Jeff Nippard put together his perfect leg workout to build every part over the last year.
Jeff Nippard continues to preach many different science-based methods to adding muscle. Recently, Nippard went through a one-year transformation to see how much muscle he could gain in one year. Nippard shared the leg workout that he put together and performed over the course of 12 months.
[RELATED: Jeff Nippard Shares Workout Used During Transformation]
Nippard vowed to not skip a workout and tracked everything he ate during this time. Nippard, along with his untrained brother Brad, participated in this challenge. It featured a six-month bulk followed by recomposition and cutting.
Jeff Nippard retained 2.7 pounds of lean mass while dropping his body fat percentage from 15.8 to 14.5. Brad Nippard gained 10 pounds of lean mass and lost 10 pounds of fat.
Jeff Nippard’s Leg Workout
Jeff Nippard put together this six-exercise leg program and he followed it for one year to build better legs:
- Lying Leg Curls – 2 sets, 6-8 reps
- Pendulum Squats – 3 sets, 6-8 reps
- Romanian Deadlifts – 3 sets, 6-8 reps
- Leg Extensions – 2 sets, 8-10 reps
- Hip Adduction Machine – 2 sets, 8-10 reps
- Standing Calf Raises – 2 sets, 8-10 reps
Lying Leg Curls
Jeff Nippard began the session with lying leg curls. This was placed first in order to get many aspects of the legs warmed up.
“By doing them first, not only do you prioritize your hamstrings but you also get your knees and soft tissues nice and warmed up for the rest of the workout.”
Pendulum Squats
Pendulum squats were next on the list. This might not be in every gym so Nippard provided other options to substitute.
“If you don’t have one, you can swap it out with another squat variation that you can progressively overload, like a barbell squat, Smith machine squat, or a hack squat.”
Romanian Deadlifts
Nippard places Romanian deadlifts next in order to complement other hamstring work. He explains how to properly perform this exercise to get the most benefit.
“The main cue you want to focus on here is pushing your glutes straight back. That keeps the movement a true hip hinge and prevents you from turning it into a squat. I keep a slight knee bend on these but don’t let my knees drift forward.”
Leg Extensions
Leg extensions are added into the workout because it hits a different part of the quad. Because hips are fixed, leg extensions will force the rectus femoris to stretch and squeeze, Nippard explained.
“It actually hits the long rectus femoris part of the quad harder than any squat variation will. That’s because the rectus femoris crosses both the hip joint and the knee joint. It won’t change length much on a squat because your knees and hips are both moving.”
Hip Adduction Machine
Jeff Nippard continues to switch hip angles in order to work different parts of the lower body. The hip adduction machine helps with overall glute development.
“Since we already smashed the glute max pretty hard on the pendulum squat and RDL, let’s do these with straight extended hips and focus on extending those pper glute medial fibers.”
Standing Calf Raises
The final workout was calf raises. Nippard pushed for close to 10 reps while making sure to go deep. If you feel tempted to skip calves and end after five exercises, Nippard urges you to do this first.
“If they are a priority for you, you can even put them first in the workout so you’re less tempted to skip them. By far the biggest mistake I see here is not going deep enough.”
