Leg Day I: Quads and Calves

It’s been a while since I’ve done a high intensity leg workout. And having had a cough for 4 weeks straight that I just could not kick, this is my first week back on the treadmill. Well, that’s  not entirely true. I have walked on the treadmill in the past 4 weeks but I have not gone faster than a 4.0 (a brisk walk) for fear that it would make my ridiculous cough sound even worse. So, it has been walks on the treadmill, and the elliptical for me, for 4 miserable weeks. I love running and missed it terribly. So this week as I was feeling much better I hit the treadmill full speed with interval sprints. Monday and Tuesday I did 30 minutes of sprints (30 seconds sprinting, 30 seconds resting). The sprints kicked my behind back into to shape and I realized just how much 4 weeks off of running can affect your endurance and speed.

Today was leg day, so rather than running, I use a lot of “active rests”  to keep my heart rate up, as well as “super sets”.

Super sets are where you perform one exercise and then immediately do the next exercise. Then take a 1 1/2 to 2 min break before repeating.

Active rests are when you do the first exercise, then the second exercise instead of resting, then immediately perform the first exercise again. You do this until you have performed each exercise 3 times each.

I followed one of the “phase 3 days” of Jamie Eason’s Live Fit Plan. I just love this workout plan and have seen the best results when following this workout routine. I highly recommend it. However, it’s not for the faint of heart when you get into phase 3. I do love however, that the plan has gradual increases that make it much easier for a novice to slowly feel like an expert by the end of the 3 phases. This workout plan was the first lifting plan I followed that made me fall in love with lifting weights.

Here is my leg workout that I did today. I focused on quads and calves (since I will hit glutes and hamstrings harder next leg day).

I started off by walking for 5 min at about a 4.0 pace (brisk walk) then followed up with some dynamic stretches.

Workout:

superset:

leg press (3 sets of 15)

freehand jump squat (3 sets of 15)

 

working set with active rest:

smith single-leg split squat (3 sets of 15)

rope jumping (3 sets of 1 min)

 

superset:

walking barbell lunges (3 sets of 20. I didn’t have a barbell so I used dumbbells)

long jumps (3 sets of 20)

 

superset:

leg extensions (3 sets of 20)

lateral bound (3 sets of 20)

 

normal set:

smith machine squats (3 sets of 20)

 

working active rest:

standing calf raises (3 sets of 20)

rope jumping (3 sets of 20)

 

working active rest:

seated calf raises (3 sets of 20)

rope jumping (3 sets of 1 min)

 

I ended the workout with static stretches.

I took 1 1/2 min breaks between supersets. From the start of my warm up walk to the end of my static stretches this workout took me about an hour and a half.

If you would like to see the detailed workout on Jamie Eason’s page click here. Her page has videos of each workout too in case you don’t know what a “free hand jump squat” is… yeah, I had no idea.

Upon first looking at this workout the jump squats and long jumps seem silly and you might think they are easy. But I assure you I was completely cashed by the end of this workout.

Oh, and my pre-workout meal was oatmeal with mixed berries, chicken breast, and some carrots.

Post workout I scarfed down a couple yummy chocolate banana bread protein brownies.

After I got home I ate a venison roast with cabbage and heirloom carrots. Delish!

Did you get  workout in today? Was it a rest day? Did you eat clean today? Feel free to share in the comments below.

Stay tuned for Leg Day II.