Spring Bulk Day 135 - Legs

Summary

In this workout-focused monologue, the speaker shares their leg day routine, emphasizing leg extensions, hamstring curls, and bodyweight squats. They offer insight into their training philosophy, advocating for controlled reps, muscle pre-exhaustion, and workout variety to maintain strength and size. The speaker also discusses the benefits of post-workout nutrition, highlighting dextrose as a quick energy replenisher. Toward the end, they touch on injury prevention, smart training strategies, and staying active despite setbacks, while sharing personal anecdotes about diet and future fitness goals.

Takeaways

• 💪 The speaker pre-exhausts with leg extensions before moving to machine leg press to get a good burn in the quads.
• 🔥 After pre-exhausting with leg extensions, the speaker feels a strong burn even from bodyweight squats, emphasizing variety in movements for leg workouts.
• 🏋️ The speaker plans to switch up hamstring workouts, opting for lighter weights and more controlled reps to focus on muscle tension.
• ⚖️ Emphasizes the benefits of varying workout routines, advocating for a mix of lighter, controlled sets and heavy, swinging sets to target different muscle groups.
• 🙌 Frustration with the positioning in single-leg hamstring curls due to awkward leg positioning, suggesting tweaks to avoid discomfort.
• 😤 The speaker acknowledges the challenge of filming workouts in a gym, mentioning how discretion should be used, especially in locker rooms.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Despite cutting out squats, the speaker feels confident about maintaining size and strength with leg extensions during cutting and bulking phases.
• 🧠 The speaker believes that fitness should not be overcomplicated, noting that effort and consistency are key rather than reliance on complex routines or specific exercises.
• 🍚 Post-workout nutrition: Advocates for simple carbs like dextrose post-lift to quickly refill glycogen stores and promote recovery, alongside steady protein intake throughout the day.
• 🤕 Caution against pushing through injuries, highlighting the importance of working around an injury rather than stopping training entirely to maintain fitness.

Q & A

What variations does the speaker plan to incorporate for leg workouts?

The speaker plans to add variations like leg extensions followed by machine leg press, and supersetting leg extensions with bodyweight squats.

Why does the speaker prefer to pre-exhaust their quads with leg extensions before doing other pressing movements?

The speaker believes pre-exhausting with leg extensions gives a good burn and makes subsequent pressing movements feel more effective on the quads.

What approach does the speaker take when training hamstrings during this workout?

The speaker opts to go lighter with hamstrings to focus on getting a good squeeze and performing slower, controlled reps instead of the usual heavy, swinging sets.

Why does the speaker find single-leg hamstring curls uncomfortable for one leg?

The speaker finds it uncomfortable because when doing single-leg curls with the left leg, the right leg has to be held up, which they find annoying and awkward.

How does the speaker feel about recording themselves in the gym, especially in locker rooms?

The speaker believes it’s fine to record yourself but advises discretion, particularly in locker rooms, where filming might be inappropriate.

What is the speaker's view on the necessity of complex exercises to build muscle?

The speaker believes that workouts are often overcomplicated and that building muscle doesn’t necessarily require complex exercises, as long as effort is put in.

Why does the speaker prefer leg extensions for maintaining quad size and strength?

The speaker claims that leg extensions have helped maintain their quad size and strength during cutting phases, even when squats were removed from their routine.

What is the purpose of consuming dextrose after a workout, according to the speaker?

Dextrose helps to quickly replenish glycogen stores in muscles after a workout by providing simple carbohydrates that are easily absorbed, speeding up recovery.

What does the speaker recommend if you feel discomfort in a muscle during heavy lifting?

The speaker advises erring on the side of caution if something feels off and suggests lightening the load or avoiding heavy movements to prevent injury.

How does the speaker suggest recovering from an injury while maintaining fitness?

The speaker encourages continuing to train around the injury, working other muscles and maintaining cardio, rather than becoming inactive, to support overall recovery.

Outlines

00:00

💪 Leg Workout and Variations

The speaker discusses a leg workout focusing on leg extensions and variations like machine leg press and bodyweight squats. They emphasize pre-exhausting the quads with leg extensions before moving on to other exercises. The speaker shares their experience with leg day, including tips on stretching and going lighter for certain exercises. A brief interruption occurs when the speaker comments on a driver trying to merge into them.

05:10

🦵 Hamstring Curls and Workout Routine

The speaker shares their workout strategy for hamstrings, noting a change in approach to using lighter weights for a better squeeze and controlled reps. They compare heavier, swinging sets to lighter, more focused reps, pointing out the benefits of both. After some hamstring exercises, the speaker plans to move on to leg extensions and explains how they've been advised to point their toes during curls but prefer keeping them neutral.

