This full-body workout emphasizes leg training, incorporating higher volume for leg exercises while still targeting all major muscle groups. We’ll start with a foundational strength movement and progress through various exercises to maximize muscle growth and overall fitness.
We’ll begin with three sets of five repetitions of reset deadlifts at 75% of your one-rep maximum. The reset deadlift involves bringing the bar to a complete stop on the floor between each repetition, eliminating momentum and emphasizing strength development. This exercise effectively targets the entire posterior chain, from traps to hamstrings, building full-body strength.
When choosing between conventional and sumo deadlifts, consider your individual strengths and body type. Sumo deadlifts tend to be slightly more quad-dominant, which aligns with the leg focus of this workout. Ultimately, the best stance is the one that allows you to lift the most weight safely and effectively. Engaging your lats by pulling the bar towards your shins can enhance your deadlift performance.
We’ll alternate between sets of five and sets of two on deadlifts from week to week, progressively increasing the load for each rep scheme. This approach combines volume for technique and hypertrophy with heavier sets for strength gains through neural adaptations.
Next, we’ll move on to three sets of eight repetitions of weighted dips. Dips are a powerful chest-building exercise, engaging the upper chest, mid-chest, and lower chest fibers. Maintaining a straight upper back and limiting the range of motion to a comfortable depth, typically around a 90-degree elbow bend, promotes shoulder health. Leaning slightly forward and actively pressing down into the handles further emphasizes chest activation.
Following the dips, we’ll target the quads with three sets of 20 repetitions on the leg extension. Spacing leg exercises throughout the workout allows for better recovery between sets. Focus on squeezing your quads throughout the entire range of motion, both during the concentric and eccentric phases, to maximize muscle engagement and stimulate hypertrophy.
Now, we’ll incorporate unilateral lat pulldowns, performing three sets of 12 repetitions on each side. Unilateral exercises offer loading variety, preventing overuse injuries and promoting balanced muscle development. By combining shoulder extension and adduction, pulling your elbows down and in, you effectively target both primary functions of the latissimus dorsi.
To finish the workout, we’ll perform a giant superset consisting of rope face pulls, Egyptian lateral raises, and cable overhead triceps extensions, completing three sets of 15 repetitions for each exercise. The rear delt-focused rope face pull strengthens the external rotators and targets the rear deltoids. Cable overhead triceps extensions provide constant tension throughout the range of motion, maximizing triceps engagement. Finally, Egyptian lateral raises, performed with a cable running between your legs, offer a continuous stretch on the deltoids, enhancing muscle activation.
