My top 2 tricks for thick legs!

In the past year I've been asked a lot about how I put so much size on my legs. In this article I'll address two important tips that's helped me go from chicken legs to thick, cut and serrated wheels!

1. High Reps! The legs are a big muscle group and I feel like the best way to get the pump and stimulate growth is to rep HEAVY weight for 12-20 reps! Notice I said "heavy!" Make the weight challenging!!

2. Drop It Low! Range of motion is key in getting the most stimulation to the muscles and I find it extremely beneficial for building mass to drop the hips below parallel. Yes, that means you peeps throwing up a bunch of plates on the bar and twitching with it need to go down in weight ;) Don't be prideful! Your body doesn't know the weight, just the stimulus placed on it and more muscle fibers are recruited when the proper range of motion is utilized!

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EXERCISE TIP:

It is important for novice lifters to build up strength endurance. Especially in the core. All force begins at the core and it is the foundation of the body. The best way to do this is spend about 15-30 minutes on the core before each workout. Advanced lifters can always return to this phase of training to give their bodies a "break" from the normal stressful routine and find a new way to stimulate new muscle growth.

To build strength endurance it is recommended to use light weight and perform about 15-20 reps. You will lift quickly on the concentric move and slowly on the eccentric. Example: while performing bicep curls, the concentric is the upward movement and eccentric is the downward. NOTE: it is very important to spend more time under tension in the eccentric part of the exercise in order to build up strength endurance! Knowledge is power, safe lifting folks!

Bicep Burnout!!

I like to throw in some resistance band curls into arm day. It's a great way to get an insane pump in the biceps! Try it at the end of an arm workout and go until failure!! NOTE: I'm not swinging my arms and I'm forcing a full contraction, or squeeze, at the top of the exercise. For more fitness motivation and nutrition advice follow my 'blog' here or 'Like' me on Facebook at facebook.com/andreazevedotraining !

Pull-Up to Leg Raise

This is one badass exercise. It crushes the whole back and abs like no other, all while burning more calories! NOTE: Do not attempt unless you are an advanced lifter! You should master the pull-up and the hanging leg raise individually first!

Weighted Floor Bridge

In this video I do heavy weighted bridges to hit the hammies and glutes. For novice lifters I recommend doing the bridge without any load. For more workout exercises and tips follow my YouTube channel or go to my 'blog' on my website, www.andreazevedotraining.com.

Leg Routine Aug. 17th 2014

Circuit 1:

•Leg Ext. 4x25

Circuit 2:

•Hex Bar Deadlifts 4x12

Circuit 3:

•Jefferson Squats 4x15

Circuit 4:

-superset-

•Laying SL Curl 6x12

•Seated Leg Curl 6x12

EXERCISE TIP:

Isometric Stomach Draw-In:

This is a great exercise from the novice lifters to the experienced lifters like Arnold. It strengthens the core from inside out! It's seemingly simple, but when done right it should be hard to hold for longer than half a minute.

Start on all fours and suck in your stomach as hard as you can for as long as possible. Try to get a vacuum in the stomach, as if you're trying to touch your belly button to your spine!

NOTE: Be sure to time your sets to track improvement!

Insane Total Core Blasting Workout!

For advanced lifters complete this circuit for 4 rounds in as little time as possible. 12 reps on everything.

My second circuit was not filmed:

-Twisting Decline Crunches
-Hanging Knee Raise
-Bench Seated V-Crunch

For 4 rounds as well! GO!

Nutrition Tip:

It is beneficial to have two different protein sources with each meal. That ensures that you get a more optimal range of all the amino acids needed. An example is turkey and eggs for breakfast.

Dragon Flag

Dragon Flag:

Popularized by Bruce Lee himself, the Dragon Flag is an intense and complete core exercise. Begin by laying down and holding on to something behind your head. Lift the legs and torso up until you're almost vertical and only the shoulder blades should be left on the floor. With a tight core, hold for as long as possible and slowly lower. Repeat

Push-up with Rotation to Burpee

Push-up with Rotation to Burpee:

Begin the exercise by performing a push-up, hold the core tight and twist the torso until one hand is straight in the air. Return for another push-up and then twist to the other side. Return again to push-up position and perform a burpee with a jump. Repeat.

NOTE: This is a great exercise for Intermediate to advanced lifters. It works the whole body and is great for getting the heart rate up.

How To Do Proper Pull-Ups

How To Do Proper Pull-Ups:

In light of the growing popularity of swinging pull-ups, I decided to blog about what I consider a real pull-up to be. A pull-up without any swinging motion is called a dead-hang pull-up and is much more difficult to do. Swinging the body uses momentum to help with the exercise and the intended muscles (lats) don't get activated like they should. TIP: If you can't perform a pull-up without swinging than begin with cable lat pull downs, or an assisted pull-up machine.

TRX Single-Leg Squats

This is a great TRX exercise to try and can be moderate to high intensity depending on how much you use your arms. Stand on one leg and hold the TRX with arms extended out and lower yourself keeping your weight on your heels. Push through the heels and come up. Repeat.

Bag Slam to Burpee

Bag Slam to Burpee:

This exercise is an awesome calorie burner and sure to spike that heart rate! Begin by picking up a medicine ball or sand bag (as used in this video) over your head and slam it down with as much force as possible and drop down for a burpee. Repeat as quickly as possible.

