When it comes to leg day, we’ve given you plenty of alternatives to heavy squats over the years. That being said, we all know that when it comes to building a bigger, stronger lower body, heavy squats are one of the best tools in your arsenal.
This strongman-inspired leg workout challenges you to lift as heavy as possible on the classic barbell front squat, before tackling a lung-busting, brute strength-building sandbag AMRAP. The type of practical strength and stamina you build from workouts like these can’t be overstated.
In the first part of the workout, you’ll set a timer for 10 minutes and, after a thorough warm-up, build to the heaviest 3-5 reps of front squat you can manage for the day. Build steadily, increasing your rest time as the weight on the bar increases.
In part two, grab a heavy sandbag or d-ball and work your way through as many high-quality rounds of the soul-sucking, full-body circuit as possible in 20 minutes. Rest as necessary to maintain good form, but keep the pace high for maximum results. Note how many rounds and reps you’ve accumulated when the buzzer sounds. Attempt to beat your 'score' next time leg day rolls around.
A. Front Squat x work to a heavy 3-5 reps in 10 minutes
With your feet at shoulder-width, hold a barbell across your chest. Then, lift your elbows high to secure the bar on your shoulders (A). Maintain an upright torso and push your hips back, bending your knees until your thighs pass parallel to the floor (B). Stand back up to the start position. Once you can no longer control its descent over 2-3 seconds, the set is over.
B. 20-Minute AMRAP (as many reps as possible)
B1. Sandbag-to-shoulder x 5
With a sandbag between your feet, bend down and roll it side to side, working your hands underneath. Keeping your back straight (A), lift the bag from the floor and rest it on your thighs. Now, pull it close to your torso and stand up explosively. Use the momentum to pull the ball up onto one shoulder (B). Alternate shoulders each rep.
B2. Sandbag Squat x 10
After your fifth rep pick the bag up a sixth time, ‘hug’ the bag as tightly as possible before standing upright (A). Holding the bag ‘bear hug’ style, squat down until the crease of your hip passes your knee (B) before returning to standing. Maintain an upright posture and tight squeeze on the bag throughout.
B3. Sandbag Bear Hug Carry x 20m
10 squats despatched, quickly move into a fast carry, keeping the bag tight to your torso, focussing on you breathing and covering 20m as quickly as possible. If you have to drop the bag, simply get your composure and (literally) pick-up where you left off.
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With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.
As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that’s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.
Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts.
You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for ‘free pizza’ and wait for him to appear.
