My training split - legs (quad and glute focused)

I typically train legs 3 times per week and have been doing so since October 2015.

My typical training split is as follows:

Monday: Legs (quad and glute focused)

Tuesday: Abs, Upper Body, Cardio

Wednesday: Legs (hamstrings and glute focused)

Thursday: Abs, Upper Body, Cardio

Friday: Legs (glute focused)

Saturday: Abs, Upper Body, Cardio

Sunday: Rest

Of course not all weeks look like that and sometimes I will miss a day and have to rearrange some things or just have two rest days. Fitness is all about balance and not beating yourself up, I cannot stress that enough! However, this is what my typical week is like.

For this blog I will just focus on what a typical quad and glute focused leg day might look like for me.

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Leg press:

1 warm up set X 15

5 working sets of 6-8 reps

Hack squat:

1 warm up set X 12

5 working sets of 6-8 reps

Lunges on smith machine (See video to right):

5 working sets of 8-12 reps each leg

Hip thrusts:

1 warm up set X 15

5 working sets 8-12 reps

Leg extensions:

5 working sets 6-8 reps

Hip abductors/adductors superset:

5 sets of each 12-15

Burn out:

Sumo squats with dumbbell:

Pyramid style - 1 set of 12, 1 set of 8, 2 sets of 6, 1 set of 8, 1 set of 12

You will need 3 different dumbbells for this exercise and will use the lighter one for reps or 12, medium for the reps of 8, and heaviest for reps of 6.

Leg press:

3 sets of 15

Cable kickbacks:

3 sets of 12-15 each leg

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LIFT HEAVY!

How much weight depends on you and you alone! If you are doing an exercise that calls for 6-8 reps and are easily completing 8 then you need to up the weight! Increase the total weight by 20 lbs and if that is too easy keep going up.

Tips:

• Make sure you are always pushing through your heels! This will engage your glutes.

• When squatting/lunging/leg pressing make sure that your knees never goes in front of your toes! This is terrible for your knees and can lead to injury.

• Mind-muscle connection is so important! The video I posted is slightly sped up, in reality I am going slower and truly focusing on pushing through my heel and using only that front leg (mostly glute) to push me up.

• When squatting, doing hip thrusts, or cable kickbacks SQUEEZE at the top of the movement! It looks ugly but you need to hold and squeeze your glutes to fully engage them. I typically hold for at least 2 full seconds.