MOTIVATION
TRAINING
Building leg mass and volume is something I’ve been focusing on. When that’s my main focus, I work to at least maintain my strength. When my strength for powerlifting is my focus, I work to maintain leg size. This past year we have done some great things with balancing the two.
One variation that many bodybuilders love to use is drop sets. But today, I bring you a leg work that involves an ascension set. So instead of stripping weight off the bar, we are adding weight each set, with very little rest.
Dumbbell Leg Curls (these are done as your pre-fatigue exercise)
x25, 20, 15, 10
Squats
4×8 with 3 second eccentric
Try to stay relatively explosive with this. The eccentric makes it tough, but on this day we were focusing on speed and force development.
Front Squats– ascension set
1 giant set of 4 increases, 5 reps at each weight
Only rest is to change the weights Heavy DB Lunges 4×8 each leg BB Stiff legged Deadlifts 3×10
NUTRITION
I’m a coffee freak. I love trying new coffees and different roasts. I’ve even come to appreciate and love black coffee – to actually smell and taste the flavors without dousing it with cream. And sure, the caffeine in the morning is a good jolt of what I call “go-juice.”
But even our bodies can become accustomed to the amount of caffeine we drink. If we always drink 2 cups, that kinda becomes our baseline. So when you actually do need a pick-me-up, your body is going to need more than that.
Give yourself a break from the caffeine every once in awhile. Go a whole week drinking decaf, or decaf teas or other caffeine-free drinks. It will give your adrenals a break as well. Then after that week of “detoxing” (so to speak), try using caffeine only when needed. Perhaps that’s in the morning to get moving, or just before a workout. See if you can notice a difference.
