Can't Fail Leg Strategies | Jon Delarosa's Wheel Deal for Chicago
Can't Fail Leg Strategies
Jon Delarosa's Wheel Deal for Chicago This Weekend
Join De La Rosa is driven like never before to win his first pro contest. Namely this weekend’s (July 3rd and 4th) Wings of Strength Chicago Pro. The 2011 NPC USA heavyweight champ made his pro debut with fifth place at the 2012 New York Pro. Since then he has competed in 10 more contests earning seven top four finishes; his best showings being runner-up spots at the 2012 Toronto Pro and 2014 Orlando Show of Champions. In Orlando he would have surely won but ran into a ripped to shreds Justin Compton. And it’s in the area of condition that Jon – although never off -- has to nail 100%. He has great overall shape and knockout arms and legs, with no real weaknesses elsewhere. So if he does nail condition In Chicago then in the appropriate surroundings of the Windy City he can blow everyone away.
For this weekend’s assignment Jon says, “In my prep, despite traveling a lot, I didn't miss a workout, didn't miss a meal, didn't miss a cardio session. I'd say, ‘I want this bad!’ Now I’m focusing on finishing the job with my beautiful wife Swann De La Rosa, who’s competing in Chicago in the Women’s Pro Figure division.” Let’s see if the De La Rosa’s can pull of a winning family double in Chicago.
As he awaits his date with destiny Jon, in this feature with Justin Compton, outlines his strategy for building show stopping quads in the quest of being the Wheel Deal in Chicago this weekend.
Stay tuned to musculardevelopment.com all this week and early next week as we bring you unrivalled coverage of the 2015 Wings of Strength Chicago Pro. Our programming includes play-by-play as it happens action, reports on all contests, video previews and recaps and interviews with all the main players. Prejudging for all pro classes commence on Friday July 3 at 12.00pm local time (1.00pm EST), and Finals for all pro classes commence on Saturday July 4 at 4.30pm local time (5.30pm EST).
JON DE LA ROSA TALKS LEGS
RH: What was your early leg training like, and what kind of results did you experience?
Unlike some kids, I did legs from day one and always had a dedicated day for them. That was thanks to the guidance of my dad William who also competes. They got large fairly quickly as soon as I started banging away hard on them. My arms and my legs were the two body parts that always responded the easiest for me. Everything else was more challenging. They were strong, too. I remember being 17 and during Hell Week for high school football, I squatted 405 for four reps.
How is your leg training these days different from what you did in your first couple of years of training? Would you say you train a lot smarter now?
I know some people will say this doesn’t sound very hardcore, but I mainly chase the pump now. That doesn’t mean I go light, it just means that if I can’t feel the muscle working and I can’t get that really good pump I’m after, I don’t go heavier. For example, I haven’t really moved up in weight on squats over the years. I still do 405, but now I do it for sets of 15-20 instead of 10-12. As a younger guy, I wasn’t putting anywhere near as much focus on squeezing and contracting the muscle. Now it’s everything. Lifting weights from point A to point B is not going to give you the development of a bodybuilder. You need to push a lot of blood into the muscles.
Did you always put as much time and effort into legs as you do now, or was there a time when you focused more on the upper body as a lot of guys do?
At one point when I had done well at a few regional shows and was in my off-season before I entered and won the overall at the 2009 Junior Nationals, it was very clear to me that my legs were way ahead of my upper body. I took about four or five months off from training them, and used that time and energy to hit my upper body muscle groups twice as frequently. I was doing chest every other day, shoulders every other day, and back every other day. It worked out well, and once those areas had caught up I went back to working my legs again.
Why do you think we see a lot of lagging lower bodies among bodybuilders? Where are they going wrong?
There are a few reasons I can think of. A lot of guys don’t train legs very hard, and they always seem to have an excuse like knee pain. The reason they have that pain is also a reason their legs don’t grow very well— bad form. They do everything in a ballistic manner, which will wreck anybody’s knees, lower back and hips. If you use good form and focus on keeping a specific muscle under tension, you will get results.
A lot of guys do things to handle more weight like a sumo stance on squats or partial range of motion. If you ever saw guys with the best quads like Ronnie Coleman or the late Paul DeMayo squat, it was shoulder width and past parallel. The reps were controlled and smooth like a piston, with no snapping at the top or bouncing at the bottom.
Speaking of squats, a lot of guys don’t even squat! There are so many cool, shiny machines out there that it’s tempting to think those are just as good. Look at every bodybuilder who ever built impressive quads, and they all built them by squatting.
Which exercises do you feel have been the most productive for you? And what rep ranges do you feel have given you the best results?
Squats are number one, hands down. The rep range that I have found works best is 15-20, and that’s not just for legs. Most guys never give the higher reps a chance, but they would be shocked at how well they stimulate growth. It’s also a lot safer in the long term for your knees and your lower back when you aren’t loading up a bar with something you can only get a few reps with.
Are there any leg exercises you never do, either because you feel they are not productive for you, or not safe?
