When I do the lower body, I work 4 muscle groups: quads, hamstrings, calves & abs. Each one takes about 10 minutes for a workout of around 40 minutes. Following the recommended Body For Life workout strategy, I start with low weights/high reps, increasing weight and decreasing reps with a one minute rest in between. Then I finish with high weight, high rep in the high-fat burning zone and go immediately to something else that works the same group of muscles with high weight, high rep. After that I rest 2 minutes and start the next muscle group. For my reps I do 12-10-8-6-12, 12 (alternate). Here is the exact workout that I did today:
Muscle Group 1: Quads
Leg Extension
| Reps | Pounds |
|---|---|
| 12 | 35 |
| 10 | 45 |
| 8 | 55 |
| 6 | 65 |
| 12 | 75 |
Then I went immediately over to the seated leg press for the alternate:
| Reps | Pounds |
|---|---|
| 12 | 190 |
Muscle Group 2: Hamstrings
Leg Curl
| Reps | Pounds |
|---|---|
| 12 | 25 |
| 10 | 35 |
| 8 | 45 |
| 6 | 55 |
| 12 | 65 |
Then I went immediately back over to the seated leg press for the alternate with a little more weight than the first time:
| Reps | Pounds |
|---|---|
| 12 | 210 |
Muscle Group 3: Calves:
Horizontal Calf
| Reps | Pounds |
|---|---|
| 12 | 80 |
| 10 | 90 |
| 8 | 100 |
| 6 | 110 |
| 12 | 120 |
Then I went immediately found some equipment with a bar that was elevated, stood on the edge of it with my toes, and did 12 standing calf raises. I let my heels come below where my toes were, then slowly stand up until I’m basically on my tippy toes, then back down below the toes. Slow is the key – by the end of 12 the calves are really burning.
Muscle Group 4: Core/Abs
Hammer Strength Abdominal Crunch
| Reps | Pounds |
|---|---|
| 12 | 20 |
| 10 | 30 |
| 8 | 40 |
| 6 | 50 |
| 12 | 60 |
Then I went immediately over to a weight bench and laid flat on my back with my butt at the edge of the bench. Starting with my legs straight out, I did 12 leg lifts up to where they are perpindicular to my torso. At the top, for an extra kick I would push up until all of my weight is on the upper part of my back/shoulders. Then slowly lower the legs back down. Both on the way up and way down the legs are straight without the knees bent. After the ab crunch machine and 12 of these I could totally feel the burn in the abs – good stuff.
So that’s my lower body workout for today. It’s pretty similar each time I do lower body, but I may start mixing it up soon with maybe some more free weights. We’ll see. For now, it is a really good workout.
