legs

B

bjnova

0
I am a 43 yo man, have been lifting for several years and recently have wanted to build alot more mass in my legs. My upper legs seem to respond only slowly to weight training so I am looking for some tips.

At present, once a week I do 10 sets of 10 (leaves me sore for abuo0t 3-4 days afterwards right now) at about 60% of my 1RM on one of the following exercises:

squats OR split squats (1 legged) OR front squats

I interchange that work-out about every three weeks or so with a workout involving a mix of straight sets of squats, front squats, split squats, box squats, deadlifts, stiff-legged deadlifts, leg curls (seated and prone) (not all these exercises in one workout and a total number of sets around 15)

I have been thinking of including another day just to focus on hamstrings, hips, glutes.

Suggestions? What is reasonable to expect interms of growth? (I am assuming that the mass we see in prof bodybuilders is due to steroid/gh/insulin use so I don't anticipate being able to achieve that).
 
10 sets of 10 reps for squats??? wow!!!

IMO, squats and stiff legged deadlifts and standing calf raises are plenty. i'm an ectomorph myself and find gains hard to come by. years ago i had great results with 20 rep squats. them days are long gone though.

i believe in the basics. i'd say after warmups, do something like 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps striving to increase the weight each workout. try to increase the weight 5-10lbs each workout.

what do you think?
 
At 40+ your recovery ability and joint and connective tissue strenght is usually a limiting factor. So limiting the total number of sets and using slightly lower weights and higher reps is usally a good idea. I do thighs twice a week or so: 4-6 sets:
Day 1:
Leg extension supersetted with Leg Curl 2 sets of 15 reps
Squats: 145x15,225x12,315x12
Goodmornings: 2 sets of 15 reps
Day 2:
Leg extension supersetted with Leg Curl 2 sets of 15 reps
Leg Press: 800x15,1000x15,1000x15
Stiff legged deadlift: 145x15,225x15,315x12
8-10 sets with 1-2 minuters rest only takes 20-30 minutes. If you are pushing as much weight as you can thats all it takes to induce muscle growth. I've always found higher reps work better for legs, but that's just me. And now that I am 50 going for bigger weights and less than 8 reps is a sure way to cause strains and joint damage.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top