorporate them into your training as an auxiliary exercise. One strongman workout and you’ll be going home with your hands fixed in a “perma-claw.”

 4. Make it a Challenge

When performing basic movements, don’t limit yourself to typical barbells and dumbbells – change it up! Give your grip and forearms a challenge by forcing them to really clutch something tight. By this point in time, you’ve probably been living under a rock if you haven’t heard of tools like Fat Gripz which are used to increase bar thickness and subsequently train a lifter’s grip strength. You’ll really have to squeeze tight to get a good hold on a fatter bar, which creates a workout within a workout. As my man John Gaglione likes to point out, with a “crushing” grip you’ll create more tension and subsequently have a better connection and more stable set-up.

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Tips The Best Time To Take Creatine | Should I Take Creatine Before Or After My Workout?

In short, if you’re supplementing with creatine, it may benefit you to consume both 30 minutes before a workout and immediately after as part of your post-workout shake. This article explains why.

Why Supplement With Creatine?

Creatine works to increase muscular storage of a form of energy called creatine phosphate (CP). CP has an important role in the production of energy for short-duration and high-intensity exercise. Without getting too scientific, by supplementing with creatine, muscular stores of CP are increased, helping to feed the ATP-PC energy system, which is the main energy system that we use in the gym when training with near maximal weight and power-type exercises.

Additionally, when CP is depleted within the muscle, muscular fatigue is increased. Increasing creatine stores within the body have been proven to help increase CP levels so that a greater work output can be achieved during anaerobic activity, in addition to helping reduce the amount that our body’s own natural stores are depleted.

Creatine supplementation benefits:

✓ Greater than normal levels of creatine stored in the muscle – this means more energy for high-intensity exercise and less depletion.

✓ Creatine levels being regenerated quicker, meaning greater recovery, and enhanced storage of creatine for the next time your body wants to use its own stores.

As we’ve briefly touched upon, increasing the creatine content within the muscles helps prolong the depletion of phosphocreatine. This in short means an increase in muscular endurance, as well as an increase in strength and power.

     Before Exercise

Some prefer taking creatine prior to working out. Before training, it makes sense to load your muscle cells with this brilliant supplement to reap the full benefits early on. Essentially, more creatine means more ATP, the prime source of cellular energy.

Having more ATP equals more power accessible to the muscles. What that means is there’s more power to activate the muscle fibres, so more weight lifting power.

    After Exercise

But don’t forget about the crucial post-exercise recovery opportunity.  After working out, your muscles have endured a fierce session of being torn up, beaten and hammered wildly. Taking creatine supplements post-workout is the perfect time to thrust some good stuff into your muscles to boost the growth & recovery process.

Throw creatine in there as well as carbohydrates and protein, and your starving muscle cells will pretty much absorb the potent supplement and soak up all its goodness. To find out more about why creatine is so popular and the difference between this popular supplement and protein powder, visit our blog post Creatine vs Protein.

So, make sure you load in another dose of creatine. It’ll prepare you for your next weight lifting or gym session. Remember the old saying? “After exercise, you should eat for your next training session, not the one you’ve just finished”.

  Whenever

Those who take creatine at any time believe both the aforementioned methods of taking it are pretty much supplementation superstition. Why stress about the timing? Because creatine is good for you, you should see the benefits while you’re supplementing with it.

So, when is the best time to take creatine then?

When to Take Creatine Monohydrate?

We recommend taking creatine half an hour before training and another immediately after, so you get 5 grams in total. For example, you could take the whole dose before you exercise, or afterwards. Or, split the dose, taking half of it before you exercise and the other half afterwards.

You can also take it on rest days by taking one serving in the morning and another in the evening. Recommended amounts vary depending on your body weight but generally, we advise having 5g directly before or after a workout.

How and When to Take Creatine? 

Dosing creatine correctly appears to be between 3-5 grams per day. You can “load” for the first 5-7 days to help saturate your cells. But beyond that, there’s no advantage to taking hefty amounts.

