Three-time Olympia Men’s Physique champion, Ryan Terry has built a successful bodybuilding career by taking care of the proportions and in a recent Instagram post, the buff Brit shared an intense leg session as he looks ahead to the 2026 finals later this year. Here’s how to try it for yourself.
Terry took to his own RT-Fit gym floor in Nottinghamshire, England, to blast his legs using a mixture of machines and free weights in order to achieve absolute muscular exhaustion. Here are the five exercises that the current Olympia men’s physique champion completed, along with the sets and reps.
Ryan Terry’s Board Short-Busting Leg Workout
- Leg Extension:
- 2 sets of 16 to 18 reps (warmup)
- 5 sets of 10 to 12 reps (working sets)
- Stiff-Leg Deadlift:
- 1 set of 16 to 18 reps (feeler set)
- 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps (working sets)
- Hack Squat:
- 1 set of 10 to 12 reps (feeler set)
- 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps (working sets)
- Lying Hamstring Curl:
- 1 set of 12 to 15 reps (feeler set)
- 4 sets of 10 controlled + 5 forced reps (working sets)
- Bulgarian Split Squat:
- 5 sets of 15 to 18 reps (working sets)
Why This 22-Set Leg Workout Builds Serious Muscle
With more than 20 working sets, this is an intense leg day, designed to demolish the muscles so that they build back stronger. Terry utilizes feeler sets to gauge how heavy he can go on any particular day and then gets to work. First up are leg extensions. “Heavy and controlled,” he noted, isolating the quads. He then picked up the barbell for some stiff legged deadlifts, an exercise that hammers the hamstrings, lats, glutes, and the posterior chain.
Feeling the burn, Terry set himself up on the hack squat with his feet at around shoulder width, positioned in the middle of the platform for a balanced load across his quads and glutes. Notice how the champ keeps his back stuck to the rest pad and drives with his feels. The fourth exercise was the lying leg curl to target his hamstrings. And, because the bodybuilder wants to create under tension, he does the bulk of his reps as controlled movements and then saves the last five in each set for forced reps, where Terry attempts to push past failure and maximize hypertrophy.
Heading into Bulgarian split squats as a worthy finisher, the Men’s Physique competitor never drops his desire to find the perfect form. “Lighter weight but ensuring there’s
absolutely nothing left before heading off the gym floor,” he explained, while pounding his quads and calves into submission. Ryan Terry’s detailed approach, taking in 22 working sets is a serious leg day, so if you are just starting out, feel free to adjust the volume, but try to mirror his intensity for maximum muscle growth.
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