A Week of Workouts Part I- Leg Day

A lot of people have the motivation to sign up and go to the gym but what to do once you get there?? Unless you've had a few sessions with a personal trainer (which I highly recommend!) you can easily feel overwhelmed by all the machines- and what the heck to do with them!? Well- here's your resource to all things gym-scary. This week I will be posting my workouts each day and linking them to instructional videos describing how to do each exercise- SO NO EXCUSES! So get your butt into the gym and walk with confidence now that you know exactly what to do!
Today is leg day- which means holy moly suicide -mama is not going to be able to sit for 48 hours…
It's a killer because your leg muscles are the largest group of muscles you have- so when you work them your heart is racing to keep up with the oxygen demands that your body and muscles need to complete the workout. It's weight training but with a cardio twist- so your behind is burning major calories. 

You're going to be doing 4 sets of each exercise with 8-10 reps per set. Now since you are only doing 8-10 reps per set you need to push yourself and go heavy. Starting out just see where you are with different weights. When in doubt start light- if you can easily crank out 10 reps then it wasn't heavy enough so increase the weight for the next set. Soon enough you'll find out what's comfortable for you- and keep in mind if you are new to weight training the goal for the first few days is to just perfect your form-not go heavy. After you know exactly what you're doing- get heavy girl- push it so that by rep 4-5 you are breathing heavy, heart is racing, and you are feeling the searing burn in those muscles!
Remember- your legs are STRONG- you will be so surprised how heavy you can go!!

Leg Day

Squats- how-to video 
4 sets of 8-10
This video shows a few variations of squats- beginners should stick to just body weight squats, then gradually increase to using dumbbells in each hand, a squat bar is for more advanced lifters. With all squats your knees should never jut out past your toes- you should always be able to see your piggies when doing this exercise correctly.

Leg Press- how-to video 
4 sets of 8-10
beginners should just use this machine with no weights added. Once you get used to the unlocking and locking of the press you can gradually add weight. 

Leg Extensions- how-to video
4 sets of 8-10
Seated Leg Curls- how-to video
4 sets of 8-10
Hyper Extensions- how-to video 
4 sets of 8-10
Standing Leg Curls- With a Machine or  Without a Machine 
4 sets of 8-10

This is a typical workout for me. That being said, I do go to a gym for my workouts. If you aren't quite there yet with the gym membership you can still get amazing legs at home- check out this Hot Legs Workout by Fitness Magazine for easy, at home exercises that will give you a great pair of legs in no time! Bring on the shorty shorts!

Print and Take- here is your Leg Day guide to print out and take to the gym- you can track how many reps and what amount of weight you were able to perform for each exercise. This is a great way to track your progress over the next few weeks!