leg training

[candidizzle]

whats up

 watching justin harris in the trenches training videos on legs.. he is doing 100 rep sets , 50 rep set.. just a high volume lots of reps style of training...

i have always heard different people talk about high volume for legs being good
but ive always thought that was bullshit; that the legs are a musclke just like anyother and that 6-12 is ideal for legs just like every other...

anyone think th elegs actually do respond better to high volume? any experience or good gains from going high rep sets like that ?   and if so, d you know what the science behind higher reps being better for legs, if they are better, than compared to other muscles...

[Emmortal]

My legs have always responded best to high volume.  I do switch things up from time to time though, going lower reps higher weight for strength for a while then go to lighter weight higher reps for size.  I do this about every 12-16 weeks and use periodization throughout.  I don't know the 'science' behind why high volume works, but if you think about the fact that your legs are carrying you around all day then they are going to respond best to higher volume work.

Obviously this isn't' the case for everyone, it's just a general thought.  I do know of one guy that can't get his legs to grow at all on high volume work.

[candidizzle]

what kind of workouts do you do..? would you mind posting up an example of a tough high volume workout..?

[wes]

Most people legs respond much better to higher reps and more overall volume.

Read more Candi,this has been talked about by experts for over 50-60 years cat leat.

[candidizzle]

Most people legs respond much better to higher reps and more overall volume.

Read more Candi,this has been talked about by experts for over 50-60 years cat leat.

lol

give me the name of a book and ill read it dude i love that shit

anyways, what kind of rep ranges do you do wes? and how many sets? and # exercises ?

[Bluto]

try higher reps for quads and lower for hams

[NoCalBbEr]

I train legs 10-12 reps. I seem to need the heavy weights to stay full.

Justin harris trains DC style.and also, powerlifts.

if you do a search on youtube. you can pull up videos of Justin squatting 600 for x15,16 good reps.

[Emmortal]

what kind of workouts do you do..? would you mind posting up an example of a tough high volume workout..?

BB Squats - 3x10-12
Front Squats/Hack Squats -3x10-12
Leg Press -3x10-12 Superset with SLDL's
I'll usually then superset Ham Curls with Leg Curls to finish things off, usually just do 2 sets of 12-15 reps of these.

That's one example, right now I'm training hams seperate from quads because my hams need some work.  I also switch up stances on all the above exercises, going wide one workout and narrow the next.

I have to be pretty careful with high weight on legs, especially squats.  I have arthritis in both of my knees from playing soccer in my younger years so going really heavy is becoming less of an option for me.

[wes]

lol

give me the name of a book and ill read it dude i love that shit

anyways, what kind of rep ranges do you do wes? and how many sets? and # exercises ?

Just Google "benefits of high rep leg work or high rep squats".

I usually do around 12-16 sets for quads.............can`t squat anymore because of my back injury.

My workouts are never the same in a row.

A few things I do for legs:

Unilateral leg press,followed by regualar leg press:
I do 20 reps on each leg seperately,then with no rest,20 more with both legs,rest a bit,add weight then 15,rest,add wt.12,108,then another set of 12-15 or so to polish them off.

Gruelling stuff, and one set = each leg seperately,followed by both legs.

Another scenario might be loading 3 plates a side and doing 100 reps...............truly torturous to sat the least.

when I was squatting I would take a heavy weight and do one set of 20 no matter how long it took.............Google "breathing squats".

I also do other leg exercises and at times do super-sets,tri-sets,giant-sets,drop-sets,etc.

[chaos]

whats up

 watching justin harris in the trenches training videos on legs.. he is doing 100 rep sets , 50 rep set.. just a high volume lots of reps style of training...

i have always heard different people talk about high volume for legs being good
but ive always thought that was bullshit; that the legs are a musclke just like anyother and that 6-12 is ideal for legs just like every other...

anyone think th elegs actually do respond better to high volume? any experience or good gains from going high rep sets like that ?   and if so, d you know what the science behind higher reps being better for legs, if they are better, than compared to other muscles...

If you want to try higher reps, why not do giant sets? Different exercises, each 10 reps.

Lay out 5 exercises, do 10 reps each back to back, three pyramiding sets on all exercises.
Try it if you're interested in doing high reps  in that range.

[slaveboy1980]

squat: 3x5-8  + back off set 1x12-15. thats all you need for quads as long your adding weight to the bar.

[Bluto]

assuming you're built for squats, got the technique right etc etc

[PANDAEMONIUM]

squat: 3x5-8  + back off set 1x12-15. thats all you need for quads as long your adding weight to the bar.

Spot on.

[MisterMagoo]

i will say this: muscles can be different. one reason is that you DO walk on your legs. however, making my 1-3RM go up on squats did more for me than all those huge 100 rep sets.

everyone gets all wrapped up in the tom platz theory of leg training even though for 99.999% of us it'll never work. because leg day is considered the "hardest day", i think too many trainers get caught up not in doing what's necessary to cause growth, but in making leg day the most balls out painful workout possible, which can be really, really counterproductive.

