leg help!

[wanabbig]

While sister was talking about front squats I need help all the way around. I don't do front squats because of my balance issue but after reading sister's post I'm going to try and add them in instead of the leg extensions. Now my upper body is great but my legs, UG! Been working the legs just about as long but they don't respond as well as my upper body. My wife says there big but I don't think so. My problem is I'm 6'4" with an inseem of 36". My legs are 27" in diamater with some definition. There just not bam! I was hoping that you all could throw some ideas my way :-)

Here is my leg workout:
warm up squats 20+ reps
then 4 sets of squats 13 to 15 reps
3 sets of good morning's (ham strings) 13 to 15 reps
3 sets of leg press 13 to 15 reps
3 sets of ham string curls 13 to 15 reps
3 sets of leg extensions 13 to 15 reps, I know there bad but I don't have trouble with them.

I need both volume and def. When I'm done I can hardly walk and 2 hours later I cramp bad but by the next morning the cramps are gone. I want to throw up everytime I do legs

Thanks folks!

[SisterSteel]

Re: leg help!

Ditch all those machines. IMHO machines are only good if you're rehabbing an injury. You want to work your hams start doing some snatch grip RDL's, SLDL on a platform, GHR's, Lunges with a bar. GM's are more of a lower back movement than a hamstring exercise (they get worked but it's not the primary mover). Also, cut those reps down. Don't be afraid to put some weight on your back and take it for a ride.

[wanabbig]

Re: leg help!

sis, not to argue but it seems like the machines issolate the movement to the muscle. The GM seem to get the ass and upper hamstrings (right below the ass) and hamstring curls get the lower (behind the knee) and makes em come out and pop. I don;t mean to sound ignorant but what is a snatch grip RDL?? You said lower the reps, I have thought about that because that's the way I train my upper body (actualy on the flip flop, high rep week and low rep week) but I had several BB years ago tell me that legs are funny, they like high reps to see results. They said legs are used so much everyday (walking and getting around) that they need high reps to break them down. But since there not growing like I want I'll try the lower reps to see

Thanx

[Fit Guru]

If that's your order of lifts then they are all out of whack. Don't ditch leg extensions . Do them first always as a warm up. Your squats are too high in reps which leads me to believe you are going way too light. Your whole routine is a "I hate training legs so I'm gonna do the easiest stuff I can" here's what I'd do

Leg ext 4x 15
Squats 5x8-10( ass to ankles)
Leg press 4x10
Hack squats 4x10( all the way down)
Lying leg curls 4x15
Bulgarian dead lifts3x10( use dumbells legs shoulder width slightly bent, bend down far as u can go then back up without locking)
This is how the big boys get it done anyway!!

[Vicious 13]

Do any of u guys wrap your knees on leg days?

[wanabbig]

Re: leg help!

Holly shit fit! I do hate to do legs but like I said the high reps were from what I was told a few years back. Thanks, I'll give it a whirl this week! Don't know if I'll have the energy for the whole thing as my routine already kicks my ass. When I say that, I mean nause, dizziness, and pure exaushtion. And thats with using shotgun as a pre workout drink. I'm a puss LOL

[mj_0360]

Re: leg help!

I hated to do legs until I got stronger and they started growing. I've added inches to my legs this cycle by focusing on squats- going as heavy as I can with my ass to my ankles. Like guru said, I always start w leg extensions, doing them just enough to get a pump and warm em up. Then I jump to a medium squat weight and work my way up to where I can only do 4 reps and then wor my way back down in weight back to where I started burning out each set. I recently added front squats right after normal squats, followed by standing leg curls, seated leg curls. This usually kills me but I am slowly becoming able to add more exercises and weight every workout.

[wanabbig]

Re: leg help!

Thanx mj, I was reading your log earlier on how your cycle was going. Thats great, need to trim that hair back tho LOL. Getting ready to start me another cycle and I hope my legs really come around this time. This makes year 3 on chemicals and my legs are slow to come around. I wish I was 5'10" instead of 6'4"!

[Ironguruera]

while I do like higher reps on some leg exercises I prefer high reps on leg press. I prefer 8-12 for most leg stuff. A heavy 6 rep set is good as a mix up.

The only thing I like in your current routine is the squats and leg press. the extensions are ok but depends on how u place them in the routine. Use them like fit said. Or as a finisher.

Good mornings are not a hamstring move. They do involve hams but barely. U need either hamstring tensile curls, stiff leg deads, Romanian deads. Then use the laying or standing ham curls as a finisher.

if hack slide machine doesn't hurt your knees they work great. I'd pick either front squat or hack slides.

I'd go like this.
Quad extensions
Squats
Leg press
Front squats or hack slide

Stiff leg deads or Romanian db stiff leg deads

Laying ham curl or tensile contraction

Standing ham curl.

Here is a tensile contraction. These are hard as hell!

