Legs and Shoulders Training Plan

First things first, myself or my brother have absolutely no qualifications in exercise or fitness but he does a lot of research and trains himself so this is the plan he devised for me. It's advised you ask a gym instructor in your gym or a personal trainer to devise a plan that will suit you specifically. This is jus the plan that I follow: 

So I start off by five minutes warm up on the treadmill, incline at 3 and speed at 6 for five minutes just to get the blood moving. 

Today is legs and shoulders so funnily enough those will be the two body parts these exercises are aimed at. 

Squats 4 sets of 8 using the bar which weighs 20kg - this was tough the first time I attempted it because I tried it two days after I did deadlifts which killed my legs so you can try doing them unweighted at the start or by using a kettle bell and build up to using the bar. It's important to get your body positioning and form correct. Knees slightly more than shoulder width apart, knees shouldn't go over feet and you should really sit back into the squats. 

If you wanna know why we squat this is why: 

Then comes lunges, I did three sets of twelve today alternating legs. I did the first set with 7.5 kg Dumbbells in each hand but I felt wrecked after the first set so changed down to 5kg dumbells in each hand for the last two sets holding them down by my side while I stepped forward on one leg, touching the other knee of the floor, back up and alternate. Youtube these exercises if you don't know how to do them. You can also do them on a mat so it doesn't hurt your knees. 

Next was leg extensions, I started at 30kg, increasing by 5kg after each set. I did three sets of ten reps increasing the weight each time and then did a drop set where I decreased the weight to 20 kg and did as many as I could til I felt the burn which was 20 reps. You should probably rest between reps or guarantee your legs will feel like jelly. 

Next came leg curls, I did four sets of ten reps at 25kg. You can really feel it in your hamstrings, the trick is to not let the weights touch on the way down. Power up and lower back down. 

You are seriously going to feel the burn the next day, I guarantee. 

Moving onto shoulders, I started by doing three sets of ten reps on the shoulder press. I did ,y first set at 10 kg for ten reps but I just couldn't manage it for the last two and dropped down to 7.5kg. I really struggle on this exercise, I used the machine shoulder press for this as the bar is just to heavy for me at the moment. I'd recommend youtubing the shoulder exercises, I always forget what they are. 

You will need to use the bench in the gym for the next three exercises. Have the bench raised into seated position for the front press and the Arnold press. YouTube these exercises again. These are tough because I have barely any upper body strength. I used 5kg Dumbbells in each hand for these two exercises as well. 

Front press was four sets of eight reps, concentrate on form and your breathing it really does help. I never believed you wou,d actually sweat doing weights! 

I rested between each set and then again before I moved into the next exercise. 

Arnold press I did three sets of eight, then I lowered the bench to a lying down position and sitting forward with my head forward and my arms down I did the rear delt raise. Once again YouTube this as its kind of hard to explain. I did three sets of ten reps using 5kg Dumbbells, I attempted 7.5 kg Dumbbells but my form was all wrong and I was swinging them up. The most important thing is having control over the exercise and he body part you are moving so move down a weight if it's too difficult. 

And that's my legs and shoulders workout! I then did ten minutes cardio on the bike at a high resistance just because I really want to burn fat, I also did the plank three times trying to beat my personal best. Fifty seconds was the longest I managed. 

There really is no better feeling than the feeling you get after a good workout. Keep an eye on the blog for my workout plan for chest and triceps and back and biceps and let me know what you think! Any tips much appreciated also xx