how do you split legs into two days?

[bgurltryall]

I'm seeing satisfactory result in the development of my upper body but my legs are lagging, an apparently common problem from what I'm reading!
I really think it's cause I'm doing too much on leg day and can't give each excercise my all. I need to focus on increasing the size of my butt too, How do others split up legs? By that I mean what excercises do you do for what muscle? I find that most compound excercises use both hams and quads. Am i missing something? I really feel I'll be able to acheive more by having two leg days(seperate muscles). I just don't want to enter the realm of over training. Any help would be highly appreciated!

[backdraft]

Are you looking to build your legs or just cut them?

[london402]

monday/ friday

whats the problem.

[bgurltryall]

uh ok please don't treat me like an idiot. I'm not. Had you read my question you would have noted this:

How do others split up legs? By that I mean what exercises do you do for what muscle?

a response of Monday/Friday does noone any good and it's obviously pointless.

In response to backdraft I'm looking to build muscle but it shouldn't matter. I'm merely trying to understand what specific exercises a person who splits their leg work out in to two seperate days, focusing on quads one day and hamstrings the next, does.

My reasoning behind asking being that I, in my own research, have found that most compound leg exercises involved the work of both muscles. Therefore how can one focus on one or the other without overtraining both by inadvertantly working out both twice a week?

[ChocoChick]

I'll be reading the responses with interest as I have the same issues/questions.

My understanding is that legs workouts can be broken into quads, hamstrings and calves. Quads are hit most by squats, hack squats, leg press/sled and leg extensions. Hamstrings are hit most by SLDLs, lunges and curls (seated, standing or lying).

I think a Monday/Thursday split might be better than Monday/Friday as it spaces out the workouts more evenly.

Hopefully, one of the board "experts" will respond.

[mommy*2*3]

I split my leg routine into two seperate workouts.
Day 1: Quads and Calves
leg extension, leg press, squats, hax squats, lunges, ect.

Day 2: Hamstrings and Shoulders
Seated leg curs, standing leg curls, donkey kicks, abductors and adductors, one leg at a time curls as well.

On Quad days I make sure I have a very good abdominal workout as well since it all ties in together.
Warm up your quads with leg extensions and then go to a power exercise like leg press or squats. Try to finish your workout with leg extensions holding for count of 6...this really works your deep muscle fibers and promotes muscle seperation....you'll feel the burn!
Hit your legs hard...this should be a very intense and quick workout.
Don't do any cardio on quad days....you'll need all the energy you can get.

An alternate hamstring workout would be to use an ankle strap and attach it to cables and do all kinds of fun stuff with it

Hope this helps...I've been using this routine for the last year and it has really helped. I get a much better leg workout this way...you should try it!

[trnurbdy48]

Hi Bgurl.............may I ask what your current training schedule is? Maybe I canhelp you come up with something!

[backdraft]

Yes, compound exercises do work both hams and quads, but anything you do works more than just one muscle group. Even though they are called hams or quads, every muscle in your body is tied in with another muscle at some point. The reason people do the split is because the exercise meant to hit that muscle group is focused on targeting that specific muscle and the other muscles get worked just helping. I guess I could explain something similar in this manner.........Your heart is a involuntary muscle, meaning that it is constantly working and you don't have to make it work. Now think about this; why is it working when you don't do anything to make it happen. Your brain is constantly telling it to pump blood and keep you alive. Now I know you are probably shaking your head right now and saying "DUH!", but think about it. The muscles in your body work in a similar way; the hams and quads are connected so they are both working when you are doing exercises though one is involuntarily helping. Your quadricep femoral muscles are: vastus lateralis(the muscle on the outside of your quad), rectus femoris(the muscle in the center of the quads), and the vastus medialis(the muscle on the inside of the quads). You also have your sartorius wich is the muscle you work for inner thigh. The semimembranosus runs down the inside of the hamstring and in the back of the leg behind the patella. You also have your semitendinosus and your biceps femoris in the hamstring. All of the muscles are connected to one another by, the muscle itself or, by tendons. Remember tendons connect muscle to bone and ligaments connect bone to bone. The muscles are what make the skeleton move and so when your body is moving all your muscles are working together even though one specific group may be doing the majority of the work.

[bgurltryall]

backdraft- Thanks for the info. That's kind of why I was asking how others set up two leg days a week without overtraining. I wasn't sure how involved the involuntarily utilized muscle was.

trnurbdy48- ok currently it's in somewhat of a mess day wise. I just changed my class schedule and have yet to find a new rhythm for my workouts. At any rate I do

Legs
shoulders(super lagging so they get their own day)
Back/bis
chest/tris

On leg day i dooooo:

4/8 squats
3/8 leg extensions
3/8 leg curls
sometimes abductor/aductor machines. 3/8 each
standing calf raises 3/8
the butt machine(hehe not sure what it's called: where you kick your leg back) which feels relatively pointless but I try to convie myself otherwise. 3/8

The whole 3/8 has been working like a charm for my upper body.
I just feel on leg day I'm doing way too much at once and am not able to give each exercise the energy it needs and, in turn, my legs.

Thank you for taking the time to provide help. That goes for dbflgirl and mommy*2*3 too!

[imperfectly_lou]

Although most compound exercises will work both the hamstrings and quads, as long as you have them sufficiently far apart (I would say at least 4 days) you will be OK.

Another alternative is to split legs into one heavy way and one light day. Your heavy day could involve the major compound exercises like squats, SLDL and leg press, and your lighter day could be more lying leg curls, leg extensions, or even plyometrics.

You said that you feel you are doing too much on one day..... I used to do the same. My leg workouts would take a whole hour. I am now doing Max-OT and my leg workouts take a max of 40mins and I am sore for several days, even only doing 3 exercises. I am also doing sprints. As a result, my legs look more cut than ever and i am building some nice quads muscle.

[hotgymchick]

My legs are my best bodypart because of the way I train them: for 1 month I do hams/quads on one day, with no other bodypart. I do walking lunges, SLDL, stepups to fatigue. I don't change the exercises, just the variation in reps and order: sometimes I go by time, reps, high weight, low weight.

Then for a month I split hams and quads in different days, doing about 7-8 sets for each.

I don't think legs are as easily overtrained as people want to believe. Work them hard and don't be afraid of fatigue and soreness, up to a point. I would bump up cals/carbs on a hard leg day however, and keep cardio short. I love intervals after legs, then immediately having a PWO shake.

[ChocoChick]

I am now doing Max-OT and my leg workouts take a max of 40mins and I am sore for several days, even only doing 3 exercises. I am also doing sprints. As a result, my legs look more cut than ever and i am building some nice quads muscle.

Care to share what you are doing? Also, are you doing MAX OT for your entire body or just for legs?

[london402]

anyone else find SPRINTS to be really affective?

do u walk SPRINT......walk SPRINT.......walk SRPINT?

[imperfectly_lou]

I am doing the whole Max-OT program.

You can read more about Max-OT here:

http://www.ast-ss.com/max-ot/max-ot_intro.asp

Basically, each workout takes no longer than 30-40mins so you can maintain intensity and focus throughout the whole workout. Most body parts have no more than 3 exercises, usually a total of 7-9 sets per body part.

For my sprints, I do a 5min walking warm up. I then sprint at 14.5km/h for 30secs, slow down to 11km/h for 60secs, repeat for a total of 21mins, cool down for 5mins.

[bgurltryall]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their input. It has been very instrumental in clarifying my queeries. Sorry it took me a while to get back here; school is rather torturous at the moment. Thank you again!