Once you’ve completed the loading phase, you then progress to maintenance. Whilst some maintain on 5 grams per day, others need just 2-3 grams per day.

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Chest Workout | 6 Exercises To Build The Upper Chest

Training your chest shouldn't be a futile exercise of boring monotony.

If you're boring and don't want to experience truly massive gains, feel free to rep through endless standard bench press sets until your back fuses with the bench. You might get better at that one exercise — but you're spurning all of the potential benefits that other moves could offer.

For the rest of us, there's an entire treasure trove full of workout moves to be uncovered to blast the chest that can sculpt your pecs and push your upper body training days to the next level.

Here are 6 of the best chest exercises to do just that.

Warming up

The ideal goal is to build a bigger chest, but picking up a pair of weights without preparing your muscles for a vigorous Chest workout just won’t deliver the results you’re imagining will instantly happen.

Try a short warm-up routine:

– 1 x wide-grip flat push-ups

– 1 x  neutral grip push ups

– (If possible) 1 x decline push ups to hit your chest from all angles:

Beginners AND Pro gym-goers:

Consuming pre-workout 30 minutes before starting your training session will give you a boost of energy to focus on exceeding your potential down to every last rep.

#1 Incline Cable Fly

 

This is one of the most suitable exercises for isolating the upper chest muscles. Performing this exercise with cables instead of Dumbbells allows for constant tension to be placed directly onto the Upper Chest fibres.

This constant tension cannot be achieved with Dumbbells due to the motion curve not considering gravity.

I recommend this exercise after you have performed heavy Barbell or Dumbbell Bench Press, as it is less fatiguing on the Central Nervous System.

Training Tips:

✓ Position bench at around 45 degrees.

✓ Lower cables in an “arc” motion, ensure to feel the chest stretch.

✓ Vary the position of the bench to hit different angles of the upper chest.

✓ Hold and contract the chest muscles when hands are together.

#2  Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

 

In my opinion, the best compound exercise for adding mass to the Upper Chest is the Incline Dumbbell Bench Press.

incline dumbbell bench press

Including a slight pause at the bottom of the movement allows for the most recruitment of the Upper Chest muscle fibres. You will have to use a lighter weight in order to get the benefits of the pause, but the muscle contraction is much greater.

I recommend performing this exercise during a workout with a lot of volume, and low-moderate weight, in order to get the most out of the exercise.

Training Tips:

✓ Palms to face each other, arms positioned shoulder width – wrists rotated to face ceiling (see image.)

✓ Exhale whilst pushing dumbbells upwards – keep control at all times.

✓ Take your time lowering weights.

✓ Vary bench angles to hit different angles of the chest.

#3 Flat Dumbbell Bench Press

Instructions

1.    Sit down on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand and place them on your knees. Your feet should be on the floor and knees slightly bent.

2.    Lean back slowly and raise the weights up to your shoulders and then at arm length straight up. The dumbbells should face forward slightly turned inward at about a 35 degree angle. Exhale as you push them away.

3.    Lower the dumbbells slowly so they go to your outer chest armpit area. Bend your elbows below the level of your chest placing the dumbbells level with your chest and shoulders.

4.    Push the weights up and lock your arms straight overhead. Then repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Important Tips

1.    Make sure your butt, upper back, and hips are pressed hard into the bench.

2.   Keep in mind that these are presses and not flyes.

#4 Incline Barbell Bench Press

 

The Incline Barbell Bench Press is also a great, compound mass builder for the Upper Chest. An advantage that the Barbell Press has over the Dumbbell Press is the weight increments. Barbells allow for smaller increments to be added, thus making progress more linear – i.e. it is more realistic to be able to increase the weight of a Barbell by 1.25kg per side that it is to increase Dumbbell weight by 2.5kg each.

Whilst the Barbell allows for only a fixed range of motion, and less humerus adduction, including a pause at the bottom will again allow for more muscle fibre recruitment of the Upper Chest fibres.

I recommend performing this exercise during a workout with a lot of volume, and low-moderate weight, in order to get the most out of the exercise.


