4 Weeks to Bigger Legs _ T Nation

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4 Weeks To Bigger Legs (/workouts/4-weeks-to-

bigger-legs) by Dan Trink (/all-articles/authors/dan-trink) | 11/19/12

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Tags: Bodybuilding (/all-articles/tags/bodybuilding)

For the next four weeks let's put away the sleeveless shirts and give your

beloved upper body a break. Cuz' you've got bigger priorities, friend. At least,

you should have.

See those two pale, sickly looking tent-poles poking out from the bottom of

your shorts? Those are your legs, and it's painfully obvious to everyone that

you've been ignoring them.

Sadly, you're not alone. And guys have excuses galore for putting their legs on

the back burner.

In younger bros, it's usually a misguided attempt to attract the fairer sex – the

idea that developing massive pecs, a thick back, and (God forbid) six-pack abs

will magically lead to a bevy of succulent silicone-enhanced fitness bunnies

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following them around like some spray-tanned Pied Piper.

In the older, busier, or just plain deluded lifters, it's thinking that hitting the

treadmill for 30 minutes twice a week and playing pick-up basketball every

Thursday night is "all the leg work they really need."

Finally, there's the fear factor. Real leg training – the kind that produces

results – isn't fun. It can leave you lightheaded and nauseated, not to mention

limping for days. Some guys become so afraid of the heavy bar that they can't

sleep the night before leg workouts.

It's all a crock. And to help make things right, here's a 4-week leg

specialization program that will get your quads blowing up faster than Tom

Platz trapped in a leg extension factory.

So, Why Legs Again?

A big upper body paired with anemic leg development is about the most

ridiculous sight since suspenders with shorts, but if that still isn't enough to

get you in the squat rack, then consider the following perks to leg training:

• Bigger everywhere. The movements used in serious leg training elicit a

significant anabolic response that affects the whole body. So if a bigger upper

body remains priority numero uno, you still want to make lower body training

part of your plan.

• Improved athleticism. It's hard to think of a sport or activity that doesn't

benefit from added strength and expression of power from the glutes,

hamstrings, and quads.

• Babes. Those aforementioned fitness tarts hold a special place in their

hearts for guys with thick legs. Trust me, I've done the research.





Sound Advice From My Dad

My old man used to always say, "You have to spend 6 hours at school, you

may as well learn something." So, to paraphrase my Dad's advice, if you just

spent 4 weeks following my arm specialization phase (/workouts/4-weeks-to-

big-arms), you hopefully learned something, because we're going to use a lot

of the same techniques in this program.

Furthermore, I'm going to throw in some more tried-and-true yet brutal

finishers to crank up the volume and muscle-damage even further. You're

welcome.

Step Away From the Preacher Curl, Amigo

The key to success in any specialization phase is reducing volume in all your

other lifts and focusing on the task at hand. In "4 Weeks To Big Arms" that was

easy, as I was essentially telling you to back off the squats and lunges and

focus on biceps curls and skull crushers. Boo hoo.

Now I'm telling you to do the exact opposite, which is like telling you to get out

of bed with Mila Kunis and start organizing your sock drawer.

In any case, if you want to be successful in this program you're going to have

to back off the other training (there will still be a one day per-week upper body

maintenance workout) and focus on adding volume to your legs.

Enough With The Jibber-Jabber, Let's Squat!

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In this program you'll train four days per week. Three of those will be "leg"

days, with the fourth being a maintenance day for upper body lifts.

Ideally your week will be set up with Monday, Thursday, and Saturday being

the lower body days, Tuesday as your maintenance day, and Wednesday,

Friday, and Sunday as off days. Of course, you can always move things around

to suit your needs, but try not to schedule leg workouts on back-to-back days.

We'll be using one of my favorite forms of periodization for hypertrophy, which

is weekly undulating, meaning the sets and reps will change from week to

week.

Try your best to complete all the reps prescribed while having one or two reps

left in the tank. This will insure you don't go to failure and burn out your CNS, a

real concern when training the lower body this frequently.





Also, it's critical for your safety (and your results) to use good technique and

full range of motion on all lifts. If you can't do either, you're not ready for a

specialization phase. Get good at the lifts and come back to this program

when you're ready. There's no shame in knowing your limits.

Week 1

Workout A – Legs

Exercise Sets Reps

A Barbell Back Squat* 4 8-10

B1 Walking Lunge* 3 8-10

B2 Lying Hamstring Curl* 3 8-10

C1 Pull-Through 3 8-10

C2 Standing Single-Leg Calf Raise 3 8-10

Holding a dumbbell in your right hand, place the ball of your right foot on a low

step with your unsupported left foot behind you. Your left hand should hold the

side of a squat rack for support. Perform all sets of calf raises for the right side

before switching and repeating on the left.

D Two Minute Leg Press 1 2 min.

Set up a leg press machine with 70% of the weight you'd use for 10 reps. Set a

timer for two minutes and try to bang out as many reps as possible in that amount

of time. Try not to stop for rest and avoid completely locking out at the top,

keeping tension on your legs the entire time.

* Drop Set. After you complete the last rep of the last set, rest for 15 seconds,

reduce the load by 30-50%, and try to match the amount of reps with the new

weight. So if you performed 10 reps with 225 pounds on the last set of back

squats, drop the weight to 180 pounds and try to get up to 10 reps.

Workout B – Legs





Exercise Sets Reps

A Sumo Deadlift* 4 8-10

B1 Dumbbell Split Squat* 3 8-10

B2 Hip Thruster* 3 8-10

C1 Leg Extension 3 8-10

C2 Hanging Knee Raise 3 8-10

D 20-Rep Squat 1 20

Using your 10RM, perform 20 reps of the squat. Given that the reps exceed the

weight you can handle for one set, you'll have to take significant pauses in-between

reps towards the end of the set. Use caution with this technique. If you can't

maintain solid form, end the set and try to beat that number of reps next week.



weight. So if you performed 10 reps with 225 pounds on the last set of sumo

deadlifts, drop the weight to 180 pounds and try to get to 10 reps.

