It’s September 3rd, a Saturday, and I’m back to consistent blogging. With two weeks left before the Mr. Olympia weekend, I’ll be in Vegas, not at any particular booth, but just enjoying the expo and the city. I’ll be uploading videos every other day, mostly documenting my training and lean bulking progress. I’m currently in Kelowna, overlooking the beautiful Okanagan Lake.
Today is leg day, and I’m trying out a new gym called Global Gym. I’ll likely check in with you guys from there.
I haven’t mentioned this recently, but I came down with a cold after my last workout video with Danni. I had a sore throat and congestion, so I took three days off from training. I’m finally feeling well enough for a leg workout. For the remaining two weeks leading up to the Olympia, I’ll be following a push-pull-legs split. I’ll explain the specifics of my program in a later video. For now, I’m just getting back into the swing of things and showing you today’s workout.
I’m back with a voiceover for yesterday’s leg training. I started with dynamic stretching, focusing on my hamstrings. I then did three sets of fifteen standing leg curls as a pre-activation method. I’m not a fan of pre-fatiguing, as studies have shown it’s not effective. The idea is to create a metabolic response or fatigue in the target muscle to increase activation during compound movements. For example, doing pec deck flyes before bench press. However, research, like a 2009 study by Burn ecchi et al., has shown this actually increases triceps activation, not pec activation, which is counterproductive.
Pre-activation leg curls
I use pre-activation, especially for hamstrings, because it warms them up, improves range of motion, and enhances mind-muscle connection for subsequent compound movements like leg press. This was a hamstring-focused workout. I alternate between glute and hamstring focused workouts, letting quads get worked through squats and leg presses. It’s important to note that studies debunking pre-exhaustion focus on neuromuscular fatigue. If pre-activation sets aren’t taken to failure, they likely won’t negatively impact activation during compound lifts.
After pre-activation, I moved to the horizontal hack squat machine. I prefer this machine because it reduces strain on my lower back compared to the upright hack squat. Next, I did horizontal squat presses, similar to the traditional 45-degree leg press, but with a pendulum loading mechanism instead of linear. It feels more natural for my leverages. Varying loading methods is generally a good idea.
Horizontal leg press
Following the squat press, I performed glute-ham raises. These were challenging. The glute-ham raise machine at this gym doesn’t provide much assistance with knee flexion, unlike others with the circular pad. I did three sets of eight. This is currently my favorite hamstring exercise. I can’t do hip extension-based movements like Romanian deadlifts, so this allows me to train hip extension isometrically while working knee flexion, hitting hamstrings proximally and distally.
For extra hamstring volume, I finished with three sets of fifteen lying leg curls. I plantar flex for the first ten reps and then dorsiflex for the remaining five to extend the set to failure. This is similar to the “effective reps” technique, extending the set by incorporating another muscle group (calves). I concluded the workout with hip abductions on a machine where I lean back, targeting the glute medius, the outer glutes. I did three sets of 20-25 reps.
Hip abduction machine
That concludes the leg workout. I couldn’t film everything as my camera died. I’m now at my mom’s place, getting ready for dinner, which will be my post-workout meal. I’ll show you what I get. I didn’t have any whey protein at the gym, so I used my mom’s before heading out. I had a cup of raw egg whites for about 20 grams of protein, accounting for the lower bioavailability.
We had a 40-minute wait at the first restaurant, so we’re trying a different place called Cairo. I ordered lamb meatballs and spring chicken with veggies. We might split a white chocolate cheesecake. I had a gin foam drink with a mint foam topping and a sweet cucumber base. It was delicious.
Dinner at Cairo
The dinner was good, although the cheesecake was a bit disappointing. I’d give it a 7.5 or 8 out of 10. I’ll finish up some work and then call it a night.
