Working the Grid: The Key to Huge Legs!

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Published on Saturday, 30 May 2009 00:17

Written by Steve Colescott

Much is written about the importance of goals in a weight training program but seldom, if ever, do lifters follow a systematic approach to achieving their objectives. I had the pleasure of interviewing Georgia powerlifter T. "Skinny Man" Meyers some years ago. Meyers made a record-setting 760-pound deadlift at a 187-pound bodyweight, even though his early lifts in the gym wouldn't have led many to think first-place lifter trophies would ever be a part of his future.

Meyers shared his secret with me. "In the beginning, I'd look in the powerlifting magazines and try to beat the women's scores," Meyers reveals. Once he worked his way to world champion status on the female rankings, he started comparing his lifts to the men in the lighter weight classes. He finally got to the point where he could slowly climb from the middle of the rankings in his own weight class until he eventually reached the top.

As another world champion powerlifter, Robert Wagner, once told me. "In powerlifting, you can eventually break records if you just work hard and stick with it long enough."

In bodybuilding our success is determined in a much more subjective manner. Shape, balance and flowing aesthetics are essential attributes that defy strict numerical quantification. There are, of course, statistics we can evaluate (such as bodyweight, bodyfat levels and anthropometric measurements) that gain importance once a contest is approaching but these are a byproduct of our efforts in the gym. These numbers are merely the results of training and eating correctly, which brings us back to poundages, as a measurable determinant to success.

If you are looking to add muscle size, you need to first increase your strength used in the gym on a day-to-day basis. As bodybuilders we utilize the Repeat Effort Method (sub-maximal weights for six or more reps in order to create maximum hypertrophy). What does this mean? For a bodybuilder, a majority of your work sets should be composed of moderate poundage sets of 6-12 reps. You should also do some circa-maximal low-rep training (1-5 reps) for strength and muscle density. Finally, we need to occasionally include some higher rep work (15-20 reps) in our leg training as this type of devastatingly difficult training seems to blast every last muscle fiber, enhance capillary growth and may even cause an increase in glycogen storage in the muscles if done fairly often.

Using all three protocols - heavy weights (for 1-5 reps), moderate loads (for 6-12 reps) and higher reps (for more than twelve reps) causes impressive growth in the quads and hamstrings for any lifter that diligently applies him or herself.

Tom Platz, who arguably possessed the most massive legs in the history of bodybuilding strongly believed in varying his workload for leg training. Platz squatted heavy. His heaviest squat was a single with 855 (in full-depth high-bar bodybuilding style). For moderate reps, Platz would squat up to 635 pounds for eight to twelve reps. As far as high rep work, Platz took things to extremes, regularly squatting 300-400 pounds for sets of 25-50 reps (with his best being 515 pounds for thirty reps). Always the extremist, he has even squatted 225 pounds for ten minutes straight.

While Platz was known for his lower body, the improvements he made to his upper body in the last few years of his career were amazing. Wisely, he did not curtail hard legwork during this period but actually credits leg training for its growth-promoting effect on his entire body. For this reason, this program SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A LEG SPECIALIZATION COURSE - it is a mental motivation program for overall muscular size gain.

ENTER THE GRID

We are going to be focusing on increasing our personal record for three different rep-maxes - one rep, six-reps and twenty-reps. Each of these has a different feel and bring about different benefits to the lifter's physique. An increase in your one-rep max will have a direct effect on your six-rep max strength (and vice versa). An increase in your twenty-rep max will have a direct effect on your six-rep max (and vice versa). Increases in your twenty rep and single-rep maxes have a less direct strength correlation (because they require the use of different energy systems). Increasing all three rep ranges will go a long way towards building contest-winning wheels.

We are going to create a grid of goals for our leg training. An example of this is found in the graph below. Begin creating your grid in the one-rep column. Create your weight progression with 20 or 30 pound jumps, making sure to land on the "big plate" 90-increments (135, 225, 315, 405, etc.). The early goals should be easily accomplished.

Make each incremental goal just slightly higher than the previous one. You want to be checking off your accomplishments on a regular basis.

In our example below, the lifter estimates that he could probably ado a single with 315 pounds, so we step it back two jumps so that he can build some momentum.

From there we determine our corresponding 6-rep and 20-rep goals. Your six-rep goal should be around 80-90% of your one-rep max. This might vary somewhat from person to person depending on the allotment of fast to slow-twitch muscle fibers as well as their general conditioning and the level of development of their specific energy systems.

1-RM x .80-.90 = 6-rep max goal

1-RM x .55-70 = 20-rep max goal

U LT IMAT E G O A L

Feel free to make adjustments to your grid if you find that you are not working your way evenly down the grid. For instance, if someone following the above grid got to where they accomplished a 425-pound single but was still struggling to get their 20-rep goal with 275-pounds, they should re-plot their grid moving the slow column down one position.

Weaknesses of this nature will manifest themselves in either the one-rep or twenty-rep columns since the six-rep goals will have greater carryover benefits from the other two. We will also be placing greater emphasis on the weak area by performing more work in the required rep range (as I will explain below).