Workout C – Legs

Exercise Sets Reps

A Front Squat* 4 8-10

B1 Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift* 3 8-10

B2 Dumbbell Step-Up* 3 8-10

C1 Glute-Ham Raise 3 8-10

C2 Seated Calf Raise 3 8-10

D Farmer's Walk Medley 3 50 yds

Grab as heavy a set of dumbbells that you can Farmer's Walk for 50 yards. Once

you complete the 50 yards, grab a second set of dumbbells that are 25% lighter

and walk 50 yards. Finally grab a third set of dumbbells that are 25% lighter than

the second pair and walk 50 yards. For example, a pair of 100's, 75's, and 60's.





Once you've walked with all three sets of dumbbells, the exercise is over.



weight. So if you performed 10 reps with 185 pounds on the last set of front

squats, drop the weight to 125 pounds and try to get to 10 reps.

Workout D – Upper Body

Exercise Sets Reps

A Chin-Up* 4 8-10

B1 Incline Barbell Bench Press* 3 8-10

B2 Single-Arm Dumbbell Row* 3 8-10

C1 Seated Overhead Press 3 8-10

C2 Seated Cable Row 3 8-10

D Pallof Press 2 10





* Double Drop Set. After you complete the last rep of the last set, rest for 15

seconds, reduce the load by 30-50%, and try to match the amount of reps with

the new weight. Once completed, rest for another 15 seconds, drop the

weight by an additional 15-30%, and then get as many reps as possible,

making sure you maintain proper form.

Workout B – Legs

Exercise Sets Reps






D 20 Rep Squat 1 20

* Double Drop Set. After you complete the last rep of the last set, rest for 15

seconds, reduce the load by 30-50%, and try to match the amount of reps with

the new weight. Once completed, rest for another 15 seconds, drop theweight by an additional 15-30%, and then get as many reps as possible,

making sure you maintain proper form.

Workout C – Legs

Exercise Sets Reps






D Sprints 3 150y





Workout A – Legs

Exercise Sets Reps

A Barbell Back Squat* 4 10-12

B1 Walking Lunge* 4 10-12

B2 Lying Hamstring Curl* 4 10-12

C1 Pull-Through 3 10-12

C2 Standing Single-Leg Calf Raise 3 10-12


* Rest-Pause. After the last rep of your last set, rest for 10-15 seconds and

then attempt 2-3 more reps. Rest another 10-15 seconds and try to bang out

another 1-2 reps.

Workout B – Legs

Exercise Sets Reps










D 20-Rep Squat 1 20



another 1-2 reps.

Workout C – Legs

Exercise Sets Reps






D Farmer's Walk Medley 3 50 yards

Try to use heavier weights than in week one.



another 1-2 reps.

Workout D – Upper Body

Exercise Sets Reps

A Chin-Up* 4 10-12

B1 Incline Barbell Bench Press* 4 10-12





B2 Single-Arm Dumbbell Row* 4 10-12

C1 Seated Overhead Press 3 10-12

C2 Seated Cable Row 3 10-12

D Reverse Crunch 3 12



another 1-2 reps.

Week 4

Workout A – Legs

Exercise Sets Reps

A Barbell Back Squat 2 15

B1 Walking Lunge 2 15

B2 Lying Hamstring Curl 2 15

C1 Pull-Through 2 15

C2 Standing Single-Leg Calf Raise 2 15


Workout B – Legs

Exercise Sets Reps

A Sumo Deadlift 2 15

B1 Dumbbell Split Squat 2 15

B2 Hip Thruster 2 15

C1 Leg Extension 2 15

C2 Hanging Knee Raise 2 15

D 20-Rep Squat 1 20

Workout C – Legs





• If you're keeping the tempo of the lifts

as prescribed above, your sets should last

between 40 and 60 seconds ("D" finishers

not included). That's what you should be

shooting for.

• For the Two Minute Leg Press goes, you

should try to increase the amount of reps

you can accomplish from week to week,

so keep track. Also, the compressive

forces of the leg press are often

underestimated due to the backrest, but

they can be significant. Manage this by

keeping a natural arch in your lower back

for the entire set (easier said than done).

• The 20-Rep Squat set is brutal, especially after crushing your legs with the

amount of volume in the program that precedes it. Be sure to keep your ego in

check. If your squat form starts to break down to the point of being risky, end

the set and come back to the lift another day.

• To say rest, recovery, and nutrition are critical in this phase would be to

underestimate how important they are. We're talking about serious volume in

some major lifts throughout the week. I'd suggest upping your protein, getting

between 7-9 hours of sleep per night, and trying to minimize other athletic

activities for the 4 weeks.

• I also highly recommend getting on board with a very good peri-workout

protocol (/store/products/plazma-super-stack). This program can lead to very

rapid gains in lower body mass, but only if you have the raw materials

available to build muscle and recover for the next session. It's going to be an

exhausting four weeks anyway, so why not get the most out of it?

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Time to Train

Heroic pecs and massive arms are wonderful things, but at some point you

have to give those body parts a break and start addressing your foundation.

And if you want to get results efficiently and dramatically, few things work

better than a focused specialization program.

However, I'm not going to lie; training legs in this manner can suck, and there

will be times when you'll want to quit.

But stick with it, train hard, and see it through. You never know, you may just

meet that Mila Kunis lookalike who finds thick hamstrings and sweeping

quads irresistible.

11/19/12

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