It's a sin to skip leg day, so what do you do when you hit a plateau or feel like switching up your routine? Add a few sets of these tempo-style barbell squats to your program!
Incorporating the concept of time under tension (TUT), these are guaranteed to destroy your quads and will have you walking like a dinosaur!
The breakdown:
- 4 second descent
- 1 second pause at the bottom
- 2 second ascent
- 1 second pause at the top
*Repeat for 8 reps, 3 sets.
Key points:
- use a weight that enables you to complete the desired rep range, but no more or less
- take a deep breath at the top of the descent, and exhale during the ascent
- keep head facing forward, your shoulders back and chest out throughout the movement
- employ a shoulder width stance with toes pointed slightly outward
- knees should point in the same direction as feet and not cave inward during the exercise
- push your hips back and down on the descent (4 seconds)
- depending on your hip flexibility, squat to just below parallel so your hips drop just below your knees
- do not bounce at the bottom of the movement- pause for 1 second
- reverse the movement by driving your hips up (2 seconds)
- do not lock out at the top of the exercise, instead keep legs slightly bent
Pictured: Adam Rochester, Eddy Ung & Calum Von Moger posing in Strong Lift Wear including SLW Lift Shorts!
Hip flexibility is extremely important for performing any type of squat, so don't risk further restriction by wearing the wrong type of shorts! Strong Lift Wear Lift Shorts (pictured) are a leg day essential. Made from a flexi-dry material they bend with you whilst training and draw sweat away from your body! Available in 8 colours from www.strongliftwear.com
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