Chad,
I see examples of training routine all the time where you can train chest or abs by doing different combination of push-ups and sit-ups. I’m being very general here, but the point is, I have never seen an anytime, anywhere workout for legs. I don’t know if the muscle group is too big, or people are just plain scared to try, but I’m, putting this out there to you. I don’t have a specific goal in mind, but I travel a lot and my lower body tends to suffer during those stretches of time.
Just do a bunch of squats, like 500 reps over a few sets. If you’re not lifting for a few days, you’ll have time to recover
You might want to give pistols a try http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=473323 or any other single leg supplements, you really don’t need a lot of weight to see some good improvements here, a couple of dumbbels will do.
Hope this helps,
Crouching Tiger
Free Squats are always a good way to go. However, you can also add weight without having any barbell equipment!
You say you travel a lot. I assume you are staying in Hotels. Grab two chairs in your Hotel room hook one around one shoulder and one around the other and begin squatting. This may not be ideal, but you will be surprised at how difficult that it can be because of balance issues and shoulder involvement.
Do 100 Free Squats (without weight) first. Then grab anything that is not nailed down. Hoist on your back and begin squatting.
Another way to make squats more difficult is to do them in slow motion. I don’t mean just slow, I mean painfully slow. You don’t need weight to make this difficult. In fact, start out with sets of 10 with a one min. rest and see how high you can go!
Use your imagination!
Good Luck,
Zeb
Don’t forget jumping squats as well. You might look a bit crazy doing them but they build very dynamic leg strength, and froggy legs are essential for many athletic activities. Also tough on the cardiovascular system.
Free squats are a tremendous conditioning routine.
If you are interested more in limit strength type work, go with one-leg squats. Of these, the pistol is the king but its difficulty makes it off-limits for many. Check dragondoor.com and the works of pavel tsatsouline for information on pistols(he breaks them down very well in his book The Naked Warrior - but its pricey…try amazon.com to score one used.)
When I am away from the gym, or just fancy a change, I use this programme - also good GPP/cardio…
20 speed squats (tempo - fuckin’ fast!)
20 forward lunges
20 burpees
20 backward lunges
20 squat jumps
Lie down awhile and repeat - works for me!
Other exercises that would fit this protocol could include pistols, step ups, split jumps, plyo step ups, spped skater side to side jumps, ski jumps, ski squats…
Have fun and good luck.
The BOM has some awesome types of squats and other leg exercises in it that are performed with nothing but your body weight. If you do enough of these, you can rest assured that your legs won’t lag behind if you aren’t able to go to the gym for a few days but are still doing pushups/crunches.
For those who missed it, I answered this question with a sample routine on the “Chad, Help!” thread. Check it out.
Okay, I’ll save y’all a trip. Here it is:
Day 1 (Maximal Strength):
Exercise: Alternating Single-leg Squat Jumps
Sets: 6
Reps: 3
Rest: 60s between sets
Description: Perform a bodyweight single-leg squat. Push up as hard and fast as you can, switch your legs in the air and land with the opposite leg. Perform 3 reps on each leg (6 total since you’re alternating).
Day 2 (Endurance Strength):
Exercise: Split Squats
Sets: 2
Reps: 25
Rest: 90s between sets
Description: Assume a split squat position and perform 25 continuous reps before switching legs, rest 90s and repeat.
Day 3: Off
Day 4 (Hypertrophy Strength):
Exercise: Step-ups
Sets: 4
Reps: 8
Rest: 60s between sets
Description: Step up on a chair with the same leg for 8 reps, switch and perform 8 on the other, rest 60s and repeat 3 more times.
Day 5: Off
Day 6 (Explosive Strength)
Exercise: Explosive Lunges
Sets: 10
Reps: 3
Rest: 60s between sets
Description: Perform lunges alternating between legs as hard and fast as possible (6 total for the set). Rest 60s and repeat 9 more times.
Chad,
Thanks for the workout. I would’ve never thought to use a jump as a maximal exercise.