Training Tips:

✓ Bench to be around 30 degrees – hands positioned slider wider than shoulder-width.

✓ Position bar straight in front of you, locking arms to secure starting position.

✓ The bar should be lowered slowly until it has reached upper chest – and pause.

✓ Power the bar up using your chest muscles – lock arms and squeeze, getting the contraction.


#5 Incline Push Up 

 
Instructions

1. Get yourself in the standard pushup position with hands on a raised surface slightly wider than shoulder width. Elbows should be locked out.

2. Keeping the torso straight, lower your chest to the raised surface. Pause and push back to the starting position. Repeat for the desired amount of repetitions.

Important Tips

1. Do not flare out your elbows.

2. Ensure that your core is tight and back straight during the movements. 


#6 Incline Hammer Strength Machine

Incline Hammer Strength Machine allows for complete contraction of the Upper Chest. Due to the machine being designed to only target the Upper Chest, this makes it a great exercise. It can also be useful to people with injuries, particularly in the shoulder, if they cannot perform the Incline Dumbbell or Barbell Bench Press pain-free.

The Incline Hammer Strength Machine also allows for less opportunity of form breakdown. If you are simply going to fail a repetition, you can lower the machine back down, without any chance of injuring yourself.

Again, I recommend performing this exercise as an accessory for the Barbell or Dumbbell Bench Press.

Training Tips:

✓ Ensure to adjust the seat height to ensure the bar levels with your chest.

✓ Dig shoulder blades into the seat and ‘push out’ chest muscles.

✓ Exhale whilst pushing the bar forward, holding the contraction when stopped.

✓ Slowly return to starting position.

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No Exercise: Get A Flatter Stomach With These Amazing Best 6 Tips

The waistline is the top body part that both men and women say they are most self-conscious about. Here are simple ways to lose belly fat and get a flat stomach for good! 

#1. Cut Off Your Sugar

Cut off food that contains sugar. When it comes to body fats, sugar is the greatest enemy and the reason behind it. Sugary treats can be delicious but are not very good for our bodies and our tummies. Not only does sugar filled food adds inches to our waistlines, but it also the overload leads to insulin resistance. When that happens, our body starts to store extra fat around the waist. Sugar bloats your tummy the matter of weeks by feeding the bad bacteria, leading to gastric problems. When it comes to flattening the belly, cutting off sugar is the best things you can.

#2. Do not Skip Meals

A common habit of our generation is that they do not take care of their meals as they should because of tough schedules and jobs. Sometimes they end up skipping their meals, and that disturbs the entire metabolism. Make time for breakfast, because studies say that the healthier the breakfast, the better it is for keeping a controlled body weight. Research says that people who miss their morning meals experience a surge in their hunger-related hormones later in the day. That makes them get hungry at odd times. When you eat snacks at a regular pace, you’re your calories will be burning at a regular pace too.

#3. Massage

A massage does the trick always so start getting massages regularly. Try out the real-relax massage chair and see the wonders unfold.

#4. Drink More Water

Keeping hydrated not only helps with your body health and skin, but it also helps with the weight loss too. Water flushes out the extra toxins, and people who cannot control their snack-munching should drink more and more water. Water will make you feel full all the times, and you would easily resist eating any extra snacks. Also, when you are dehydrated, your body stocks up the extra water resulting in excess pounds around your midsection.

#5. Power Up Your Breakfast

Low-Fat milk in your morning cereal could be a belly-busting win. Diets that are high in calcium-containing foods are linked with healthier body weight. The minerals in dairy products, such as calcium, potassium, and magnesium, can help counterbalance the bloat-inducing sodium.

#6. Eat Wisely

It is not just about how much you eat but also about how you eat it. Scarfing down your meals is not going to help you in any way, rather it will create problems. Chew each of your bites at least ten times before you swallow it. Your body has to work more to break down the food in the stomach, which leads to major gas and indigestion. Not only that, but eating fast makes you prone to swallowing air, that can ratchet up the risk of you feeling a little puffy.

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Build Monster Legs & Glutes With This Best Workout!

