Build Massive Quads With This Pre-Exhaust Leg Workout!


Do you find it hard to isolate and get a good pump throughout your quadriceps when training legs?

A lot of people find it difficult to feel their quads working when doing big basic compound leg exercises like squats and leg presses. Even though they may work up to handling heavy weights in these exercises and really push themselves, it’s sometimes hard to feel that direct muscle pump in the quads.

There are many top level powerlifters who don’t have “Huge Quads”, albeit they are very strong with squats. Often times their legs are A LOT stronger than they look. While this is certainly OK for a strength athlete, it isn’t so desirable from a bodybuilding point of view.

In my case I find it hard to feel my quads working whenever I train legs, and I consider myself fairly advanced in my training with pretty good leg development. So I can only imagine how difficult it must be for a lot of beginner and intermediate level guys to really feel their quads working.

Generally, the bigger and more developed a muscle is, the easier it will be to feel it working during your workouts. You develop more of that “mind muscle connection”. This is very often overlooked, but it’s a critical step to taking your physique to the advanced stages of muscular development.

In my case I feel my hamstrings working more during squats and leg presses, rather then my quads. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I want to focus more on my quads. So to help engage my quads more I will “Pre-Exhaust” them with leg extensions as the very first exercise of my leg workouts.

Lee Hayward flexing his quads on stage at the Atlantic Canadian Bodybuilding Championships

This is a killer trick for bringing up stubborn quadriceps and maximizing your leg development. It also helps to warm up your knee joints before tackling heavy weights in squats and leg presses.

Pre-Exhaust Leg Workout - leg extensions, squats, leg press

To show you an example of how to do this, here is an exact leg workout that I did the other day in the gym…

– General Warm Up:
10 minutes on the cardio rowing machine.

– Leg Extensions:
**This was my Pre-Exhaust quad exericse**
50 pounds x 25 reps
90 pounds x 15 reps
110 pounds x 10 reps
130 pounds x 10 reps
150 pounds x 10 reps
170 pounds x 10 reps

– Squats:
135 pounds x 10 reps
185 pounds x 10 reps
225 pounds x 10 reps
275 pounds x 10 reps
315 pounds x 10 reps

– Leg Press:
2 plates per side x 10 reps
4 plates per side x 10 reps
6 plates per side x 10 reps
8 plates per side x 10 reps
10 plates per side x 10 reps

– Lying Leg Curls:
50 pounds x 15 reps
70 pounds x 15 reps
90 pounds x 10 reps
100 pounds x 10 reps
110 pounds x 10 reps

– Leg Extensions:
**I finished off with more leg extensions to really blast my quads hard, but this time I did reverse pyramid sets**
170 pounds x 10 reps
150 pounds x 10 reps
130 pounds x 10 reps
110 pounds x 10 reps
90 pounds x 15 reps
50 pounds x 25 reps

Trust me after this workout my legs were like jelly and I had no problems feeling my quads working!

So if you’re looking for a change of pace with your leg workouts why not give this Pre-Exhaust Leg Workout a try and then leave me a comment below letting me know how you like it.

And if you would like help with choosing the best workouts for each muscle group, than I highly recommend that you sign up for my VIP “Inner Circle” Coaching Club at: www.TotalFitnessBodybuilding.com

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About The Author

leehayward

Lee Hayward is a former competitive bodybuilder and muscle building coach who has been online coaching people since 1997. His work has been featured in several international magazines such as: FLEX, Muscle Insider, Muscle Mag International, Testosterone, Ironmag, and Forbes. Lee's main focus right now is with helping men over 40 - who don't want to be fat anymore - lose the gut, build muscle, and get back in shape. If you're ready to "Start Again" for the last time and finally build a lean healthy body that you can be proud of, just e-mail Lee to discuss a realistic action plan that's right for you... lee@leehayward.com

25 Comments

  • Ethan Potter

    sweet! I’ll have to try this. I’ve been trying something similar with my chest workouts, especially when doing bench presses. I do a superset, dumbbell flyes followed by bench press, really helps me work my chest when benching.
    Keep up the great work Lee =]

  • Andy

    Hi Lee, i love all that you do to help people a question for you i have been diagnosed with AC joint arthritis so now haven’t trained for 6 weeks how and what would you suggest, i would really love comments and help, thank you

  • Daryl

    Lee, I was reading some info about Mike Mentzer and he said people don’t need that much volume training. He said it’s more about the intensity,and rest & recovery. Sounds logical. Please give me your input. Thanks.

  • golden

    this is a great workout for your legs, i have been looking for a better leg workout routine and this one has done it for me. thanks lee, i look forward to seeing how this will give my legs better definition!

  • steve

    What do u all think about the time of rest between sets and between exercises?

