Body Beast Bulk Legs: Workout Review


“Here comes Quadzilla. That’s your new name, you’re gonna need to get new pants.”

That’s Sagi’s personal message at the start of the Body Beast: Bulk Legs session.

I have a real love-hate relationship with leg sessions, probably the same as lots of other people who lift weights. Legs produce the most painful and grueling workout session you can imagine and that’s why I hate it, but that’s also why I love it. You step up, grid through and once you’ve completed a workout you know that you’ve really achieved something.

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If you can walk a flight of stairs after a leg session, you’re not working it hard enough.

The Build Legs session was tough. Bulk Legs is even tougher!

41 minutes of pure muscle destruction. To build bigger, first you must destroy the muscle – prepare for a hell of a lot of microtears in this session.

As with all the Body Beast workouts, we start with a quick warm-up, less than two minutes of jogging, hip twists, lunges and squats.

Front To Back Lunge

We’re straight into the thick of things with three sets of front to back lunges. These are tough.

Holding dumbbells, keep one leg stationary the whole time and step forward into a lunge position with the other leg. Then stand up and step backward into a lunge position. Don’t put your foot down in between, just go from a forward lunge into a backward lunge. Repeat.

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It’s three sets of these. 12, 10, 8 reps with a bit of rest in between.

Once those three sets have been done, it’s the same on the other leg.

I can’t underline enough the value of me buying a set of adjustable dumbbells. The Orbus set that I have allow me to switch the weight in superfast time, making sure that I keep up with the DVD at every turn.

This exercise seems to take ages and really does blitz my lower quads, inner thigh even the hamstrings. The Beast does not mess around, he throws us straight into the muscle battle. My legs are twitching already.

The Squat

Then we’re into the progressive set. Six sets of squats, starting with 15 reps, down to 12, down to 8. A minute or so rest, then we’re heading back up the reps: 8, 12, 15.

Start with a light weight, then increase the weight as the reps come down to 8. Then you’re supposed to increase back up from 8.

I’ve done this session three times now and I can’t use the same weight for the second half of the six sets (8, 12 and 15), I’ve just blasted my quads too much in the first three sets (15, 12, 8).

During the onslaught, Sagi says “It’s not supposed to be easy.” This definitely helps me to dig in and get those muscle fibres working till the end.

On the DVD, Sagi’s studio is looking a bit out of shape, with weights all over the place. Sagi takes a look around:

“You know my momma’s gonna call you and she gonna be mad!  It’s messy in here!”

Smiley and Eric, Sagi’s two demo guys for this session, get to work clearing up the weights.

Sumo Squat

Here it is. The force set. 5 sets of 5 reps, with just 5 seconds rest between each set. This is the big one. And it’s the sumo squat.

Holding a single dumbbell at your chest, with your legs slightly wider than shoulder width and toes pointing outwards, you squat down to parallel, then up.

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The killer on this section is that after the set of 5, you keep everything tensed at the top for 5 seconds, then straight into the next set.

After five sets my quads are in flames.

Split Squat With E/Z Bar

For me, this is the hardest part of the session. It really takes some getting through.

Another progressive set, going 15, 12, 8 reps and then back up 8, 12, 15.

But this time we have to run through the sequence twice!

The split squat with E/Z bar involves standing with one foot in front of the other, with an E/Z bar between your legs. Without moving your feet, squat down into a lunge position then straighten your legs. That’s one rep.

I don’t have an E/Z bar, so I did this exercise holding a pair of dumbbells. Once you’ve done six sets with one leg forwards, take a quick break, then you’re straight back in with the other leg forward. That’s 12 set in total. Complete agony!

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Towards the end of each leg sequence, I started losing my balance due to fatigue. It is very hard to grind out all these sets and reps, but dig in and reap the benefits.

As Sagi says at this point:

“Get big in a hurry.  Get huge in a hurry!  BEAST UP!”

Stiff Leg Deadlift And Alternating Side Squat

Now we’re on to isolating those hamstrings with the stiff leg deadlift, superset with alternating side squats. 15, 12 and then 8 reps of deadlifts, with each set followed directly afterwards with 10 reps of the side squat. We’re talking supersets here.

With the stiff leg deadlift, it’s not too much about the weight, but more about getting the form right. With legs straight and dumbbells held by the tops of your thighs, bow forwards, keeping your legs straight and the weights almost touching your legs all the way down. Keep that back straight and really feel the pull on the backs of your legs.

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From the moment you complete the exercise, go straight into the alternating side squats. Hold the dumbbells in front of you with feet together, step to one side and squat, then back up to the centre, step to the other side and squat. That’s one rep. These suckers are tough!

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For the last set of 8 stiff leg deadlifts, you think it’s over, but after the first 8 there’s another set of 8 with slightly less weight, just to completely destroy those hamstrings.

Calf Raise And Beast Abs

Here comes the home straight! We’ve blitzed the quads and hams, so it’s now time to wreck the calves. Single leg calf raises, 50 reps, with Beast abs in between.

The 50 reps of calf raises are shocking and I didn’t complete the full 50 on my first session. Painful.

With Beast abs, lay on your back and spell out the word “Beast” with your feet. On set 2, spell it backwards.

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A quick stretch and cool down, then we’re done!

This is the hardest of the Body Beast workout sessions. It is a total Beast and it hurts. But it is such a great feeling when you complete the session. I know that it is going to slap size on my thighs and get the rest of my body growing as well.

This is the session that I dislike the most, but also one of my favourites!

My home gym is upstairs at the moment. Walking back downstairs I was clinging to the banister rail every step of the way to stop myself falling over!

You can also check out my reviews of Body Beast Bulk Back, Bulk Chest and Bulk Shoulders.

Did You Find This Post Useful?

Have you done this workout? Let me know how you got on, I’d love to hear from you. What was your favourite exercise and was there anything that got the better of you? Let me know!

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