Day 15: Legs (Quads Emphasis)

This is our third week of my 8-Week Fat-loss Figure Trainer, and today we’re performing our Day 1 workout during Phase One. That means you’ll begin with single-leg extensions, performing all reps for one side and then for the other.

You’ll transition to Smith machine box squats—note that I place the bar across my chest rather than on my shoulders. The bench or the box prevents you from going so low that you incorporate muscle groups such as hamstrings and glutes that you’re not trying to emphasize in this workout. You want a weight that prevents you from leaning too far forward and allows you to touch the bench with your butt and come up while keeping constant tension in your quads.

For sliding lunges, you should feel free to add weight as you accommodate to the move. Just hold dumbbells in your hands, but don’t go so high that you break form. Your goal with this move is to really emphasize the stretch in your quads as you lower and slide your other leg back. Try to keep your hips elevated and your back leg as straight as possible while you’re performing this move—that can be tricky for those who have tighter hips.

Next up we have hack squats. Adjust the weight so that it is right for you. This exercise feels different to every individual. Once you’ve chosen a weight that you’re comfortable with, you should then perform as many reps as you can until you reach fatigue with your quads. That could be 10 or 20 reps. My chart recommends 15 reps per set, but I want you to make adjustments based on what you feel or know or think will work best for you. Make sure you ease your way down, really feeling the stretch in your quads.

The fifth and last move for our quads workout today is leg presses. I want you to notice where I place my feet when you’re watching my video. I also want you to make adjustments, placing your feet at the height on the platform and the foot-distance that is right for you. The goal is to put virtually all of your effort into your quads. No glutes, no hammies and, of course, no lower back—keep your back against the pad throughout the full set.

There’s a lot of hoopla about performing leg presses with a full range of motion, but today we’re really trying to emphasize quads. When you watch my video you’ll see that I use a very small range of motion compared to most people. That’s because I’m working my quads—not the other muscle groups I mentioned that you’re not emphasizing during this workout.

Leg Extensions	4 SETS / 15 REPS
Smith Machine Box Squats	4 SETS / 15 REPS
Sliding Lunges Performed on a rowing machine—watch my video for specific tips on how to perform this move.	4 SETS / 15 REPS
Hack Squats	4 SETS / 15 REPS
Leg Presses	4 SETS / 16 REPS
Ball Crunches	3 SETS / 15 REPS
Bench leg raises	3 SETS / 15 REPS
Cardio	20 MINUTES

CYDNEY SAYS

Increase weight as you are able without sacrificing form or reps. You’ll begin to find that certain moves get easier as you perform them regularly. The key is to keep challenging yourself with intensity as you continue to improve and shed body fat.

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