LEGS

BUILDING BREATHTAKING LEGS

MIND VS BODY
 INTRODUCTION
Many of you are likely reading this to throw your
chicken legs away and put on a pair of monstrous bricks,
am I right? If you truly want to get that
breathtaking shape, that puts everyone around you in
awe, listen very carefully to the next twenty
pages.

In this E-Book I will be showing you my secrets to

success for quads and hamstrings. You will
receive multiple workouts, training tips, and
exercise techniques to take your leg game to the next
level.

PG 1 | Introduction
PG 2 | Philosophy
PG 3-7 | Learn Your Anatomy
PG 8-13 | Exercise Guide
PG 14-18 | Breaking Down The Squat
PG 19-20 | Your Workouts

PG. 1
 PHILOSOPHY
As an athlete myself, legs are crucial in my everyday life.
Whether it be soccer, running or weightlifting, all parts
of your leg are going to play a critical role. When you are
training you must push yourself, your mind and your body
past a pain threshold necessary for growth. I am a strong
believer that without pain, gains will not be made.

You absolutely must be smart in your training. What I

always say is do not just “push weight”, your body will
develop much more through good form and proper
contractions. This does not mean never go heavy, however
perfect your mind muscle connection and form first. Think
of it as this; your body may have the capability to squat
two-hundred pounds, but if your erectors and back are
doing all of the lifting, your legs will not grow.

As you begin to perform new exercises, or the same

exercises with different techniques, truly focus on your
form. That is when the improvement will come. Through
each exercise, critique yourself and think about what
muscle you are actually trying to work. The strength will
come.

PG. 2
Learn Your Anatomy
QUADRICEPS
Function of the Quadricep

The quadricep aids in extension and flexion of your knees.

When you walk, as you shift your leg forward, your quad
shortens and contracts. When your leg shifts back, the quad
stretches. All of the quad muscles are necessary for
walking, jumping, running and even standing.
FLEXION OF KNEES

PG. 3
Learn Your Anatomy
PARTS OF THE QUADRICEP
Vastus Medialis
The vastus medialis extends all the way from your hip, along
the front of your thigh and attaches to the inner
portion of the patella (the knee cap) to keep it in place.

Exercises to Work the Vastus Medialis

Leg Press, Leg Extensions, Lunges

Rectus Femoris
The rectus femoris also attaches
across the hip joint and allows you
extend and raise your knee. You may
notice as you flex the rectus femoris
your hip will also contract. As a soccer
RECTUS
player, developing the rectus femoris FEMORIS
can help with strength of your shot.
VASTUS
MEDIALIs
Exercises to Work the Rectus Femoris
Lunge, Squat, Leg Extensions

PG. 4
 Learn Your Anatomy
PARTS OF THE QUADRICEP
Vastus Lateralis
The vastus lateralis is the largest portion of the quad and extends
along the outer portion of the thigh. The exact
function of this muscle is to assist in squatting motions, even as
simple as sitting down.

Exercises to Work the Vastus Lateralis

Squats

Vastus Intermedius
VASTUS
The vastus intermedius lies across the Lateralis
upper portion of the femur and attaches into
the quadricep tendon. It is beneath the
rectus femoris. This particular muscle is
used for any type of knee
extension.

Exercises to Work the Vastus Intermedius

Cycling, Squats, Leg Extensions

PG. 5
 Learn Your Anatomy
HAMSTRINGS
Function of the Hamstring

The hamstring serves a role of

stabilizing the knee. It also allows
the leg to move backwards and
extend the hip joint. On large
impacts, your hamstring has the
ability to brace large amounts of
pressure. Without the hamstring
your knees would collapse.

HAMSTRING FUNCTION

A study by Scand. J. of Medicine and Science in Sports

showed that sprinting activated the entire hamstring at a rate
of between 80-108% of maximal activation. So if you want to
build your hamstrings, sprinting is extremely beneficial.

PG. 6
Learn Your Anatomy
PARTS OF THE HAMSTRING
Semitendinosus, Semimembranosus, and Bicep Femoris

Every portion of the hamstring is involved in stabilization of

the knee. The semitendinosus is located on the back, inner
and upper portion of the thigh, between the bicep femoris and
semimembranosus. The semimembranosus is located on the
lower portion of the inner thigh. The bicep femoris is located
along the centre of the back of the thigh and is the main
hamstring muscle.

Exercises to Work the Entire Hamstring

Sprinting, Lying/Seated Leg Curls, Lunges, Romanian Deadlifts

PG. 7
 EXERCISE GUIDE
EXERCISE: LEG EXTENSIONS
The reason I started with this exercise is because it is
one of the easiest ways to isolate the quad. As you
progress through your workout, it becomes increasingly
difficult to isolate a single muscle. Not only this, as I will
later explain the squat is a much more complex
movement with many variables to consider.

