TRUE Workout: Get Shaky Legs With The Lower Body Strength Burnout
The FUSE XL Strength Line has multiple commercial strength equipment and machines that can help achieve a variety of goals when it comes to increasing strength in your legs. Focusing on your lower body during a workout can help increase strength in your hips and legs, and build upper-back, lower-back and grip strength.
Exercise Goals
This workout will hit every muscle group in your lower body and up into your core! You will gain strength from the leg press and other movements will work on a combination of strength, conditioning and muscular hypertrophy. You will definitely have a leg up on the competition with this workout.
Tips Before the Workout
As with all workouts, complete a warm up before starting to exercise. This will help warm up your muscles and get them ready for strenuous activity. Stretching and foam rolling are good examples.
When you get to the leg press, leg extension and leg curl, be sure to allow yourself about three to four warm up sets. These sets should be gradually increased to help you find a comfortable weight for you to use for the work sets.
An example workout would be:
- 40lbs x 5 reps
- 70lbs x 5 reps
- 100lbs x 5 reps
- 130lbs x 5 reps (this last set at 130lbs was challenging so this will be your first of 2 additional work sets).
To adjust this workout for your skill level there are a few things to consider:
- For a Beginner: Use a weight that is moderately challenging for you but allows you to keep perfect form with every rep.
- For an Intermediate: Use a weight that makes it challenging to complete all your sets. For the conditioning portion of the workout, try to rest as little as possible.
- For an Advanced: Use a weight that is very challenging for you to complete the first set, rest around 3 minutes and complete it again at the same weight. This will help maximize strength adaptations. For the conditioning portion of the workout try not to rest.
Proper Forms To Remember For This Workout
When doing the Shaky Legs Workout, remember these forms to prevent injury and maximize your workout:
FUSE-300 Leg Press
Begin with your feet in the middle of the platform and at shoulder width apart with your toes pointing outward about 30 degrees. Your knees should be bent slightly past 90 degrees. To be sure you are starting at the right depth, simply adjust the back pad forward or backward to achieve desired bend in knee.
Once set up properly, keep even pressure from heel to toe; you should feel the weight mid foot. Keep your knees pushed out and push into the platform until your legs reach almost full extension, do not lock out or hyperextend your knees. Return back to the starting position slowly until the weight stack is just above resting position and press again.
Air Squat
Start with your feet shoulder width apart with your toes pointing outward about 30 degrees. Keep even pressure from heel to toe, you should feel the weight mid foot. Bend at your knees and hips at the same time, while pushing your knees out. Keep going down until you are below the height of a chair (lower than you want to go). Then, when standing back up try to push your hips to the ceiling and stand up straight.
FUSE-200 Seated Leg Curl
For this movement, you should move the lower leg pad up to near the seat level. Once seated place your legs on top of the pad farthest from you, with the pad just above the ankles. Then, move the pad that is closer down so that it is snug on top of your thighs.
When you begin the movement, grasp the handles and curl your feet under your glutes as far as you can, hold this bottom position for 1 count. Then, let your legs come back up, but not all the way back to resting position. At the top, you should have a slight bend in your knees, and repeat.
Lunge
With feet shoulder width, take a slightly exaggerated step forward. While bending your front leg, lower your back leg to the floor. Both legs should be bent at about a 90 degree angle. Gently tap your back knee to the floor and pull yourself forward to your front foot. Try to keep most of your weight balanced in your heel that is bearing the weight from the lunge. Once you stand up straight again, take another step forward and repeat.
FUSE-100 Leg Extension
Once seated, set the lower leg pad up so that your legs are bent back slightly under the seat and the pad is just above your ankles. Use the back of the seat to be sure the back of your knees is flush against the seat, and keep the top pad up and out of the way. Grip the handles when you extend slowly and extend your knees as much as you can and hold the top position for 1 count (your legs should be straight at the top). Then, return the weight slowly not letting the weight stack come to rest and repeat.
Kettlebell Swings
For this movement you will likely need a kettlebell heavier than 15lbs. To start, take a shoulder width stance, similar to your squat stance. Then, grab the kettlebell with both hands, bend your knees and hips together while keeping your back straight, and let the kettlebell hang down between your legs with straight arms. You will then swing upwards with your legs (pretend you are jumping with the kettlebell in your hands).
Once you extend your knees and hips allow the kettlebell to travel up and away from you until it reaches shoulder height (think about throwing the kettlebell up, but don’t let go). Do not pause at the top, let the kettlebell come back down quickly to the start position (think controlled fall) and swing it up again using your legs. The reps should be continuous with no pause.
FUSE: 1400 Abdominal
Begin by adjusting the seat so that the upper pad goes across your mid to upper back. Once seated, adjust the upper pad so that you are sitting straight up. Once you made the adjustments, grasp the handles on both sides of your head, and using your abs try to pull your elbows down to your knees. Squeeze this bottom position and hold for a brief second before returning to the starting position. Be sure to not let the weight stack hit when returning to the starting position, use your abs to control the weight on the way up.
Plank
Begin by lying on the floor with your forearms flat on the floor and hands apart, making sure your elbows are underneath your shoulders. Keeping your legs and core tight, pick up your hips. You should look like a straight line from your head to your feet. Don’t push your hips too high (like an arch) and don’t let your hips sag (like a bridge).
The Exercise
Final Thoughts
Always focus on your form with each movement and rep, but be extra careful on the leg press, squat, and lunge. These movements are meant to purposefully stress the knees and hips to help build up strength in the lower body, but you don’t want to overdo it.
Make each set somewhat challenging, but not to the point where your form begins to fail. Log your weights used and simply repeat this workout in a week or two to see how much better you have gotten. Make sure you stay active, eat enough food, and get enough rest. All these factors will help you recover from your workout faster.