Day 2 - Lower Body

Both days train your legs, but with different emphases:

• Day 2 (this session) — deadlift-led, posterior-chain emphasis. Hamstrings, glutes, lower back, with Bulgarian split squats for unilateral work.
• Day 4 — Romanian-deadlift-led with leg press and core work; less spinal load, more quad-and-core focus.

Rotating between deadlift-led and RDL-led leg sessions across the week distributes spinal load and trains different movement patterns. Most intermediates can't recover from two heavy deadlift days a week — splitting them this way keeps both sessions effective.

Either works. The plan doesn't specify because the right choice depends on your build and mobility:

• Conventional — narrower stance, hands outside knees. Bigger hamstring and lower-back stretch. Best for taller lifters or anyone with strong hamstrings.
• Sumo — wide stance, hands inside knees. More quad and glute involvement, less back stretch. Best for shorter lifters or anyone with hip-mobility issues.

Pick the one you can hold a flat back through all 4×8 sets. If you don't know which is better, default to conventional — it's the more common starting point for intermediates and translates to more sport carryover.

Target 75–80% of your 1-rep max for all 4 working sets at 8 reps. Concretely:

• The 8th rep of set 4 should feel like RPE 8 (2 reps left in the tank)
• All sets should look the same in form — if your back rounds on the last rep of set 4, drop weight
• Add 5–10 lb (2–5 kg) per session when you hit all 4×8 with 2+ reps left

Unlike a 5×5 strength scheme, 4×8 is a hypertrophy-leaning rep range that builds size while still developing strength. The slightly higher reps mean lighter weights but more total volume per session.