The Ramires leg workout

Before N'Golo Kante occupied Chelsea's engine room, the Blues had another incredible athlete blessed with the athleticism to run box-to-box for 90 minutes.

Ramires was given the nickname the 'Blue Kenyan' during his time with Cruzeiro, in reference to the club's blue shirts and the African nation's famed production line of long distance runners.

But though the Brazilian was blessed with genetic physical gifts, he also fine tuned his body to maximise his god given attributes by using a leg workout to strengthen his lower body. 

The regime saw him put on five kilograms of muscle at Stamford Bridge, which increased his weight to 70kg prior to him joining Chinese club Jiangsu Suning in 2016. He reveals his gym workout to FFT below...

Leg press

Start in a seated position on the leg-press machine, bringing your knees up to your chest, pressing your feet against the base platform, creating a 90-degree angle. Keep your back straight and slowly extend your legs without locking your knees at the top of the movement, pushing through your heels. Lower the weight until you return to the start position and repeat.


Reps: 10 Sets: 3

Calf raise

Place your shoulders under the pads and position your toes forward, with the balls of your feet on top of the calf block and your heels hanging off the edge. Pushing off the balls of your feet, pull your heels up until you’re on your toes. Hold, before slowly lowering back to the start position and repeating.

Reps: 10 Sets: 3

Leg curl

Lie face-down on a leg-curl machine with your feet hanging off the back of the bench. Hook your feet under the roller pads and keep your knees straight. Slowly raise your feet up until your knees are almost fully bent. Return to starting position and repeat.


Reps: 10 Sets: 3