The Best 15 Minute Workout for Large Legs

In past blogs, I’ve provided workouts to help you train the chest, shoulders, back, and arms in 15 minutes. Now we move on to everyone’s favorite day…leg day. Yes, believe it or not, you can train your entire lower body in a quarter-hour.

By Roger Lockridge

Before we get into this, I offer some advice. This workout, like the others, is not designed to be used as regular training sessions. The goal is to use these programs when time isn’t in your favor and you have to be in and out of the gym in a hurry. 15 minutes isn’t going to serve you as well as an hour but 15 minutes does beat 0.
We’re going to perform giant sets. These are individual sets grouped together to be performed in the style of a circuit. I suggest going a little lighter on these movements than you usual because going all out with resistance with minimum time to rest can increase the chances of injury.

Squats – 8 reps
It’s the most basic leg movement but it’s the best. Make sure you take the reps as far down in the hole as you can before standing back up. Your thighs should be at least parallel to the floor. Don’t drop down fast for the purpose of saving time. Make the reps count.

Dumbbell Stiff-Legged Deadlift – 10 reps
The dumbbells should be kept next to the squat rack so there is minimum time to transition from one movement to the next. Make sure you feel a good stretch in the hamstrings before coming back up. Don’t lock out your knees because that will place emphasis on the knee joint and not on the hamstrings. If you need extra room to get a deeper stretch, stand on a step or 100 pound plate.

Seated Calf Raise – 12 reps
The visible part of the calf muscle in the back of your leg is the gastrocnemius. The less visible part behind is the soleus and the only way to target this area is with bent knee movements. Since you’re trying to be in and out, you might decide to skip or speed through this. Don’t do it. Calves are vital for performance and they should be focused on.

Box Jumps – 6 jumps
You’ve already done three exercises for numerous reps so don’t try to be Superman or Supergirl here. Set your box or steps low until you feel more comfortable. Rapid fire jumps will take its toll on the joints and set you up for serious injuries. Jump, slowly step down, reposition yourself, and jump again. At this point, you can take your rest period.

Rest and Rounds
You should perform all four of these exercises in a row without rest. Once you finish the jumps, you can take a 60 second rest to sip on your water, BCAA’s, or Infinite Force. You should be ready to go at the squat rack before the 60 seconds is up. Perform three rounds of this giant set and you can leave the gym knowing you made those 900 seconds count.