Quadriceps Workouts
I don’t mess around with training the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves during separate workouts. It’s much preferable to me to dedicate one leg workout to hitting all of them. With cardio workouts being done on other days, the legs will get plenty of work throughout the week. My leg workouts naturally always start out with training the large quadriceps muscles. Here are my preferred workouts for the quads. You may notice they don’t include barbell squats. I’ve done plenty of free weight squatting over the years, but at this point in my life I prefer other exercises.
Quadriceps Workout #1
Leg Press – 4 working sets going from low reps for heavy weight to higher reps with lighter weights on each subsequent set. I like to use wider foot placement to lift more on the heavy sets. Then my foot placement gets a little closer as I lighten the weight on each set.
Hack Squats – One set done with some short pauses before more reps are done. Start with a weight you can do for 10 to 15 reps, rest 10 seconds after failure before continuing the set. I like to do 3 or 4 of these short pauses. To finish the set drop some weight to get more reps.
Bosu Goblet Squats – This is one high rep set done while balancing on the rounded side of a Bosu ball. I go to failure with a 50 pound dumbbell, then go to standing on the floor to get more reps. To finish I get back on the ball and do more reps without any weight before finishing with body weight squats on the floor.
One-Leg Leg Extension – Sit on a leg extension and train one leg at a time. Go back and forth between legs with no rest to really wreck your quads. I go for a few rounds of alternating between my left and right legs.
Quadriceps Workout #2
Machine Squats – As with the leg press, I do 4 straight sets here. I also keep my feet wider for the heaviest sets.
Walking Dumbbell Lunges – I grab the dumbbells and lunge down a track for about 20 reps. Then I put the weights down for 5 to 10 seconds before continuing. Usually, I end up finishing the set with bodyweight walking lunges.
Cossack Squats – This is an exercise that will hit the inner quads. I grab a kettlebell or dumbbell and squat down to one side with the other leg going straight out to the side. I mix up which intensity booster I use on this. Sometimes I do short pauses, other times I drop down to a lighter weight.
Leg Extensions – I finish this quad workout with a drop set of this exercise.