May 1, 2004

Real Reps, Real Routines: Chantal Dicaire Trains Legs

Warning: This is an intense training program for an advanced competitor. Before undertaking any exercise program like this one, please consult your physician.

This article contains a real-life leg-training program used by national-level fitness champion Chantal Dicaire -- the photographs are real, taken as she trained, and are not posed shots. The routine she used on this day is designed to add muscle to her legs to increase the overall size, and improve her lower-body shape. I devised the routine myself, but any credit for results must really go to the late, legendary trainer, Vince Gironda, since all the methodology used in Chantal’s current training program comes directly from his teachings of what works best.

Gironda found that intensity, not lifting the heaviest weight possible, is the key to building muscle size. To illustrate his point he contrasted sprinters with longer-distance runners. Sprinters are almost always packed with muscles, because the nature of their sport is high intensity. On the other hand, longer-distance runners, who work in a lower-intensity fashion, have far less muscle on their frames. Too much work can actually strip muscle from your body, so you must find the balance between too much and too little work. Gironda’s motto: the most amount of work in the shortest possible time.

So, unlike many competitors who labor in the gym for hours each day, Chantal’s 2003-2004 training program is short, fast, and intense -- the focus is on proper exercise form and training intensity over simply lifting heavy weights at whatever cost. As you’ll see, she trains her legs and lower back in less than half an hour -- but it’s not easy. She trains each muscle group twice per week.

Throughout February, Chantal used a training routine based on "6-of-6" (6x6), meaning, each muscle was worked for 6 sets using 6 reps. It’s far different from what many people do in the gym: two to four exercises per body part, three or four sets, and all done slowly so that they take an hour or so to complete. 6x6 training is quick, intense, and difficult -- but doable, and just the sort of thing that Gironda prescribed for effective muscle growth.

The principles for 6x6 are identical to "8 Sets of 8 Reps" that I wrote about in October -- the only difference being two less sets and two less reps per set (it’s a good idea to read that article to understand the program in detail). As a result, you’ll use a little more weight doing 6x6 than 8x8.

The first question might be: why 6x6 and not 8x8? Some might think that it’s because you can use more weight. That’s not the answer. The reason is: muscle confusion -- meaning, switching the exercise routine so the muscles don’t get too used to a specific set and rep scheme. If a person keeps using the same routine for too long -- even if it’s a good one like 8x8 -- the muscles usually stop responding. Chantal was doing 8x8 on certain body parts in December and for part of January, so we needed a change, and that’s why she moved to 6x6 in the middle of January and throughout February. As well, for people trying something like this for the first time, doing 6x6 can be a way to "break in" to this method of training. 8x8, done correctly with minimal breaks per set, is extraordinarily difficult to do. Most people can’t handle it -- at least not at first. Doing 6x6 allows one to work up to 8x8.

Another thing worth noting is the exercises that she uses. On February 6 Chantal did squats for her thighs, glutes, and hips; leg curls for her hamstrings; calf raises for her calves; and hyperextensions for her lower back. As mentioned, all muscles are worked 6 sets of 6 reps, with just minimal rest between sets. The exception are the calves, which are worked 6 sets of 20 reps -- calves generally respond better to higher reps. That’s 24 sets in total, all done in less than 30 minutes.

But just as there is a need to switch set and rep schemes every so often, the exercises should change too -- but more often. Although Chantal did the exercises I described on February 6, on her next leg-training day she did Roman-chair squats instead of regular squats, stiff-legged deadlifts with dumbbells instead of leg curls, and a different type of calf raise than the one she did on her squat day. And since stiff-legged deadlifts with dumbbells work the lower back and hamstrings, on days she does the deadlifts she does no other lower-back work because that muscle is already getting a good workout. That’s 18 sets in total, all done in less than 25 minutes. In the next workout, she went back to what she did on February 6 (squats, leg curls, calf raises, hyperextensions), and then switched back to the alternate exercises again on her next leg day (Roman-chair squats, stiff-legged deadlifts with dumbbells, calf raises) to keep her muscles "guessing."

People familiar with Gironda’s teachings might raise their eyebrows when they read that Chantal is doing squats -- Gironda so frowned on the exercise that in his gym there was no squat rack. One must understand, though, why he thought that way.

