T NATION _ Single-Leg Supplements

8/8/2019 T NATION _ Single-Leg Supplements

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Single-Leg Supplem ent sby Mike Robertson

In your quest for developing legs that are bigger, stronger, and more powerful,chances are you've already read dozens of articles on the basic exercises. Anydecent strength training routine will put emphasis on the big lifts like squats anddea dlifts. While I'm not saying these ex ercises a ren't important, a lot of time speople forget about how crucial it is to develop balance between legs.

This article is d esigne d to give you p lenty of single-leg options to help you achieveall your strength a nd physique goa ls.

W hy Should I Care?

I'm sure so me o f you will scoff a t modifying your curren t leg -training program, b uthopefully I can change your mind. Below are just a few of the benefits of incorporating m ore single-leg m oveme nts into your program:

1) Balance betwee n legs and injury preventionWhether you play sports, are trying to m ove m ore weigh t in the power or Olympiclifts, or just want to look goo d a t the poo l, chances are if you o nly perform bilateralex ercises (exe rcises which use both legs at the s am e time), a t som e p oint you'lldevelop a n imba lance in your legs.

The point of ad ding m ore unilateral work into your program is to m ak e sure ea chleg is e qually developed in strength an d size when com pared to the o ther. It shouldgo without saying that if one leg is conside rab ly stronger or wea ke r than the o ther,

at some p oint in tim e this will proba bly catch up to you. It could be in the form of sub-optimal training and performance, or as devastating as a serious injury.

By focusing on strengthening each leg independently, you're working to ensure thatany weak point in your chain is brought up to speed.

2) Cha nge of pace in your training

Even the most hardcore strength athletes can see benefits from working on single-leg strength. While most of these exercises won't be mainstays in your pre-

competition cycle, they can be used following a competition or in the off-season fora change of pa ce.

3) Im proved balance and proprioception

Whenever you decrease your base of support from two feet to one it will increasethe ne ed for good ba lancing skills. Most peop le have trouble standing on o ne leg,let alone going throug h an active rang e o f mo tion (R OM) with heavy iron! Beyond

just ba lance, you'll a lso improve your body's p ropriocep tive a bility: the a bility toknow where you are in s pace.

4) Strengthen so me of the ke y knee stabilizers, specifically the glutea ls andvastus med ialis oblique (VMO)

I could write a whole se t of a rticles describing ho w importan t these muscle groupsare, but to make a long story short, the stronger your gluteals and VMO the lesschance you'll have o f injuring your kne es . Along with this po int, it should a lso benoted that to fully blast these mus cles you ne ed to us e a full-ROM! Several studieshave shown that VMO and glute recruitment are enhanced the deeper you go, socheck your ego at the do or and "go de ep" to build up these k nee stabilizers.

5) Destroying the "light bulb" effe ct

Unfortunately, I kno w that som e o f you read ing this a ren't currently doing a ny legwork in your prog ram . The re are tons of ex cuse s out the re, but none of them aremaking your chicken legs look any better or improving your performance.

Single-leg training is a great way to ge t acclima ted to the rigors of he avy legtraining? and who wan ts to sho w off a huge uppe r body pa ired with leg s tha tres em ble d rum sticks? Yo u don't rea lly want to be refe rred to as "top hea vy" the

res t of your life, do you?

The Ex ercises

Following are pics and descriptions of exercises that'll rocket your leg developmentinto the stratosphere. I've also provided a pain factor rating for each exercise; thatway you can't say I didn't warn you when you're limping for days to follow! We'llkeep it simple here; the more stars following the exercise, the more pain it'llproduce during and a fter training.

Enough chit-chat, let's g et on with the ex ercises !

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Lunges

Variations: Static, Dynamic, Short-Strok e, W alk ing, O ff a 6" Box, C ross over, Lateraland O verhead

Muscle Group s Use d: Qua driceps, ad ductors, glutes, hamstrings

Lunges a re the mo st basic single-leg ex ercise. They're a lso one of the mo stpunishing! Whenever I go away from these for a while and then return, my bodyalways feels it the ne xt couple o f days.

