two day leg splits..

yohanceyellock · 10-22-2008, 10:44 AM

Have people found two day leg splits helpful for the off season for gaining mass and seperation or do Most feel that one heavy leg day a week should cut it.

dvsness · 10-22-2008, 10:48 AM

I used to split hams and quads, but I found that there was always a lingering soreness even thought they were days apart. I am able to give 100% now that I went back to having a single leg day.

-KTA- · 10-22-2008, 10:53 AM

I think this is something you're going to have to figure out personally as to what works best for you.

I split when training for shows to really focus on deep contractions.

But off seasons I typically hit them both twice a week. (For a few weeks at least, then rotate something else in twice a week).

I'm not Dr. Science guy though when it comes to training. I don't count calories, I eat when hungry or ill feeling etc.

And if I see muscle group that needs work i'll beat the **** out of it till it comes around, and until it does that's my focus. I don't follow a regimine per se. This has worked well for me, but might not for others.

I'd try both methods for 6 weeks at a time and find what works best.

Just my 2 cents.

Dr Clay · 10-22-2008, 11:21 AM

My personal preference is to train quads and hams separately. However, scheduling that is sometimes difficult, so I often train them together (at least on my last couple of routines.

If you're doing more of a volume-oriented routine, I think splitting them can be beneficial due to the time/energy factor. And it helps you not have a good excuse to skip calves. I don't know about you guys, but after hitting quads and hams hard, I seem to be creative in my excuses to skip calves.

Best,

dvsness · 10-22-2008, 11:24 AM

I train calves on arm day.

-KTA- · 10-22-2008, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvsness

I train calves on arm day.

Hah yeah so do I, just seems logical and my arm days are never too exhausting. Can't compare to legs, chest or back anyway.

yohanceyellock · 10-22-2008, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Clay

My personal preference is to train quads and hams separately. However, scheduling that is sometimes difficult, so I often train them together (at least on my last couple of routines.

If you're doing more of a volume-oriented routine, I think splitting them can be beneficial due to the time/energy factor. And it helps you not have a good excuse to skip calves. I don't know about you guys, but after hitting quads and hams hard, I seem to be creative in my excuses to skip calves.

Best,

Ive almost come to the point to where I have given up on my calves..
Theres a lot of good ideas here which I will be trying out. The training calves on arm day is something I will try before I write them off completely. Thanks!

fltallpaul · 10-22-2008, 12:34 PM

I made great gains doing legs two days a week. First time I hit them with heavy weight, Quads, Hams and calves. The second time is the higher rep and set workout. I do calves at the end which is like a vacation after 25 sets for quads and hams...

I learned this from Layne Norton's Power\Hypertrophy split.

AustrianOakJr · 10-22-2008, 12:34 PM

^^^ I also train calves seperately. They are probably my biggest deficiency. Seems to help out. I was also training them twice a week for a while prior to contest prep and saw gains then.

So, in regard to a leg split...... I was thinking of training legs 2x a week in the off season to bring them up to par (or hopefully above). Does anyone train BOTH hams AND quads twice a week?

I guess there is a lot of overlap when you seperate them and I kind of like that idea. You wouldnt be pounding both muscle groups twice a week, but each group would get its individual pounding, and then the other would still get worked a bit. This would be especially true on quad day as opposed to ham day.

I might give that a whirl!

imccarthy · 10-22-2008, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AustrianOakJr

^^^ I also train calves seperately. They are probably my biggest deficiency. Seems to help out. I was also training them twice a week for a while prior to contest prep and saw gains then.

So, in regard to a leg split...... I was thinking of training legs 2x a week in the off season to bring them up to par (or hopefully above). Does anyone train BOTH hams AND quads twice a week?

I guess there is a lot of overlap when you seperate them and I kind of like that idea. You wouldnt be pounding both muscle groups twice a week, but each group would get its individual pounding, and then the other would still get worked a bit. This would be especially true on quad day as opposed to ham day.

I might give that a whirl!

I train hams and quads together 2x weekly... once with low reps/heavy weight, then again with lighter weight and more reps/sets.