HOW TO PERFORM : LEG EXTENSIONS

When I first started training, going
significantly slower helped me
improve my mind muscle
connection. Tempo is not fixed,
however if you can’t feel the muscle
working it is most likely not working.
As you are performing this exercise,
keep your hips on the bench. Point
your toes up, flex your tibialis (shin
muscle) and do not allow the tension
to shift off of your upper quads.

PG. 8
 EXERCISE GUIDE
EXERCISE: LEG PRESS
In many cases, people are focused on putting up a
certain amount of weight for deadlifts or squats and isolation is
thrown out the window. Leg press, like most exercises, can be
difficult at first when you are building a good mind
muscle connection, so a tip to gain that connection is to
imagine your muscle stretching and
contracting while going through the
motion. When properly executed, the
flexion and extension inolved in the
movement can result in proper
tearing of your muscle fibers.

HOW TO PERFORM : LEG PRESS

Start with the set up. As you sit down
press your glutes into the bench and keep them tight to the
bench for the entirity of the exercise. The concentric should be
powerful and a hard contraction and the eccentric should be
slow and controlled. Make sure you are not allowing your
glutes and hip flexors to take over. It can be helpful to contract
and squeeze for multiple seconds at the top of the movement.

PG. 9
 EXERCISE GUIDE
EXERCISE: Lunges
The vastus medialis (inner quad,
also known as the “teardrop”)
is a muscle that creates a very
full and round look to the quad.
When you perform lunges you
are easily able to stretch and
pump blood into that area. This
exercise can be performed throughout your workout at any
time and is great for finishing your legs.

HOW TO PERFORM : LUNGES

When you first perform the exercise, you should just use
bodyweight. Tuck your hips and squeeze your glutes.
Imagine your pelvis (hip bones) rotating upwards as you
squeeze your glutes. If you are attempting to target the
quad, keep the pressure on your back foot and feel the
back leg’s quad stretch as you go down. Shorten your
stance and you will really feel the stretch. Explode up and
squeeze your quad as hard as you can.

PG. 10
 EXERCISE GUIDE
EXERCISE: ROmanian DEADLIFTs
With stretching movements it is extremely
important to be controlled. The hamstring
can be easily injured with improper
technique. Because hamstrings are generally
an underdeveloped muscle for many people,
being able to get them to fire properly can be
difficult. Blood flow restriction at the end of
your workout is an issue, because your
muscles need the oxygen and nutrients in
order to strengthen and grow. That is why doing some sets of
Romanian deadlifts at the end of your workout can increase
blood flow and growth of the hamstring.

HOW TO PERFORM: ROMANIAN DEADLIFTS

The first thing you should focus on is your hips. Shift your hips
backwards to create a full stretch in the hamstring, rather than
bending your knee like a normal deadlift. You must also make
sure that you are not taking tension off and dropping the weight
at the bottom. Slow stretch and fast contraction. Keep your
back straight and your spine neutral. Do not look to your side
because this will misalign your spine.
PG. 11
 EXERCISE GUIDE
EXERCISE: LEG CURLS
Quad dominence is frequently developed in new lifters
who do not have a large understanding of isolation
movements and are more prone to doing standard
compound lifts. With leg curls you are able to directly
isolate the hamstrings without indirect use of your quads,
knee joints and calves.

HOW TO PERFORM: LEG CURLS

With isolation movements,
explosiveness on the
concentric is necessary for
growth. Just like leg
extensions, and many other
exercises, to achieve full
muscle activation hold the
contraction for 2-3 seconds at
the bottom. Do not bounce or
use momentum throughout the motion and make sure you
do not take your hips off the bench.

PG. 12
 EXERCISE GUIDE
EXERCISE: LYING LEG CURLS
Lying leg curls (machine or
dumbbell) are very
similar to seated leg curls
in the way that they help
with development of your
mind-muscle connection
to the hamstring. The main
difference is that your body is in a lengthened position, which
allows your body, hamstrings and glutes to full stretch and
contract.

HOW TO PERFORM: LYING LEG CURLS

As you are setting up the exercise imagine a straight line going
from your head all the way down to your knee. This is your
positioning for the exercise. Keep your chest up and off of the
bench to keep tension on the hamstring. Squeeze your glutes
and contract as hard as possible at the top of the movement. Do
not drop the weight on the eccentric and maintain tension the
whole time. Pause for one second at the bottom to allow the
hamstring to stretch then repeat the contraction motion.

PG. 13
BREAKINGEXERCISE:
DOWNSquat
THE SQUAT
Many people can squat hundreds of pounds, and that’s
completely fine if your goal is to powerlift, but that being said
to achieve complete leg development, one must be able to
fully contract the muscle with proper technique. By the end
of your workout your central nervous system is fatigued and
you won’t be able to perform isolatory movements nearly as
effectively. So a compound movement like the squat is
perfect. In order to provide optimal muscle stimulus, we
need to start from the basics, a.k.a. the bodyweight squat.

