05. legs and glutes part 2

8/7/2019 05. Legs and Glutes part 2

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HE MUSCLE GROUPS

G L UTE U S M A X I M U S

B I C E P S F E M O RI S

S E M I M E M B R A N O S U S

S E M I T E N D I N O S U S

TOTAL-BODYWORKBOOK

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A D V A N C E DDivide your workout into three

parts. Do each part once a week,

with a day off between workouts.1. Vertical pushing and pulling

2. Lower-body exercises, plus

abdominals and calves

3. Horizontal pushing and

pulling

Most men have a

simple philosophy

when choosing lower-

body exercises: the more

weight they can pile on, the

better the lift. But choosing your

exercises based on the amount

of weight you can heft is like

timing your 100m dash on the

moving walkway at the airport.

Thats because the mostpopular exercises for your

lower body machine exercises

like leg presses, leg extensions

and leg curls allow you to lift

heavier weights than their free-

weight counterparts. Why?

Because they give your body

a mechanical advantage. So

even though you can lift more

iron, youre using less muscle.

That puts you at a disadvantage

when youre trying to maximise

your lower-body strength andsize, says Michael Mejia, our

exercise adviser.

In this chapter, Mejia gives

you exercises that force your

muscles to work without help

from machinery the same way

they work in sport and real-life

activities. Youll hold the weights

in different positions and

prepare your body for virtually

anything. Plus, youll work your

muscles more intensely than

you have before, which willstimulate them to grow.

When you see the end

results of this programme,

were guessing youll have

some new favourite exercises.

May: Shoulders

June: Chest & Back 1

July/ August: Chest & Back 2

September: Legs & Glutes 1

October: Legs & Glutes 2November: Abs & Lower Back

December: Arms 1

Jan/ Feb: Arms 2

March: Total-Body Muscle

April: Total-Body Fat Loss

B E G I N N E RDo the routine described here

two or three times a week. Start

with the leg and glutes exercises,before attempting one set of 8 to

12 repetitions (except where

noted) of the following exercises:

1. Lat pull-down

2. Dumb-bell chest press

3. Cable or dumb-bell row

4. Seated alternating

dumb-bell press

5. Cable triceps extension

6. Dumb-bell biceps curl

7. Crunch (15 to 20 repetitions)

I N T E R M E D I A T EDivide your programme into two

workouts: one for upper body,

one for lower. Alternate betweenthe two workouts, taking a day

off after each. For example, do

the lower-body workout shown

here on Monday and Friday

and an upper-body workout

on Wednesday; the following

week, do the opposite.

Upper-body workout: Choose

one exercise each for horizontal

pulling (seated or bent-over row),

one for horizontal pushing

(dumb-bell or bar-bell bench

press), one for vertical pulling(pull-up or lat pull-down), and

one for vertical pushing (dumb-

bell or bar-bell shoulder press).

Do two or three warm-up sets and

two work sets. (A work set means

youre using the most weight you

can for that number of repetitions.

The warm-up sets should be

percentages of that weight

maybe 40%, 60% and 80% of

the work-set weight. Do fewer

repetitions in each warm-up set.)

You can finish with exercises foryour biceps and triceps.

Lower-body workout: Do the

exercises described here, followed

by abdominal exercises.

The rest of your workoutDo the leg and glute exercises described here before working any other muscle groups. You can do

the rest of the lifts in your workout in any order. Try to increase the amount of weight you lift in each

exercise by 5% to 10% each week. Most important: build strength and muscle with equal effort on both

sides of your body. Working the front and neglecting the back is a recipe for injury. Some suggestions:

YE A R P L A N N E R

5Legs &Glutes(2)

WORDSADAMCAMPBELL

.WORKOUTSMICHAELMEJIA.PHOTOGRAPHYMARKHAVRIL

IAK.WORKOUTPHOTOGRAPHYBETHBISCHOFF
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KING DEADLIFT Stand with your knees

slightly bent and yourfeet shoulder-widthapart. (This is donewithout weights.) Liftyour left foot behind you

and bend the knee 90degrees so your left lowerleg is parallel to the floor.

Slowly lower your bodyuntil your right thigh isparallel to the floor. Yourleft leg will rise behindyou as a counterbalance,and your torso will bendforward at the hips. Pause, then push your

body back to the startingposition. Finish all ofthe repetitions, thenrepeat, this time liftingyour right leg.

45-DEGREETRAVELLING LUNGE

Grab a pair of dumb-bell sand hold them at yoursides. Stand wit hyour feethip-widthapart at

one end of your house orgym you need room towalk forward.