[wes]

1-3 reps is fine for power but more reps = more time under tension.

I have used low reps and got pretty strong for my size (405 squat below paralell at 160 pounds bodyweight,315-10,370-3 all legal legit depth at about 165 and in my 50`s.)but my legs which were always hard to grow,still looked like sticks.

More reps as well as more total sets helped to bring them up a lot.

Still not tree trunks by any stretch of the imagination,but big big gains for this genetically deficient stickman! 

Best bet is to experiment with different scenarios and weigh the results yourself............actu ally this is the only way to find out what you respond best to.

[candidizzle]

in my leg training today i did alot of sets for 15 reps each. DAMN i couldnt do half tthe weight i normally use, and my legs were just FRIED.


4 hours later they are still looking full pumped jacked

[slaveboy1980]

in my leg training today i did alot of sets for 15 reps each. DAMN i couldnt do half tthe weight i normally use, and my legs were just FRIED.


4 hours later they are still looking full pumped jacked

tell tale signs of pump addiction.

your pump addicted.

did you 'shock' your muscles and use totally different exercises from last week? how did you measure progress? the thing is that if you change everything every workout, you have no baseline to compare too. but hey it feels good and your pumped, has to be working right? 

muscle growth isnt about going to the gym to get a pump, its about lifting more than you did last time (obviously you wont be able to add weight or reps every workout...but its should be the no 1 goal). never change exercises so much that progression becomes forgotten and hard to track.

simplify your training, so you can control it, dominate it, numerize it, and so you have total overview of the all the different training variables.

-log your workouts
-keep workouts comparable inorder to facilitate measurement of progress
-focus on strength increases
-be consistant
-deload after 3-6 weeks of heavy training

never be a pump addict.

[chaos]

tell tale signs of pump addiction.

your pump addicted.

did you 'shock' your muscles and use totally different exercises from last week? how did you measure progress? the thing is that if you change everything every workout, you have no baseline to compare too. but hey it feels good and your pumped, has to be working right? 

muscle growth isnt about going to the gym to get a pump, its about lifting more than you did last time (obviously you wont be able to add weight or reps every workout...but its should be the no 1 goal). never change exercises so much that progression becomes forgotten and hard to track.

simplify your training, so you can control it, dominate it, numerize it, and so you have total overview of the all the different training variables.

-log your workouts
-keep workouts comparable inorder to facilitate measurement of progress
-focus on strength increases
-be consistant
-deload after 3-6 weeks of heavy training

never be a pump addict.

LOL, you're in for it now.

[Emmortal]

tell tale signs of pump addiction.

-log your workouts
-keep workouts comparable inorder to facilitate measurement of progress
-focus on strength increases
-be consistant
-deload after 3-6 weeks of heavy training

Good advice.  I don't ever recommend changing up workouts every workout.  You have no way to see effectiveness of an exercise.  I think staying on an exercise at least 8 weeks is a good minimum.  I personally change things up every 12 weeks.  I also deload every 4 weeks and take an entire week off (only doing cardio) every 12-16 weeks.

[MisterMagoo]

lol, slaveboy on the attack.

"pump addiction" is hilarious once you evolve past it. i remember doing all sorts of stupid giant sets and drop sets for legs, mixing things up all the time. i measured "progress" by how "jacked" i felt at the end. progress? neh.

[slaveboy1980]

we need to set up rehab centers for these pump addicts.

one type of medication that has often helped in curing pump addiction is powerlifting.

bodybuilding training is for aas users

powerbuilding is how naturals should build muscle.

PAA (Pump Addicts Anonymous) meetings should be held all across the world.

[candidizzle]

i train to failure in the 6=12 rep range normally. weight does not matter but reaching true failure in that rep range does.   

for legs ive always used that same rep range

today i train the same way i always do except my target rep range for failure was 15-20.

 

silly slave, the muscle doesnt know how much weight its moving, it only know how much it FEELS like its lifting. 

[MisterMagoo]

silly slave, the muscle doesnt know how much weight its moving, it only know how much it FEELS like its lifting. 

small, weak people say this a lot. they don't seem to figure out that it's completely nonsensical.

[Overload]

tell tale signs of pump addiction.

your pump addicted.

did you 'shock' your muscles and use totally different exercises from last week? how did you measure progress? the thing is that if you change everything every workout, you have no baseline to compare too. but hey it feels good and your pumped, has to be working right? 

muscle growth isnt about going to the gym to get a pump, its about lifting more than you did last time (obviously you wont be able to add weight or reps every workout...but its should be the no 1 goal). never change exercises so much that progression becomes forgotten and hard to track.

simplify your training, so you can control it, dominate it, numerize it, and so you have total overview of the all the different training variables.

-log your workouts
-keep workouts comparable inorder to facilitate measurement of progress
-focus on strength increases
-be consistant
-deload after 3-6 weeks of heavy training

never be a pump addict.

TRUTH!!!!

[PANDAEMONIUM]

small, weak people say this a lot. they don't seem to figure out that it's completely nonsensical.

hahahaaha