The Difference Between Romanian Deadlifts and Stiff-Leg Deadlifts

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts:

Begin with the weight in front of your quads and a very slight bend in the knees. Bend forward from the waist. The weight should be several inches away from your body. Lower the bar as low as your flexibility allows. 

Romanian Deadlifts:

Begin with the weight in front of your quads and a very slight bend in the knees. Bend forward from the waist. Keep the bar as close to the legs as possible. Stick your butt out behind you as you lower the bar. Lower the bar as low as your flexibility allows.

Intense Leg Workout

Circuit 1:

4 Sets X 15-20 Reps

Circuit 2:

Heavy Leg-Press (Upward Pyramid)

4 Sets X 12, 10, 10 Reps Each Set

Circuit 3:

Squats

4 Sets X 12 Reps

Circuit 4:

Laying Leg Curl

5 Sets X 12-15

Circuit 5:

Standing Leg Curl

5 Sets X 12

Circuit 6:

Stiff-leg Deadlifts

4 Sets X 12 Reps

Foot Position on Leg Curls

Tip of the Day:


The angle of your foot on the leg curl can change how you engage your hamstrings. By pointing your toes up toward your shin, you are enabling the calf to assist in the leg curl, therefore taking some stress from the hamstring. If you point your toes down, you are using less calves and placing more tension in the hamstrings.

NOTE:
I recommend performing the leg curl with the toes up first to isolate the hamstring muscle and then as the hamstrings begin to give out you can point the toes down. 

How to PROPERLY Do Planks

Tip of the Day:

Many people just plank and see how long they can hold it but that is not the goal. First, suck in your stomach as far as it can go. Second, pull your elbows back as hard as you can while still maintaining focus on the abdominals. A little pelvic tilt will increase the activity in the abs.

Give it a try! If done properly you should barely be able to hold it for 20-30 seconds!

Not all Gluten-Free Products are created equal!!

By now, most of you heard that going gluten-free is a good thing especially if you are gluten intolerant. It is a protein in wheat, rye, barley etc. that can be hard to digest and cause weight gain especially in the midsection.

That being said, staying mostly gluten-free is a great thing, but most people just see a gluten-free product and automatically assume it's better than the regular gluten products. This is not neccessarily true!!

Some people who go off gluten to lose weight end up gaining weight instead. That's because they consume gluten-free packaged products that are often just as high in saturated fat, sugar and sodium as other junk food, and these products often contain high-glycemic refined ingredients like white rice flour or fillers like potato starch that can affect your blood sugar and trigger cravings!

Solution:

Go for gluten-free products that contain quality ingredients such as Buckwheat, Amaranth, Quinoa, Millet, Chia Seed or Gram Flour (derived from chic peas)

Reverse Lunge to Single-Arm Shoulder Press

Perform a reverse lunge with a dumbbell in the opposite hand. At the bottom of the lunge, you will shoulder press before returning to the starting position. Switch sides.

NOTE: Performing the shoulder press at the bottom of the lunge will place more stress on the legs thus giving them a better workout.

Tip of the Day:

Are you experiencing muscle asymmetry? A big reason for this could be due to lack of range of motion! If your range of motion is compromised it can lead to that set of muscles getting weaker and therefore one side of the body getting more resistance than the other. You should stretch those muscles often and hold for 20-30 seconds minimum to improve the movement.

FAT loss not WEIGHT loss!

Tip of the Day:

Tip of the Day:

It is good to stretch before and after your workout but perform different stretches. I suggest doing a static stretch (holding stretch) only after the workout. You will hold a static stretch for 20-30 seconds and slowly release. Before the workout you should do a dynamic or active stretch to improve your range of motion and reduce muscle stiffness without elongating the muscle too much.

Examples of dynamic stretches:

Arm Swings
1. Stand tall and hold arms out to your side.
2. Slowly swing your arms back and forth across the front of your body.
3. Repeat this continuous motion for 30 seconds.

Trunk Rotations
1. Stand with a shoulder width stance. Place hands on hips.
2. With knees slightly bent, turn from side to side keeping feet firmly on the floor.
4. Complete a total of 15-20 full swings.

Leg Swings
1. Start by standing with your feet shoulder width apart.
2. Keeping your upper body perpendicular to the ground swing one leg forward and backward.
3. Do not swing your leg so hard that you cannot keep your upper body from moving.

4. Repeat for 10 full swings and repeat on other leg. 5. You can also swing your leg across your body stretching the abductors and adductors.

Supine Bench Dumbbell Curl

Supine Bench Dumbbell Curl:

Lay flat on a bench with your legs close together. Keep your elbows/arms in close. Drop your arms as far down as possible and curl the dumbbells until you get a full contraction and squeeze.

Boycott GMOs!!!!

Folks it's time to find out what is in your food and boycott Monsanto and GMOs!! The stuff they are putting in our food is banned in most countries around the world for a reason! DO NOT be the next victim.. do your research and BOYCOTT GMO!!!

Tip of the day

A big misconception with lifters trying to build more muscle is that they need to lift more WEIGHT in order to grow optimally. In doing so, they completely neglect the muscle they are intending to work and just sloppily throw up heavy weight.

In order for muscle to grow, it must be subjected to new STIMULUS -- Time under tension, exercise, angle and speed!!