Gain Leg Mass With This 4 Week And Daily Multiple Exercise Plan

For the next four weeks let’s put away the sleeveless shirts and give your beloved upper body a break.

Real leg training – the kind that produces results – isn’t fun. It can leave you lightheaded and nauseated, not to mention limping for days. Some guys become so afraid of the heavy bar that they can’t sleep the night before leg workouts.

Here’s a 4-week leg specialisation program that will get your quads blowing up fast. A big upper body paired with anaemic leg development is the most ridiculous sight, but if that still isn’t enough to get you in the squat rack, then consider the following perks to leg training:

The movements used in serious leg training elicit a significant anabolic response that affects the whole body. So if a bigger upper body remains priority, you still want to make lower body training part of your plan.
It’s hard to think of a sport or activity that doesn’t benefit from added strength and expression of power from the glutes, hamstrings and quads.

The key to success in any specialisation phase is reducing volume in all your other lifts and focusing on the task at hand. In any case, if you want to be successful in this programme you’re going to have to back off the other training (there will still be a one day per-week upper body maintenance workout) and focus on adding volume to your legs.

In this program you’ll train four days per week. Three of those will be “leg” days, with the fourth being a maintenance day for upper body lifts.

Ideally your week will be set up with Monday, Thursday and Saturday being the lower body days, Tuesday as your maintenance day and Wednesday, Friday and Sunday as off days. Of course, you can always move things around to suit your needs, but try not to schedule leg workouts on back-to-back days.

We’ll be using one form of periodization for hypertrophy, which is weekly undulating, meaning the sets and reps will change from week to week.

Try your best to complete all the reps prescribed while having one or two reps left in the tank. This will insure you don’t go to failure and burn out your CNS, a real concern when training the lower body this frequently.

Also, it’s critical for your safety (and your results) to use good technique and full range of motion on all lifts. If you can’t do either, you’re not ready for a specialisation phase. Become good at the lifts and come back to this programme when you’re ready. There’s no shame in knowing your limits.

Week 1

Workout A – Legs

*Barbell Back Squat – sets= 4, reps= 8-10
*Walking Lunge – sets= 3, reps= 8-10
*Lying Hamstring Curl – sets= 3, reps 8-10
Pull-Through – sets= 3, reps= 8-10
Standing Single – Leg Calf Raise – sets= 3, reps= 8-10

*Drop Set. After you complete the last rep of the last set, rest for 15 seconds, reduce the load by 30-50% and try to match the amount of reps with the new weight. So if you performed 10 reps with 225 pounds on the last set of back squats, drop the weight to 180 pounds and try to get up to 10 reps.

Workout B – Legs

*Sumo Deadlift – sets= 4, reps= 8-10
*Dumbbell Split Squat – sets= 3, reps= 8-10
*Hip Thruster – sets=3, reps= 8-10
Leg Extension – sets= 3, reps= 8-10
Hanging Knee Raise – sets= 3, reps= 8-10
20-Rep Squat – sets= 1 reps= 20

*Drop Set. After you complete the last rep of the last set, rest for 15 seconds, reduce the load by 30-50% and try to match the amount of reps with the new weight. So if you performed 10 reps with 225 pounds on the last set of sumo deadlifts, drop the weight to 180 pounds and try to get to 10 reps.

Workout C – Legs

*Front Squat – sets= 4, reps= 8-10
*Barbell Romanian Deadlift – sets= 3, reps= 8-10
*Dumbbell Step-Up – sets= 3, reps= 8-10
Glute-Ham Raise – sets= 3, reps= 8-10
Seated Calf Raise – sets= 3, reps= 8-10
Farmer’s Walk Medley – sets= 3, distance = 50 yards

*Drop Set. After you complete the last rep of the last set, rest for 15 seconds, reduce the load by 30-50% and try to match the amount of reps with the new weight. So if you performed 10 reps with 185 pounds on the last set of front squats, drop the weight to 125 pounds and try to get to 10 reps.

Workout D – Upper Body

*Chin-Up – sets= 4, reps= 8-10
*Incline Barbell Bench Press – sets= 3, reps= 8-10
*Single-Arm Dumbbell Row – sets= 3, reps= 8-10
Seated Overhead Press – sets= 3, reps= 8-10
Seated Cable Row – sets= 3, reps= 8-10
Pallof Press – sets= 2, reps= 10

*Drop Set. After you complete the last rep of the last set, rest for 15 seconds, reduce the load by 30-50% and try to match the amount of reps with the new weight.

Week 2

Workout A – Legs

*Barbell Back Squat – sets= 5, reps= 6-8
*Walking Lunge – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
*Lying Hamstring Curl – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
Pull-Through – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
Standing Single leg Calf Raise – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
Two Minute Leg Press – sets= 1, reps= 2 min.

*Double Drop Set. After you complete the last rep of the last set, rest for 15 seconds, reduce the load by 30-50%, and try to match the amount of reps with the new weight. Once completed, rest for another 15 seconds, drop the weight by an additional 15-30% and then get as many reps as possible, making sure you maintain proper form.

Workout B – Legs

*Sumo Deadlift – sets= 5, reps= 6-8
*Dumbbell Split Squat – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
*Hip Thruster – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
Leg Extension – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
Hanging Knee Raise – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
20 Rep Squat – sets= 1, reps= 20

*Double Drop Set. After you complete the last rep of the last set, rest for 15 seconds, reduce the load by 30-50% and try to match the amount of reps with the new weight. Once completed, rest for another 15 seconds, drop the weight by an additional 15-30% and then get as many reps as possible, making sure you maintain proper form.

