the importance of goal setting, the three times a week 2 month leg experiment!

[thegamechanger]

yes but the key is to get good leg development without too much effort or risk of injury

[Mr Anabolic]

so are the other guys who squat, so what is the point of even saying that?

The majority of guys on gear who squat have way better legs than guys that don't.

Done correctly, squats are brutally hard and they're the best exercise for total lower body development... bar none.  

It doesn't matter what I write here... weak minds will continue to make lame excuses why they shouldn't do them.  Truth is, most people don't have the belly for them.  

[wes]

The majority of guys on gear who squat have way better legs than guys that don't.

Done correctly, squats are brutally hard and they're the best exercise for total lower body development... bar none.  

It doesn't matter what I write here... weak minds will continue to make lame excuses why they shouldn't do them.  Truth is, most people don't have the belly for them.  

I squatted my nuts off for years........every conceivable rep sheme..........light, heavy,...........extra heavy............got very little in the way of returns but it was drilled into my head from the jump.


I went deep(below paralell)......found later that leg press -higher reps and uni-lateral leg press worked much better for me.........so they are great but not great for everybody.

Got a bad back these days but that was initially from heavy hack squats.

Just my 2 cc`s 11

[Mr Anabolic]

I squatted my nuts off for years........every conceivable rep sheme..........light heavy...........extra heavy............got very little in the way of returns but it was drilled into my head from the jump.


I went deep(below paralell)......found later that leg press -higher reps and uni-lateral leg press worked much better for me.........so they are great but not great for everybody.

Just my 2 cc`s 11

31 years training and I can tell you that squats worked for everyone I've ever trained with.  Best thing I ever did for size was med-high rep squats.  All time best was 225 for 55 reps and 315 for 33.  Was natty then too.  That shit put many inches on my thighs, believe me.

[wes]

31 years training and I can tell you that squats worked for everyone I've ever trained with.  Best thing I ever did for size was med-high rep squats.  All time best was 225 for 55 reps and 315 for 33.  Was natty then too.  That shit put many inches on my thighs, believe me.

I can`t compare with those stats bro(very impressive BTW) but I weighed between 150-165 most of the time,,,,,,,,,,,squatted 250ATG for 20 315 for 5 X 10 405 for a rock bottom maxx at 160 lbs.


Nothing to brag about but I gave it all I had and also would squat during Giant-Sets......4-5 exercises done non-stop which was pretty animalistic over the course of 5-6 Giant-Sets.........throw in pre-exhaust,super-sets,tri-sets,etc, etc, and maybe I just overtrained the fucking twigs!   LOL 

I had a rep for training insane and couldn`t and wouldn`t train if I didn`t go balls out.

[local hero]

If your meant gave big quads you will most probly build them doing anything, I had a school mate who at 14 had a tear drop over his knee and sweeps just from playing football (soccer)

I developed hip and knee problems squating, id love to get back into them, but you can keep size from leg press etc, what I would say now is there was no need for me to go above 3 plates, I should have just used better and better form and control..

Actualy the contraption that did more for my quads than anything was a specific horizontal hack squat, the type with the stack attached... We used to do 20 to 30 rep sets with the stack, with a small pause at rock bottom... Alas the machine broke and no other I've used since had the same feel, was pure quad torture from start to finish

[wes]

For all the lack of progress I made in direct proportion to effort expended,legs was my favorite day to train.

[Rudee]

A guy I knew who had a pair of the best legs I ever saw would only do ATG 20 rep squats.....starting at 135 adding 20 pounds per set until he 265,then would reverse the process going back down to 135 reducing 20 pounds per set......... once weekly.

I do 20 rep squats most of the time, but with a light weight simply because my knees aren't like used to be.   Nothing heavier than 225, but it does the job.  

[2Thick]

There was a world champion power-lifter and strongman competitor here in Canada back in the 80's named Tom Magee.   He was a huge advocate of a specific style of training, which he claimed gave size, strength, and power.   First set would be light weight, moved at slow speed.  i.e. 3 seconds positive, 3 seconds negative.  Second set would me medium weight moved at regular (medium) speed.  Third set would be heavy weight moved at fast speed.   He would train like this for each exercise.  The dude was incredibly strong and very muscular.

He even did a little acting. 

[2Thick]

No matter how many times you train per week, squats are the bread and butter of leg training.  Trainers who avoid them will never have decent legs no matter what you do.

Agreed.

[thegamechanger]

oo-key! it has begun! first day finished! legs tomorrow upper body today. i got some tennis elbows for the moment so im trying to work around it (doesnt affect my typing ability though, so dont panic!!) i did machines! charles glass style!!!

rows
upper chest
laterals

feels pretty good, workout #1 only 52 to go!

[wes]

3 X a week on legs is too much to recover from...........if you must do it,just do high rep extensions racing the clock on one of the days..........just to get a pump.


Trust me,if you`re training hard, 2 X a week is a fucking monster,never mind 3 times.

Good luck bro!