Bulging, carved quads are like flashing neon signs announcing that you are a cyclist, and you’ve come to kick some ass. And those diamond-cut cannons are more than just aesthetically pleasing in your spandex. The four muscles collectively called the “quads” are the primary movers when you push through the pedal stroke, so stronger quads equals more watts.
There is a reason that the squat is considered the king of all exercises.
Achieving a four-plate squat takes hard work, dedication, and an incredible amount of effort. And more than that, a big squat requires a massive amount of lower body strength, a heap of persistence, and a whole lot of mental toughness to boot.
Furthermore, find me someone with a big squat and I will show you a person with a monster pair of wheels.

1. Start With A Free-Weight Squat Variation

Squats are the obvious place to begin your leg-day thrashing. Why? Let us count the ways. Squats are the most challenging leg movement, you can move the most weight with them, they recruit all the lower-body musculature (and more core and upper body than you might think), and they’ve been shown to spike muscle-building hormone release better than any other movement.

Squats are actually a family of exercises that combine hip and knee extension, and there are any number of variations, all of which have their own value. Some differ by bar placement, others by type of equipment used, and still others by foot position.
Yes, you could start your leg day with front squats or a single-leg squat variation. But for this mass-building routine, we’re going with the high-bar back squat, in which the barbell sits atop the upper traps. This version is preferred by most bodybuilders because it hits the lower-body musculature fairly evenly, and because you can move more weight with it than most other variations.
The most common recommendation is to squat at least to a point at which your thighs are about parallel to the floor, but honestly, that’s relative to each individual and their flexibility. No matter how deep you go, it’s paramount that your spine remains neutral and never rounds,  which can put dangerous forces on the discs.

The solution: Work on your flexibility; tightness in your hip flexors and calves can also affect the depth of your squats. That, along with tightening up your technique will pay off big time—as long as the form is good, a deeper squat is always a better squat.

Make It Monster

Do multiple warm-up sets, pyramiding up in weight each time, but never come close to failure in warm-ups. Most workouts designate the 8- to 12-rep range as the proper muscle-building zone, but in the first few working sets of your workout, when your strength levels are highest, opt for the heavier loads. So instead of choosing a weight at which you fail at about 8 reps, go slightly heavier for sets of about 6. This gives you a slightly better strength-building stimulus.

2. Do Another Squat Variation, Adjusting The Intensity And Angle

No, it’s not time to start doing machines yet. In this workout, you won’t even go near a machine until the end of your training session.
We’re still looking at knee- and hip-extension movements, and your best choice is probably one that matches up best with your personal weaknesses. Most recreational lifters come up a little short with quad development, so the front squat is the on-deck hitter in this routine.

The simple change of moving the bar from behind your head to the front changes how the load is distributed over the lower-body musculature. It emphasises the quads over the glutes and hams, which means you’ll have to lighten the load. The movement also requires that you maintain a more vertical position, which can be kinder to your back while also enabling you to squat deeper.
Make It Monster

Because you’ve already done serious strength work for sets of 6, consider a lighter weight that can be done for sets of 10-12. You’ll work some different muscles, but also give some of the same ones a slightly different stimulus.

3. Add A Heavy Posterior-Chain Movement

 The classic deadlift is weightlifting at its best. A simple, effective move that should have a spot in the workout line-up of anyone who has a weights routine. The exercise strengthens muscles throughout your posterior chain – all the muscles that run down the back of your body from your neck to your heels.

That focus on the back of your body makes the deadlift especially important because, in all aspects of life, people have a natural tendency to ignore what they cannot see. When it comes to your muscles that tendency often results in people spending hours in the gym beefing up their pecs and biceps while ignoring their back muscles and triceps. And when you shift to the lower body, this tendency leads to people forgetting all about their hamstrings – which, as you’ve probably already guessed, is a big mistake. The hamstrings are vital for impressive leaping, and rapid acceleration and deceleration, not to mention the fact that you won’t be able rack up a respectable barbell squat without strong hammies.

