Leg Day Ideas?

[LfcCharlie4]

@Something Funny Not my forte then, I'm focused on Hypertrophy & muscle gain. 

Best off following powerlifters for that kind of stuff

[Godhead]

Assuming you want to hit legs 2x each week, alternate between those two workouts:

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by Godhead

[Forza-Spirito]

Do you know the kneesovertoesguy? for variety, specific strenght and longevity https://www.youtube.com/@TheKneesovertoesguy/featured

[Something Funny]

@Mormegil

1 hour ago, Mormegil said:

Running is cardio and i wouldn't add it on a leg day. Cardio i think is good to do on days where you don't workout your muscles, i think it helps them recover. 

Also just in general, be careful not to put too many excersizes in one day. Im sure 3 leg excersizes are fine for the beginning. Again, depends on your goals and also where you are at now.

Is there something in particular that's wrong with adding it to a leg day?

The thing is idk where else I am supposed to add it.

I plan to train 6 days a week using push/pull/legs split adding 7th cardio day sounds like an overkill 

@Forza-Spirito he looks interesting, I will check him out.

@Judy2 why do you prefer steps over running?

[Something Funny]

@Godhead as I said, I am not really a fun of using machines or over complicated / hard to set-up exercises like hip thrusts for example.

You need enough place to lay down and to not get in other people's way, you need some kind of matts behind your back, you need to crawl under the barbell after each set. 

The same thing with "swiss ball single leg curl", sounds too tedious, haha

I want my workouts to be something that I enjoy.

[Something Funny]

@Judy2 want me to be honest?

I feel kind of awkward trying it because it is a "girls' exercise", haha.

Edit: also, I do like running

Edited January 26, 2023 by Something Funny

[Something Funny]

@Judy2 yeah, you are right ))

[Something Funny]

@Judy2 one good thing about it is that you don't have to do it on an empty stomach. Perfect "getting out of depression" exercise actually. 

[Something Funny]

@Judy2 what do you mean?

What I meant is that I often struggle with depression and ego backlashes. And in such moments I tend to overeat a lot (like order 2 pizzas from uber eats a lot). Going to the gym woild be a great way to change your state, but you can't exercise much on a full stomach, right? Well, this is snot that much of an issue with this exercise.

Or at least I assume so because I never had much issue going up a normal staircase on a full stomach. 

 

[Something Funny]

@Judy2 no worries )

2 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

btw you don't need to go to the gym right after overeating. perhaps it's better to go in the morning or afternoon?

Yeah, I know but sometimes I just need something to get me out of the negative state of mind. And working out while also being around people helps with that.

4 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

having a more balanced meal plan/schedule and eating enough throughout the day might also prevent you from overeating. and of course there's an emotional side to this as well, which you are hopefully aware of.

Haha, well the issue with me is that I will eat crap and be depressed for one day and then get mad at myself and do a 24 hour fast on the next day. And that's while going to a dietician and trying to be vegan...

But I am working on it XD.

6 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

when i'm at the gym i'm either doing well or i enter freeze mode and feel like i want to lie down on the floor and cry. so i get where you're coming from. 

Yeah, I know. 

Also, don't be sorry, it was really nice talking with you 

[Something Funny]

4 minutes ago, Judy2 said:

next time, try skipping this part. it might help you break the cycle:)

Okay, haha

Thank you, you too )

[AJBrew]

Bulgarian split squat with dumbbells', hands down.

[Something Funny]

@AJBrew why? Why not a pistol squat then?

[Something Funny]

@Mormegil yeah, I will try to. Thanks for advise.

[AJBrew]

13 hours ago, Something Funny said:

@AJBrew why? Why not a pistol squat then?

Thats not great for your knees.

[Human Mint]

I initially aded machine training for legs (as well as my whole body) because squat and lunge movements were giving me knee pain and sore muscles with little to no gain (only more strenght and resistance), but the cost outweighted the gains. I fell in love with machine training honestly. You can really isolate muscles and give them the care they need for jumping to others complex movements. 

