We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.

Our simple but sinister leg-day gauntlet mashes up two of the most potent leg builders and challenges you to see just how heavy you can go

Look, your legs do a lot of work, and that’s before you even think about stepping foot in the gym. They cart you around all day, stand you up and sit you down and even just standing stationary they’re holding you steady. Those pins of yours really are the MVP.

Given their already cemented status as ‘hardest workers in the room’, it stands to reason that if you want to make them grow, you’ve really got to give them a reason.

Our simple but sinister leg-day gauntlet mashes up two of the most potent leg builders and challenges you to see just how heavy you can go.

Set yourself up in a squat rack, start a running clock and with an empty barbell perform five reps of our quad-swelling complex. Each ‘rep’ consists of a single back squat, followed by a reverse lunge on each leg. Perform five total reps before racking the bar. Next, add 5-10kg to the bar and rest until the beginning of the next minute, where you’ll repeat the process.

Your goal? Each minute add a small increment of weight and blast out five reps, until you hit the heaviest weight you can safely handle for all five.

No barbell? Try and work to the heaviest set of dumbbells or kettlebells you can muster, or crank up the reps to ten if you’re using lighting loads.

Get the bar comfortable across the top of your back (A). Maintain an upright torso, take a deep breath, bracing your core and push your hips back, bending your knees until the crease of your hip drops below your knees (B). Stand back up to the start position explosively.

With the barbell still on your back, take a step backward with one leg, bending your front knee until the back knee touches the ground (B). Stand up explosively, pause and repeat with the other leg. That’s one complex. Get back into your squat and repeat for five total reps, if you can.