This is the story of the hardest leg workout ever.  Please – DON”T try the sample workout I’ve provided unless you are 1) masochistic 2) like vomiting or 3) for some crazy reason just like really hard workouts.

Thanks

– Forest

It was the winter of 2003. I had just finished my senior year of college football and was getting ready for the draft in the spring.  I had two college all-star games coming soon, prospects of the NFL combine, and pro scouts scheduled to visit my college campus in a couple of short months …

At this point in the game, a players stock can rise or fall a huge amount.  Shaving a tenth or two off your 40 time, adding an inch or two to your vertical jump, adding a few reps to your 225 bench press rep test can mean moving up several spots – or in some rare cases, even rounds – in the draft.  Which can amount to, well, a lot of dough 🙂

I was training with a couple of other players my agent represented at a facility in the San Francisco bay area … and it was unique experience to say the least.  We’d get up in the morning, eat breakfast, and go train for a couple of hours.  Then, mid-day, we’d get rest up, eat lunch, take a nap, get a massage, whatever … and then hit it again for about two more hours in the afternoon.  Then we’d head back to the hotel, sleep for 9 or 10 hours, and repeat – six days a week.  For six weeks straight.

I made, hands-down, the most amazing gains of my life during this time period.  My vertical jump went up from 33 to 36 inches – and I weighed 308 at the time!  I also hit 32 reps of 225 in a row on the bench press and got my 40 time below 4.9 …

The point of the story that you can apply to your own training is this, though – the way I was able to accomplish so much in such a short time period was due to three big factors:

1) total focus – I lived, ate and breathed training.  May or may not be possible for you and your current life situation.

2) lots of recovery time – also, may or may not be possible for you and your current life situation.

3)incredibly hard training – without a doubt possible for you and your current life situation.  And that’s what I hope you take away from this post …

My Hardest Leg Workout Ever

My trainer knew I had strong legs and was a big back squatter.  But he also knew I typically lifted heavy … and that strength endurance wasn’t my strong point (at the time).

So, one day when he was feeling especially mean and I didn’t have any events/tests/etc. on the schedule for a couple of weeks, he put me through his 10×10 back squat workout.  It went something like this:

• Pick a weight you can back squat 15 times MAX.
• Do 10 sets of 10 with it, resting exactly 60 seconds between sets.
• Also, make sure to use a 3-0-3 tempo during the sets – that is, take 3 seconds to lower the weight and 3 seconds to lift it.  So 10 reps should take you a full 60 seconds to complete.
• Collapse, vomit, lose consciousness, etc.

Sounds so simple … but oh is it so hard 🙂  I had the deepest soreness I’ve ever experienced in my legs after this workout.  I literally had to hold the hand rail to go to the bathroom for two or three days afterwards.  I did it with a training partner – and he threw up not once, not twice, but three times – during the workout!

And that’s the story of my hardest leg workout ever. If you want to try something like it, this is a kettlebell squat workout I put together to smoke the living hell out of your legs … but, be warned.  It is very hard 🙂

10×10 Double KB Front Squat Workout

• Pick two kettlebells you can front squat 15 times MAX.
• Do 10 sets of 10 with them, resting exactly 60 seconds between sets.
• Also, make sure to use a 3-0-3 tempo during the sets – that is, take 3 seconds to lower the weight and 3 seconds to lift it.  So 10 reps should take you a full 60 seconds to complete.
• Collapse, vomit, lose consciousness, etc.

In summary, I hope you learned something from this post about the importance of training hard to reach your goals.  You don’t have to throw up to make gains – but you do need to push yourself.  Do this on a consistent basis, and you’re well on your way to reaching your ultimate kettlebell fitness goals!

‘Till next time –

Forest

PS – If you’re looking for LOTS more complete kettlebell workouts like this one, click this link:  The Kettlebell Basics Weekly Workouts Program

I have a new kettlebell/body weight challenge workout for you today … but first, I want to make sure you understand how a workout like this would fit into a long-term kettlebell programming scheme:

Do you stick to a structured and periodized kettlebell program – or do you “mix it up” and change your workouts constantly?

Are you endlessly searching out new kettlebell exercises and workouts to try, at the expense of starting and finishing a single, complete, solidly designed routine?

Bad news – you have Kettlebell ADHD.

All the variety sounds cool at first – new fun workouts, lots of different kettlebell exercises to impress your friends, etc. …

And changing your workouts over time is a good thing to keep your body from adapting.

The problem, though, is that with too much KB exercise/workout variety, it’s almost impossible to learn all the moves correctly in any reasonable amount of time – especially if you’re a kettlebell beginner.

The key is to stick with a program just long enough (typically 4-6 weeks) to see results, but not long enough to adapt and stall out your progress.

Now that’s out of the way:) … on to the challenge workout:

A cool, unique, and fun workout thrown in OCCASIONALLY and at the RIGHT TIME in an established and structured workout program is actually GREAT for accelerating results and keeping your workouts interesting.

Here’s a kettlebell/body weight challenge workout for you … just remember that this is intended as a one-off challenge you do maybe once per month or so and NOT a regular program:

• power jacks
• push ups
• reverse lunges
• knee-to-elbow mountain climbers
• KB swings

Do 20 reps of each exercise.  Perform the workout circuit-style, moving from one exercise to the next with as little rest as possible.  Do five rounds of the circuit for time.

Good luck and train hard –

Forest

PS – For more kettlebell challenge workouts like these – and a complete ’30 day rapid fat loss’ plan built around the same theme – check out this program:

2012 Challenge Workout Special