10:10

📏 Leg Extensions and Muscle Pump

The speaker reflects on their leg workout, particularly leg extensions, describing how they get a 'freaky pump' after doing high-rep sets. They discuss the debate around the necessity of certain exercises and explain that as long as one focuses on the muscle, progress can be made. The speaker appreciates leg extensions for maintaining size and strength, especially when dieting, and emphasizes the importance of variation in training.

15:12

⚡ Post-Workout Nutrition: Dextrose and Protein

The speaker delves into the science behind post-workout nutrition, advocating for fast-acting carbs like dextrose to replenish glycogen stores in the muscles. They compare dextrose to other carbs and stress its importance in bulking contexts. The speaker also touches on the less critical timing of protein intake, noting that it should be consumed throughout the day rather than immediately post-workout.

20:15

🏋️ Injury Recovery and Gym Mindset

The speaker advises caution when feeling minor discomfort or injury during a workout, emphasizing the importance of working around an injury rather than completely stopping. They explain that maintaining activity can aid recovery and compare the outcomes of two hypothetical individuals: one who remains active with an injury and one who becomes sedentary. The speaker concludes with reflections on their current bulking phase and plans for the upcoming cutting phase.

Keywords

💡Leg Extensions

Leg extensions are a weight training exercise targeting the quadriceps, often done using a specialized machine. In the video, the speaker frequently discusses using leg extensions as a core part of their leg workout. They mention both single and double leg variations, highlighting the effectiveness of pre-exhausting the quads before doing other leg exercises.

💡Pre-exhaust

Pre-exhaust is a technique in weight training where a muscle is fatigued using an isolation exercise before engaging in compound movements. The speaker talks about pre-exhausting the legs with leg extensions before moving on to other exercises like leg presses or bodyweight squats, allowing them to work the muscle to exhaustion more effectively.

💡Hamstring Curls

Hamstring curls are an isolation exercise focused on strengthening the hamstrings by flexing the knee. The speaker mentions starting their workout with lighter hamstring curls to focus on controlled reps and a good squeeze. This is contrasted with heavier, 'swinging' sets that emphasize tension but lack the same burn or fatigue.

💡Superset

A superset involves performing two exercises back-to-back without resting in between. In the video, the speaker discusses supersetting leg extensions with bodyweight squats to increase the intensity and achieve a deeper burn in the quadriceps, especially after pre-exhausting with isolation work.

💡Controlled Reps

Controlled reps refer to performing exercises with slow, deliberate movements to ensure proper form and maximize muscle engagement. The speaker mentions shifting from heavy, fast reps to more controlled reps for hamstring curls, focusing on technique and muscle contraction over the use of heavier weights.

💡Muscle Pump

A muscle pump occurs when blood flow increases to a muscle during exercise, causing it to temporarily swell and feel tight. The speaker repeatedly mentions getting a 'freaky pump' in their legs, particularly after sets of leg extensions, as a sign of effective muscle engagement and workout intensity.

💡Dextrose

Dextrose is a simple sugar that is commonly consumed post-workout to quickly replenish glycogen stores in muscles. The speaker explains the benefits of taking dextrose immediately after exercise, comparing it to filling up a gas tank quickly, to help restore energy levels and aid muscle recovery.

💡Workout Variability

Workout variability refers to changing exercises, rep schemes, or training methods to prevent the body from adapting to a routine and to continue making progress. The speaker emphasizes the importance of not doing the 'same thing every time' and suggests switching up exercises like hamstring curls or leg extensions to keep challenging the muscles.

💡Injury Prevention

Injury prevention in the context of weightlifting involves being mindful of pain, discomfort, or imbalance before attempting heavy lifts. The speaker mentions a past chest injury and advocates for erring on the side of caution if something feels off, such as a sore knee or a tight muscle, to avoid aggravating an injury.

💡Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is the principle of gradually increasing the weight or intensity of exercises to continue building strength and muscle mass. The speaker highlights this by discussing how they maintain strength in their legs primarily through leg extensions, even when not doing heavy squats, and can return to lifting heavier weights after a period of maintenance.

Highlights

Pre-exhausting with leg extensions provides a great burn and allows for a more intense leg workout.

Combining leg extensions with machine leg press increases the workout intensity, even when the machine isn't heavy.

Supersetting leg extensions with bodyweight squats leads to a deep quad stretch, without the need for heavy weights.

Switching up rep styles for hamstrings—starting lighter with slower, controlled reps—can lead to better muscle activation.

Different set styles, like swinging heavy sets versus lighter controlled sets, offer various benefits, such as greater tension or fatigue.

