Here’s the leg session I did on Monday.
I started off with calf raises on the leg press: 6 sets of 15 reps with 30 seconds rest between sets.
Seated Leg Curls: 2 warm-up sets of 20 – Then find a weight that is hard for 14 reps. Get a full range of motion, all the way up and back. Do 14 reps. Rest one minute. Go up a plate and do 12 reps. Rest a minute and go up a plate and do 10 reps. Now, go back to a weight that is one or two plates lighter than what you started with and do 35 reps. The first 10 reps will be easy…you will then be on fire, it will be hard to get 35, but do it. Your hams will be very pumped. Even if your last 10 are partials, get through the set.
Leg Extensions: Warm-ups – do as many as you need to feel comfortable! Work your way up to a weight you can do for 10. I want you to do 3 sets of 10 reps where you hold an squeeze for two seconds at the top. Let your butt come out the seat – it will just make your teardrop work harder.
Leg Press in a Machine: Two warm-up sets with a standard, feet shoulder width, toes pointed straight up, and medium on the platform. Let’s focus as much as we can on teardrop. Work the lower part of the movement the hardest..this is how you nail the teardrop. Keep adding a plate and doing 10 reps, until you get to something you could normally do for about 10 – 12 reps max. Stick with that weight. Now, we’re going to do 3 sets of 16…you may have to use your hands to assist. These are all done with continuous tension style – no locking out. Rest about two minutes between sets.
Hack Squats: One warm-up set real slow all the way rock bottom. Work your way up to a weight that you can do for 8 reps rock bottom. Go all the way down and pause in a very controlled manner. Drive up..but do not lock-out. It won’t take much weight, and your legs should be extremely pumped after 2 sets of these for 8 reps each.
Get a 20 second quad stretch in between every set of leg presses and hack squats. Start gentle, and as you get more blood in the area, stretch a little harder each time.
Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlifts – 4 x 10 – don’t come up all the way, and bend your knees slightly at the bottom…focus on getting a good stretch. On each set, try to get deeper. Focus on pushing your hips back as you go down, and keeping the dumbbell right against you.
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Shelby Starnes is a national level bodybuilder and top nutritionist and trainer. He has helped hundreds of athletes dial in their training, nutrition, and supplementation. Shelby has been involved in powerlifting and bodybuilding for over twelve years, competing and placing very respectably in both. He has placed in the top 5 at the national level in bodybuiding in three different weight classes (welterweight, middleweight, and most recently light heavyweight). He also holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wayne State University and has written numerous articles on physique development for many magazines and websites.
To find out more about him and his consultation services, visit his website at www.ShelbyStarnes.com
View Shelby’s Training Log 
Shelby I would love to see you post more of your arm and back workouts.
hell, just post anything like this. I don’t care what body part it is!
I think if you did an article like this for every bodypart/workout it would be a hit, this article is awesome!
Also Shelby … Do you think this workout would be ok while following a VLCD?
I have a question for Shelby, or any bodybuilder for that matter – Why do bodybuilders prefer machines so much? Maybe I’m way out of context but anytime I see bodybuilders training its always with the hack squat, not the barbell squat. Do bodybuilders wait until the off season to gain weight and lift heavier?
I’ve always been curious about the way bodybuilders train, even though I have no desire to be one or train like one. Thanks guys.
i saw the routine last week on your training log, i did it on FRIDAY and IM STILL SORE AS HELL!!
AWESOME!
Just did this was awesome pump wise
Bill, it’s much easier to focus on the particular muscle group your working on with machines. Barbell squats are great, but the limiting factor of your back and other groups compromises how much intensity and focus you can apply to your quads.
It’s also safer in most aspects. With deadlines for shows they simply can’t risk injury. Also, they are not judged on the big 3 so they focus on what will deliver the desired results and nothing else.
I used to train like a body builder, it felt like I was isolating muscles and really giving them a good workout. But now that I powerlift I like it more, I just feel like I have more over all power, I’m not cut at all by my arms are hard as rocks and I feel stronger then I ever have.
@Bill; Bill Bodybuilders prefer machines because they’re not ever asked to demonstrate their skill/strength with the bench press, deadlift, or squat. As a competitive powerlifter, you have to demonstrate your ability to lift barbells. A bodybuilder does not need to demonstrate that particular skill set, therefore there is much less reliance on free weights.
Additionally, when using a machine, there typically is very little skill required. You simply apply pressure to the movement arms and lift the weight (this is a HUGE benefit when training the very young and old).
I believe that in order to truly develop a muscle to its fullest potential, you need to isolate it. This is somewhat difficult to do with most barbell exercises
And like Dan said, there is a HUGE safety factor as well. How many guys in the last decade have been killed or maimed because they dropped a barbell on their head? In general, training on machines (if they’re properly maintained) is going to be safer. If I’ve been training for the past 13 months for a bodybuilding contest and I’m eating 1,500 calories a day, I want to make sure that I’m doing everything I can to stay injury-free.
Yup, that sure does look like a bodybuilder workout
Bill,
One of the main reason bodybuilders prefer machines during lower body days is because they don’t require any stabilization. When you squat, pull or perform good mornings you have to use your core and “stabilize”, this causes your core muscles to get bigger which body builders do not want.
I don’t know if you’re familiar with bodybuilding but they like to have the “V” shape, the pro guys have tiny, tiny waists proportionally to the rest of their body.