Dy nam ic Lunge

Pain Rating: ***

Hold a pair of dumbbells in your hand and elevate your ribcage (descriptions will

ass ume that you're using dum bbells; however, you can e asily increa se the loadingand perform ance by placing a barbell on your back instead).

From the starting position, take an exaggerated step forward, landing on your heel.This is a n importan t point because when you land on your toe s it's mo re d ifficult tobalance. Beyond that, you a lso ha ve a tende ncy to s hoot the k nee s fo rward overthe toes, increasing the shear forces on the patellofemoral joint.

Once your heel is d own, lower your oppos ite le g until your knee is very close to (orgently ) touches the floor. The key here is to make sure that you're working througha full-ROM, not stroking our ego with massive weights and partial movements.Keep the weight on the he el, lower down, and then drive ba ck off the hee l to thestarting po sition.

Static Lunge

Pain Rating: *

Ins tead of a ctually moving the working leg forward and b ack, you'll start by settingthe working leg in the ex tended position. All the sam e techniques app ly, but nowyou're just moving the torso up a nd down. This ve rsion is a little ea sie r for thebeginne r because b alance isn't as m uch an issue .

Short-Stroke Lunge

Pain Rating: **

Identical to the dynamic version described above, only you'll shorten the distanceyou step out. This version tends to put a little more stress on the quadriceps.

W alking Lunge

Pain Rating: ****

If you didn't get enough p ain out of the o riginal dynamic lunge, this one shouldtake you to ne w levels o f whimp ering!

Performa nce is the sa me as the dynamic version, except instea d o f driving through

the he el a nd back to the starting po sition, you're going to drive your body forwardinto your nex t lunge. T his version de finitely take s the p ain level up a notch!




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Lunge Off a 6" Box

Pain Rating: *****

I'm sure only the true mas ochists in the crowd a re s till rea ding! Wa rning: Th isversion isn't for the faint of he art. Your body will be feeling the effe cts of it for daysto com e, I p rom ise ! I'd like to thank my first me ntor, Justin Cecil (who's also themo del for the photos), for showing m e this ex cellent exe rcise.

Place an aerobic box in front of you (yes, they really are good for something), justshort of where you'd normally land for a standard dynamic lunge. Performance isidentical to the dynamic lunge, except now you'll be landing on the box in front of you.

Full RO M is a m ust! Re me mb er what I sa id abou t going deep er increa sing

recruitmen t of the VMO and glutes? If you don't be lieve me , just do a few se ts of these , then curse me in the m orning!

Latera l Lunge

Pain Rating: ****

To give my boy Eric Cressey a shameless plug, you need to check out his articleConstruction by A dduction to get a better idea of the functional a natomy o f the

adductor muscles. This variation is excellent if you're interested in developing yourhip abductors and adductors.

Set-up as you no rm ally would, e xcep t instead of s tepping forward, step directly toyour left side. You're probably getting tired of hearing me say these cues, but forceyourself to land and place your weight on your heel and keep your chest upthroug hout. Let your hips s ink b ack a nd do wn, and then drive o ff your hee l to thestarting pos ition. Hopefully your adductors do n't fee l like they've be en cut with ascalpel the ne xt mo rning!




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Crossov er Lunge

Pain Rating: *****

Let's add another abductor/adductor blaster into the mix. With the chest-up, lungeacross the body. Land o n the hee l, drive o ff the h ee l, and do n't let your ego tak eover. This version (or the overhead version that follows) are probably the toughestof a ll with rega rds to coordination a nd performance.

Overhead Lunge

Pain Rating: ****

I'm going to give this ex ercise fo ur out of five stars s imply because you can't loadup the weigh ts like you can o n so me o f the previous versions . Don't ge t it twisted,though, this version is extremely difficult. If you thoug ht overhead squa tting wasdifficult, wait until you try this out!

Load a barbell and ex tend the a rms as if you're pe rforming a behind-the-neck-press. From this pos ition, pe rform a s you would the other forward lunge s. I'll let you

choo se whethe r you lung e b ack into the starting po sition, o r pe rform the walk ingversion (but I'd s tart with the forme r if I were you!). Focus on ke ep ing the core tightthrougho ut, even m ore so than in previous versions.

