Shanique Grant Crushes Quad-Focused Leg Day Ahead of Wellness Division Debut

Shanique Grant, the two-time Women’s Physique Olympia champion from 2018 and 2019, is charging toward her pro return in the Wellness division. On March 28, 2025, she posted a video of her quad-focused leg workout on social media, gearing up for a debut she says is coming soon, though no date is locked in. After retiring in 2020, the 29-year-old shifted from Physique to Wellness. Her routine targets quads, glutes, and hamstrings, the focus of Wellness judging, mixing her champion experience with proven exercises to rule her new division.

Warm-Up Kickoff

Grant starts with adductors on a machine, doing 2 to 3 sets of 15 reps. This warms her inner thighs and hips, priming her for heavy lifts. Studies show light machine work boosts blood flow and lowers injury risk when kept short [1].

Barbell Squat

She tackles barbell squats next, with one warm-up set of 10 reps, then 2 to 3 working sets of 6 to 8 reps at heavier weight. Grant squats deep with tight form, targeting her quads. Research proves deeper squats grow leg muscles more than shallow ones [2].

Bulgarian Split Squats 

Then it’s Bulgarian split squats, with 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps per leg. She keeps reps slow, using her gymnastics roots for control. This hits quads and glutes, with single-leg work proven to boost stability [3].

Machine Leg Extensions 

Grant moves to machine leg extensions, doing 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps. She zeroes in on her quads, lifting steady weight for sharp definition. Science confirms leg extensions isolate and bulk up front thigh muscles [4].

Glute Kickbacks 

Next is machine glute kickbacks, with 4 sets of 12 reps. She squeezes her glutes at the top, shaping them for Wellness scores. Studies support this for growing glute strength and size [5].

Walking Lunges as a Finisher

Grant grabs dumbbells for walking lunges, doing 3 sets of 10 reps per leg with 16-kilogram weights. She bends knees deep, pushing her quads to the max. Lunges like these drive muscle growth through tough effort [6].

Sumo Squats to Wrap It Up

She finishes with sumo squats using a dumbbell, doing 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps. Grant picks a heavy load, drives through her heels, and hits failure on the last set, as hinted in her video. Wide-stance squats amp up quad and glute work [7].

Grant won Physique Olympia titles in 2018 and 2019, then retired in 2020. Now, she’s shaping up for Wellness, a division for women with strong hips, glutes, thighs, and hamstrings, posing to highlight her lower body over upper cuts. Her March 28 leg day shows she’s ready to rock her Wellness debut whenever it happens.

Watch her workout below:

References

[1] Chaabene H, Behm DG, Negra Y, Granacher U. Acute Effects of Static Stretching on Muscle Strength and Power. Front Physiol. 2019 Nov 29;10:1468.
[2] Bloomquist K, Langberg H, Karlsen S, Madsgaard S, Boesen M, Raastad T. Effect of range of motion in heavy squats on muscle growth. J Strength Cond Res. 2013 Aug;27(8):2257-65.
[3] Speirs DE, Bennett MA, Finn CV, Turner AP. Unilateral vs. bilateral squat training for strength and power. J Strength Cond Res. 2014 Apr;28(4):1102-8.
[4] Ebben WP, Feldmann CR, Dayne AM, Mitsche D, Alexander P, Knetzger KJ. Muscle activation during leg extensions. J Strength Cond Res. 2009 May;23(3):970-5.
[5] Contreras B, Vigotsky AD, Schoenfeld BJ, Beardsley C, Cronin J. A comparison of gluteus maximus activation during kickbacks. J Strength Cond Res. 2015 Oct;29(10):2888-94.
[6] Wirtz N, Zinner C, Doermann U, Kleinoeder H, Donath L. Effects of lunges on muscle growth in trained men. J Sports Sci Med. 2016 Jun;15(2):374-80.
[7] Escamilla RF, Fleisig GS, Lowry TM, Barrentine SW, Andrews JR. A three-dimensional analysis of sumo squats. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2001 Aug;33(8):1269-75.

Image credit: @therealfitnessbeauty Instagram

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