One of the best ways to train legs in my opinion... most people with find that legs are very frequency-dependent. I've seen many guys really bring up their legs just by hitting them more often.

BBLineBacker81 · 10-22-2008, 12:42 PM

i train the whole complex twice a week... give or take a day or so due to the rotation... as for calves... whenever they feel recovered, sometimes every other day... just dont skip out on them... calves can be frustrating... i train calves unilaterally, and focus on contraction with very tight holds at the peak... then again I am working on tightening them up... and i train them with volume...

liftjunkie06 · 10-22-2008, 12:43 PM

It really depends on a few things, like recovery ability, nutrition, VOLUME, etc. I was doing a 4 day push/pull but will likely switch to 2 days of full legs. I like lifting the legs muscle gropus together because on things like squats you are lighting up a few of them, and I rely heavily on compounds in the off season.

NC_Tarheel · 10-23-2008, 09:33 AM

Derek just sent me a leg concentrated program b/c I need major work on these toothpicks I call legs..it goes a little like this...

Monday - Legs
Heavy Compounds
Leg Ext/Curl
Lunges
Calves

Tues - Chest/Delt/Tri

Thurs - Legs
High Rep Compounds
Leg Ext/Curl
Calves

Friday or Saturday - Back/Trap/Bi

AustrianOakJr · 10-23-2008, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NC_Tarheel

Derek just sent me a leg concentrated program b/c I need major work on these toothpicks I call legs..it goes a little like this...

Monday - Legs
Heavy Compounds
Leg Ext/Curl
Lunges
Calves

Tues - Chest/Delt/Tri

Thurs - Legs
High Rep Compounds
Leg Ext/Curl
Calves

Friday or Saturday - Back/Trap/Bi

I like that split. I may give that whirl once I resume training after my show. You got a good 3-4 days of recovery for the legs, which should be enough as long as the calories/protein are there. The chest/delt/tri day is a bit of a long day, but these are strengths for me, so I think I could probably decrease the volume and increase intensity and be OK.

**str8flexed** · 10-23-2008, 10:44 AM

2x/week or even 3x/week is the only thing that ever got mine to grow. Soreness is an issue at first but your body adapts (repeated bout effect) and you find that the more frequently you workout the less you get sore

musclemass22 · 10-23-2008, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by str8flexed

2x/week or even 3x/week is the only thing that ever got mine to grow. Soreness is an issue at first but your body adapts (repeated bout effect) and you find that the more frequently you workout the less you get sore

I have been training for about 7 years now. I train legs every 5 days and still have a problem with DOMS, specifically my hams. They take forever to recover. Even when I train back doing bent over rows or similar exercises, they hinder me. I have found that if I can force myself to do some cardio the following day despite being sore, they loosen up a little better. Either way, I just keep beating them up trying to get them to grow.--Brian

**str8flexed** · 10-23-2008, 12:36 PM

and if you worked them more frequently after about 4-6 weeks you'd find they are far less sore

Transformer08 · 10-23-2008, 01:21 PM

find what works for u.... im currently training my legs 3x a week, thats quads,calves and hams.. and enjoying it. but in the past in the off-season i havent trained legs for like 6weeks and they still stay same size or even grow. right now sitting around 27ins.

musclemass22 · 10-23-2008, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by str8flexed

and if you worked them more frequently after about 4-6 weeks you'd find they are far less sore

I have been trying that now. I just began off-season beginning of October. My problem is volume. Told myself I was going to up the frequency and lower the volume a bit. My problem is, I always want to do more. How many total sets would you recommend? I trained legs today and did 17 total sets with the compounds being squats, db walking lunges, and sldl's

BBLineBacker81 · 10-23-2008, 04:25 PM

I agree with Layne... I am also a firm believer in the shock and awe method... too many people train upper body to failure and to that absolute max but kind of "whimp out" when it comes to legs... train your legs for that same pump you go for upper body wise, concentrated movements to near failure obviously in as safe a manner as possible... pump them up and they WILL grow... it's easy to get a pump on extensions... go for a pump on squats, on lunges, on rdls, hamstring curls... you've got to go at it hard...