Am I over-training my legs?

[BigSnacks]

My Fall/Winter bulk got out of hand and I packed on some serious weight. Now I’m trying to refocus to go on a cut, and I thought I would add in some cardio/cross training to aid in the efforts. I currently work out 3 times a week, alternating between a push (plus squats & calf raises) and pull workout, so one week I’ll squat 2 days, the next 1. This week I’ve added running (well, C25K for now, which will evolve into running if I stick with it) and have started getting up at 0445 to ride my recumbent bike 45 minutes first thing.

Because I was also out of the gym several weeks during my bulk, when I returned 2 weeks ago, I dropped my working weight back to 60% and have been adding just 5%/week. Yesterday I was just working with 225 and could only get 7 reps per set, when I can normally get 20+ on the first set. Granted, there was some shooting pain up in my upper right thigh-groin area that hindered my ability to carry the load a little, but the biggest issue was the fact that my quads were just exhausted.

So I’m wondering if there’s a chance I’m over-working my legs, or are they just adjusting to the new increase in work load? How much is too much? If I continue with this schedule, then it’s 6 days of biking (5 on stationary bike, MTB’ing on Saturday), 2-3 days of running, and 1-2 days of heavy squats (my calves were fine).

[BigSnacks]

Bump for opinions.

[fightingfalcn91]

Sounds like your goin a little crazy with the legs. 6 days of biking, plus the running, and 1-2 days of heavy squats! How are you able to stand up and walk around? I like to give the legs and good beating 2x a week, sometimes just once depending on how hard I hit em. Then I'll jump on a bike or treadmill the next day and stretch em out. Meaning I do that cardio VERY light and just focus on stretching the muscle out as I'm walking or peddling.

[BigSnacks]

Sounds like your goin a little crazy with the legs.

I think I am... Just walking up the steps at work this morning was a chore! I want to give running a try for more than just the cardio (I'm not running that much/fast now, anyway), so I guess I'll dump the AM rides. Greenz

[andrasberegi]

all you need is one day if you work them hard enuff