  • Marc

    Lee your tips are always useful and help liven up
    my workouts, thanks. I’ve done this before it burns, not best when trying to maximize your lifts, better to start fresh in that case, lactic acid build up will prevent you from getting full push you may require, but in terms of warming up the muscle and burning it out- this will work

  • Spencer

    Lee,

    What rest periods do you use for this workout? I just love leg day!lol! I know that sounds crazy, but once you’ve had a herniated disc and can’t squat for a year, once you are finally able to get back under 315 it is an amazing feeling. Never thought I’d say this, but never take squats for granted, they are amazing!;) I have a love hate/relationship w/ them!lol! But hey if it hurts u know it’s working!lol!

  • Kevin

    are we supposed to be working to failure, and if so, how is it possible to maintain your reps

  • Rahul

    Superb……i reallyloved it…

    Thanks lee…….much appreciated.

  • I’m not much of a squat person,but leg presses,extensions,curls…i love these programmes.

  • salmi

    really great,but at my age (55) i dont expect more muscles.But i have good sensations in my legs.

  • sweet! I’ll have to try this. I’ve been trying something similar with my chest workouts, especially when doing bench presses. I do a superset, dumbbell flyes followed by bench press, really helps me work my chest when benching.
    Keep up the great work Lee =]  

    For sure, you can use this pre-exhaust technique with any bodypart to help provide some unique muscle stimulation.

  • Hi Lee, i love all that you do to help people a question for you i have been diagnosed with AC joint arthritis so now haven’t trained for 6 weeks how and what would you suggest, i would really love comments and help, thank you  

    Sorry to hear about your arthritis, that will certainly hamper your workouts. For a condition like this you really need to seek professional medical advice from a doctor, physiotherapist, etc. to see what you can and cannot do with regards to exercise.

    But one little tip that I often use if I’m experiencing any aches or pains is to take a hot shower before going to the gym. I find that the hot water soothes sore muscles and joints and just makes me feel much more limber when I go to workout. If you have access to a hot tub that would be even better.

  • Lee, I was reading some info about Mike Mentzer and he said people don’t need that much volume training.He said it’s more about the intensity,and rest & recovery. Sounds logical. Please give me your input. Thanks.  

    There are pros and cons to both styles of training. The simple answer is that if you’ve been following a low volume high intensity style of training for any length of time, then switching to a higher volume style of training can provide a new growth spurt because of the unique muscle stimulation. And the same is true for the other way around. Bottom line there is no “Best” workout program.

  • What do u all think about the time of rest between sets and between exercises?  

    For the most part I rest as long as I need to catch my breath and mentally prepare for the next set. Usually this is 1-2 minutes between sets for smaller isolation exercises. And 2-3 minutes between sets for bigger compound exercises.

  • Lee your tips are always useful and help liven up
    my workouts, thanks. I’ve done this before it burns, not best when trying to maximize your lifts, better to start fresh in that case, lactic acid build up will prevent you from getting full push you may require, but in terms of warming up the muscle and burning it out- this will work  

    I agree with you here, this isn’t something you would want to do if you are trying to set a new personal record in the squat. But for training and muscle building purposes it works great.

  • are we supposed to be working to failure, and if so, how is it possible to maintain your reps  

    Honestly, I rarely rep out to failure. For the most part I stop all my sets short of failure and rack the weight on my own with no help from a spotter. I find doing this helps you recover quicker, train more frequently, and greatly reduces your risk of injury.

  • really great,but at my age (55) i dont expect more muscles.But i have good sensations in my legs.  

    Hey don’t count yourself out, even though the gains will come slower then they do for the young whipper snappers, progress is always possible.

  • Macarina

    Thanks Lee your tips are helpful and one day I wil be like u..thanks I appreciate

  • Jay

    Yeah, doing a few sets of Ext’s first REALLY does help with creating a killer quad pump! Sometimes I ‘ll finish off with some walking lunges! 2 (25lb) plates. One in each hand… And perform walking lunges the length of the gym and back, (approx 25 each leg X 2). I can hardly walk afterwards!

    J-

  • kamaal

    hi lee thanks for provide such workouts

    i need 1 workouts how to enlarge my back ass

    its too similar to compare my body.

  • John Lipovsky

    Thank You Lee for showing us exactly how this routine is designed. It looks like a very realistic workout that gets the result we want. How long did this workout last from start to finish, 60-75 minutes?

  • John Lipovsky

    leehayward,

    Lee that is a helpful comment, to keep my workout focused, I workout alone and I’ve found that I don’t rep to failure also. At times I would question if I was cutting myself short by doing this. One thing I found, for me, by reducing my rest period between sets and super setting two movements, I keep my cardio level up, get closer to failure while still avoiding those nagging injuries.

  • John Lipovsky,

    I never actually timed the session to know exactly how long it took. But I’d guess that I was in the gym for at least 90 minutes counting my warm up, weight training, and post workout stretching.

  • Keith

    Great workout. Im a mma competitor and I needed this. Looking forward to more from Lee!