This is Part 3 of my Basic Bodybuilding Workout Program. This is a complete bodybuilding workout training program that focuses on developing balance and proportion between all the major muscle groups of the body.
Workout 3 – Legs & Abs
With the earlier workouts in this 3 part program we paired up the pushing muscles into one workout. The “pulling muscles” into the second workout. Now we’re going to complete the program by training the lower body.
With the lower body a lot of the moves we’ll do are classified as pressing or pushing exercises (i.e. squats, leg press, etc.) But there are some other exercise variations we’ll be doing as well (i.e. leg curls, leg extensions, etc.)
We’re also going to pair up legs with abdominals. Now while you can train your abs with any body part that you like, they do come into play as stabilizing and supporting muscle groups for a lot of the lower body moves we’ll be doing. So that’s why it makes sense to pair them up with your leg workouts.
Click Play to watch the 3rd Workout… Legs & Abs.
Note: if for some reason you can’t watch the embedded video clip above,
you can watch it directly on my YouTube Channel at the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAti3uGRkb8
To watch the 1st workout, click this link:
Chest, Shoulders & Triceps Workout
To watch the 2nd workout, click this link:
Back & Biceps Workout
If you like these videos, make sure to Click Here & Subscribe to my Bodybuilding Video Channel
so that you can get early notification of whenever I add new videos.
38 Comments
Anders
Hey Lee,
I’ve now watched all three videos in this series, and I think they are great. There’s so many exercising videos on the Internet, where guys recommend one exercise over another, and at the end you’ll just be more confused than before you watched them, but to me this series is simply an example of what a good exercising-program could look like.
Simply an example of a well put-together workout, with out too much BS !! 😉
iBrent
Lee,
I’m loving this workout routine. Thanks for giving such great instructions for us newbies. Quick question: could you share some alternative leg exercises for those of us with a home gym that don’t have access to all the machines? Specifically an alternate to the leg press and leg curls? Thanks again for sharing your awesome routine.
iBrent
Rahul
Hi Lee,
Great videos as usual I must add. However do you advocate supersets for multiple muscle groups?
matthew b
hay lee great work out will stick cardio in tuseday and thursday for a full weeks work out so that should move some body fat aswell.
guapo madeiros
same as ibrent. i have bench that does leg extentions. other then that i just have free weights.
also can i still get big legs if i use a exercise ball for my squats against a wall? my balance is pretty awful for nomal ones. cheers.
guapo madeiros
i know you say to work on it with regards to squats but i dont quite have the room for barbell squats anyway. so yeh some alternative moves would be very much appreciated. thanks lee!
Frank Zappa
Hey lee great videos! I’d like to know if these routines can be done in three days without taking a day off,or do i have to rest a day? and if so is cardio ok to do on rest days? The problem is when i go to the gym on a cardio day i can’t help myself from not attacking the weights! you probably know what i mean. thanks again for the tips!Btw i’ve added some nice solid mass on my biceps when on the 21 day fast mass program! i’d like to post some pics,how can i post one on your blog?
John Correa
Hi Lee, excellent workout program. For a long time I have been searching for a split system of muscle training and this is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you very much.
Hussain
Hi lee these all three videos are very help me out and clear my lot of confusions try to follow these workout asap.
Gil
Hey Lee, AWESOME three day split routine to add to the workout arsenal. Yet again, Thanks for what you provide us with here!!!
leehayward
It’s hard to get good leg workouts with limited equipment. But with squats, lunges, deadlifts, etc. you can get by. Try doing different squat variations (i.e. front squats, back squats, wide stance, narrow stance, etc.) This will give you some more variety in your leg workouts.
The other option is to go to a gym once a week and train legs. I’ve actually known several guys who would purposely go to a better equipped gym once a week and buy a day pass just for their leg workouts.
leehayward
I like to super set isolation exercises. So in this routine you could super set leg extensions and leg curls back and forth. But for the big exercises like squats and leg presses just do straight sets and make sure to get adequate rest in between sets so that you can handle maximum weight.
leehayward
That’s a great training split, workout with weights every second day, then do cardio on your days off from weight training.
leehayward
If you don’t have room to squat you really should look into training at a better gym. I used to workout at a simple home gym when I started out. But now I workout in a well equipped commercial gym and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Making the move to a good quality gym is one that you’ll have to make eventually as you get more advanced in your training.
leehayward
You can host your pictures at: http://www.imageshack.us and simply post the links to those pics here in the comments section.
As for the training split, there is 2 ways that work well for this 3 day routine.
Train all 3 workouts in a row, take a day off, and repeat. That’s very advanced and will require good recovery abilities.
A more modest approach is to workout 3 days per week and space the 3 workouts out (i.e. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday).
Doing the 3 day per week option will work best for most people, and you can do cardio on your off days from weight training.
leehayward
Thanks for the feedback guys, I’m glad you enjoy the workout videos. If you give this routine a try, please share your results here on my blog!
