Since this post is covering the current "Legs" workout from my "Push-Pull-Legs" split, I'll start by reminding you that I am still recovering from a broken meniscus that required surgery. You can read more about it here. Also, as per the doctor's orders, I must avoid sudden twisting and turning of the injured leg. Thus, I don't recommend this workout to any fellow gym rats that want to really push the envelope, so to speak, when it comes to working on their legs.
However, even if the workout is not 100% legs orientated, I find it quite satisfying since I get to work on some other muscle groups that we generally don't train that much. So, with that out of the way, let's start from the begining 😀
The first exercise is an exercise I always did at the begining of my physical therapy sessions. You get a yoga mat, or an equivalent, you lay down on your back, place a rubber or foam exercise roller under your legs, just above the knee (or, in other words, near the bottom of your femural biceps), so that your legs have around a 150 degree angle at the knee (with 180 degrees meaning that your leg is fully extended). From this position, you tense your quads so that your legs are in full extension (so, your lower leg is up in the air) and also push down on the rubber roller; hold this position for 6 secounds, followed by a rest of 6 seconds. You can increase the timeframes to 10 or 15 seconds (if you want a stronger muscle tension). Do this for about 10 minutes. This is a great exercise to warm up your quads and knees.
If you want to make the exercise a touch more difficult, take a rubber band, place it below your toes, and pull it until you feel enough tension; then, when your legs are in full extension, push with your feet the band, thus activating your calves, then return to the "start" position with your feet; if you go for a 6 seconds hold you could squeeze about three reps of pushing the band with your feet.
The second exercise, since I'm already down on my back, is half crunches. This is one of my favorite exercises for working the upper abs. If you do this exercise correctly, I guarantee you'll feel your upper abs burning after 50 reps. The way I execute this exercise is by keeping my arms flexed in front of my chest and, while I crunch, I start to extend my arms forward; I crunch till I can touch my kness with my fingers. I keep the contraction for a second at the top and then I slowly lower my upper back on the mat. I do 4 sets of 20 or 25 reps; I generally start with 25 reps and decrease to 20 when I reach the last set.
Since we're talking half crunches or crunches for that matter, it's a bad idea to perform any type of crunches with your hands behind your head; most people tend to "pull" with their hands when they crunch, thus putting a lot of pressure on the cervical part of their spine. Don't do that!
The third exercise, again, since I'm already on the mat, is leg raises. The way I like to do this exercise is by not touching the ground with my heels. This way, I always have tension in my lower abs. I do 4 sets of 15 reps. Here's something that might help if your back hurts when performing this exercise. Try to place your palms on the sides of your glutes. Also, try to keep your upper abs "locked" - you achieve this by "looking" at your legs for the entirety of the set.
Now that we're done with the mat, we go for the fourth exercise, which is a superset. Lateral delt flys with dumbells and single-leg calf raises. I do 4 sets and the reps are as follows; for the delt flies I do 12 12 10 10 with a weight increase after the second set; for the single-leg calf raises I do 15 reps per set.
With the lateral delt flys, please, go slow and control the weight on every inch of the movement. Don't throw the dumbells up; also, don't just drop them to your side once you reach the top of the fly. Slow and controlled is the secret to this exercise. For a bit of extra work, when you reach the top, hold for 1 second and then start lowering the dumbells.
The fifth exercise is another superset; single leg quad extensions and flywheel leg curls. For the quad extensions I do one leg at a time, as opposed to using both legs, because I feel a better mind muscle connection. Also, doing it this way helps prevent any muscle imbalances (especially if one leg is weaker than the other - which is pretty much my case, after the surgery). I go for 4 sets of 15 12 10 and 10 reps.
The final exercise is lateral delt cable flys.
"Hold on - didn't you already do lateral delt flys?! What's the point of doing cable flys?"
Well, there's 2 main reasons; first, the angle is not the same and, second, there is constant tension when using cables (even in the lower part of the movemet). Also, since we're not training our lateral delts that much via compound movements, I think they deserve at least 2 exercises 😀 Go for 3 or 4 sets and, again, go slow and control the weight. Really feel the lateral delt working. I generally lean forward a little and the cable goes in front of my body - there's a variation of the lateral cable fly where the cable goes behind your back.
In terms of reps, go for failure on each set. If you can only do 6 reps on your last set, that's fine. It means you really reached the max that your lateral delts can offer you today.
That's it ... the end of the "Legs" workout from my "Push-Pull-Legs" split.
Oh, don't forget about cardio! 10 or 20 minutes of biking, rowing, jogging or w/e you do for cardio. But remember, always do cardio after your strength workout. Some people do it before and they wonder why they can't lift as heavy or feel weak the entire time.
In any case, I know that this "Legs" workout is not exactly what you expected (no squats, no deadlifts), but you can give it a shot and tell me your thoughts about it.
Good luck and happy lifting 👊
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