Welcome to Week Two of my 12-Week Lean Muscle Program. Keep in mind that I designed this program for men and women and that’s why I’ve chosen both a male and female victim—I mean, client. We’ll perform a similar workout on most days of Week Two as compared to Week One, but we’ll begin to take up the intensity.

At this point in the program you should feel fairly recovered after your weekend or active rest and recovery. And you should feel ready to train today. Which is great since we’re hitting legs again.

Remember that you’ll be performing 2 sessions of cardio for 20 minutes each day this week. While you’ll perform steady-state cardio upon waking every day, I want you to perform your second cardio session on legs day after your workout in the p.m. That’s because today’s cardio will help you burn out the lactic acid in your legs and reduce soreness. If you train soon after waking, make sure your first cardio is immediately after the workout, not before.

Our first legs exercise today is Smith machine squats. Notice how I emphasize constant tension on the target muscle group—the quadriceps. Choose a weight that allows you to keep moving with control throughout the entire set of 20 reps. For the first set, choose a warm-up weight. But pyramid up as you’re able, making sure to get in all 3 sets of 20 reps without locking your knee joints at the top of reps. We’ll talk about the rest-pause technique later in this program, but I don’t want you resting or pausing in the middle of sets this early in the program.

Next up is barbell walking lunges, which I want you to perform in a unique way. I want you to keep the load on your thighs. You’ll lunge down, then come back and then step forward. Take a look at my video to see me demonstrate this and then watch Danielle and Kai perform their sets with a barbell across the shoulders. This version works the quads more fully and forces you to remove forward momentum from the rep.

The third move is leg presses performed at a machine at about 45-degrees—angles vary quite a bit from one leg press machine to another, and many are adjustable. To target the quads you should place your feet near the bottom of the platform. On the other hand, if you want to target your glutes and hamstrings then place them at the top of the platform. We’ll be using a variety of foot placements throughout this lean muscle program, depending on which muscles we’re targeting. Perform 3 sets of 20 reps, keeping constant tension on your quads with that smooth movement I demonstrate. Then rest 2 minutes between sets, stretching the muscles you just worked.

Next we’ll hit the backs of the legs with lying hamstrings curls, supersetting this move with standing calves raises. For hamstrings curls remember to isolate the hamstrings as much as possible—keep your hips in place throughout the set, forcing your hamstrings to perform the work. Transition immediately to standing calves raises, performing 3 sets of 20 reps for each move in the superset. Once you complete a superset, rest for 2 minutes, stretching your target muscles.

That’s all for legs training today, but you still have abs up. We’ll perform supersets of abs rollouts followed immediately by leg raises. Perform rollouts to failure, and then immediately begin your leg raises. Have your partner thrust your legs toward the ground at the top of each rep. Check out the video to see how I do this with Kai and Danielle.

Workout

Smith machine squats 3 Sets/20 Reps Rest 2 minutes between sets
Walking barbell lunges 3 Sets/20 Reps per Leg Rest 2 minutes between sets
Leg presses 3 Sets/20 Reps Place feet in a neutral stance, and rest 2 minutes between sets
Lying hamstrings curls 3 Sets/20 Reps SUPERSET lying hamstrings curls with standing calves presses, resting 2 minutes between supersets
Standing calves raises 3 Sets/20 Reps
Abs rollouts 3 Sets/Failure SUPERSET abs rollouts with leg raises, resting 1 minute between supersets
Lying leg raises 3 Sets/Failure

GETHIN’S GO-TO:

Walking barbell lunges are one of the most intense full-body exercises, and they really force your core to work while also stressing virtually every muscle in your legs. Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman relied on walking barbell lunges at the end of his workouts as a burn out, but they’re equally effective at any point during your legs training. Choose the weight that allows you to complete all reps.

WHAT SUPP?

AMINO SYNERGY® Essential Amino Acids (EAAs) are just that—essential for your progress. Your body cannot manufacture EAAs, which means you need get them through your supplements and nutrition. AMINO SYNERGY provides these crucial EAAs to support your body’s ability to promote muscle protein synthesis, even during times of excessive physical stress and intermittent fasting that you’ll include during this 12-Week Lean Muscle Program. The ratio of fermented amino acids in AMINO SYNERGY is the perfect addition to this program. AMINO SYNERGY also delivers freeze-dried coconut water powder and 124 mg of PurCaf®, and it contains to artificial colors or flavors. DOSE AND TIMING: Get in AMINO SYNERGY at times when you want to fuel your muscles without taking in food or calories. I recommend you take in one scoop during cardio sessions, during fasting, and upon waking.