[thegamechanger]

thanks yeah ill probably have the middle of the week workout being a high rep pump thing

[thegamechanger]

ok so thats workout #2 (51 to go)

did legs and it felt pretty good, didnt do the cybex glutes machine i think i need to grow a pair before i attempt it...

im eating more and im downing 3 proteinshakes a day, not necessarily because i believe in a high protein intake its just stuff that i had bought at some sale and i better gulp it down rather than throw it in the trash...

some observations from the gym - female trainer with whiskey voice. some girls just have that voice you know? im not talking about the women on steroid-type.
old woman with a scarf that looked like it could get stuck any minute strangling her... she was doing some kinda legpressing in a machine while texting on her smartphone  

then we have the teenage kids who brings a whole bag with him, i bet it was full of different type of shakes, pre-workout, intra-workout, post-workout... he did bench.
then a man and a woman on rowing machines, that machine sure makes a lot of noise... stupid shit.

a female personal trainer having a break eating outta a plastic bowl... what a life, always eating some microwaved shit, no time for a real lunch at a proper place... an inmate got a better environment...

tomorrow is back chest/shoulders... its kinda nice to train every day cause you dont get to make up excuses you know every day you have to hit the gym.

[thegamechanger]

workout #3 is in the bag (50 to go) and im getting ready for workout #4
nothing special to report from the gym, a bunch of guys 6 of em were occupying the space in front of the mirrors (big surprise)

im happy to announce that i am able to work around my hurt elbows/forearms... i can do back, shoulders, chest with no problems so massive growth is coming very shortly!!
today is gonna be legs for the second time this week and i will do 3 sets of 20 on everything. i might even try the cybex butt machine  

here's an inspirational quote from me, ill post one every day for your enjoyment

"if you manage to get your ass to the gym, the battle is won and everything from there is just smooth sailing on the seas of muscle mass"

here's a picture to throw some icing on the cake of this thread

[V Man]

If all I did was 4 sets for quads, they would feel like they were on vacation.

I prefer to split legs in 2 separate workouts, quads alone on one day, and hams and calves the next. After a proper quad workout, there is no way I have the energy left to get a proper calf and hamstring workout.

[pellius]

Study shows that the hack squat is the most effective exercise for the quadriceps. Even more surprising is that parallel squats, or slightly below parallel, is more effective for the quadriceps (not glutes) than a full squat movement. And much safer.

http://suppversity.blogspot.com/2011/08/suppversity-emg-series-gluteaus-maximus.html

[thegamechanger]

i did 3x20 today and i felt it in my 2nd set... even though im probably at 70% of my max... i believe that for me whos been out of the gym for a long time and is nowhere near my genetic max thats plenty for growth, for someone whos already at his genetic peak maybe a different method would be necessary

ill check those links!

workout #4 is in the bag (49 to go) and it feels DAMN GOOD, for someone that is a casual lifter and have some great struggle to be consist getting to the gym in the first place is the most important thing, i try not to complicate things too much.

tomorrow its back, chest and shoulders and im looking forward to it! (which isnt always the case when you train balls to the wall and knows its gonna be painful)

[V Man]

Study shows that the hack squat is the most effective exercise for the quadriceps. Even more surprising is that parallel squats, or slightly below parallel, is more effective for the quadriceps (not glutes) than a full squat movement. And much safer.

http://suppversity.blogspot.com/2011/08/suppversity-emg-series-gluteaus-maximus.html

Good info there! Thanks

[ritch]

If all I did was 4 sets for quads, they would feel like they were on vacation.

I prefer to split legs in 2 separate workouts, quads alone on one day, and hams and calves the next. After a proper quad workout, there is no way I have the energy left to get a proper calf and hamstring workout.

Yup.

[kyomu]

No squat =wimp

[thegamechanger]

No squat =wimp

yes!! 

[thegamechanger]

workout #5 is in the bag, thats 5 straight days no problems!

today i had the entire gym to myself (!!) crazy !

ill add some glute excercises to my program. its the #1 most important bodypart to work.

[thegamechanger]

there we go, 6 times in a row! thats one week baby. i take sundays off and go to church just as the good lord tells me to.

didnt have the gym for myself, counted a total of 5 people:

1 dude that was on the bike.
1 dude that did some kinda rehab training
1 dude that did some preacher curls in a machine
2 girls that was doing fuck all, one of them was standing in front of the mirror talking on the phone.

i did

few sets of leg extensions
5 sets of leg press
3 sets of leg curls
2 sets of cybex glutes !!

might not sound like much but thats the third time i train legs this week.

[thegamechanger]

sunday is rest day and also the day where you prepare mentally for the week ahead of you, for me that means 6 days in a row of training - no day off!

ive noticed that i havent been sore during this past week which is quite strange, yes i havent trained as hard as i usually do if i say do one musclegroup per week, but a) i have been training after several weeks break b) i have been training quite hard and c) ive put in 6 days of work so i reckon i should be quite sore... my only explanations are that i eat better which helps and that training every day actually helps with soreness as you dont take days off and becomes stiff...
the body is created to be used daily so none of this train a few times a week bullshit, not a believer in that.