Watch a Regular Gym Bro Take on Leg Day With a Champion Strongman
Will Tennyson has taken on the exercise routines of some of the world's fittest stars and athletes, from Michael Phelps to the Terminator himself Arnold Schwarzenegger, and worked out with the likes of CrossFitter Noah Ohlsen and bodybuilder-turned-boxer Stefi Cohen. In a new video on his channel, Tennyson travels to Lumberton, Texas for a new challenge: a leg day workout with Charles Mitchell III.
Also known as Trey "Big Thicket" Mitchell, and weighing in at 370 pounds, Mitchell currently holds the title of Texas' Strongest Man and is a previous winner of the America's Strongest Man competition.
After fueling up on Texas barbecue, the pair head to Mitchell's home gym and start off with some bodyweight exercises: 25 air squats, 20 walking lunges (10 reps on each leg), 20 "sneaky" lunges, and finish off with banded fire hydrant glute raises to failure. "That will help keep your knees stable while you're going down into squat and up," says Mitchell. "It's not just for a good peach!"
Their first lift is the front squat, starting at 135 pounds and then working up to 275 and a single rep max of 315, while Mitchell continues up to 600 pounds. "Front squats are so much harder than back squats," says Tennyson, and Mitchell explains that he prefers this version over the back squat as it helps him get used to pressing a lot of weight over his shoulders in competitions.
Next up are tempo squats, performed in sets of 6, supersetted with sets of 30 banded leg curls. "Wow, do not underestimate band work," says Tennyson. While he begins this round aiming to increase his weight with each set, ultimately he decides to go lighter in order to still be able to execute 6 reps per set to proper form.
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