Fortunately you can address any such by adding the Romanian deadlift to your workouts. This variation on the standard deadlift places even more focus on the hamstrings than the original exercise, building their flexibility, strength and power.

The Romanian deadlift is also a move you can do anywhere, because you don’t need to use very heavy weights for it to be effective. While using the gym’s barbell is the simplest way to do the Romanian deadlift, you can swap out free weights for anything heavy if working out at home. Not having to lift huge weights is not only convenient, but also means there’s less risk of putting your back under undue pressure, which can be a problem with the standard deadlift.

Make It Monster

Once you master the form, you should be able to push some very good weight with these. After warm-ups, shoot for 2 heavy sets of 8 reps and 2 back-off sets of 12 reps.

4. Include A Unilateral Movement To Work Each Leg Individually

Now that you’ve got the heavy bilateral work out of the way, it’s time to work each of your legs individually. The Bulgarian split squat, where you stabilise your rear leg on a bench behind you, is an ideal choice. Elevating your rear leg forces the front thigh, especially the quad, to pick up more of the workload, while also torching the glute of that leg. If the balance component is too difficult at first, you can substitute split squats or lunges. In a pinch, you can do these on the Smith machine.

Don’t let the fact that you can’t load these up like back squats fool you into thinking this is a weak movement.

Make It Monster

You can’t use much weight on this movement, even if you didn’t precede it with the other squats. Shoot for 3 sets of 10 reps, alternating sides.

5. Add Volume As You Train For The Pump

You won’t build great legs with machines alone, which is why the leg press isn’t very high on the list. But machines are ideal at increasing your training volume later in your workout, when your thighs are fried and you have trouble maintaining balance and good form.

What’s more, you can adjust your foot position to change the focus. Higher on the sled hits the glutes and hams more, while lower on the sled shifts more of the focus to the quads. Likewise, the deeper you go, the more the hams and glutes have to work.
Since this portion of the workout is when you’re looking to deliver a serious pump to your muscles, drop sets make far more sense here than, say, with back squats. The pump promotes hypertrophy by driving blood into the tissue, a different growth mechanism than the tension generated by those heavy squat sets early in your routine.

Make It Monster

Ready your mind and embrace the assault on your thighs. Do 3 sets of 10-12 reps, doing a double drop on your last set to magnify the burn.

6. Finish The Hamstrings With A Single-Joint Movement

The hamstrings are antagonists to the quads, so you want to ensure they’re getting plenty of work to match what you’ve been doing for the front side of your body.

A leg-curl movement, which better emphasises the lower half of the hamstrings above the knee, is also a nice complement to the upper-hams-focused RDL. It’s a pump movement of the first order as well, making it a perfect finisher.

Make It Monster

Finish off this monster leg workout with 3 sets of hamstring curls, doing a double drop on the last set like you did with the leg press.

The Monster Leg Workout

• Warm-up sets are not included; do as many as you need, but never take warm-ups to muscle failure.
• Choose a weight that allows you to approach muscle failure by the target rep listed. Rest as needed, but try to decrease the amount of rest you need over time.
• On exercises 5 and 6, do a double drop-set on your final set. That is, once you reach initial muscle failure, quickly reduce the load by about 25 percent and continue the set.
• Once you reach failure again, do another 25 percent drop and do as many reps as you can.
• On the first week of this program, do just 2 sets of the first two exercises to control the degree of muscle soreness, and stop all sets of all movements about a rep short of muscle failure. As you progress, adjust the volume and exercise selection as necessary to ensure you remain within your abilities.

Monster Leg Workout

1.Barbell Full Squat

• 3 sets, 6 Reps

2.Front Barbell Squat

• 3 sets, 10-12 Reps

3.Romanian Deadlift

• 4 sets, 8 Reps
• 2 sets, 12 Reps

4.One Leg Barbell Squat

• 3 sets, 8-10 Reps

5.Leg Press

• 3 sets, 10-12 Reps (Double Dropset on Last Set)

6.Lying Leg Curls

• 3 sets, 8-10 Reps (Double Dropset on Last Set)

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