Single-leg hamstring curls are challenging, especially when having to hold the non-working leg in an awkward position.

After pre-exhausting with leg extensions, any pressing movement will feel more effective for working the quads.

The gym session ends with double-leg hamstring curls to finish off the hamstrings, followed by a focus on quads.

Pointing toes during hamstring curls isn't essential—keeping them neutral feels better for some people.

Leg extensions can be highly effective in maintaining size and strength, even without including squats.

Dextrose post-workout quickly replenishes depleted glycogen stores in muscles, making it ideal for recovery.

Heavy leg extensions and squats are not necessary for maintaining quad strength—lighter, focused movements can be equally effective.

Taking caution with injuries, like a strained chest, and avoiding heavy lifts can help prevent further damage.

Consistent training, even around injuries, supports faster recovery compared to being sedentary.

Switching to a lean phase after bulking can quickly reveal muscle definition and overall progress.

Transcripts

[Music]

thank you

see there's just the one leg extension

machine so that's pretty much gonna be

it but I'll throw in a few variations

maybe I'll do some

leg extensions into machine leg press

the machine isn't that heavy so if

you're pre-exhaust with leg extensions

before

and it's a pretty good burn holy [ __ ]

this guy's trying to merge into me

[ __ ] [ __ ]

uh and then I'll probably do some leg

extensions superset it into [ __ ] squats

that's uh well you'll just see it later

but those I feel just a crazy stretch on

the quads like

I mean pretty much like no other

exercise honestly uh you got to go a bit

lighter like I'm not gonna I'm not

putting a bar on my back or anything

it's just a body weight squat

but again after pre-exhausting with leg

extensions

you can kind of do whatever sort of

pressing movement you want and it should

feel pretty good on the quads so

enough Chit Chat Let's uh let's just go

get these legs pumped to hell

okay so typically

what I end up doing

I've probably gotten to a little bit too

much of habit of this is I do the same

kind of rep style like I always start

off just really heavy on hamstrings

like you know 10 like 20 reps or so just

like the whole stack kind of mindless

I think today for hamstrings I'm going

to start off a little lighter and just

really try to get a good squeeze kind of

slower controlled reps I think there's

definitely benefit

to doing like

heavy like kind of swinging sets like

let's think like if you watch the arm

day yesterday you know this dumbbell

curls in the beginning

heavyweight to really just swinging it a

lot of tension on the biceps but you

know this

those sets didn't have the same level of

like burn and fatigue as the lighter

uh cable curl stick right so there's

kind of different ways to do your sets

so I think I'll go a little lighter

try and get a

really controlled rep in as long as you

go hard whatever kind of set you do is

good but it's good to change it up as

well

you know don't do the same [ __ ] every

time

you know shock the muscle as it were

okay

I'm gonna do a few sets of single leg

still heavy but it's just a little bit

of a different feeling

foreign

so the last thing that I want to do here

this is really just a preference thing

is

like think about it when you do single

leg Cedar curls with the right leg

your left leg can just sit out here

perfect you don't have to think about it

at all right but

if you're gonna do it with your right

with your left leg

you got to just sit here and hold your

right leg up in the air that's so

[ __ ] annoying to me I hate it

and if you put it down here then you're

just going to run into your own leg so

you're cutting your range in motion down

right so what I do

is it depends on the hamstring curl but

usually

you can kind of just fit your leg into

this little open space

and then it's out of the way just uh you

know try not to crush it in the uh

movement path in the machine

[Music]

so I don't record every set

but hamstrings are already [ __ ]

pumped to hell so I'm just gonna finish

with

a set of double leg

and then we move on to leg extensions

okay

oh

I've been told to point my toes when I

do hamstring curls

I don't see the point

for me I just [ __ ] keep them

neutral

I don't

I don't know if you've ever had that

thought like should I keep pointing or

should I keep just do whatever feels

good to you

right

there's really not going to be much to

see for quads today uh I'll probably

just record a couple of these but

it's just gonna be 11 sets of leg

extensions

I'll do a few different kinds I'll do

some single leg

I'll do maybe well

I don't really love double lick

so I'll just record a couple sets of the

single leg and then a couple sets of the

[ __ ] squat super set at the end and

then we can check the pump

so for those curious

it is now empty in here there's no

there's nobody mid-changing no one

[ __ ] record if there were

oh people were bringing that up in the

last

planet in this video I think

you know yeah

I don't see a problem with recording

yourself but use discretion especially

if you're in the [ __ ] locker room I

mean that's kind of gnarly

yeah they told me to chill out with the

with the film and somebody must have

complained

well within their rights but it's not

like you missed anything all I did was

[ __ ]

