Love Those Legs!

Who doesn’t love Leg Day – and for good reason! Our legs are made of the largest skeletal muscles of the body, which means that they are BIG calorie and fat burners and major utilizers of blood glucose! Not to mention, they allow us to stand upright, walk, run, squat, lunge, jump (you get the picture) – which are all the things we need to do to live our lives independently and enjoy and excel in sports! 

This week we utilize a strength-training tool called “Tempo repetitions.” This lifting technique builds strength, body control, and mobility and increases “time under tension” which is beneficial for building muscle mass and stamina. This technique can be used with many different lifts, but today, we will focus on the front squat. To balance out this quadricep extravaganza, there is a nice hamstring accessory segment to follow. 

Warm up

Set your timer to 5 minutes or set a Tabata timer to TABATA 20/10 x 5 min. Start with the jumping air squats for 20 seconds then 10 seconds rest, then 20 seconds of mountain climbers, 10 seconds of rest, and then back to the jumping air squats, alternating movements until you have completed each movement for a total of 5 rounds.

TABATA 20 second work/10 seconds rest x 10 rounds (total of 5 min)

• Jumping air squats (Alternative: Traditional Air Squat)
• Mountain climbers: (Alternative: Bicycle Crunch)

Movement Practice

This is just as much of a core stabilizer workout as it is a leg strength and mobility workout. This workout is ideally done with a straight bar barbell, however can also be done with dumbbells.

Pick a set of moderate to heavy dumbbells (or barbell) that you can do all reps unbroken. Descend for a count of 3, hold for a count of 1 at the bottom then rise for a count of 1.

The magic of this workout is in a controlled descent for the 3 count and the hold at the bottom for that brief second.

Workout

Part 1

Every 3 min x 5 rounds - 7 unbroken repetitions of a Tempo Front Squat

7-7-7-7-7

Part 2

HAMSTRING ACCESSORY

3 Rounds

• 10 Weighted Good Mornings
• 20 banded hamstring curls

*If you do not have a resistance band, ankle weights or securing a light dumbbell between your feet will also work. If no equipment, try 20 bodyweight glute bridges.

Cool Down

15 minute hip and hamstring release