Bulgarian Squats

Variations: Regular, Short-Stroke, Off a 6" Box




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Muscles Use d: Q uadriceps , a dductors, ham strings, gluteals

Bulgarian squa ts are very sim ilar to regu lar lunges in the fact that they'll punishyour entire le g. Lunges and Bulgarian s quats bo th have pros and cons; I think thebest thing about Bulgarian squats is that once you're set up, all you have to do ismo ve your body up and down. For this rea son , I find it eas ier to s tart loa ding theweigh ts up on Bulgarians versus lunge s. But, I digress. O n with the d escriptions !

Regular B ulgarian Squat

Pain Rating: ***

Stand approx ima tely three to fou r fee t in front of a be nch with a b arbell on yourshoulders or a pa ir of dum bbe lls in your hands. Pla ce your weight on one hee l, andwith the opposite leg, reach back and place the top of your toes on the edge of thebench. (Note: If you're ha ving prob lem s with the set-up, use a n incline bench to

"pin" your foot in and prevent it from moving around.)

Once you're locked in, "screw" your hee l into the g round and e levate the rib cag e.Lower your body do wn to a point where your opposite k nee is very close to or lightlytouches the ground, then d rive up through the he el to the starting po sition. P erformfor the ne cess ary num ber of reps , then repe at on the o ppos ite s ide.

Short-Stroke Bulgarian Squat

Pain Rating: **

This version is identical to the first, with the exception that your front leg will beclose r to the b ench. Again, this will put slightly more em pha sis o n the qua dricep s.

Bulgarian Squat Of f a 6" Bo x

Pain Rating: *****

For those that didn't derive e nough pain from the lunges off a box , this versionaga in ex tends the R OM to p ut a thorough bea tdown on your whee ls. Dust thatae robic step off an d place it ab out three fee t in front of the be nch. All the sam erules a pply to this version a s the s tandard one, and don't forget that ROM is bothyour best friend a nd your worst ene my here. During performance, chant thisma ntra: "Pain is good; extrem e pain is ex trem ely goo d!"

Romanian Deadlif t (RDL)

Pain Rating: ***

Muscles Used: Ham strings, glutea ls, add uctors

While plenty of peo ple m ay kno w abo ut this ex ercise, it's rare I se e p eop le using it.Not only does it streng then the ha mstrings to a high de gree, bu t it works o ndynamic balance, dynamic flexibility and strengthens your adductors as well. Iwouldn 't sugge st getting too crazy with the load though, becaus e this e xe rcise isway ha rder than it look s!

Hold a d um bbell in front of your body and raise your same side fo ot slightly off theground. T he weight should b e on the hee l and the chest ele vated. From this




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pos ition, k ee p your free leg s traigh t and s wing it back while lowering the dumbbe lldown to the top of your opposite foot. Return to the top and repeat.

Whe n you ge t good at these, s trive to ke ep your swing leg off the groundthroug hout the course of the s et.

Step-ups

Variations : Standa rd, Standard with Hold , Lateral, Step-Down

Muscles Used : Qua driceps, add uctors, ham strings, gluteals

Step-ups are a s imple ex ercise that can tak e your single-leg strength anddevelopment to new levels. Beyond the standard version, there are severalvariations to keep your body growing for months to come!

Standa rd Step-up

Pain Rating: ***

Start with a pair of dumb bells in your hand and one foot up on a bench. The toes of both feet should be raised to ensure that you're using your entire leg musculatureto shoulde r the loa d a nd no t just your quadriceps. P lace the b runt of your weight onthe "up" hee l, then sque eze the glute and drive the hee l through the ben ch. Driveup to where your oppo site foo t can res t on the bench, then return to the startingposition.

Standa rd Step-up with Hold

Pain Rating: ***

Performance is identical to the previous version, except instead of just bringingyour swing fo ot up to the top, continue to swing it up until your oppo site thigh isparallel to the ground. This version not only improves the initial drive, but alsodevelops strength and proprioceptive ability around the ankle joint.