10 more sets of leg extension single leg

at the end I did a few where I did like

five reps on the right five on the left

five on the right back and forth and

then some [ __ ] squats like this oh

oh

and as we're about to see

it resulted in a [ __ ] freaky pump

oh my God

okay

so let's see we're really working with

here

oh

I mean yeah even just standing like it

feels like I'm flexing

ah

so let's just go get the dextro shake on

not a ton of in-gym

uh commentary during this video

but

we'll get some Car Talk

all right legs

complete

um

so this let me uh let's just say this

uh

I think

working out

is it requires thought it's not like you

can just um get huge mindlessly

but

I think

people uh

they love

to over complicate it they love it

you know I've done bicep workouts

which I loved

where all it was

was

um 11 sets of dumbbell curls just

standing

and that was it right but I feel like if

you paid a coach

you know whatever they I don't know what

that kind of rate is I've never had a

coach but if they told you to go into

the gym one day and your whole bicep

workout was just alternating dumbbell

curls you would probably be like

what the [ __ ] did I just pay you for

you know uh so

to an extent

I think it's very

over complicated

right it's not like there's a specific

exercise

uh well it's not like exercises on their

own

have like some intrinsic value where

it's like just perfect or it's gonna

build your bicep in like just a way

better way than anything else you know

and exercise is an exercise right now

you want some variability in your

training

over the long term I wouldn't want to

just do alternating dumbbell curls every

lift

right but

uh

what I would say is it's yeah like I was

saying it's not about the exercises

themselves it's more about just your

overall kind of only compassing approach

to any specific lift right like today

one of the hit quads

well hamstrings and quads so what do

they do I did hamstring curls right

activating the [ __ ] hamstring if you

think this is the leg then your biceps

the hamstring and then

since I didn't do any heavy pressing for

quads

what other movement is there

leg extensions right your quiet is the

equivalent of the tricep your arm which

is all soon is taking it from here to

here

then the leg extension is perfect for

that like I I got a freaky pump just

from sitting on the leg extension you

know so

pretty much as long as you're hitting a

specific muscle

reasonably effectively right like those

sets were like I was putting in effort

they were hard

uh

you know you do eight to twelve sets

you're gonna be pumped and as long as

you go hard you're going to make

progress

so

you know I don't mind doing a day of

just leg extensions like that or well

obviously every hamstring workout for me

is just hamstring curls

you know and

it's I don't know man like extensions

what do I said hamstrings leg extensions

have proven to maintain

my size and strength right like when I

um every time I diet you know two to

three months at a time all I do is leg

extensions pretty much for quads I'll do

some other variations as well but like

like I was saying on the way here I just

cut out squats totally

and you know right when I start bulking

again I can jump straight back to those

five plates

so

and I love like extensions

final statement I love leg extensions

so let's strength this uh this dextrose

slash protein shake it's not just

dextrose

fools

dextrose and two scoops of

vanilla

oh my God okay whatever

shh

oh

so it's actually been a while since I've

said

the point of dextrose post workout

after you've done a lift

right clearly

your body has burnt energy

right

something is waving at me perhaps a

viewer

I think but whatever so

it's funny

um

yeah so your body just burnt a pretty

considerable amount of energy

right

and uh in a bulking context

right your your muscles should be full

of carbs you know uh what's the glycogen

that's what's being burnt up so

in all your muscle cells and especially

the ones that you just trained

right those little carb stores have been

depleted

right so post workout what do you want

to eat

you want some [ __ ] carbs

right now you don't want them

you know delivered slowly

right when you fill up your gas tank in

your car you don't want to just let it

sit there and trickle in slowly right

you want to fill up the tank as quick as

possible

so any kind of carb will be beneficial

right post workout if you can get some

rice uh

like potatoes whatever any carb you know

it's going to be good for you but the

best case scenario is the simplest kind

of carb that you can get your hands on

which is going to be you know a dextrose

or I hear people talking about

maltodextrin I'm pretty sure that's a

slower

digesting carb

I haven't really looked into it

but the dextrose

is uh it's super simple right in terms

of

digestibility it's pretty much already

in its final form right if you eat a

[ __ ] Wendy's spicy chicken

your body has to break it down

into you know those base macro

components that it can actually do [ __ ]

