The first thing I do when checking out a clients training program is to see if they are training legs or the lower body,as sadly it is sometimes overlooked. The legs have more musculature than the upper body and therefore if your training goal is loosing body fat or gaining muscle they are a major component in achieving success.The reason is your body requires a lot of work out energy training the legs which creates a stronger hormonal response.
The Radiation effect also exists which is where the training response transfers from the lower to the upper body. In terms of strength making the client stronger in the upper, also a higher chance in making gains in the upper body from training the legs alone.
Read on for my Leg Training Tips.
Tip 1. A Squat or Dead lift variation must be performed in your program.
- To test the effectiveness of an exercise an EMG test is done on the muscle group being worked in a particular exercise. The test detects how much muscle fibre is recruited which determines the effectiveness of the exercise. Here comes the good news the Squat and the Dead lift sit on position number 1 & 2 on the scale. This means the greater the hormonal response with Testosterone and Growth Hormone which repair the worked muscle groups.
Tip 2. Intensity must be over 60% 1RM.
- Lift heavy!!!!!!!!!! or at a weight that is at least 60% of what you could maximally lift for one repetition. Once again we are after a hormonal response to our training and that’s why we need intensity to make some serious gains in lean muscle increase and fat metabolism.
Tip 3. Exercise selection, Train Opposites.
- When training legs there is great benefit to training opposites or Agonist/Antagonist. So within your Leg training this could mean training the Quadriceps & Hamstring in a super set manner or straight after one another. The reason for this is there is a 10% gain in strength in your program when training agonist/antagonist.
Tip 4. Training Frequency.
-The Legs are very important in your training program, so is resting them for recovery. Ninety Six hours is the minimum recommended time frame for the legs to fully recover and repair for muscle growth.
Tip 5. Best Supplementary exercises for your Lower program.
- The supplementary exercises I like to use for a lower program is a calf raise and an abdominal crunch. So as an example you could use:
C1- SEATED CALF RAISE
C2- LOWER AB CRUNCH
You now know the many reasons to training legs and some guidelines to follow for your legs program. These 5 tips will help break your training plateaus and achieve your personal best!