15/06/15 Day 77 –
Legs & Calves
Here
it is, the beginning of the end. Week 12 is upon me and boy do I know
about it, finishing off just as hard as I started this weeks DTP
training is in the form of Uni-Lateral training, basically working
one limb in isolation, then followed by the opposing limb, going back
and forth with as little rest time as possible, whilst working up and
down pyramid, so yeah, it hurts. This style of training is fantastic
for development of the individual limbs as you are actually able to
produce more force! Enough of the preamble, lets take a look at the
session:
Single Leg Leg Press
– 10 Sets, 1 x
30,25,20,15,10,10,15,20,25,30
Bulgarian Split
Squat – 5 Sets, 1 x
30,25,20,15,10
Close Stance Split
Squat – 5 Sets, 1 x
10,15,20,25,30
Single Leg Seated
Calf Raise – 5 Sets, 1 x
30,25,20,15,10
Single Leg Standing
Dumbbell Calf Raise – 5 Sets,
1 x 10,15,20,25,30
Cardio – Interval
Training 15mins Total
Just
looking at that session made me tired, let alone actually doing it!
Well needless to say I made sure I performed a huge warm up and
active stretch out before even attempting to start this session and
rightly so because I needed it.
Starting
with my Single Leg Leg Press,
I was thrown in at the deep end. Starting my sets with the foot
towards the bottom and centre of the foot plate allowed me to
incorporate more of my Quadricep muscles, by isolating them I got to
really work them to failure on each set. The nice thing (I guess)
about this style of training is that whilst one side is working the
other can rest, meaning that even through you aren't actually resting
going up or down the pyramids you do get a small rest period in
between sets. It was pretty damn brutal pushing out so many reps on
only one leg but I really surprised myself with the amount of weight
each leg was able to carry, as I have never really trained like this
before it was a bit of a eye opener to how strong I have actually
become, which I am really happy with. Once hitting the 10 rep mark in
the middle of the exercise, I took the foot placement higher and
wider, by doing so I meant I was able to incorporate more the
Hamstring and Glute muscles now, so I could share the work load
across the whole leg. With the fatigue starting to settle in working
back up the pyramid was just as savage as coming down it! But rep
after rep I pushed on, supporting the knees and making sure
everything was tracking properly, until I finally finished my last 30
repetitions and I could move on.
Transitioning
to a exercise like the Bulgarian Split Squat
mean that my core and stabiliser muscles now had to work a little
harder to support me in the exercise. By working like this I knew I
was not going to be able to lift anywhere near as heavy as the last
exercise, but that was completely fine. With a old knee injury still
reaping havoc on my balance it also gave me a little bit more of a
test, which I never shy away from! Starting with no weight at all I
worked my way down the pyramid, bumping up the weights as I went to
really fatigue the whole leg out before moving onto the Close
Stance Split Squat. With the
Close Stance Split Squat
I used the exact same weights as I did going down the pyramid to come
back up the pyramid, putting all sense of fatigue to the back of my
mind I just kept pushing harder and harder as I progressed on. After
set three I found that I had to rest pause my way to the end of the
sets, my quads were just cooked to pieces by this point, I do also
recall having to take a few minutes to go outside and take a breather
in the cold air, as I could feel my breakfast coming to revisit me,
thankfully I kept it down and was able to carry on with the sets
until I hit my 30 reps again.
So
all that was left now was the calves! To work these bad boys I
started on the Single Leg Seated Calf Raise,
this is simply because the Leg Press was being used and I needed to
improvise. I was really surprised at how well the exercised worked,
really squeezing out a deep contraction through the whole calf showed
me that I had in fact made a good choice. As per usual I was working
my way down the pyramid with the weight getting pushed up with every
passing set, I really felt shot to pieces at the end of this, but
needless to say this wasn't the end for me!
Single Leg Standing
Dumbbell Calf Raise, this was
the only thing standing in my way between finishing my last Leg Day
of this 12 week muscle builder! Grabbing hold a big ass dumbbell I
mounted a wooden block and prepared myself for the pyramid set from
hell! Rep,rep,rep went by, one leg to the next, drop the weight and
back on the block, it didn't stop I was a man possessed, nothing was
going to get in my way. With my calves pumped full of blood it felt
as though they could have exploded at any second, but with my final
repetition, I placed my dumbbell down and in a state of complete
relief gave myself a big pat on the back, waddled over to the mats
and began my cool down and stretch. So there it is 12 Weeks, 12 Leg
days, boy am I glad that's over, so much learnt and now its time to
keep the progress going!
If
you are stuck, feel like you aren't progressing and need a change,
contact me at: mgonlinept@gmail.com
for a 100% tailored programme, guaranteed for results!
Happy
Lifting,
Matt
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