Leg day twice a week

[egsiue]

Hey, I do legs twice a week and was wondering if having one day being quad focused, and the other being posterior chain focused would be a good idea, instead of a mix of both in both workouts. There would still be quad/ham work done in both leg days, but for example on the posterior chain focused day the only direct quad work would be some light leg extensions for 12-15 reps to finish off the workout. Additionally, if I were to do that, would it be dumb of me to take out back squats (I do low bar) and do front squats on the quad day and then deadlifts on the posterior chain focused leg day?

[leidenesLK]

If intra-workout systemic fatigue is an issue, it makes good sense to prioritize focus on a given muscle group, but it depends how it’s done. If your goal is hypertrophy, you need to look at it from the view of total weekly workload. Say initially you were doing 2 quad exercises on each leg day. If you have a ‘quad focused’ day where you now hit 3 quad exercises, and a ‘ham focused day’ where you hit another 1 quad exercise, by the end of the week you actually haven’t focused on anything.

The ‘focus’ becomes an illusion simply because you upped the workload for the muscle in a given session, providing a better ‘feeling’, but the total weekly workload remains the same. Or possibly less. Localized muscle fatigue is just as likely to impede set quality as systemic fatigue (ensuing junk volume), and is more likely to occur on ‘focus’ days due to the added volume for a single muscle. The result now becomes one ‘focus’ day that’s potentially impacted by localized muscle fatigue, affecting set quality, and one barebones day that wouldn’t provide enough stimulus. Leg extensions and calling it a day borderlines a waste of time. So the weekly set count remains the same, but the overall set quality is arguably less, meaning lower total workload for the same energy expenditure. Pretty pointless IMO. But, again, it depends how it’s done.

If you’re trying to bring up a lagging muscle, the best method to do this is to increase its total weekly workload across the board. Not give here and take there. Just my opinion, though, and I bet some would disagree.

[safcpaul]

Damn the guy above me narf does like his essays. Op a correctly done deadlift would be quad dominant so why put it on hamstring day? I think you should follow a program already wrote out for you until you understand more about why you have chose certain exercises

[leidenesLK]

Damn the guy above me narf does like his essays. Op a correctly done deadlift would be quad dominant so why put it on hamstring day? I think you should follow a program already wrote out for you until you understand more about why you have chose certain exercises

I really do.

Hmm I wouldn’t go as far as saying they’re quad dominant, especially if pulling conventional. Sure, they’re used to a large extent, but the joint angles aren’t really there to call them quad dominant. I think they’re fine on ham day especially to separate it from heavy squats. An RDL would be a more ‘pure’ hinge, though.

[safcpaul]

I really do.

Hmm I wouldn’t go as far as saying they’re quad dominant, especially if pulling conventional. Sure, they’re used to a large extent, but the joint angles aren’t really there to call them quad dominant. I think they’re fine on ham day especially to separate it from heavy squats. An RDL would be a more ‘pure’ hinge, though.

They're definitely quad dominant. It's essentially a half squat and youre driving from the floor using your quads. If you're having a hamstring dedicated day then yes rdl would be the one to choose not a convention deadlift

[readreindeer666]

Is it working?

[leidenesLK]

They're definitely quad dominant. It's essentially a half squat and youre driving from the floor using your quads. If you're having a hamstring dedicated day then yes rdl would be the one to choose not a convention deadlift

You’re right that quads are used heavily off the floor, but to say they’re quad dominant implies there’s more extension happening at the knees than the hips which isn’t the case (leverages aside). Generally speaking, torso angle isn’t going to be near as upright as a squat (or half squat), so I’d still classify them as being hip dominant. Deficits, snatch-grip, sumo would definitely shift more emphasis to quads simply due to deeper knee angles.

[safcpaul]

You’re right that quads are used heavily off the floor, but to say they’re quad dominant implies there’s more extension happening at the knees than the hips which isn’t the case (leverages aside). Generally speaking, torso angle isn’t going to be near as upright as a squat (or half squat), so I’d still err on the side of them being hip dominant. Deficits, snatch-grip, sumo would definitely shift more emphasis to quads simply due to deeper knee angles.

Of course they use the hips heavily considering it's a hinge but that's not the point. The point is, that using a conventional deadlift on a hamstring focused day doesn't make sense. It's uses more quads than hamstrings

[MyEgoProblem]

If you half squat a deadlift you are really ****ing up.
Conv dead not quad dominant at all...

And this comes from a guy with outstanding leg drive and speed off the floor.

All you have to do is look at joint angles.
Physics and physiology are against you on this one.

[Ghawk21]

If you half squat a deadlift you are really ****ing up.
Conv dead not quad dominant at all...

And this comes from a guy with outstanding leg drive and speed off the floor.

All you have to do is look at joint angles.
Physics and physiology are against you on this one.

Came here to say the exact same thing.

[bLinkMoore]

Of course they use the hips heavily considering it's a hinge but that's not the point. The point is, that using a conventional deadlift on a hamstring focused day doesn't make sense. It's uses more quads than hamstrings

Definitely not. Just mechanically, that movement can't be quad dominant

[leidenesLK]

Of course they use the hips heavily considering it's a hinge but that's not the point.

But that was my point though. I was responding to you saying they’re quad dominant and a half squat. They’re hip dominant and closer to a hinge, which you now say so it’s all good Hope I’m not coming off rude btw.

The point is, that using a conventional deadlift on a hamstring focused day doesn't make sense. It's uses more quads than hamstrings

IMO, makes more more sense on ham day than it does on quad day seeing as it’s more of a hinge. Ham day is usually synonymous with hip extension (and knee flexion) anyway. Separates it from heavy squats too if you prefer to deadlift fresh.

[safcpaul]

I didn't literally mean you half squat a deadlift. I mean the bend in your knees. Deadlifts are definitely more quad dominant than hamstring if done properly, that is a fact

[bLinkMoore]

I didn't literally mean you half squat a deadlift. I mean the bend in your knees. Deadlifts are definitely more quad dominant than hamstring if done properly, that is a fact

It simply is not a fact. If your stance is "conventional deadlifts with a regular, roughly shoulder-width grip are a quad-dominant exercise", you are simply incorrect. It's not a debate. It's biomechanics.

[leidenesLK]

I didn't literally mean you half squat a deadlift. I mean the bend in your knees. Deadlifts are definitely more quad dominant than hamstring if done properly, that is a fact

I get where you’re coming from, but to say something is quad dominant means that knee extension is the primary function of the movement. The hip goes through greater extension than the knee, making it hip dominant. The biceps femoris is responsible for hip extension (with glutes). Therefore it’s more hamstring than quad due to more favorable joint angles allowing for better ROM.

[ECGordyn]

Deadlifts are hamstring/glute dominant. Quads are a much smaller part of that movement.

/thread

[BeginnerGainz]

Deadlifts are hamstring/glute dominant. Quads are a much smaller part of that movement.

/thread

Please let this be the end of that argument.