Big legs without weights? YES, you can do that too! We'll show you some interesting tips.

In the entire history of exercise, we have perhaps never had easier access to various axes and leg machines than we do today. However, chicken legs are a persistent epidemic! If this problem concerns you, I'll indulge you in some well-meaning tough love. Your feet are lagging behind because you're probably...

• You have a poor work ethic.
• You have a low pain threshold.
• You don't know that women like legs and ass as much as biceps on men.

Lagging legs and butt can be improved by anyone if they make it a priority.

Most of my instagram models, whose buttocks thousands of people want to look at every day, started out not liking those parts very much. Today they have beautiful butts because it's a priority for them.

Your weak legs are probably due to the fact that their workout is simply hard.

In this article, I bring you a workout that won't kill your knees and will help you build decent quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes!
Plus, you won't need a single large barbell, single arm or machine.... for this workout almost.

8 Weeks - 2 possible strategies

Practice this program for 8 weeks. It's progressive overload, but instead of adding weight you'll be increasing the number of reps.

You can plan your leg workout in two ways:

1. You can use it as your second leg workout of the week, a few days after your regular leg workout.
2. Or you can split it into two units, where one day you'll do exercises for the quadriceps and the other you'll do exercises more focused on the hamstrings and glutes. It's up to you.

The main exercise

The main exercise of the program is the lunge walk. For me, this is the most economical lower body exercise.
There aren't many exercises that put as much strain on the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes. It's also a very good mobility exercise because it engages most of the lower body kinetic chain. What I consider mobility here is that the ankles, knees, and hips allow the exercise to be performed through a full range of motion and without pain.

However, you also have to be strong to maintain good position. Lunges here will give feedback. You'll know right away what imbalances you're suffering from.

Training:

A - lunge walking

• Since this exercise hits all three areas of the legs, you'll start every workout with it. Yes, even if you split your workout into quadriceps and hamstrings, you'll still always start with lunges.
• Since we're working without weights, you'll only be using your body weight.
• As for sets and reps, you work out until you've done a certain number of reps. Take small breaks if you need to. Yes, these will be different in each workout.
• Also, count your reps well. That always drives me crazy. Left leg lunge... one, right leg lunge... one. That's one rep to do with each leg.
• I'm assuming beginners can't do hundreds of lunges in their first workout, so I'm gonna break it down into two levels. Beginner to intermediate and advanced.
• How do you know if you're beginner to intermediate? If you need to ask that question, you fall into that category!

What series and repetitions to choose?

• Beginner to Intermediate:
• Week 1: 50 lunges
• Week 2: 75 lunges
• Week 3: 100 lunges
• Week 4: 125 lunges
• Week 5: 150 swipes
• Week 6: 200 blasts
• Week 7: 225 blasts
• Week 8: 250 blasts
  
• Advanced:
• Week 1: 300 swipes
• Week 2: 325 swipes
• Week 3: 350 swipes
• Week 4: 375 swipes
• Week 5: 400 swipes
• Week 6: 425 blasts
• Week 7: 450 blasts
• Week 8: 500 blasts

B - Leg extension with own weight (for beginners)

This exercise is for the beginner to intermediate group only. If you are advanced, skip to the next exercise.

• In this category, I like this exercise because it gives you the opportunity to find your working range of motion, stretches the quadriceps well (if you get deep enough), and doesn't put stress on the knees.
• Once you've mastered this exercise, you can move on to sissy squats
• The key is to push your shins into the floor and your upper body back to the starting position.
• Keep your torso as upright as possible. The torso is the source of resistance here. If you lean forward, the resistance is reduced, and the exercise becomes less effective.

What sets and reps to choose?

• Practice 4 sets for maximum reps.
• Try to beat this maximum every week!

B - Sissy Squats (advanced)

Your legs already hate you, Mr. Advanced!

Now stretch your quadriceps hard and I'll make you scream in pain! I'm sure there's someone who'll whine that sissy squats make their knees hurt.

But have you ever wondered why they hurt? Maybe it's because you have a tiny vastus medialis and can't handle the pressure of this exercise!
If you get some proper muscles around it, you'll be amazed at how much they can reduce knee pain!

Bandages won't help either! It's amazing how well this exercise is managed by people who haven't spent decades squatting with bandages and have the vastus fully developed. I know, it sounds crazy.

One of the other complaints about sissy squats is that all the pressure from the lower body chain shifts to the quadriceps. And that's a problem? NO! I mean, it's a quadriceps exercise!

What sets and reps to choose?

• Practice 4 sets for maximum reps.
• Each week, try to beat that maximum.

C - Stumbling on the ball

This very difficult exercise will expose your weak hamstrings! No matter how much you stumble on the machine, this will be a difficult exercise for you!

• The key is to keep your hips high throughout the entire exercise. This will give you a full shrinkage of the hamstrings and show you if they are weak.
• If you don't keep your hips high, they're weak.
• Since this is another rep max exercise, it will be the same for both performance categories.

What sets and reps to choose?

• For this exercise, perform 6 sets for maximum reps.
• Hold the contraction for 2 seconds, then perform the negative phase.

D - Straight Fire Glute Raise

Okay, I lied a little at the beginning. You'll need a barbell and weights for this exercise. But just to anchor yourself. Eugene Teo taught me this exercise. He didn't have a name for it, so here's how it turned out.

• You start with your thumbs pointing outward. This will rotate the hips and engage the glutes.
• You're going to keep your glutes closed the whole time because only hip extension will keep you on the bench!
• Next, you must have constant tension in your hamstrings to maintain flexion in your knees.
• Since you will be pushing your feet into the axis the whole time, there will never actually be a break in the exercise. This makes the exercise metabolically very efficient!

What sets and reps to choose?

• Practice 4 sets for maximum reps.
• Each week try to beat this maximum.

What if I have bad knees?

For some, lunge walking can be a problem because the working leg has to absorb the impact with each lunge.
Here, it may be a good idea to start with backward lunges, where the working leg is standing and the back leg is moving.

E - Reverse lunges

• Why not stay with backward lunges throughout the training program or even forever?
  Because when you lunge walk, you need to be more aware of your foot position and the feedback the whole foot is giving you about the state of your kinetic chain.
• If your foot is constantly landing with your toe turned in, it could be the result of shortened hip flexors or a weak gluteus medius muscle. If your body won't let you go into a deep squat, overly strong hip adductors and shortened hip flexors with weak glutes may be to blame.
• One of the major benefits of working with one leg is that the non-working leg simultaneously stretches the hip flexors and gluteus medius and must stabilize the pelvis. How much work can you do with one exercise, huh?
• So if your knees hurt, try doing only back lunges for a few weeks.
• Practice 5 sets and 10 reps, see how your geriatric knees like the lunge walk afterwards.

Source: www.t-nation.com -No Weights, Big Wheels
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