Step forward with yourleft foot at a 45-degreeangle and lower yourbody until your right kneealmost touches the floorand your left knee is bent90 degrees.

Stand and bring your

right foot up next toyour left, t hen repeatwith the right leglunging forward. Thatsone repetition.

SWISS-BALL HIPEXTENSION ANDLEG CURL

Lie on your back on thefloor and place yourlower legs on a Swissball. Put your hands flaton the floor at your sides.

Push your hips up so

that your body forms astraight li ne from yourshoulders to your knees.

Without pausing, pullyour heels toward youand roll the ball asclose as possible toyour backside.

Pause, then reverse themotion roll t he ballback until your body isin a straight l ine, thenlower your back to thefloor and repeat.

MODIFIED FARMERSWALK

Grab a pai r of heavy

dumb-bells and standholding them at armslength at your sides.

Stand on the balls of yourfeet, and walk forwarduntil your grip is aboutto give out.

Put the dumb-bells down,rest and then turn aroundand repeat, going back tothe starting point.

Do the five beginner exercises for four weeks.

Weeks 1-2 2 sets of 1012 repetitions ofeach exercise

Weeks 3-4 23 sets of 810

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D I F F I C U L T Y L E V E L

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Legs & Glutes(2) beginner

BAR-BELLFRONT SQUAT Grab a bar wit h an

overhand gripthats just

beyond shoulder-widthand hold it in front ofyour body, just above

your shoulders. Raiseyour upper arms so

theyre parallel to thefloor and let the bar rollback so its resting on

your fingers. Set yourfeet shoulder-widthapart and keep yourback straight, kneesslight ly bent, and eyesfocused straight ahead.

Without changing theposition of your arms,lower your body untilyour thighs are parallelto the fl oor.

Pause, then push backup to the start position.
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An intermediate should do the five

intermediate/advanced exercises shown

here and on the next page for four weeks.

Weeks 1-2 2 sets of 8-10Weeks 3-4 2-3 sets of 6-8

Important!All exercises on this page and

the following one are for intermediate and

advanced lifters. Note the differences insets and repetitions for each level.

SINGLE-LEG BACKEXTENSION

Position yourself in aback-extension station.Hook one foot under theleg anchors and leave theother foot resting on top.Cross your arms overyour chest.

Lower your upper body,allowing your lower backto round, until i ts justshort of perpendicularto the floor.

Raise your upper bodyuntil i ts slightly aboveparallel to the floor.At this point you shouldhave a slight arch inyour back, and yourshoulder blades shouldbe pulled together.

Repeat, fini sh the set,then repeat with yourother foot under theleg anchor.

SINGLE-LEG SWISS-BALL HIP EXTENSIONAND LEG CURL

Lie on your back on thefloor; place your rightlower leg on a Swissball and your left leg inthe air, perpendicularto your body. Put your

hands flat on the floorat your sides.

Push your hips up so yourbody forms a straightline f rom shouldersto knees.

Without pausing, pullyour right heel towardyou and roll the ballas close as possible

to your backside.

Pause, then reverse themovement and return t othe starting position.Finish the repetitionsand repeat with yourleft l eg.

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Legs & Glutes(2) intermediate
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Do the five intermediate/advanced exercises

shown here and on the previous page for

four weeks.

Weeks 1-2 2 sets of 68, after a thoroughwarm-up with lighter weights

Weeks 3-4 23 sets of 46, after warm-up

BAR-BELL HACK SQUAT Stand holding a bar-bell

down at arms lengthbehind your back,using an overhand grip.Set your feet shoulder-width apart and placeeach heel on a 10kgweight plate.

Slowly lower your bodyas if you were sitting

back into a chair,keeping your back i nits natural alignment.

When your thighs areparallel to the floor,pause, then return tothe starting position.

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Legs & Glutes(2) advanced

OVERHEAD SQUAT Stand holding a bar-bell

with an overhand grip,and press it over yourhead so that your armsare fully extended. Thebar should be directlyover your shoulders.Set your feet shoulder-width apart.

Slowly lower your bodyas if you were sittingback into a chair,

keeping your back inits natural alignment.When your thighs are

parallel to the floor,pause, then return tothe starting position.

DUMB-BELLCALF JUMP

Stand with your feethip-width apart. Grab apair of dumb-bells andhold them at your sidesat arms length.

Dip your knees so they rebent about 45 degrees

and jump as high asyou can. Point yourtoes toward the floorwhen you jump.

Allow your knees to bend45 degrees when youland, then immediatelyjump again.

GET VIDEOCLIPS!

Just click any of t he picturesand wel l zip you off to our websiteto see the move played out in ful l.

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05. legs and glutes part 2

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