Tom Venuto's BodybuildingSecrets.com - Swing Squats And Other Adventures In Leg-Blasting

Swing Squats And Other Adventures In Leg-Blasting

Tom Venuto, CSCS, CPT

The Swing Squat Machine. Whoever invented this deliciously effective piece of equipment deserves some kind of medal! I have never seen this contraption in any gym, anywhere, ever, other than Strong & Shapely Gym. In fact, Strong & Shapely Owner Bob Bonham told me it was custom made. I bumped into him today after finishing legs and he said, “Yeah, that’s probably the best leg machine in the whole gym.” Me and my swelled-up, rapidly-growing quads couldn’t agree more…

HAMSTRINGS

A1 Hamflexor (Flex seated leg curl machine): 1 set X 150 lbs X 12 (warmup); 1 set X 165 lbs X 10 reps (warmup); 1 set X 225 lbs X 15 reps X 3011 tempo; 1 set X 240 lbs X 12 reps X 3011 tempo; 1 set X 185 lbs X 8 reps per leg 1 legged negatives (concentric two legs, eccentric one leg); 1 set X 225 lbs X 8 reps, drop to 195 lbs X 8 reps, drop to 165 lbs X 8 reps
B1 Hamtractor (Flex single leg curl machine): 3 sets X 70 lbs X 8, 8, 7 reps
C1 Reverse hyperextension: 3 sets X 15 reps X bodyweight

QUADS

A1 Swing Squat (custom hack squat machine): Set 1: 90 lbs X 12 reps (warm up); Set 2: 140 lbs X 10 reps (warm up); Set 3: 200 lbs X 25 reps (20 reps nonstop, pause, 5 more); Set 4: 220 lbs X 21 reps (15 reps non stop, pause, 6 more); Set 5: 230 lbs X 17 reps (12 reps, pause, 5 more)
B1 Barbell Lunges: Set 1: 115 lbs X 30 reps dynamic lunges, 15 left leg, then 15 reps right leg (no pause between legs); Set 2: 135 lbs X 24 reps per leg static lunges, 12 reps left leg, then 12 reps right leg (no pause between legs); Set 3: 155 lbs X 20 reps alternating left-right-left-right, etc (10 reps each leg); Set 4: 40 lb dumbbells walking lunges X 24 strides (12 reps each leg)
C1 Leg Extension (Nautilus Nitro machine): Set 1: 170 lbs X 15 reps X 4022 tempo; Set 2: 160 lbs X 12 reps X 4022 tempo

Workout Commentary

Date: Saturday, July 9th, 2005

Place: East Rutherford, New Jersey

Gym: Strong & Shapely

Time: 11:00 am

Mission: “Leg Blasting”

As much as free weights are always given the nod as the most effective way to train for strength and functionality, there are certain machines that can build a muscle in a way that a barbell never can. These can be extremely beneficial for the bodybuilder and physique athlete.

For example, this Swing Squat machine (which is actually closer to a hack squat than a barbell squat), has the weights on the end of a very long lever arm which pivots through an arc that provides a little less resistance at the bottom, and more resistance at the mid range and top. This blasts the quadriceps in a very unique way that cannot be duplicated with a barbell. Not to mention there is absolutely zero stress on the lower back. Nice! Just what I need right now.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I started this leg blasting session off with hamstrings. This is a point worth highlighting, because many bodybuilders have unbalanced leg development with the quads overpowering the hamstrings (I admit it!) One solution is to prioritize hams by doing them first in a lower body session. You will always have the most energy and strength for whatever you do first, so if you always train hams last, you will tend to put less effort into them since working your quads (especially squatting) can leave you so fatigued.

An alternative that I sometimes also choose is to double split with two short sessions a day: quads in the morning and hams in the evening. I often use this option if I am working barbell squats AND stiff legged deadlifts. If you’ve ever done both with maximum effort in the same session, then you know why.

You can continue to prioritize hams by working them on a double split or first in a quad-ham session until they’ve been brought up to your satisfaction, or you can alternate every other workout which body part you train first.

Today I simply repeated the same hamstring workout as last time, only with more weight and or more reps. I will be moving back into stiff legged deadlifts as soon as my low back feels up to it.

After hams it was on to quads, starting with the Swing squat machine. Man, this machine kicks ass! Two warm up sets and three work sets for fairly high reps. Now that I have the feel for it, I’ll be back on this machine next week with more weight. Next it was onto lunges, 3 sets with the Olympic barbell and 1 set of walking lunges with the dumbbells. I was very pleased with my lunges today. Went up to 155 lbs for 10 reps per leg with no trouble at all, which is not bad considering this was the first barbell lunge workout in a while (been using dumbbells recently).

I’m writing this blog on Sunday, a day after the workout, and no surprise, my GLUTES are the most sore body part! Oy! It hurts to stand up…. or even sit down! Dynamic lunges with a barbell on the shoulders hit the glutes hard. It’s probably due to the strong eccentric contraction that occurs when you take that forward stride and drop down into the lunge. The static lunges/split squats also work the glutes hard, but they seem to stress the quads more, especially when you keep your torso completely erect.

I finished em’ off with a couple sets of leg extensions and that was a wrap! Not counting warm ups, it was just 9 sets on quads. The legs were blasted! Toast! Well-done!