HOW TO PERFORM: SQUAT

The following techniques will
remain the same for
multiple exercises such as:
machine front squat, barbell
squat, dumbbell squat etc.
Continue to the next page
for more information on the
squat.

PG. 14
BREAKING DOWN THE SQUAT
COMMON MISTAKES: SQUAT
COMMON MISTAKES: SQUAT

First lets talk about the mistakes.

There are numerous
common mistakes that could very
well lead to injury and inhibit
development of your legs.
EVERSION OF FEET
• Eversion of Foot (bottom of foot facing outwards)
• Inversion of Foot (bottom of foot facing inwards)
• Turning head to left or right causing body misalignment
• Feet to wide causing inversion
• Feet to close causing eversion
• Eccentric movement to fast
• Locking of knees causing release of tension at the top of
the movement
• Attempting to go too deep with poor hip mobility, improper
dorsiflexion and tight leg muscles

PG. 15
BREAKING DOWN THE SQUAT
HOW TO PERFORM: Squat
HOW TO PERFORM: SQUAT

A properly performed squat begins with foot placement

and healthy ankle positioning. Let’s start with placement.
Your feet should be in a position where your feet do not
everse or inverse. If your foot is not set correctly there will
be a large amount of instability and this will misalign your
knees and your hips.

There are three important points of contact on your foot

to focus on when performing the squat. The first point is
your heel. Driving through the heel will allow you to fully
contract your quad throughout the movement. The second
and third points are the base
of your big toe and the base
of your pinkie toe. This trifecta
of contact points will decrease
instability and keep the arches
of your foot from collapsing.

PG. 16
BREAKING DOWN THE SQUAT
HOW TO PERFORM: SQUAT
HOW TO PERFORM (CONTINUED): SQUAT

That brings me to the arches of your feet. At no point

throughout the motion should your arches collapse inwards.
If they are collapse inwards this is the result of incorrect
foot placement. In addition, if your feet are too wide your
knees will collapse. This then creates a
domino effect and your hips will be misaligned. So before
you begin to perform any weighted squats, master your foot
placement, knee stability and three points of contact.

Once you have mastered those three aspects of the squat

you can move onto the depth portion. Depth is a difficult
area of the squat to master because there are many
contributing factors that could prevent full range of motion.
You absolutely must stretch your quads, hamstrings,
glutes, calves, hip flexors, hip abductors and hip adductors
to achieve that beautiful, deep squat. Film yourself or get
someone to look at your form to see how far you can squat
before your chest drops or your butt begins to curl in the
shape of a C. This is known as “buttwink”.
PG. 17
BREAKING DOWN THE SQUAT
HOW TO PERFORM: Squat
HOW TO PERFORM (CONTINUED): SQUAT

The squat is a movement that actively stretches your legs

allowing to attain better mobility. When you are beginning,
do not attempt to squat further than your body allows you,
with improper technique. Squat as deep as you are capable
of with proper form and slowly increase your depth. If you
consistenly squat, you will notice that your hip mobility and
leg flexibility is much better.

Now that you have learned about your arches, foot

positioning and depth, lets talk about tempo. You will see a
noticeable increase in your ability to control your body if you
learn to control your squat. A lot of times people are
focused on getting to a certain number of reps, that they
completely forget about tension. Slow down your eccentric
and use the three points of contact to keep tension. Do not
lock your knees out at the top, instead extend up to a
position where your quads are fully contracted, but with
near maximal tension.

PG. 18
 WORKOUTS
WORKOUT ONE

ORDER EXercise SETS REPS MUSCLE FOCUS

1 Leg Extensions 4 8-12 Quadriceps

2 Leg Press 4 8-12 Quadriceps

Smith Machine
3 4 15 Quadriceps
Squats
4A Seated Leg Curls 4 15 Hamstrings

4B Lying Leg Curls 4 15 Hamstrings

Romanian
5A 3 20 Hamstrings
Deadlift
5B Walking Lunges 3 15 Burn Out

*Perform last set of walking lunges to absolute failure.

PG. 19
 WORKOUTS
WORKOUT TWO

ORDER EXercise SETS REPS MUSCLE FOCUS

1 Leg Extensions 4 15 Quadriceps
Barbell Front
2 3 8-12 Quadriceps
Squat
Barbell Back
3 3 8-12 Quadriceps
Squat
4 Lying Leg Curls 4 12 Hamstrings

5 Deadlifts 4 12 Hamstrings

6A Leg Extensions 3 20 Quadriceps

Bodyweight
6B 3 Failure Burn Out
Squat

PG. 20