Workout C – Legs

*Front Squat – sets= 5, reps= 6-8
*Barbell Romanian Deadlift – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
*Dumbbell Step-Up – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
Glute-Ham Raise – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
Seated Calf Raise – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
Sprints – sets= 3 x 150 yards/100 yards/75 yards

Perform 3 sets of sprints: 150 yards, 100 yards and 75 yards, resting as much/as little as possible between sprints. You can use a treadmill or a track/field.

Workout D – Upper Body

*Chin-Up – sets= 5, reps= 6-8
*Incline Barbell Bench Press – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
*Single-Arm Dumbbell Row – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
Seated Overhead Press – sets 4, reps= 6-8
Seated Cable Row – sets= 4, reps= 6-8
Barbell Rollout – sets= 3, reps= 8

Week 3

Workout A – Legs

*Barbell Back Squat – sets= 4, reps= 10-12
*Walking Lunge – sets= 4, reps= 10-12
*Lying Hamstring Curl – sets= 4, reps= 10-12
Pull-Through – sets= 3, reps= 10-12
Standing Single-Leg Calf Raise – sets= 3, reps= 10-12
Two Minute Leg Press = 1- 2 min.

*Rest-Pause. After the last rep of your last set, rest for 10-15 seconds and then attempt 2-3 more reps. Rest another 10-15 seconds and try another 1-2 reps.

Workout B – Legs

*Sumo Deadlift – sets= 4, reps= 10-12
*Dumbbell Split Squat – sets= 4, reps= 10-12
*Hip Thruster – sets= 4, reps= 10-12
Leg Extension – sets= 3, reps= 10-12
Hanging Knee Raise – sets= 3, reps= 10-12
20-Rep Squat – sets= 1, reps= 20

*Rest-Pause. After the last rep of your last set, rest for 10-15 seconds and then attempt 2-3 more reps. Rest another 10-15 seconds and try another 1-2 reps.

Workout C – Legs

*Front Squat – sets= 4, reps= 10-12
*Barbell Romanian Deadlift – sets= 4, reps= 10-12
*Dumbbell Step-Up – sets= 4, reps= 10-12
Glute-Ham Raise – sets= 3, reps= 10-12
Seated Calf Raise – sets= 3, reps= 10-12
Farmer’s Walk Medley – sets= 3, distance= 50 yards

Try to use heavier weights than in week one.

*Rest-Pause. After the last rep of your last set, rest for 10-15 seconds and then attempt 2-3 more reps. Rest another 10-15 seconds and try another 1-2 reps.

Workout D – Upper Body

*Chin-Up – sets= 4, reps= 10-12
*Incline Barbell Bench Press – sets= 4, reps= 10-12
*Single-Arm Dumbbell Row – sets= 4, reps= 10-12
Seated Overhead Press – sets= 3, reps= 10-12
Seated Cable Row – sets= 3, reps=10-12
Reverse Crunch – sets= 3, reps=12

*Rest-Pause. After the last rep of your last set, rest for 10-15 seconds and then attempt 2-3 more reps. Rest another 10-15 seconds and try another 1-2 reps.

Week 4

Workout A – Legs

Barbell Back Squat – sets= 2, reps= 15
Walking Lunge – sets= 2, reps= 15
Lying Hamstring Curl -sets= 2, reps= 15
Pull-Through – sets= 2, reps= 15
Standing Single-Leg Calf Raise – sets= 2, reps= 15
Two Minute Leg Press = 1 – 2 min.

Workout B – Legs

Sumo Deadlift – sets= 2, reps= 15
Dumbbell Split Squat – sets= 2, reps= 15
Hip Thruster – sets= 2, reps= 15
Leg Extension – sets= 2, reps= 15
Hanging Knee Raise – sets= 2, reps= 15
20-Rep Squat – sets= 1, reps= 20

Workout C – Legs

Front Squat – sets= 2, reps= 15
Barbell Romanian Deadlift – sets= 2, reps= 15
Dumbbell Step-Up – sets= 2, reps = 15
Glute-Ham Raise – sets= 2, reps = 15
Seated Calf Raise – sets= 2, reps = 15
Sprints x 3 – distance = 100 yards/ 75 yards/ 50 yards

Workout D – Upper Body

Chin-Up – sets= 4, reps= 15
Incline Barbell Bench Press – sets= 2, reps= 15
Single-Arm Dumbbell Row – sets= 2, reps= 15
Seated Overhead Press -sets= 2, reps= 15
Seated Cable Row – sets= 2, reps= 15
Kneeling Cable Crunch – sets= 2, reps= 15

Programme Notes

Tempo, rest, and time-under-tension are all things that should be paid attention to during a hypertrophy phase. Make sure the eccentric (lowering) phase of all movements is done with control and always try to perform the concentric (lifting) as quickly as possible.
Rest periods can be a bit longer for the compound “A” lifts (75 to 90 seconds) and between 45 and 75 seconds for the remainder of the program. While complete recovery between sets is great for a strength training program, it’s not ideal for hypertrophy, so don’t extend the rest periods.

If you’re keeping the tempo of the lifts as prescribed above, your sets should last between 40 and 60 seconds.
For the Two Minute Leg Press goes, you should try to increase the amount of reps you can accomplish from week to week, so keep track. Also, the compressive forces of the leg press are often underestimated due to the backrest, but they can be significant. Manage this by keeping a natural arch in your lower back for the entire set .

The 20-Rep Squat set is brutal, especially after crushing your legs with the amount of volume in the program that precedes it. If your squat form starts to break down to the point of being risky, end the set and come back to the lift another day.
To say rest, recovery, and nutrition are critical in this phase would be to underestimate how important they are. We’re talking about serious volume in some major lifts throughout the week. I’d suggest upping your protein, getting between 7-9 hours of sleep per night, and trying to minimise other athletic activities for the 4 weeks.