Why are my legs making no progress?

[houston911]

I work out my legs once a week, calves twice.

Sqauts,leg extensions, some other quad shyt

2 hamstring exercises

donkey calf raises, calf raises with weights

i dont see much improvement, not like im seeing with chest,back,shoulders,etc

[khalid a.k.a Genocide]

How's your diet like? Are you doing squats correctly? Are you doing squats in a squat rack or smith machine? Advice: use squat rack and not the smith machine!!! (on squats go down till quads are parallel to the ground, push glutes out as if you were seating down and keep your head up)

Do you do Stiffleg dealifts, lunges? these two exercises are also important for quads,hams/legs.

[houston911]

my diet is pretty good. i rarely eat fast food, i dont eat chips. i get a decent amount of protein.

ive never tried lunges, ill start doing those and the deadlifts

[whoa4]

Are you trying to make them bigger, stronger, or just more defined?

[Big H]

I work out my legs once a week, calves twice.

Sqauts,leg extensions, some other quad shyt

2 hamstring exercises

donkey calf raises, calf raises with weights

i dont see much improvement, not like im seeing with chest,back,shoulders,etc

Lower the weight and do more reps to achieve hypertrophy. I used to do my 20 rep routine for squats to shock my muscles every month or so when I saw the gains start to slow down. Legs are muscles that need to be slaughtered each time you hit the gym; in other words failure is key for releasing more GH when you sleep so you can grow.

You might vomit a few times but its worth it.

[ahhhhhsht]

Lower the weight and do more reps to achieve hypertrophy. I used to do my 20 rep routine for squats to shock my muscles every month or so when I saw the gains start to slow down. Legs are muscles that need to be slaughtered each time you hit the gym; in other words failure is key for releasing more GH when you sleep so you can grow.

You might vomit a few times but its worth it.


Wow man u got arnold in ur avi but give this advice? Ive heard both sides of it with legs. One is more reps because u have the biggest veins in ur legs and u need more reps to get the blood flowing through there.

Then i read arnolds book and he says to just suck it up and do lower reps with the most weight. He said with legs and back u can do more than u think and u just gotta grit ur teeth through it.

Now heres what i say. Ima naturally big dude i have to try hard to cut up so i do more cardio than most. Since i put so much high reps of cardio on my legs i do lower reps high weight when i lift.

Example i do 5 nights a week cardio 30minutes, various exercises. So on wensdays i do squats 12, 8, 6, 4. Then into extension 8 6 4 then curls 8 6 4, calves 12 12 12, and a leg press for 12 10 8.

Maybe try that out if u do a lot of cardio. If not id say a 12 10 8 set would be fine on these exercises.

[Big H]

Wow man u got arnold in ur avi but give this advice? Ive heard both sides of it with legs. One is more reps because u have the biggest veins in ur legs and u need more reps to get the blood flowing through there.

Then i read arnolds book and he says to just suck it up and do lower reps with the most weight. He said with legs and back u can do more than u think and u just gotta grit ur teeth through it.

Now heres what i say. Ima naturally big dude i have to try hard to cut up so i do more cardio than most. Since i put so much high reps of cardio on my legs i do lower reps high weight when i lift.

Example i do 5 nights a week cardio 30minutes, various exercises. So on wensdays i do squats 12, 8, 6, 4. Then into extension 8 6 4 then curls 8 6 4, calves 12 12 12, and a leg press for 12 10 8.

Maybe try that out if u do a lot of cardio. If not id say a 12 10 8 set would be fine on these exercises.

Arnold used to train twice a day doing 20-30 sets per muscle group; High intensity and High volume so don't bring that bullsh*t in here.

And at no point did I advise doing 20 reps for all your sets. This technique is used by plenty of lifters to stimulate growth and increase endurance. Going in fresh and doing the 20 rep, and then starting your normal routine is perfectly fine.

Plus, high weight and low reps should be reserved for strength mainly. The only time it serves to build or maintain lean muscle is during a diet or cut.

[ahhhhhsht]

I know he did a lot of sets, but im pretty sure his reps were low on legs. I might have to reread.

[Big H]

I know he did a lot of sets, but im pretty sure his reps were low on legs. I might have to reread.

If you get a chance watch "Pumping Iron". There is a scene where Arnold goes all out on squat with about 400+ weight until failure. His training routine wasn't made for the average human being.

[LiveWireZ]

Lower the weight and do more reps to achieve hypertrophy. I used to do my 20 rep routine for squats to shock my muscles every month or so when I saw the gains start to slow down. Legs are muscles that need to be slaughtered each time you hit the gym; in other words failure is key for releasing more GH when you sleep so you can grow.

You might vomit a few times but its worth it.


Pardon my ignorance but whats hypertrophy and what would be a good starting leg workout?

[khalid a.k.a Genocide]

If you get a chance watch "Pumping Iron". There is a scene where Arnold goes all out on squat with about 400+ weight until failure. His training routine wasn't made for the average human being.

Yep, thats true. Arnold had some seriously grueling trainning sessions, all body parts.

[Big H]

Pardon my ignorance but whats hypertrophy and what would be a good starting leg workout?

Hypertrophy is the actual growth in muscle. It results from an enlargement of tissue (muscle in this case). Studies have shown, and so has personal experience, that starting out with low-moderate weight, and going with high reps (10-12) for first few weeks will result in initial muscle growth from which you build on.


Like I said just focus on proper form and reps over weight when your just starting out. Stick to the classic mass builders like squats, deadlifts, leg press, etc. Leave the machines alone for now (use them for toning and definition, or when your injured). When you hit the gym the first thing you should head to is the squat rack. Do 10-15 minutes of Static stretching (very important) and start gettin at it. I like to start out with lunges to get my muscles warmed up and ready to go.

Since your gonna be going with 10-12 reps per set recovery is vital so here is the golden rule; train legs ONCE A WEEK. Get your 7-9 hours of sleep every night, make sure your taking your post-workout shake, and make sure your eating for recovery (High protein, moderate carbs, low fat). Your gonna want to have a larger serving of carbs the day before or day of your leg workout. The goal here is to replinish your glycogen levels so your muscles can survive the hurt your gonna put of them.