with right but with dextrose

it's already done all your body's got to

do is uh

you know get it into your bloodstream

and then by raising your blood sugar

right some kind of gland somewhere I

forget which one is going to release

some insulin which is going to say send

those [ __ ] carbs into the muscles

right so post workout some kind of

simple carb simple sugar

that's going to be good for you

it's going to be

good for you

the protein post workout it's not so

necessary you know protein you just got

to get it in throughout the day spread

it around

it's fine there's no there's not so much

of an important timing with that

right

so enough talk of dextrose

any long-term viewer is

bored out of their mind right now

because I [ __ ] like this I don't know

I feel like the first 50 videos I

explained the dextrose every time

I just did a whole little extra speech

so let's think that's freaking thick

so tomorrow is going to be chest it's

going to be a [ __ ] Chess Day

I can kind of [ __ ] feel my uh

I hurt my right chest a while ago I was

doing flat bench heavy

um

and then also the fact that I'm like

very inflexible

I was going all the way down so I

[ __ ] pulled my [ __ ] out like I think

it was maybe a year ago eight months ago

or something

I don't remember exactly but it's still

kind of bothering me a little I could

kind of feel it

last chest day

but not that bad

so I'm being a little bit extra careful

with chest

not trying to

bench 405 for reps right now

so if you got something that's bothering

you a little bit

um

probably better to just err on the side

of caution

right if you're um

let's say you're getting ready to do

some kind of heavy ass squat

and you can tell like

your knee feels just a it just feels

weird today oh dude my knee feels really

weird today

all right whatever and then you go for

some heavy [ __ ] I'm not saying you're

gonna hurt yourself but you know if I

ever feel a little like something's just

kind of off

probably best to like maybe take a

little step back

right and just uh not [ __ ] your [ __ ] up

because that's the last thing you want

to do

is get [ __ ] hurt in the gym

right and if you get really hurt oh then

you are boned for that specific muscle

group at least right like when I [ __ ]

up my chest

it was to the point where I couldn't

even

like I couldn't even just sit here and

flex it it would [ __ ] hurt like

rolling out of bed was hurting it

at the time at least now even though

even though my chest was [ __ ] up right

I was still going in and doing back and

arms and shoulders and legs

right just because you have one injury

somewhere in your body

it doesn't mean

that you have to stop training

completely if anything I think that's

counterintuitive right because when

you're an athletic being you know if

every day you get up you're going to the

gym you're working out you're doing your

cardio you're eating all your all your

meals and whatnot right you're an

efficient machine

you know I

I'm not like

this is kind of just based on like logic

I'm not really a [ __ ] physician right

but let's say two people get the same

injury

um

what kind of [ __ ] intro am I getting

a reference here

what kind of injuries do people just get

in life

broken arm Maybe

I don't know

let's say what am I trying to think of

whatever

let's say two people get hurt in the

exact same way

one person

is still going into the gym and working

around that injury

they're still doing their cardio

and they're eating a pretty reasonable

diet

all right that's that's person a now

person B

does not work out at all

they have very little muscle mass

and

uh their diet is let's say

let's just say lacking in protein

but probably a better word would be just

atrocious

you know like ice it just kind of

concerns me how some people are alive

with the types of foods that they eat

but whatever right poor diet

poor sleep

and not athletic at all who do you think

is going to recover better

you think's gonna heal from that injury

faster right

this isn't even really a question you

know the answer

at this point I kind of forget the point

I was even trying to make

but

oh yeah yeah don't [ __ ] don't just

get lazy after your um

if you get hurt

you freaking get hurt because like if

you just sit there bed ridden style you

know you're not working out anymore

you're

well your metabolism is probably gonna

go to [ __ ]

you're gonna start putting on body fat

uh you're gonna lose muscle mass and

then it's gonna be that much harder to

get back in the gym

but you know ideally

I'm not even ideally but let's just

think back

years ago when we were still kind of

wild you know running around hunting and

[ __ ] you know if uh

if you couldn't run around and get some

food eat in you you're gonna get killed

off

that's more of a liver King type

statement

any any liver King fans here

are these two social medias overlapping

I'm not really a big liver King fan

but uh all right now I'm just rambling a

[ __ ]

I burned up too much glycogen in the gym

my [ __ ] brain is fried from legs

uh so enough of this little rant

I got a two hour drive ahead of me to go

to

my buddy Maverick's house since his

birthday

uh so that'll be fun

probably gonna get some kind of

drive-through food on the way

about probably three more weeks of the

bulk

just to try to get just a little bit

extra muscle on

and then we can start Trend down I'm

kind of getting excited because like I'm

pretty lean like I it's kind of hard for

me to get like fat when I'm bulking

but like when I'm you know actively

dieting

after probably just a month and a half

should start to look pretty crazy

right because even if it doesn't look it

I've still got a little bit of a layer

of

like blubber on me

obviously not that much but once that

starts to get peeled off

I'm just thinking about it now

all right whatever whatever

I'll see you next time