Am I training legs incorrectly or am I just impatient?

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  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    MindPump1 wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    MindPump1 wrote: »
    What a range of advice so far, so I figured I would drop some of my own, and see what you think. *NOTE* I am not a trainer, so this just advice and from my experience. If your looking to grow your legs, focusing on hitting that muscle group 3 times week at a lower rep range will help with muscle growth versus hitting it once a week. For me, I do a full body work out 3 days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday and on Tuesday and Thursday I do a light workout, with bands to focus on weak body parts. I break up my intensity through the week, so I am not crushing chest one day, and back another, but I will hit chest, legs, back and shoulders all in one day, then come back and do it again in a couple days. I have seem more definition, and muscle growth this way then with the old tradition split training. I would also recommend looking into Mind Pump. They are a fitness podcast on iTunes. They are who I follow, and that I lift their programs, and in my experience, they are the best written workouts on the market. Best of luck to you!

    define

    My old workouts had me do legs on Monday. I would start with 4-6 sets of squats, with usually 8-10 reps, or more per set. Then I would move leg curls, same set/rep range, then leg extensions, again same set/rep range. I would finish with leg press and level with an incredible burn in my legs thinking I was actually doing some work. But I wasn't, I was not gaining any more muscle, and I as I tracked my leg sizes over the course of 3 years, I never seen them grow, or change. Since adapting this new program in March, I have seen more definition in my quads, and hamstrings, and have watched my measurements change week to week. My new work outs have me squat 2-3 times a week, 4-6 sets with a rep range of 8-12 reps. I do laying leg curls, deadlifts, box squats, goodmornings, etc. So instead of hitting a muscle group hard once a week and letting it "recover" for 6-7 days, I am hitting it lighter 3 times a week, and stretching it out using band workouts in between my lifting sessions.

    Okay cool. You just said "low" so i wasn't sure what you meant. Most people think of "low" as 1-5, which would be inappropriate in OP's case.

    I agree, i lift in that exact rep range/set range and hit my legs twice a week. ;)
  • cgvet37
    cgvet37 Posts: 1,189 Member
    What is your leg routine?
  • DreesPerformanceTraining
    DreesPerformanceTraining Posts: 187 Member
    I think most people are over simplifying things a little here. There really is no hypertrophy rep range. There are studies that show rep ranges don't matter as long as the person is using appropriate weight for the specific number of reps. Most of these are done with untrained people, but from my experience, it holds pretty true for trained individuals as well.

    You're looking to do 3 things to create hypertrophy:

    1. Increase mechanical tension (ie using heavier weight) - this is why you should not neglect training in the 1-5 rep range.
    2. Increase metabolic stress (ie muscle pump/burning) - this can be done in several ways, but your most common route is working in the 6-12 rep range with limited rest.
    3. Increase muscle damage (ie DOMS) - this is often caused through increased volume and really emphasizing the eccentric and concentric portions of the movement.

    It is true that your stock 3 sets of 10 with 60 seconds of rest hits the last 2 mechanisms, but it neglects #1. If you spend almost all of your training in the 6-12 range, I believe you will actually see better results from mixing in some heavy 1-5 rep sets of squats and deadlifts.

    * If you didn't read of all that, lift in the 1-12 rep range, using primarily compound movements, and be sure that you are training near the point of failure.
  • LittleOneLoveLife
    LittleOneLoveLife Posts: 47 Member
    Wow thank you for all the responses!

    Yesterday for example my routine was "4 sets of 6 reps"
    If I complete all sets with good form I increase the following week or the next time I do that exercise .

    Back Squat 30Kg (Increase NW)
    Glute floor Lower (Body Weight, Repeat)
    Seated Calf Press 40Kg - 20 Reps - (Increase NW)
    Bench Step Up (20Kg Increase NW)
    Floor Glute Bridges (20Kg Increase NW)
    Smith (Don't Laugh) Calf Raise 22.5Kg (Increase NW)

    When you say lift until failure do you mean per exercise or the muscle group as a whole?



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