If soreness is particularly severe, do some light recovery work. This might be a very light set of any exercise that you think will target the areas that ache - leg extensions, leg presses, leg curls. This should just be one or two light pumping sets of 20-30 reps to get blood into the legs and speed up recuperation (but not hard enough to make inroads into your recovery abilities).

Perhaps the best choice is simply bodyweight squats for high reps. You may not notice an immediate alleviation of muscle soreness but you definitely will wake up the next morning feeling less sore than you otherwise would have.

Foam roller work is also excellent for recovery. This is sort of a do-it-yourself deep tissue massage and is worth the minimal $20-35 investment (find a foam roller at www.performbetter.com or www.powersystems.com). To use these, you place your sore bodypart (such as your hamstrings) on these rollers and slowly roll back and forth on them, allowing your bodyweight to apply pressure along the length of the muscle group (kind of the reverse of using a rolling pin to knead dough). These are easy to use, improve recuperation, break down minor scar tissue in the muscle and make a noticeable improvement on minor aches, pains and nagging injuries.

Finally, I recommend you try the old home remedy of Epsom Salt baths. How do these work? Among its many important benefits, magnesium is important for muscle relaxation. Epsom Salt is rich in magnesium, which can be absorbed directly through the skin. These baths have a great anti-soreness effect and, along with foam-roller work and recovery sets, will go a long way to improving your results in the listed workouts.

THE WORKOUTS

In the workouts listed, beginners are anyone that has trained consistently for less than six months. Intermediates are those that have put in six solid months in the gym and should have a six-rep max in the squat with at least their bodyweight. The advanced program is for lifters with a consistent year of training and a squat that is at least one and a half times their bodyweight.

Rotate through the three workouts listed below - [L] Low-rep, [H] High-rep and [G] General Hypertrophy. The first two are pretty self-explanatory and these are the workouts in which you will be working to increase your maxes in the three rep ranges. The General Hypertrophy Program is a fast paced workout designed to create muscle growth and will assist your conditioning and strength in the squat while giving you a break from squatting or pushing for new rep-maxes.

As I mentioned previously, if you find yourself consistently falling behind in one rep-range, then we need to emphasize your weak area more frequently. For instance, someone that finds that they improve much faster in their one-rep and six-rep goals would alternate their workouts as such, so that the high-rep workout takes place every other session, rather than every third leg training session, as shown below:

L → H → G → H → L → H → G → H → L...

By alternating in such a manner, weak areas are more quickly improved. You will be able to eventually return to a normal three-way alternating pattern. Over time you will improve your strength in your weaker rep ranges - and your legs and overall body mass will show the difference. Depending on your bodypart split, and therefore how often you train, the workout will fit on a calendar like this:

Here are the sample workouts. There are designed so that they can be done using basic equipment found at most gyms. If your gym does not have a Glute-Ham Raise bench (similar to a hyperextension but with a rounded pad allowing the knees to drop and the body to be lifted through the muscles of the posterior chain), get on them for one. It is truly superior to any other hamstring exercise. Substitute Romanian or Stiff-legged Deadlifts if this is not available (with either a bar or dumbbells) but the variety would be an additional a plus. Likewise with the Reverse Hyperextension; it is not absolutely essential but your lower back will thank you for it.

It should come as no surprise that the Squat is the meat-and-potato exercise on the Low-Rep workouts as we are going for maximal strength. After warming-up, work to what you estimate will be your best weight for two five rep sets then go for a max triple. After that, build your way up to a max or single for that day. Good times!

As the volume is high, expect to enter (and dwell) in the pain-zone during the High-Rep Workout due to lactic acid build-up. If you are not used to this, you will experience some nausea. Most of your effort should be directed to the Squat sets. Once in the Intermediate and advances stages, we will be pyramiding up in weight to one or two six-rep sets, then two lighter twenty-rep "finisher sets."

Of course, we aren't really finished since we have five to nine more sets (depending on your level). So give yourself 4 minutes to get your head together and do the remaining exercises for feel, focusing on muscle activation and contraction rather than purely going for strength accomplishments. As a nice side effect the combination of lactic acid output and GH production will help with leanness.

This workout hits a variety of rep ranges and loading parameters. It also gives you a break from Back squats with the Front Squat being substituted (which we always do just for low-reps). Exercises listed with alphanumeric combinations [1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, and 2B] indicate that those should be done in superset fashion. For instance, in the Intermediate General Hypertrophy Workout, the lifter performs a six-rep set of Front Squats, immediately followed by an 8-12 rep set of Leg Extensions, immediately followed by a set of either Dumbbell Jump Squats or Walking Lunges for 10-15 reps. The lifter then rests for two to three minutes before repeating the series of exercises for a total of three series.

Keep in mind that while you will be diligently pursuing goals in the Squat, you should also be pushing for new PRs on your other training days. You should still be trying to increase your weights on Incline Presses, Chins, Seated Dumbbell Presses, Bent Rows and other exercises (although you probably will want to keep most of your sets on these at twelve or less).

Give this program a try. While you might not get a new record on ever workout (if only it were that easy) make an effort to progress forward by at least a rep or two each time a particular leg workout come along. Not only will you develop amazing wheels, but also your overall muscle size will climb to new heights!

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