Beast Leg Training - Superset Combos

Beast Leg Training with athlete Rob Riches – Superset Combos

Check out this intense leg workout from Team Beast athlete Rob Riches. The video and leg workout article is below. https://youtu.be/Y85qby88lIw The focus for many people who lift weights is to build strength, display separation between major muscle groups, and obtain balance between the front and back, and upper and lower regions of the body. This is certainly true for anyone wishing to step on stage and be judged, as well as those pursuing physical perfection, if only from an aesthetic view point. While the chest, shoulders, back, and arms, can respond well to resistance training and therefore produce faster results, it is the legs that typically appear resistant to change (or growth). The legs are comprised of large, powerful muscles that can withstand high demands. They are also in daily use carrying the rest of our weight around. A few heavy sets here and there aren’t going to result in the same growth and development as the chest or arms might. Simply put, if you want to see a change in leg development, you’re going to need to up the ante within your workouts, and possibly also the frequency at which you train them. This routine below combines both the quads and hamstrings together in one workout. If your focus is to grow your legs, I would recommend performing this routine once a week. Include some specific separate quad and hamstring work within other workouts as well.

The Warm Up

  I’ve always found it beneficial to perform some prep work on the muscles and joints prior to lifting weights. This doesn’t mean just holding a few static stretches or spending time doing cardio first. This means focusing on the movements you’ll be taking the muscles through. It also includes effectively warming up the muscle fibers and synovial fluid within the connecting joints. I’ve also found this to be beneficial towards getting in the right mindset for the workout ahead. You’ll see the warm up routine that I do in the video consists of some banded stretches, foam roller and hip mobility. These are all beneficial to the exercises that will follow, as I’m not just trying to get blood into the muscle. But more to prepare the muscles and tendons for the range of motions that they’ll be going through. For most of these movements, I hold for two deep breaths. Inhaling through my nose, and I exhale through my mouth, slowly pushing into to the stretch (or onto the foam roller) a little bit more. The goal here is not to stretch the muscle out as far as you can. But rather ease into a greater range of motion and open up some more flexibility within the muscles – especially around the hips. Once you start with the movements, you’re not loading up the muscles with resistance and going straight into a working set.

Superset #1: Front Squat & Stiff-Legged Deadlift

4 Sets. 12 reps on each

I chose the front squat over the standard squat because it places a greater load on the quads. It’s also more challenging than the standard form squat. I like that because it forces you to be very aware of the technique and the muscles being worked. Step up to the bar with your arms stretched out in front of you, a little wider than shoulder width (palms facing downwards). With your fingertips on the bar, walk forwards to the bar and drive your elbows under, bringing your wrists upward so that your palms face you. The barbell rest across the front of your shoulders with your arm position (upper arms being more or less parallel to the floor) keeping the bar fixed in place. This requires a fair amount of flexibility at the wrist, which if you don’t have, or it’s too uncomfortable, then you can cross your hands (palms facing down) over the bar. Each hand is over the opposite shoulder and lift the upper arms parallel to the floor. As you squat down, keep your back straight and chest lifted up. With the weight positioned to the front of you, it pulls forward and may catch you off guard if you don't focus on your technique. Ensure that your chest is lifted up and the elbows remain high, the bar won't roll forward. Just be aware of your back and keep this straight. This workout is more about volume than outright weight, so opt for a lighter weight and really feel the muscles working rather than breaking any personal bests for this lift. Immediately after you complete a set of front squats, perform a set of stiff-legged deadlifts. If possible, I set up a separate barbell next to you. If not, you can use dumbbells instead of the same barbell you used for front squats. The key to feel the hamstrings work within this movement is keeping a slight bend at the knee and when lowering the barbell down. Push your hips back as though you’re about to sit onto a chair. This ensures the hamstrings are lengthened against the lowering of the barbell. When pulling the bar back up, remember it’s not your arms pulling the weight. Focus on driving your hips forwards while raising your torso upwards. I find it helps to be consciously thinking about engaging your hamstrings and not pulling with the arms. At the top of the rep, ensure your shoulders are pulled back and the barbell against the top of your thighs, but the legs are not full locked out. Your knees should be slightly soft with your hamstring muscles fully tensed.