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Latera l Step-up

Pain Rating: ****

This version is very similar to the s tanda rd, ex cep t now instea d of fa cing the benchyou'll be s tanding ne xt to it. This version will put an increa se d am oun t of stres s onthe hip abductors and adductors.

Step-Down

Pain Rating: ****

Stand with both fee t on a b ench like you've just com pleted a step-up. Tak e o ne legand let it hover behind you off the bench and shift your weight to the heel of yourplanted leg. From here, sit back as far as possible and lower under control untilyour free leg lightly touches the ground. Squeeze the glutes and drive the heelthroug h the be nch to return to the s tarting p osition. O nce you ge t thes e down, fee lfree to hold a plate in front of your chest to increase the loading.

King Deadlift s

Pain Rating: ***

Muscles Use d: Adductors, ham strings, glutea ls

King dea dlifts (na med after the Australian streng th coa ch and T -Nation contributorIan King) are very similar to the step-down discussed before. The primarydifference here is that King deadlifts are performed on the ground, while step-downs a re performe d standing o n a bench.

In the King deadlift you'll have the free leg bent at the knee. Put the weight on the

hee l and sit back as far as poss ible; don't worry about ha ving a ton of trunk leanbecaus e this will increa se the recruitme nt of the g luteals. Sit ba ck until your freeleg's k nee and shin are a lmos t touching the g round and then return to the startingposition.

Single-Leg Squat s

Variations: Off Bench, Pistol

Muscles Use d: Quadriceps, add uctors, ham strings, glutes

Of f B ench Single-Leg Squats

Pain Rating: ****

This la st ex ercise is wha t I cons ide r the cr?me-de-la-cr?me of single leg m ovements.Not only does it tak e incred ibly strong legs, but it requires you to have a great dealof dynam ic flex ibility and ba lance to perform it correctly.

Begin by holding a pa ir of light dumbbe lls in your hands a t hip level. The ches tshould b e up a nd the weight should b e on the right heel. Pe rforma nce is verysimilar to a trad itiona l squa t: sit back and force the ches t up. As you're s ittingback/down, raise the dum bbe lls in front of your body to counte rba lance yourself. Sitas low as you can, then drive the right heel into the bo x while sim ultaneous lysque ezing the right glute to return to the s tarting p osition.

Pistol

Pain Rating: *****

The free -standing single leg sq uat is even m ore dem anding than the off-boxversion. First off, you'll need tremendous flexibility in your hamstrings. This isbecaus e ins tead of le tting your free leg ha ng down, you'll hold it out in front of you!Performance is very similar to the off-box version described above, but obviouslyit's m uch more difficult.




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There have been numerous articles written on the proper performance of pistols, soI won't go there aga in in this article. However, if eno ugh o f you get to the p ointwhere you can bang out three sets of 6-8 reps ea ch leg on the o ff-box version, letme kn ow and I'll write up a full article on ho w to pop pistols like a .44 Mag.

Conclusion

It tak es a serious trainee to add mo re single-leg training into his routine. If youhaven't done it before, you have no idea how brutal this kind of training can beuntil you g o a t it full bore. Don't get me wrong , it's no t the be -all, end-all o f legtraining, but it's most definitely something that can help you improve your body.

Whe ther your goa ls a re improved strength, mo re ma ss o r sim ply not having to hideyour legs e very time you hit the be ach, give som e o f these ex ercises a shot andsee wha t they can do fo r you!

A bout the A uthor

Mike Ro bertson, M.S., C.S.C.S., U.S.A.W., is the Director of the Athletic Pe rforma nceCenter (APC) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The APC offers sport performance training,injury rehab ilitation, a nd p ersona l training se rvices to its clients. Mike received hisMasters in Sports Biomechanics from the Human Performance Lab at Ball StateUniversity. Mike has been a com pe titive powerlifter for the la st 3.5 years and iscurren tly the USA Powerlifting State Chair in Indiana. T o contact Mike , plea se sendan email to [email protected] .

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