Cardio was done in the evening in a separate session: stairmaster 4400 PT, 35 minutes, 545 calories. Today was the 3rd day in my first low carb cycle (medium carbs actually, 240 grams), and I’m looking forward to chowing down on more carbs tomorrow (carb up day), then Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday is another medium carb cycle. At the end of the week, if I’m not down in weight and a lot leaner (yes, a LOT leaner… in one week), then down the carbs go again… probably around 200 grams.

Until next time, train hard and if you want GREAT GLUTES, break out that barbell and work those dynamic barbell lunges! (and try not to be too jealous because my gym has a swing squat and your doesn’t!)

Posted 09 July, 2005 in Workouts

Comments

Teresa Miranda said:

Sorry when I saw that machine I am jealous! At first I kinda turned my head sideways trying to figure it out just by looking at it! Funny I should read this blog after my workout today. Which was really focused on legs. Lunges, squats, and I don't know what I was thinking but I decided I would do some sprints after the workout bahahahaa I was lucky I did not fall on my face on the track. Baaaad idea. I could barley walk down the stairs my legs were shaking so freaking bad! Guess I did my workout right. I am scared of what I will be feeling tomorrow! LOL.

Thanks again for blogging Tom it is very helpful to be able to read about your journey to competition!

Teresa

Posted on Jul 11, 2005 03:23 PM

Kirsty Wigglesworth said:

Hey Tom,

I must say you are a complete god send! To both me and my family; I am in the UK and they are in South Africa. The way I go on and on about how much you have motivated me - both through BFFM, ur newsletters and this website to lose 4% body fat and gain 3kg's of LBM, it's no wonder they too have jumped on the body builing band wagon (not that they are not gym goers, but their training needed tweaking here and there). We used to call our family the 'Go lightly's' hence the sarcasm...rather we had love handles that we called 'burger king's'...but now thanks to you, we are now able to call ourselves the 'keep fit family'!

There is nothing more enjoyable than, me a 24 yr old daughter been able to pump some iron with her mum at the gym! In fact i inspired her so much that she went on to take a position in the top ten Body For Life competition in South Africa last year!

I am learning so many new things about my body that I never knew that it was capable of! I have taken it on my own to learn, read and gain knowledge about what i consider to be important in my life - instead of relying on others to feed me with words on how to train and what to eat. I soon realised how it can easily go in one ear and out the other! Read it yourself and it sticks!!!

I am living proof that gettin up and doing something about your body does work...it is no miracle...it is hard work...alot of sweat...and sometimes a few tears...but i tell you what...the reward is well worth repeating such effort when you see the results...in fact, I tried your shoulder workout today and the burn made me go back for more man..tomorrow I will be testing you leg workout...bring on the sicky feeling, bring on the burn...i love it!

Thank you Tom...I hope that one day you will be able to visit South Africa and show us here down in the Southern Hemisphere how it is done...body building style!

Posted on Jul 11, 2005 05:18 PM

paul said:

I was wondering if you had more photos of your in-shape self, as they are very inspiring for me. I like to measure myself against what's naturally possible instead of the guys in Flex and all the crazy lifting mags.

Posted on Jul 11, 2005 06:47 PM

Tom Venuto said:

Paul - I'm definitely going to be posting more new photos in this blog. I FINALLY just got a digital camera... trouble is, I lost my training partner, so now I have no one to shoot training / posing pics.... I'll find someone though, and be posting more and more pics as the show gets closer. You can see my old photo gallery here: http://www.fitren.com/resuthmb.cfm?compid=18. By the way, don't set limits on what's "naturally possible." I know that I haven't even scratched the surface of my potential yet. Check out the guys who compete in the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation (WNBF - natural pros) and the NPC Team Universe. This is the pinnacle of drug free body building. These are the guys who set the standard. Even then, I wouldn't look at them and say, "this is the limit." who knows what the limit is of what's naturally possible. Think big!

Posted on Jul 11, 2005 06:56 PM

Kev said:

Lunges are my pet hate ;), they never seem to get any easier lol, I always curse the instructor when we're done, heheh, But I know that they are a great way to get those legs working :)

Tom, Do you also use a set(s) of reps in the lower half part of the lunge exercise?
just small movements (dropping but keeping to the lower half only) to get that pump, these are always a killer but its a great feeling when those lunges are over ;)

How about some more pics soon, We've not seen Mike yet. Is he competing in the contest?

Posted on Jul 11, 2005 06:58 PM

Tom Venuto said:

Kev, yes sometimes I use partial range lunges and partial range movements on other exercises as well, especially after reaching full range failure - you can often get another 4-5 partials after full range failure.

About the photos: Yes, as I mentioned in the last comment post, I just got the digital camera finally, but I lost my training partner (i.e, photographer) Mike. In one of my earlier blogs, I was joking about how I would "abuse him" if he dropped out, but I can't do that in good conscience because Mike is still an animal... he trained like a maniac at every workout without exception. What happened is he manages a kickboxing studio called club Ko. They are opening new locations and he is now teaching something like 5-6 classes a day. I didn't know such a feat was humanly possible, but like I said, mike is an animal. In any case, with his class schedule and a new club about to open, he can't train with me on a regular basis any more.

I'll find a new victim...er, training partner... soon... already got someone in mind, but it means I'll have to hit the gym at 6:30 in the morning... ouch!... we'll see... 8 am with Mike was hard enough (can you tell Im not a "morning person?")

Posted on Jul 11, 2005 07:04 PM

Joe Arko said:

Tom,
What is your favorite calf routine? How often do you train your calves? What recommendations would you give to taller bodybuilders with longer calves that don't develop very easily?

Posted on Jul 15, 2005 07:42 AM