Edited by: Francesco Currò
You will agree with us that the training of the legs is considered, without a shadow of denial, the most tiring one. However, it is necessary to "give everything" even when we train this muscular section, as the aesthetic advantages in terms of symmetry and the "anabolic" advantages resulting from the general stimulation that is obtained with exercises such as squats or deadlifts, can certainly make the difference between a mediocre physique and a truly enviable one.
We do not wish to bore you with the description of the various leg muscles, their insertions and their actions (there would be pages and pages to be written that do not interest the immediate practical application and that in any case can be found in any physiology text), so allow us to switch immediately to practicality (is this what you are interested in or not?), but not before having underlined that in the case of a "specialization" training for the legs it is necessary to drastically reduce the workload for the rest of the body.
What follows is one of the many hypotheses of "specialization" training for the legs, where, to better focus on the training of quadriceps and hamstrings, we decided to train these muscle sections in two different sessions.
IL MESOCICLO (to be repeated 2-3 times):
| THE | M | M | G | V | S | D | THE | M | M | G | V | S | D | THE | M | M | G | V | S | D |
| TO | B | C | TO | B | C | to | b | c | ||||||||||||
The first two training sessions must be "pulled" to the limit, while the last week, the workload is lightened (you reduce the loads by 20% and perform the same repetitions - which therefore you will not bring to the limit - of the previous training) in order to supercompensate optimally: if you feel very tired, do not be afraid to "regenerate" the third week completely, that is, not going to the gym absolutely.
THE TABLES:
Training for Femoral Biceps (calves and lumbar):
| EXERCISES (Table A) | RISC. | SERIES | REPEAT. | INTENSITY TECHNIQUES | Rest between sets (min.) | |
| 1 | Leg curl | 2 x 6 | 4 | 8 | + 2 Forced | 3 |
| 2 | Semi-stretched leg deadlifts | 2 x 8 | 3 | 15 | 3 | |
| 3 | Calf raised | 2 x 8 | 3 | 12 | 2 | |
| 4 | Calf sitting | 4 | 15 | + Stripping | 1 | |
| 5 | Hiperextension | 1 x 6 | 4 | 15 | 1.5 | |
| Exercises 1 and 2 should be alternated with each other (also in superseries) | ||||||
TABLE B: training for the upper part.
TABLE C: Training for the Quadriceps (and abdominals):
| EXERCISES (Table C) | RISC. | SERIES | REPEAT. | INTENSITY TECHNIQUES | Rest between sets (min.) | |
| 1 | Leg press | 2-3 x 6 | 3 | 8 | + Stripping | 3 |
| 2 | Sissy squat | 1 x 6 | 2 | max | 1 | |
| 3 | Leg extension | 1 x 6 | 2-3 | 12 | + 2 Forced | 2 |
| 4 | Squat | 1-2 x 6 | 1 | 20 | Rest pauses | 3-5 |
| 5 | Crunch with cables | 5 | 15 | 1 | ||
NB: if you bring (as must be done !!) the series to failure from the first series, it is very likely that you will not be able to perform all the series and repetitions indicated maintaining the same load. It will therefore be appropriate to apply the method of the decreasing pyramid, where, series by series, you will scale the weight a little.
And now allow us a due consideration: these schemes - although they may have been carefully written - can be good for many, but (obviously) not for everyone, and above all they must be placed in a broader context; there are also other muscle groups, periodization, joint limits, etc.
It must always be emphasized that, when drawing up a table to publish, one thinks of an "average" athlete. For the application on the individual - with all the possible problems that may arise - or you are good enough to "understand" the idea and change it (by yourself) according to your needs, or you need advice.
For those who want to "catch" the idea and ... "do it yourself" etc. - to partially complete the previous tables - a series of COMMENTS:
A) Often it happens that in addition to joint problems we can have to do with muscles that result to be composed mainly of red fibers. Here are some possible solutions to be adopted alone or combined:
- slightly increase the training volume (in the previous tables you can perform 1-3 more legs for each leg exercise, compared to those indicated;
- increase repetitions up to 15-20 (sometimes even 25-30);
- halving rest times compared to those indicated;
B) Here are some variants - which you can gradually adopt in cycles - for leg training:
- instead of forced repetitions you can perform series in Stripping
- you can perform isometric contractions at the end of the series
- you can perform, especially in the exercises, monoarticles of particularly slow series: superslow technique.
- you can perform the first exercise with a low number of repetitions (about 6), the second exercise with an average number (about 12) of repetitions and the possible third exercise with a high (about 20) number of repetitions, in accordance with the so-called hatfield method .
 |  Francesco Currò, teacher of ASI / CONI, teacher of the Accademia del Fitness, athletic trainer and personal trainer, is the author of the new book " Full Body ", of the e-book " The Training " and of the book on "Multiple Frequency Systems" . For more information, write to the email address, visit the websites //web.infinito.it/utenti/x/x_shadow/ or //digilander.libero.it/francescocurro/ or call the following number: 349 /23.333.23. |
