Bodybuilder Michal Krizo is building himself back up to challenge the top Men’s Open bodybuilders at the 2023 Olympia. He recently went through a quad dominant leg day and posted the video in his YouTube channel.
Michal ‘Krizo’ Krizanek is the torchbearer of the current generation of Slovakian bodybuilders. He competed in the IFBB Elite Pro League and gained quite a good reputation in the bodybuilding community. To conquer new horizons and compete on a global stage, the 33-year-old made a transition to NPC towards the end of 2021.
His massive physique and insane musculature grabbed the attention during this time and Krizo became a hot prospect in the Men’s Open division. As expected, he dominated the stage at the 2022 Amateur Olympia Italy and emerged victoriously to earn the IFBB Pro card.
The Slovak’s first opportunity to show the talent on a pro stage showed up soon after as he made his debut at the 2022 EVLS Prague Pro. In spite of a victory, Krizo’s conditioning was heavily criticized by the experts. But it qualified him for the 2022 Olympia and the Slovakian bodybuilder continued to work in silence to prove himself on the grandest stage of bodybuilding.
A 12th-place finish at the 2022 Olympia concluded the first competitive season of Krizo’s career as an IFBB Pro. Still, conditioning was the most criticized aspect of his physique until this point.
However, he incorporated cardio, fixed his digestion and increased the training volume to target each muscle at least twice a week before heading into the next show.
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The results of these changes were visible as the 33-year-old brought insane conditioning to the 2023 Empro Classic Pro in Spain.
Back stood out as the most improved part of Krizo’s physique at the show. While there might have been a separation in the back muscles already, improved conditioning highlighted it precisely.
The overall improved package earned Krizo a win at the show. He also qualified for the 2023 Olympia as a direct result of the win.
Michal Krizo goes through a quad-focused leg workout
Krizo is now easing his way into the competition prep for the 2023 Olympia and proving that he belongs to sit among the top crop of the Men’s Open division. He significantly reduced the intensity of his training after returning from the 2023 Empro Classic Pro.
It allowed his body to rest and recover for a while and the Slovak resumed light activity in July. Starting in August, Michal is following a strict diet and training routine to get ready for the 2023 Olympia.
Recently, he went through a quad-focused leg workout to sculpt an Olympia-caliber physique. So let’s check out which exercises are enabling that.
Leg Extensions
Michal Krizo commenced the workout with enthusiasm and took up the leg extensions first. This quad isolation movement is excellent for building the quads, especially the rectus femoris head of this muscle that crosses both knee and Hip joints.
Additionally, it helps warm up the knee joints. After pushing through some hard sets of leg extensions to fire up the quads, Krizo jumped into the first heavy compound exercise of the day.
Hack Squats
This compound exercise works all the major muscles like quads, glutes and hamstrings in the lower body.
Hack Squats are especially helpful in taking the stress off the lower back and still retaining the benefits of free weight movements like barbell squats.
Krizo cranked some heavy sets of the exercise to add more stimulus to the quads before taking up the final quad exercise.
Leg Press
The 2022 Prague Pro winner finished the quad work with leg press. He got a few good sets under the belt to build lower body strength and muscle. Following this, Krizo did some calves work.
Machine Seated Calf Raises
Seated calf raises served as the final exercise of this training session. Unlike standing calf raises that primarily work the gastrocnemius muscles, the seated version targets the soleus muscle that lies underneath it. Krizo cranked out some solid sets of this muscle-building exercise before calling it a day in the gym.
Mentioned below are the exercises that composed the leg training session:
Michal Krizo’s progress in the 2023 off-season is an indicator of his growth mindset. The Men’s Open division boasts some of the best bodybuilders of the generation. If the Slovak continues without slowing down, he has a good chance to make it big.
You can watch the full workout video below, courtesy of Michal Krizo’s personal YouTube channel:
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