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1358201749.700668.jpg

[Fit Guru]

Holly shit fit! I do hate to do legs but like I said the high reps were from what I was told a few years back. Thanks, I'll give it a whirl this week! Don't know if I'll have the energy for the whole thing as my routine already kicks my ass. When I say that, I mean nause, dizziness, and pure exaushtion. And thats with using shotgun as a pre workout drink. I'm a puss LOL

If you do leg presses don't do hacks and vice versa but always squat

[wanabbig]

Re: leg help!

If that's your order of lifts then they are all out of whack. Don't ditch leg extensions . Do them first always as a warm up. Your squats are too high in reps which leads me to believe you are going way too light. Your whole routine is a "I hate training legs so I'm gonna do the easiest stuff I can" here's what I'd do

Leg ext 4x 15
Squats 5x8-10( ass to ankles)
Leg press 4x10
Hack squats 4x10( all the way down)
Lying leg curls 4x15
Bulgarian dead lifts3x10( use dumbells legs shoulder width slightly bent, bend down far as u can go then back up without locking)
This is how the big boys get it done anyway!!

Now fit you just told me to do this. So your saying one or the other on the hack squat?? Also I might have miss said something, the good mornings to me are the stiff leg dead lift. Keeping legs stiff and back straight I bend as far as my hams will let me then back up keeping good form.

[wanabbig]

Re: leg help!

while I do like higher reps on some leg exercises I prefer high reps on leg press. I prefer 8-12 for most leg stuff. A heavy 6 rep set is good as a mix up.

The only thing I like in your current routine is the squats and leg press. the extensions are ok but depends on how u place them in the routine. Use them like fit said. Or as a finisher.

Good mornings are not a hamstring move. They do involve hams but barely. U need either hamstring tensile curls, stiff leg deads, Romanian deads. Then use the laying or standing ham curls as a finisher.

if hack slide machine doesn't hurt your knees they work great. I'd pick either front squat or hack slides.

I'd go like this.
Quad extensions
Squats
Leg press
Front squats or hack slide

Stiff leg deads or Romanian db stiff leg deads

Laying ham curl or tensile contraction

Standing ham curl.

Here is a tensile contraction. These are hard as hell!

[ATTACH]834[/ATTACH]

Holly hell iron, that does look tough! But it looks like it would kick the hams in the ass LOL

Thanx Dude!

[Fit Guru]

Now fit you just told me to do this. So your saying one or the other on the hack squat?? Also I might have miss said something, the good mornings to me are the stiff leg dead lift. Keeping legs stiff and back straight I bend as far as my hams will let me then back up keeping good form.

Yes on days you do hacks don't do presses.good mornings don't hit the hams near as good as stiff legged dreads or Bulgarians.their more for lower back.

[SisterSteel]

Re: leg help!

sis, not to argue but it seems like the machines issolate the movement to the muscle. The GM seem to get the ass and upper hamstrings (right below the ass) and hamstring curls get the lower (behind the knee) and makes em come out and pop. I don;t mean to sound ignorant but what is a snatch grip RDL?? You said lower the reps, I have thought about that because that's the way I train my upper body (actualy on the flip flop, high rep week and low rep week) but I had several BB years ago tell me that legs are funny, they like high reps to see results. They said legs are used so much everyday (walking and getting around) that they need high reps to break them down. But since there not growing like I want I'll try the lower reps to see

Thanx

Well machines isolate the muscle but they don't work any stabilizers and don't recruit the maximum amount of muscles to aid in performing any lift. Compound multi joint movements got me 30" legs at 5'5 so I must be doing something right. For every bber who tells you high reps, I've talked to many who say just the opposite. You have to find out what works for YOU and if high reps are getting you nowhere than it's time to try something different. If I perform high reps in my training guess what happens to me.... I stop growing. Like I said you have to find what works for YOU. IMHO heavy training usually works simply because the muscle can do 1 of 2 things when it's stressed by a heavy workload.... it can grow or it can tear (and I'm not talking about the tearing that takes place when your growing).

If your GM's aren't hitting your lower back than you're doing them wrong. GM's build the spinal erectors as they are the primary mover in the lift. Now the glutes and hamstring do aid in performing the lift but their not the primary mover.

Snatch Grip RDL's are a very wide grip Romanian deadlift. Snatch Grip is a Olympic Weightlifting term for a specific hand position on the bar. If you're around 6' tall you'd want your hands just about at the collars. This hand positioning will increase the ROM of the lift and also incorporate other muscles in the exercise like the lats.

[SisterSteel]

Re: leg help!

Do any of u guys wrap your knees on leg days?

Depends. I know that's a vague answer but it depends on the percentages I'm using that day for my squats. I am a firm believer than if you're squatting with 85% or more than you should wrap your knees.

Now we can also discuss wrapping. Do you wrap in or out? Do you start at the top or the bottom? Do you cross your wrap like an X. Wrapping your knees is a science and in order to do it properly you need to understand the knee and what you should be doing with it when squatting. Remember you should ALWAYS push your knees OUT when you are back squatting, period. Doesn't matter if you're wrapping your knees and squatting completely raw.

If you want I can talk a lot more about this because if you wrap your knees wrong you can hurt yourself.