LEGS & GLUTES, Part 1 - Intermediate/Advanced

LEGS & GLUTES, Part 1: Beginner | Intermediate/ Advanced

INTERMEDIATE

An intermediate should do the five intermediate/advanced exercises for 4 weeks.
  • WEEKS 1–2: 2 sets of 8–10
  • WEEKS 3–4: 2 or 3 sets of 6–8

ADVANCED

Do the five intermediate/advanced exercises shown here for 4 weeks.
  • WEEKS 1 & 2: 2 sets of 6–8, after warmup
  • WEEKS 3 & 4: 2 or 3 sets of 4–6, after warmup

Bulgarian Split Squat

  1. Hold a barbell with an overhand grip so that it rests comfortably on your upper back (not on your neck) and stand about 3 feet in front of a bench. Place your left foot behind you on the bench so that only your instep is resting on it.
  2. Lower your body until your right knee is bent 90 degrees and your left knee nearly touches the floor. Your right lower leg should be perpendicular to the floor, and your torso should remain upright.
  3. Push yourself back to the starting position as quickly as you can. Finish all of your repetitions, then repeat the lift, this time with your right foot resting on the bench while your left leg does the work.

Barbell Squat

  1. Hold a barbell with an overhand grip so that it rests comfortably on your upper back (not on your neck). Set your feet shoulder-width apart, and keep your knees slightly bent, back straight, and eyes focused straight ahead.
  2. Slowly lower your body as if you were sitting back into a chair, keeping your back in its natural alignment and your lower legs nearly perpendicular to the floor.
  3. When your thighs are parallel to the floor, pause, and then return to the starting position.

Good Morning

  1. Start in the same position as for the barbell squat.
  2. Slowly bend forward at the hips as you lower your chest as far as you can go while maintaining the natural arch in your lower back, or until your upper body is parallel to the floor.
  3. Keep your head up and maintain about the same angle of your knees.
  4. Lift your upper body back to the starting position.

Single-Leg Curl


  1. Lie in a leg-curl machine with the pads against your lower legs, above your heels and below your calf muscles.
  2. Without raising your body off the pad, bend your left leg at the knee and pull the weight toward you as far as you can. Your right leg should remain in the starting position.
  3. Pause, then slowly return to the starting position. Finish the set, then repeat with your right leg.

Single-Leg Standing Calf Raise


  1. Grab a dumbbell in your left hand and stand on a step or a block. Put your right hand on something for balance a wall or a weight stack, for instance. Cross your right foot behind your left ankle and balance yourself on the ball of your left foot.
  2. Lower your left heel as far as you can, pause, then lift it as high as you can. Finish the set with your left leg, then repeat with your right while holding the dumbbell in your right hand.