Sore legs for 5-7 days after leg workout!

[Sherazad]

I get sore legs for 5-7 full days after my leg workout. This makes it hard to do cardio without getting crazy acid buildup in my quads. I was wondering if this is normal. I don't go hardcore either, here's my routine:

Squats > Leg Extensions > Leg Press > Calf Raises

All the exercises are done to failure pretty much, and I try to lift heavy rather than light. For example I start a set for squats at 225, and end my 4th set at 320. After the workout, my legs are dead tired! Just want to know if the soreness is normal, and if so, what can I do/take to curb the effects?

[King Viscera]

Whats your diet like? When my diet is crap, my legs take longer to recover.

Maybe try dropping the leg extensions and just do the barbell squats and leg presses?

I usually find that doing cardio on a bike the day after legs helps me recover faster.

[MarkA15]

I guess you'll have to be like me and be patient until you feel fresh. But like King_Viscera said, a good diet may help you recover faster, that's what I think, I don't know if it's fact.

[braindx]

Soreness (i.e. DOMS) just means that your legs and body are not adapted to the load that you put on them during that exercise day. It has nothing to do with your gains, nutrition or sleep patterns. It is, however, a good indicator of when you should switch up routine. For example, if you kept doing the same routine and finally you didn't get that sore after a workout, that means you body has adapted to the routine and your gains will probably most likely slow down (or they might already have). Thus, the soreness, or a lack thereof, would tell you that you should probably increase the weights and/or select different exercises that you can do to keep on stimulating your legs to growth.

[New_Kid]

More protein in your diet, more water. Try supplementing with Glutamine.

[Sherazad]

I'll try glutamine, this is a new workout, i never really trained my legs b4 a month ago, but now I realize it's important for the entire body. I get roughly 200 Gr or protein a day, i don't know if I should bump it up or not. I guess the soreness is good then from braindx's post.

[gymratluke]

I'll try glutamine, this is a new workout, i never really trained my legs b4 a month ago, but now I realize it's important for the entire body. I get roughly 200 Gr or protein a day, i don't know if I should bump it up or not. I guess the soreness is good then from braindx's post.

How the hell have you been training legs for only a month but your last set of squats is with 320 lbs. You evidently arent going down low enough or somethin. Or maybe you just have super strong legs....

[maximus overload]

Lower the volume. Inspite of what Arnold says (and one must remember that as cool and innovative as Arnie is, his advice is really only best for those with really good genetics or those who are juiced to the gills) your legs don't need a million sets each work out.

Light cardio afterwards.

Eat your banana's (no, I'm not kidding).

[Sherazad]

I never really trained with weights on my legs, I did however play a year of University football as a tackle on the O-Line. We did crazy workouts to build our legs, I can remember carrying a 320 lb guy up a hill backwards on my back. I never did squats though during workouts, cause my legs were always dead after practice.

[throws77]

it's normal for the stuff your doing, but not really good. i think you should try to lighten up the load a little if its bothering your legs that much. the legs don't do much for ya if they're to sore to use.

[farmerlee]

Its simple, don't lift to failure, you'll recover better and be able to workout more frequently.

[ironman1964bc]

I had the same problem for years with my legs and triceps always being the muscles that took the longest to recover. Oddly enough, I could workout my traps every day and they would never get tired. My best friend is just the opposite, he could do legs every day but his traps would take over a week to recover. I think heredity has alot to do with it.

Not going to failure might help as will less volume. It didn't for work me because as long as I was adding weight to the bar, I would get sore. It may work for you. If it doesn't, you may have to do a full body workout 5 days a week, which is what I do now. I just do 1 or 2 sets for each muscle and move on to the next one. I have even benched and squatted 5 days a week and not gotten tired or sore working out this way. The drawback is you won't get the pump that you are used to but you will get stronger faster because we all know that the more you can workout a muscle, the stronger you will get.

[Troutwine]

take ice baths, n do stretches 3-4 hours after the workout to reduce the acidic build up!

[Mono]

i used to have the same probelm, and i solved it by streching before you workout. if your not doing this i highly suggest it.

[dawkins_20]

First off, not being sore is NOT a sign that your not growing. However I think that if your always excessively sore, that could be a sign of overtraining. IMO, if your training heavy and going to failure, you don't need anywhere near the volume your doing. When I squat, which is usually what I decide to do when working legs, all I do is 4 heavy sets to failure. Thats it, no other leg presses or extensions or lunges. Just 4 heavy sets, and it gets the job done.

[degolarz]

[QUOTE=dawkins_20;11609521]First off, not being sore is NOT a sign that your not growing.

Had to read that twice, triple negative! haha

I agree though. I always aim for being a little sore/stiff, but not so sore that I can barely walk the next couple of days. If I'm sore for more than 4 days (cant get two leg workouts in a week) I lighten up the load for the next leg day. And that goes for any muscle group.