Off Season Leg Day Workout With Brandon Beckrich
Team ALLMAX athlete Brandon Beckrich had what he feels was his best prep prior to the 2015 Nationals. Unfortunately, he was unable to show up in his greatest form due to an unpredicted illness the week prior to the show.
Full of desire to bring a better body to the 2016 Nationals stage, Brandon traveled to the Muscle & Strength Headquarters to dominate his quads in this intense workout. Brandon is in the offseason stage of his workouts, which allows him to lift a little bit heavier while resting longer during his sets.
The increased intensity is a perfect muscle building formula and Brandon is taking full advantage of his time before starting his 2016 Nationals prep. If you’re looking to build some serious quads, you’ve come to the right place.
Brandon’s quads are massive and this is exactly how he trains them!
Exercise 1: Banded Leg Extensions
Brandon begins his quad focused leg day with banded leg extensions. He performs 3-4 sets, along with a couple of warmup sets, in a rep range of 12-15 repetitions. Brandon includes a drop set during his last set, while getting some pauses and squeezes at the top of his reps.
By using the band, the further you are to the top of the range of motion, the greater the tension is going to be. The added stimulation causes more tension, which allows for more leg day growth. This exercise is great to add to the beginning of your leg day to pre-exhaust your quadriceps. After only a few sets, Brandon is already feeling a great pump and you can tell this adaptation is no joke as Brandon exclaims, ‘this band is a nightmare!’
Exercise 2: Back Squat
Brandon moves from the leg extension machine to the squat rack. One of the most trusted mass building lifts, it’s no wonder Brandon includes back squats in his leg day workout. Brandon begins by places two small plates on the ground in order to elevate his heels. In doing so, he shifts the focus more on his quadriceps, forcing them to grow. Brandon performs 3 working sets of 10-12 reps.
Brandon preaches listening to your body while working out. Some days you’re going to be able to lift heavier than others. However, in BrandonÕs experience lifting 40-50lbs more/less one day isn’t going to make or break your progress.
Just make sure you always hit the muscle enough to where it is stimulated and do the right things outside of the gym to ensure recovery. Brandon likes to go 3/4ths of the way up when performing squats.
This allows him to maintain tension on the muscle throughout the movement while limiting any stress on joints from locking out the knees.
Exercise 3: Hack Squats
Hack squats are a great movement for putting emphasis on your quadriceps. It is important to keep your heels low, touch your butt to your calves when squatting, and drive through your heels on the way up.
Brandon enjoys the hack machine, because you can really target the muscle with only a moderate amount of weight. Other machines don’t always work as well when it comes to isolating a muscle.
Exercise 4: Banded Front Squats
Brandon finishes up his leg day with free weight banded front squats. Utilizing the band will increase the resistance, especially at the top of the motion. Brandon himself says, ‘it feels like you’ve got someone pushing on your shoulders at the top.’
While it may look light, especially when doing less weight, the bands add about 60-70lbs (each) of resistance to the exercise.
