Pyramid Workout: Legs
We started with a pyramid workout for chest and back, and now we are graduating to the legs.
Just like with the chest and back exercises, with each exercise below, you will start with 10 reps and then decrease to nine reps, followed by eight, seven, six, all the way to one. Once you get to one rep, you’ll increase all the way back to ten, stacking the reps on top of one another.
As you decrease your reps, you’ll increase your weight. You should be at the heaviest weight, truly challenging yourself on reps 1-4.
- Focus: Hamstrings, Quads, and Glutes
- Time: 1 hour
- Warm Up: Five minutes of cardio
Here are the three exercises to focus on for the legs:
Dead Lifts
- Equipment: Dumbbells
- Reps: Pyramid (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
- Weight: Females: up to 35 lbs.; Males: up to 50 lbs.
- Tips & Tricks: Keep a slight bend in the knees as you lower the weights just below the shins.
Hamstring Curls
- Equipment: Leg Machine
- Reps: Pyramid (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
- Weight: Females: up to 35 lbs.; Males: up to 50 lbs.
- Tips & Tricks: Keep your back straight and focus on one leg at a time
Step Ups
- Equipment: Bench (or stair)
- Reps: (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
- Weight: Females: up to 35 lbs.; Males: up to 50 lbs.
- Tips & Tricks: Focus on the glute muscle; do not lock the knees as you step up one leg at a time
