Week 9 Day 1 - Total Leg Annihilation (960 Reps)

25/05/15 Day 57 – Legs & Calves

Unfortunately I got hit pretty hard by a cold/virus on Friday and despite my best efforts it has whittled me down slightly, I worked pretty damn hard during my Arms session on Friday, but simply didn't have the mental or physical strength to get a Blog out to everyone, so sorry about that. Even though I have been feeling pretty shoddy I managed to get down the the gym yesterday to hit up some light cardio, hoping to sweat most of what ever I had out, luckily it worked a but and I am not feeling quite so lethargic today, although my lunges feel quite constricted and I have now adopted a wicked cough (not wicked as in cool!). But today was the beginning of Week 9, so I put everything to the back of my head and pulled my ass down the gym for a bank holiday training session, needless to say the gym was RAMMED but I didn't care because lots of people don't train legs (burn) so I had the upper hand on getting most pieces of equipment with easy.

If you feel like your usual leg sessions don't demand that much of you, then you have to try this out, the most intense hardcore session of the 12 week trainer so far! Here it is:

Leg Extension – 3 Sets, 1 x 50,40,30

Leg Press – 5 Sets, 1 x 30,25,20,15,10

Hack Squat – 5 Sets, 1 x 10,15,20,25,30

(For each rep performed 1 sec rest is awarded, 5 reps = 5 sec rest)

Leg Extension 3 Sets, 1 x 30,40,50

Lying Leg Curl – 3 Sets, 1 x 50,40,30

Stiff Leg Dumbbell Deadlift – 5 Sets, 1 x 30,25,20,15,10

Lying Leg Curl – 5 Sets, 1 x 10,15,20,25,30

(For each rep performed 1 sec rest is awarded, 5 reps = 5 sec rest)

Seated Calf Raise – 5 Sets, 1 x 30,25,20,15,10

Standing Calf Raise – 5 Sets, 1 x 10,15,20,25,30

(For each rep performed 1 sec rest is awarded, 5 reps = 5 sec rest)

Cardio – Interval Training 15mins Total

Starting with a very, very thorough warm up ensured that I wouldn't pull or damage any muscles during what was the most intense, energy sapping, mentally demanding session so far. With the pre-workout flooding my veins with energy, tingling away at my skin I began the session.

The Leg Extension warmed me up for what was to come, working with such a high volume requires a certain sense of mental endurance to make sure that you aren't simply going through the motions but instead you are making every single rep count for something. After the first few sets I could really feel the muscles beginning to pump and swell, it felt great, I knew that this volume of training would inhibit a high release of human growth hormone in my body, but feeling such a strong pump, so early on clarified that this was going to make me grow.

Moving swift on to the Leg Press next ensured that this pump wasn't going to waste. With the weights increasing with each set I made sure I pushed my legs to the absolute limit, using a rest pause to finish off the heavier sets determined that I would push myself as close to complete failure as possible, without creating long term damage. Remember: When using a leg press you keep the feet close together to focus on the contraction within the quadriceps, or take the feet high and wide to recruit more the glutes in the exercise.

Then came the first DTP XxTreme (see what I did there) set of the workout, which came in the form of the Hack Squat. Keeping the feet close together once again ensure I was beasting my quadriceps into a oblivion, working through the reps with the tiny rest breaks really did mean my legs became incredibly tight very fast, so in between the longer sets I made sure that I hopped off the machine and stretched out to ensure the muscles elasticity and prevent any long term harm to the knees (or anymore damage should I say).

Finishing the quadriceps off as I started I moved to the Leg Extension machine once again to well and truly cook them. This time I worked up in the repetitions and down in the weight, really really really fatiguing the muscles, breaking down the tissue and building me some quads that could hold up a small house. I have to say the last set completely recked me, even with a very light weight I felt as if my legs just wouldn't work anymore. I employed a rest pauses strategy to finish off the exercise, as I couldn't battle through 50 reps straight off, which annoyed me slightly, but I welcome failure as I know it will make me grow.

After I cooked the quadriceps it was time to move onto some fresh meat which meant it was time to jump on the Lying Leg Curl. Starting once again with huge amounts of volume really took it out of me, by this point in the work out I was very fatigued, I felt massively warn out and was worried that this session was going to get the best of me, so I put my headphones in, cranked the volume and awakened my inner beast. Smashing out reps like they were going out of fashion allowed me to warm up the hamstrings for some nice heavy weights on the next exercise.

Then I hit the Stiff Leg Dumbbell Deadlift for some heavy ass reps. Making sure the contractions was felt in both hamstrings was the main focus for me, even development of the body will help me when it comes round to competition time as I won't have to worry about the symmetry so much if both sides of the body are being worked equally. I took the last few reps incredibly slow on the final 2 sets, I wanted to feel every single contraction throughout the whole of the hamstring, squeezing the muscles till there was nothing left.

Working to failure meant going back to the Lying Leg Curl for the next DTP Xxtreme was going to be no walk in the park (in fact I don't actually think I could walk at this point). Using a weight I would perform for 20 reps I began the flogging, having to fight myself to carry on, to break through the pain barrier and to implore myself to finish the exercise. With the final reps getting the better of me I rested for a few seconds as I got too much, which aided my completion of this awesome, yet sickening set.

With the Quads and Hamstrings well and truly shot to piece it was time to finish off the legs, with some testing Seated Calf Raises & Standing Calf Raise. The seated raises were fantastic, working up to a really heavy weight had my motivation levels high and had me chomping at the bit to finish this session off. The only thing left for the session was the grand finale of DTP Xxtreme, the standing raises. The standing raises were done only with my body weight off a step, due to the intensity and already pre fatiguing them it was hard enough working through the short burst sets, squeezing both the Soleus and Gastrocnemius through each and every rep.

By now it was fair to say I was running on empty, after a wonderful stretch out to encourage the recovery of these beaten up muscles I grabbed my bag and went on my way.

Still feeling a little tired I find myself here sipping my BCAA's and typing this up. I hope you are having a wonderful bank holiday those of you in England and to everyone else Happy Monday!

Happy Lifting,

Matt

(No photo today, I feel and look far too awful for that)