Squats build not only the legs, but the hips, glutes, and waist, too. Gironda felt men should try to keep the hips through the waist as small as possible -- and squats certainly wouldn’t do that. As a result, he recommended other leg exercises that focused more on the thighs and less on the hips and glutes. However, when I visited Gironda in the mid-‘80s he told me that he encouraged some women to do squats since the shape of a woman’s body differs from man’s, and they generally look better with more fullness in the hip and glute area. Hence, Chantal does squats.

The key to the 6x6, 8x8, or 10x10 training method is to pick the correct amount of weight because the same weight is used for every set. So, it must also be a weight that you can finish with under your own steam (no forced reps), all with minimal rest between sets.

For someone just starting out with this type of program, the amount of weight to use can be difficult to gauge. It may take two or three workouts to get it right. For someone who is experienced with the training routine, it becomes a snap. Here’s also a little trick to remember: you’re better off going too light than too heavy, because if you go too heavy you’ll never be able to finish properly and you’ll risk injury. If you go a little too light you can decrease the time between sets to bump up the intensity and make up for it. Most people think that there’s only one way to increase the weight used, and that’s to use more weight. That’s not true: Decreasing the rest time between sets is another way to increase the weight! It’s about progressive resistance. In fact, Vince Gironda found that it was more important to decrease the time between sets than to increase the weight used and risk sloppier form. Some trainers at Vince’s Gym worked with a set weight until they minimized their rest between sets to as little as 10 seconds!

So now that you know what she does and why, here’s exactly what Chantal’s routine looked like on February 6, 2004.

On squats, Chantal chose 165 pounds. Every person is different, though, and what’s good for Chantal may not be good for another. People training should always err on the side of caution: remember, an injury can set you back months, years, or in extreme cases, indefinitely. Do not try to lift anything that is too much for you. Also, Chantal always has a spotter close by for safety in case something goes wrong. You know the old saying: better safe than sorry.

Chantal clocked off the 6 sets with about 30 seconds of rest between sets -- and during those 30 seconds she breathed deeply to try to get as much oxygen into her body as possible, and, at the same time, massaged her thighs to manage the increasing soreness as the sets built up. Following squats, which were done in about five minutes, she took a two-minute breather, a big drink of water, and then headed directly over to the leg-curl machine.

Midpoint of the squat -- proper form and full control of the weight is a must!

Chantal catches her breath before beginning the next exercise.

On leg curls we keep Chantal’s intensity high by never having her exit the machine. Each rep of each set is done from the fully extended to the fully contracted position, and when each set is finished she simply "unhooks" her legs from under the roller and rests while lying on the machine. Again, all six sets are done inside five minutes -- fast!

The starting position of the leg curl stretches the hamstrings.

The midpoint of the leg curl contracts the muscle the most.

A couple more minutes of rest and another big drink of water and Chantal heads over to do calf raises. Squats are the most difficult to do because of the effort involved to lift all that weight, but working calves with this training method is by far the most painful. The burn you get doing 6 sets of 20 reps with less than 30 seconds of rest between sets is excruciating. In fact, usually by the third set the pain can be almost unbearable, so this is where deep concentration is necessary to get through it all. It’s also important to remember that execution of the movement is far more important than the amount of weight lifted. You’ll be surprised at how little weight you have to use to get a tremendous pump in your calves if you keep proper form.

After calf raises, Chantal rests again for a couple minutes and then it’s directly over to the hyperextension machine for a fast-and-intense lower-back workout. When Chantal first started doing hyperextensions she used only her body’s weight. Fairly quickly, though, her strength and stamina increased to the point she was able to get through all her sets with hardly any rest between sets and with perfect form. As a result, in February she was able to perform all six sets with a 25-pound plate firmly clutched to her chest.

Chantal uses her gym's hack-squat-type machine for calf raises.

Hyperextensions are now done holding a 25-pound plate for increased resistance.

As you can imagine, working out with this kind of intensity works your muscles and heart. So, following the final exercise, Chantal walks around the gym to cool down properly before calling it a day. And what a day -- 24 sets all done in less than 30 minutes. Short, fast, intense, and effective! In the future we’ll describe how Chantal trains her rock-solid shoulders.

...Doug Schneider
das@seriousaboutfitness.com

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