The name Scott Evennett is not for the faint of heart. Or in today’s case, the faint of legs. The ex-Australian Special Forces commando has built up a solid following over the years for his military style drills of fitness which can make F45 look like a fun run. Evennett’s latest leg day session is no different and is designed to challenge those who don’t just want their legs to look bigger but to also have some serious explosive strength.
It’s five rounds of pain but it doesn’t come without its leg day rewards. Unfortunately, walking straight the next day is not one of them.
Leg Day Warm Up
As you’d expect from an ex-commando, these warm-ups aren’t your usual run-of-the-mill yoga stretches. Instead Evennett recommends jumping on a BikeErg (air resistance treadmill) for a 5km (3.1mile) ride which should be completed around the 10 minute mark. Embarking on this kind of warm-up will prime the legs for heavy resistance training whilst getting the endorphins going for a positive mindset towards leg day.
Mobility Training
After your warm up, it’s time to hit the mobility training circuit to further prepare the legs for heavier exercises. These are normally dynamic stretches commonly found in standard sporting warm-ups.
Complete these across your workout space within a 10 metre range for each exercise.
- Butt kicks
- High knees
- Squat walks
- Bear crawls
- Spider crawls
- Front lunges (unweighted)
The benefits of mobility training will allow your joints to open up whilst identifying what your strengths are as well as weaknesses like flexibility.
5 Round Supersets
This is the crux of Evennett’s leg day. It involves 5 rounds of back squats with each round increasing in weight. In terms of weight Evennett says you should start from your comfort level and move through to your limit as the weight increases after each round.
- 5 x Back squats with increasing weight in each set
- In between each back squat set, add in a 200m BikeERG session in the standing position — this should take you roughly 2 minutes
- Try to make it to the end as your legs will be feeling it by the final set
Finishing Off Leg Day
At this point it’s the home stretch which doesn’t really mean much in Special Forces vernacular. Evennett suggests finishing off the workout with:
- 12 x Barbell lunges (6 lunges in and 6 lunges out 6)
- Following this, jump onto the BikeERG again for a 100m stint in the seated position at half resistance to the first ride
- This ride should take you no longer than 60 seconds as you’ll be focused on maximum output
- Leg day ends with 30m Broad jumps (15m each direction) followed by a final 30 seconds on the BikeERG
The great thing about this particular workout is that it’s a serious change-up from regular gym leg days and focuses a lot on explosive strength. The hardest part is probably seeing how far you get.