Leg Workout for Mass | IFBB Pro Regan Grimes

Today, Primeval Labs athletes Alyssa Polisano and Regan Grimes team up for a torturous leg workout that’s sure to test our mental and physical abilities no matter how savage you think you may be.

Before we get to the workout, here’s some important leg training tips to keep in mind.

Leg Training TIps

You Have to Work for Great Wheels

Leg training is hard. There are no two ways about it.

If you want to have a great set of wheels, you are going to have to work your ass of for it, literally.

If you're struggling to progress in leg size and strength, ask yourself this question (and be brutally honest) -- did you put everything you had into your last session?

If the answer is no, then you have no one to blame but yourself for your lack of leg development. Only dedication to honest,  hard work in the gym will break down the thick, dense muscle fibers of the legs and create the metabolic disruption necessary to require the body to become bigger and stronger.

In other words, when it comes to leg day, take your balls out of your purse and get ready to bust them every set of the workout.

Foot Position is Key

Most of us learned how to squat or leg press with a certain foot position and have never given another thought to it since. If you're a physique athlete though (or even a regular gym rat who wants to maximize their physique development), you might want to start paying attention to your feet positioning, especially when using machines such as the leg press or hack squat.

Certain leg machines have large sleds that allow you to use a wide variety of foot positions (wide, close, high, low, etc) and toe alignments (front, outward facing, etc.).

Placing your feet lower on the sled typically increases the stretch on your quads and reduces activation of the hamstrings and glutes. Conversely placing your feet higher up on the sled increases the degree of hip extension and flexion while reducing the knee range of motion. This places more emphasis on the glutes and hamstrings as opposed to the quads.

Now, it’s important to remember that you will never completely isolate the quads, hamstrings or glutes during leg presses, hack squats, or any other type of squat for that matter, but you can shift the focus to a particular muscle group depending on your foot placement.

One last thing to mention is that using a narrow stance on the sled (or squat) emphasizes more of the outer quad while a wider stance will work the inner thighs more.

Play around with the different variations to shore up weak points in your leg development as well as to create strength in all ranges and positions. Remember whenever you are experimenting with a new foot position to start light as progress as you see fit.

Experiment with Range of Motion

As you’ll see in Regan’s workout, during the heavy sets of leg press he uses a partial range of motion. This is done to emphasize work of the quads while limiting engagement of the glutes. Partial reps get bashed an awful lot in the lifting community, but they can serve a purpose when used appropriately.

 

Leg Workout for Mass

This complete workout is meant to add some serious size to your quads.

Regan’s leg workout begins with 3 sets of leg extensions which serve to increase blood flow to the knees and quads and get them ready for the onslaught ahead.

Make sure to use a controlled concentric and eccentric for all exercises to maximize tension on the quads, thereby limiting momentum. Using good form also helps prevent the formulation of bad habits which can hinder progress, or worse lead to a future injury.

So, take your scoop of pre workout and get ready to WORK!

Leg Workout for MASS	Sets	Reps	Rest
Leg Extension	3	12-15	2 min
Leg Press (*see note)	4	10+10 / 25	2-3 min
Hack Squat (superset with next exercise)	4	10	0 sec
Heels Elevated Bodyweight Squat Hold	4	Max Time	2 min
Horizontal Leg Press (superset with next exercise)	3	10	0 sec
Decline Leg Raise Hold	3	Max Time	2 min
Bodyweight Walking Lunges (**see note)	2	Length of Gym	60 sec

*Note: Your first 3 sets on the leg press will be performed using the 10+10 rep scheme. After performing the first 10 reps with a moderately heavy weight have your training partner add more weight to the leg press and perform an additional 10 reps. For the fourth and final set, perform 25 straight reps (using rest-pause if needed) with as heavy of a weight as possible that allows you to complete all 25 reps.

**Note: Regan and Alyssa performed bodyweight lunges up and down the length of the gym. If your gym does not have space to accommodate walking lunges, perform 20 reps per leg of alternating lunges.

Post Workout Nutrition

Following an ass-kicking leg session Regan always makes sure to get in a quality post workout meal rich in carbohydrates and protein. This combination helps replenish muscle glycogen, provide the necessary building blocks for muscles to grow and repair, and facilitate faster recovery.

One of Regan’s go-to post workout meals is cream of rice, blueberries, and 2 scoops of Diner Vanilla ISOLIT.

Isolit provides 25 grams of high-quality protein per serving from triple cold-filtered whey protein isolate, the purest quality whey protein on the market. Whey isolate contains a minimum of 90% protein by mass with very little carbohydrates, lactose or fat, creating a product that is exceptionally high in protein, low in calories and carbs, and absent the GI distress commonly experienced with cheaper forms of whey concentrate.

Supplements

Mega Pre Red

For intense workouts, your mind and muscles need an intense pre workout. That’s why Primeval Labs created Mega Pre Red.

Mega Pre Red is the perfect choice to use ahead of a grueling leg session. It’s got plenty of caffeine to get you amped for training along with a host of focus boosters, blood flow enhancers, and performance maximizers to help you not only survive leg day, but thrive.

EAA Max

High volume, heavyweight leg workouts can create a tremendous amount of breakdown, leaving your muscles in dire need of essential amino acids to support the repair, recovery, and growth processes.

EAA Max is a complete amino acid supplement supplying all nine essential amino acids your body requires to create and build muscle protein. Each serving of EAA max includes 5g of 2:1:1 BCAA along with hydration and nutrient uptake agents to facilitate enhance amino acid uptake by skeletal muscle further supporting recovery.