Gil
Hey Lee, If it wasn’t for your advice, videos, and time you dedicate to us we’d be at a loss. What you provide for us here is top notch knowledge and experience instead of BS that won’t give us the results we desire that are offered by some that are infatuated with their own egos. We being able to post results in many ways is also “fruits of your labor”. I know we have to put in the hard work for those results, but you’ve laid out the path we need to follow to get there. I think there is a lot of us here that owe you a a BIG… THANK YOU!!!
-Gil aka “RAVEN2SNIPE”-
guapo madeiros
would you agree romanian deadlift is a good sub for leg curls for the hamstrings?
richard
brill vid , really well put together lee thanks for sharing 😉 keep em comming
samuel surender kumar
Wow lee nice workouts and simple to do. Thanks for the update and if you can put some tips about contest diet and preparation that would be more useful. Just my thought not compulsory.
Steven
Hey Lee I had a quick question could you possibly substitute the roman chair sit-up for the decline bench sit-up and still achieve the same results.
Ivan
I do the same leg excersices..wow..!except i dont do the calve raises on leg press machine.Thats a good workout, but i wonder if its enough to stimulate full muscle growth..I tought puting in some seated calve raises and maybe some hack squats on top of the other excersises? Is that too much? What you think..?
Isiah
Hey Lee I was wondering if working out five days straight was too much. I do quads calf’s, chest hamstrings, back calf’s, shoulders traps hamstrings. then biceps triceps and calf’s. Do you think its to much with out rest days in between? Thanks
Gil
Isiah,
Hey Isaiah, I posed that question to Lee during his last show, and he answered with a good explanation. I work out 5 days a week with Saturday and Sunday as my rest days. I am feeling to fatigued at this point and going to a 3 day split using the routines that Lee just put up. I really think it depends on the person and what gains you’re making …don’t fatigue yourself out like Lee advised me. A rest may be needed to produce bigger and better gains. Hope this helps some??? Take Good Care, Be Safe, and Good Luck.
-Gil-
Andy
What do you think of the AB RIPPER X? Is it good to continue to use this everyday
that you do abs?
dave
Hi Lee. I have a question about training volume. Im looking to bulk up and a weak area for me in terms of size is my legs. I do a similar workout to the one you do in this video but still my legs dont grow as much as my upper body. I was thinking of doing a 3 day split like the one you have done in these videos but i was wondering if i should do an extra legs day each week to try and help my legs catch up with my upper body? I read lots of different material and some suggest training weak body parts twice a week to help catch up but others say in order to stimulate maximum growth you should only train each body part once per week as the muscles need rest. Wat would you advise?
keep up the good work
dave
leehayward
Yeah, the romanian deadlift / stiff leg deadlift does work the hamstrings hard. It’s more of a stretch exercise for the hamstrings, where as the leg curl is more of a peak contraction exercise for the hamstrings.
leehayward
Yeah, roman chair sit ups and decline bench sit ups are basically the same move. You can do either or for your abs.
leehayward
That’s fine, if you want to do more you can. But this leg workout as is will work fine. All that matters is you focus on progressive overload and get stronger on those basic exercises.
leehayward
I’d probably recommend training 2 days on, 1 day off. That will offer much more recovery time than 5 days straight with no break.
leehayward
I’ve never done “Ab Ripper X”, but when it comes to abdominal workouts the main thing is just working the muscles regularly. Most folks don’t actually need to build the abs “bigger” they just need to lose the fat that’s covering them.
leehayward
Yes, that’s a good idea. If legs are your weakness, train them twice per week and train your other body parts only once a week. Over time this will help to balance out your leg development.
Ivan
leehayward,
I think i injured my lower back while doing dead lifts (inproper form), and i now when i do heavy squats, my lower back hurts, is there a way to do squats without including lower back as much? Or another excersise, but yeah squats are the best for legs.. Thank you in advance!
Sean
Hey Lee, I’ve really been working to build more mass to my calves. Along with the rest of my leg workout, I superset the calf press with leg press, do calf raises (seated), calf presses on the linear hack press after squat sets and raises on a box in between leg curl/extension supersets. Is this too much for the calves?
Thanks, Sean.
rogers
nice one Lee, been busy taking notes and will try this out, combined with the upper body workouts you posted.
josian
hi lee:
i have a question for you:
on day 1:chest, shoulders and triceps.
can include on chest day dumbbell flyes and pullovers.
and on shoulders day can i include front raises and bent over lateral raises.
and on triceps day can i include triceps extensions, triceps kickback. bech dips and lying triceps extensions.
on day 2: back and biceps.
can i include on back day bent over rows.
and on biceps day can i include incline curls,hammer curls and concentration curls.
thank you!
your friend,
josian.
Johnny
Yeah absolutely totally agree, you wont find a more genuine guy anywhere in this business. I have followed him since he started and still do. I’d like to add my thanks to yours.
Nordic Mercedes
Thank you Mr.Hayward. I been in the gym twenty plus years and by watching you’re video learned many new helpful tips. You have motivated me to compete 😎