Too many times people neglect their legs when lifting weights. It's much easier to focus on the beach and Hollywood muscles like chest, abs and biceps. Basically, whatever you can see in the mirror. But training your legs strengthens your entire body, boosts testosterone, releases growth hormone and keeps you from looking like a hard boiled egg on toothpicks. Squats were a regular part of my high school and college routine but as you get older, the ol' internal shock absorbers start to wear out so you have to train smarter, not harder. Vince Gironda didn't allow regular squats at his gym as he thought they just gave you a big ass. Instead he was a proponent of Front and Sissy Squats where you couldn't hulk as much weight but kept tension in your quads to make them shaped and ripped. Frank Zane invented the Leg Blaster to relieve stress on the knees and lower back after years of heavy squats wreaked havoc on his body.
With all that in mind, I got in an early morning session of:
Front Squat - With a barbell in the rack, a little awkward with the bar in your neck but a great move
Leg Curls - To work those hamstrings and glutes (your butt)
Squat Press - On a Free Motion machine where I could load on some weight and work outer thigh
Standing Calf Raises - On Smith Machine instead of those pads digging into your shoulders on a machine
After that I followed up with 3 circuits of Weight Sled, Jump Rope, Rowing and Battling Ropes to give myself a quick upper body and cardio pump.
I felt extremely refreshed afterwards and went on to have a fantastically productive day. Thanks, legs!
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