I do pretty much every exercise. The only one I have to be careful with is front squats, which I don’t do as often. The bar has a tendency to roll back on my neck, and I’ve had a few close calls when I almost choked myself out! Juan Morel does them all the time, but he has those giant shoulders. He’s in no danger!
Some people feel the legs respond to a much higher volume of training than what the upper body muscle groups usually get. Do you agree or disagree?
Legs can take a little more of a beating than the other muscle groups, for sure. But just like with higher reps, I found that high volume works very well for making good gains too. People are so paranoid about overtraining that they never even try to see what more volume can do for them. As long as you’re eating enough and getting your sleep, you can get better results by doing more. Within reason, of course.
Do you do mostly regular straight sets in your leg training, or do you do a lot of supersets and drop sets?
I like straight sets most of the time. When I was training for the Mr. Olympia, I liked doing drop sets and ascending sets on the leg press to push myself a little harder. For the ascending sets, I would do sets of 10 and keep adding a plate to each side, taking only enough time between to add the plates, until I couldn’t get 10 reps anymore.
What rep tempo works best for your legs— slow and squeezing, or faster and more like a piston, with no pausing at either the top or the bottom of the rep?
Slow, controlled movements are what I feel are best.
Do you feel most bodybuilders would be better off training the quadriceps and hamstrings at different workouts?
That’s really up to the individual and what they feel. Some guys feel they can’t do justice to both in the same workout. I’ve never felt that way, personally. To me it’s just like doing both biceps and triceps in the same workout. It’s one reason I do squats later on in my quad workout. I find they make a good segue into hamstrings, since deep squats are going to involve your hams as well as your quads. From there I go into various types of leg curls.
Should the legs be trained twice a week if they are lagging, or is that too much to be able to recover from?
I think twice a week is too much simply because it’s a large volume of sheer muscle mass. If you’re truly doing a good job training them, they will need a minimum of three days and probably four to fully recover. If you work them again and incur that damage to the muscle cells before they have repaired and rebuilt, you won’t be able to grow. You might even see a loss of size in your legs.
What about form for leg exercises? Should it always be strict, or is there a time and place for looser form too?
I’m a stickler for good form. That being said, I do believe it’s OK to let loose once in a while and just move some heavy fucking weight! For me, that will tend to be in the off-season when I’m feeling good, my joints are feeling fine, and I’m training with guys like Juan [Morel], Victor [Martinez] and Akim [Williams]. If they are going to put some big weights up, so will I. But if I’m closer to a show, I won’t do that. I will still go as heavy as I can, but with good form and controlling the weight at all times.
Is leg day a training day when you feel a training partner is especially valuable?
For me, no. I think if you’re in tune with what you have to do, there is no need. I genuinely love training, and I love training by myself. Since I started my business, Nutrition Locker, many times I don’t get into the gym until 9:00 p.m. It’s tough finding someone who wants to train at that hour. And that’s OK. On your own, there is no BS. I walk in, and it’s just me and the weights. I do what I have to do, and I get out.
Are you happy with your leg development now? If not, what would you like to improve?
I am pretty happy with my legs. I just want a little more size everywhere on my physique, so I would include legs in that.
Jon’s Training Split
Sunday: Chest
Monday: Back
Tuesday: Delts
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Arms
Friday: Chest and some delts
Saturday: Hamstrings
Jon’s Leg Routine
Leg Extensions 4 x 20
Leg Press Ascending sets, adding weight – 5-7 x 10
Lying Leg Curls 4 x 15-20
Single Leg Curls 4 x 15-20
Stiff-leg Deadlifts 4 x 15-20
Jonathan’s Contest History
2005 NABBA Junior Nationals Junior and Open Overall
2007 NPC Eastern USA Second, Light Heavyweights
2009 NPC Atlantic States Light Heavyweight and Overall
2009 NPC Junior Nationals Light Heavyweight and Overall
2010 NPC USA Championships Second, Heavyweights
2011 NPC USA Championships Heavyweight Winner
2012 IFBB New York Pro Fifth Place
2012 IFBB Toronto Pro Second Place
2013 IFBB New York Pro Fourth Place
2013 IFBB Toronto Pro Third Place
2014 IFBB Show of Champions Second Place
2014 IFBB Arnold Brazil Third Place
2014 IFBB New York Pro Third Place
2014 IFBB Toronto Pro Third Place
2014 IFBB Mr. Olympia Fourteenth Place
2014 IFBB Arnold Classic-Europe Tenth Place
2014 IFBB San Marino Pro Tenth Place
Stay tuned to musculardevelopment.com all this week and early next week as we bring you unrivalled coverage of the 2015 Wings of Strength Chicago Pro. Our programming includes play-by-play as it happens action, reports on all contests, video previews and recaps and interviews with all the main players. Prejudging for all pro classes commence on Friday July 3 at 12.00pm local time (1.00pm EST), and Finals for all pro classes commence on Saturday July 4 at 4.30pm local time (5.30pm EST).
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