Australian Strength Coach Sebastian Oreb is the coach behind 2018 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Hafthor Björnsson’s 501-kilogram all-time deadlift world record. In April 2025, Oreb dropped 20 years’ worth of muscle-building gems during a leg workout. Oreb’s squat-focused training cycles are clear-cut.
I squat twice weekly and use deadlifts as an accessory.
—Sebastian Oreb
Oreb emphasized fatigue management, prioritizing squats followed by stiff-legged deadlifts (SLDL) This strategy factors the overlap between the two movements, which hit the same muscles.
SLDLs allow a deadlift variation to continue training the muscles,” Oreb noted. However, deadlifts are more posterior-focused than squats, which are quad-dominant. Alternatively, alternate heavy squats and deadlifts weekly.
Oreb’s Quads-Focused Leg Day
- Leg Press
- High-Bar Squats
- Stiff-Leg Deadlifts
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Targeted Quads Growth
Low-bar squats—placing the barbell lower on the rear delts—are more hip-biased. Placing the bar higher onto the trapezius muscles biases the quads by forcing a more upright torso.
You’re not building the quadriceps if all you do is low bar squat and maximize hip flexion.
—Sebastian Oreb
Oreb illustrated high-bar squats with his heels on a weight plate to shift his center of gravity onto his quads. Elevating the heels helps maintain upright posture and balance.
Technical Squat Mastery
Oreb explained upper body bracing: “Hands close, elbows back and down, lats on, and big breath to brace.” These cues keep the shoulder blades back and the lats active, preventing back rounding. “
If you’re folding at the lower back, your lats aren’t on. This ensures your upper body is braced.
—Sebastian Oreb
Regarding the optimal squat tempo, Oreb advised a gradual eccentric followed by an explosive concentric.
Brace, control; when you’re locked in, bounce [out of the squat].
—Sebastian Oreb
Since the bottom of the squat is the most challenging, Oreb pauses to build strength and confidence.
Stiff-Leg Deadlifts as an Accessory
SLDL bias the back, glutes, and hamstrings. Oreb dropped the bar instead of lowering it to the floor since eccentrics are fatiguing, which favors strength over hypertrophy.
The less you bend your knees, the less you use your quads, the more you use your hamstrings.
—Sebastian Oreb
“[SLDLs] have better carryover because we’re still lifting off the floor,” Oreb elaborated, describing SLDLs as more favorable than Romanian deadlifts (RDL) for a stronger conventional deadlift.
SLDLs recruit hamstring musculature more during concentrics than RDLs and SLDLs found that the latter—the lift phase. (1)
Volume and Fatigue
Oreb debunked the misconception that more sets are better.
Two sets of that—plenty. The stronger you are, the heavier the load, the less total volume you should perform.
—Sebastian Oreb
Due to increased central fatigue, advanced lifters can benefit more from lower volume and high intensity. Oreb leveraged long inter-set breaks—between six and eight minutes—a strategy many experts agree maximizes performance and results.
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References
- Coratella G, Tornatore G, Longo S, Esposito F, Cè E. An Electromyographic Analysis of Romanian, Step-Romanian, and Stiff-Leg Deadlift: Implication for Resistance Training. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Feb 8;19(3):1903. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031903. PMID: 35162922; PMCID: PMC8835508.
Featured image: @australianstrengthcoach on Instagram