Try the leg extension and leg curl station. 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Human Mint

[integral]

1. Standing hamstring curls: Go to a leg extensions machine and instead of sitting down stand up facing it and use it to do hamstring curls. 
2. Barbell squat lunges: Use squat rack for lunges, requires balance.
3. Balance beam Squats: Try doing 20 squats while balancing on a railing.
4. 360-720 Deep Squat Spins: Squat to the floor then jump up while doing a 360 degree turn then land full squat back down, repeat in the other direction for 20.
5. Clean and jerk
6. Hip Thrust Machine Weighted https://youtu.be/UVucPKyQVLU
7. One leg standing calves raises on ledge: No hand support Needs balance

Edited April 10, 2023 by integral

[Jannes]

Reverse Hack Squats are great.

[RamPhoenix]

Uphill sprints

walking lunges

reverse hypers

.....are a must IMO

[The0Self]

Conjugate system is the best training protocol for any fitness goal involving strength. Two days a week, one with speed box squats and speed deficit DL, and the other with a ramp to a max (90-92%1rm) of one of at least 12 variations of squats and deadlifts/hinges that you rotate each week to prevent overuse (you can alternate squat and hinge each week, or do 2-3 squat max weeks for every 1 hinge max week). That's the first section of the session, and it remains there no matter your fitness goals -- The rest of the session, however, can be toned down tremendously depending on your goals.

For the main part, choose exercises with a very high stimulus to fatigue ratio (which are thus very hard to overtrain), and hammer the absolute shit out of them. Examples of lower body lifts with high S/F ratios listed highest (best) first but only listing very good ones: Good Morning with safety squat bar, Hip Belt Squat, Isolateral (1 leg) Leg Press, Bulgarian Split Squat with safety squat bar, Bulgarian Split Squat with barbell, Good Morning with barbell, Glute Ham Raise, 45 Degree Back Extension, Hamstring Curl (never do more leg extensions than hamstring curls, ever, if you value your knees). If the exercise is this color, it doesn't involve the hamstrings. 5 sets of 10-20 reps for each of them -- choose 4 and do 2 per session.

Reverse Hyper was not listed, as it has almost no recovery cost and is in another category all its own. Use it if you have access. 5 sets of 10-30 reps -- at least once a week, preferably twice.

Make use of supersets, at least on upper body days. For lower body days, you can superset anything that doesn't involve the hamstrings (I changed the color of them to this color), with hamstring curls.

Also, in general you want to train lats/rhomboids and biceps on both lower body and upper body days. A typical split is: upper lower off upper off lower off. If you choose to do this, the lat exercises should come before the main section of this session (before the previous paragraph), and the biceps come after this paragraph. For the lats, always do at least as much horizontal as vertical, otherwise dangerous imbalances of the shoulder girdle may result.

To finish, train abs and/or calves. Hanging Leg Raises are the best ab exercise. Always use very slow tempo on calves to take the stretch reflex out (if you haven't had much calf growth yet, despite training them, that stretch reflex is why) -- 2 full seconds down, 1 full second pause in the stretch position, 2 full seconds up -- no need to pause at the top but it makes the tempo easier if you do pause for 1 second just like at the bottom. Maybe some hamstring curls if total hamstring volume has not exceeded 10 sets yet, though they probably should be done earlier if that would be so.

 

Regardless, you want 10-20 sets (within 3 reps of failure) per muscle each week, and no more than 12 per muscle fiber on any one day. Count the max ramp as a set for the muscles maximally involved (squats don't maximally involve the hamstrings, but hinges do), and count speed sets as half sets. 10x2 (60 seconds rest) for box squat and 6x2 (30 seconds rest) for deficit DL... count speed sets as quarter or half sets, or the reps therein as half effective reps (if you know what effective reps means) or full effective reps if the weight is heavy.

You should get access to accommodating resistance (bands and chains) as they work against your acceleration curve, which is especially useful on speed work as instead of using 65%1rm of straight bar weight, you can use 25-50(pref35alt e3w with 45)%1rm in bar weight + 15-33(pref25)%1rm in accommodating resistance.

To get really specific and high level, "10-20 sets (within 3 reps of failure) per muscle each week" would be changed to: 10-20 sets per week worth of effective volume on high threshold muscle fibers, even more specifically meaning... 25-50 "effective reps," twice a week, per muscle. "Effective reps" are the last 5 reps before hitting failure.

Edited April 11, 2023 by The0Self