Superset #2: Sled Pushes & Box Step Ups

3 sets of sled runs (60 yards or about 20 steps) with 16 reps of step-ups.

I’ll admit that sled pushes are not a normal component of my routine. This is exactly why I included it within this program. It shocks my system. It’s not so much about the amount of weight that I’m moving. But it forces me to use my legs in a different way. It's followed immediately by the next movement: box step ups. Again, it works my legs in a very different manner. If you have access to a sled, don’t push too much weightt. You want to be able to get long leg strides, working the legs through their full range of motion. Keep your body down low (like a sprinter does when leaving the starting blocks of a race), and when you’re pushing the weight, focus on driving through your legs with the ball of your feet pushed the ground and the heel lifted up. If you don’t have access to a sled, substitute this exercise for a 20 second sprint on an incline treadmill before moving onto the next exercise. Box step-ups are the next movement in this superset combo. I purposely picked a height that requires my knee to be higher than my hip when my foot is at the top of the platform. This forces my quads to work that much harder than if my knee was the same height, or lower than my hip. I also opted for kettlebells as my resistance, keeping the weight once again to the front of my body. It forces the quads to work harder. Although even just bodyweight alone will be enough for you depending on your strength and ability to recover. Dumbbells also work, although you may prefer to hold a single dumbbell at both ends to keep the weight to the front of your body. Similar the front squats, ensure that your back is straight as you stand up, and not causing you to arch forward. If you find this to be the case, you can use a barbell placed across the back of your shoulders. As far as repetitions go for each leg, I prefer to alternate each leg so that my right leg steps up first. It allows me to stand tall on the platform and contract the quad hard without locking out my leg. The left foot follows and touches down on the top of the platform. It is also the first to touch back down on the floor. It forces my right leg to raise me up on to the platform and lower me down. I repeat with my left leg stepping up first and lowering me back down. That is two repetitions, which I complete for a total of 8-10 reps on each leg.

Superset #3: Nordic Hamstring Curl & Short Step Lunges

3 sets of 12 reps (NHC) and 30-40 steps for short step lunges.

The Nordic ham curl (sometimes called the poor man’s glute-ham raise - aka GHR) is great for hamstring hypertrophy. It increases eccentric strength, and can help reduce the risk of hamstring injury. Like the GHR, they’re both bodyweight knee flexion movements that hammer the hamstrings. It’s a “functional” exercise. It helps you run quickly and safely, which is a pretty natural movement. It’s also great for hypertrophy if you’re interested in building your physique. It’s good for people who just want their muscles to be strong. The Nordic ham curl is improving eccentric strength, which means you shouldn’t drop straight down to the ground from kneeling. You also don’t bend too much at the hips. You can lean forward a little, but try to keep the hips fairly neutral. I like to keep my feet in dorsiflexion (toes pointed down, not back). This helps the calf to contribute to knee flexion torque. If you're unable to control the lowering portion then try supporting yourself with a resistance band suspended from a power rack. The final exercise within this workout is another traveling movement. It directly works all the muscles in the legs rather than isolating one over the other. With the last movement focusing on the hamstrings, I wanted this movement to focus more on the quads. By shortening the step length you can change the emphasis of the exercise to be much more quad dominant. I also use a weighted sand bag for added resistance, held in much the same way as the front squat. This keeps the weight positioned to the front of me and forces the quads to work harder than if the weight was positioned further back. Just keep the back straight and chest and upper arms lifted upwards. If you don’t have a sandbag, use two kettlebells or hold a dumbbell horizontally. If this is too uncomfortable, opt for a barbell across your shoulders behind the head. Or hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms hanging. You can see from the second image my step is much shorter than a standard lunge where usually both knees bend at a 90-degree angle. My hips and shoulders are stacked directly in the center of the step. My step is about half as short, which means my front knee is now directly over the front toe. The back leg (knee) is now directly next to my front ankle. This shorter step and tighter angle at both knees really makes it a great quad-based movement. It is a great compliment to the Nordic hamstring curl before that. Happy training!

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