Concerned About My Leg Workout (Enough Work)?

[Vanchatron]

Currently I'm doing a 3 day split & I love it, but I'm concerned about the amount of work I do for legs.



Here's my routine:

Mon - Chest/Biceps/Traps
Wed - Legs/Shoulders
Fri - Back/Triceps



For legs I only do Squats, SLDL's & Calf Raises. That's 3 exercises (3-4 sets for each), and I'm worried that it may not be enough. With so many conflicting information on the Internet it's hard to figure out what's right and what's wrong. Some people say that Legs need their own seperate day and you need to include more than just 3 exercises for them, but others such as Frankie NY (http://www.tinyurl.com/6g98bx) suggest only doing Squats, SLDL's & Calf Raises. Also THIS guy (http://www.tinyurl.com/67tyw7) does what Frankie NY suggests regarding legs and judging by his avatar, he definitely seems to know what he's doing.

I was researching some stuff earlier and somebody said to me "You do only 3 exercises for legs (which make up half of your body) but also 3 exercises for chest (even though chest is a much smaller muscle)... Can you see the problem there?" and I wasn't sure what to make of this, because I always thought that what I was doing for legs was enough. My legs are one of my best body parts, but I can't help but think that what I'm doing at the moment is preventing the REST of my body from growing because I'm not doing enough leg work.

I see some people with freaky leg routines consisting of around 6-9 exercise just for legs, and I think "is THIS the way to go?". The thing is, I train at home in a Power Rack so I'm not really spoilt for choice, although I could add in Barbell/Dumbbell Lunges if necessary.

Anyway, basically I'd just like to get some piece of mind that what I'm currently doing is OK, as it's been playing on my mind for ages now I just had to get it off my chest. Is 3 exercises (Squats/SLDL/Calf Raises) enough Leg work, or do I need to add in some more stuff?

As I said, there's so many conflicting information floating round the Internet, I'm not sure what to believe.

Thanks a lot.

 

[jiggagold]

If I were you I would move my legs to mondays, and on fridays when you do back throw in deadlifts on that day, another thing you can do is mix up the type of squats/leg exercises you do. Frontsquats one day w/ splitsquats or lunges,sldl,calfs and next Monday back squats,one leg squats or legpress, SLDL, Calfs

 

[highlander555]

If I were you I would move my legs to mondays, and on fridays when you do back throw in deadlifts on that day, another thing you can do is mix up the type of squats/leg exercises you do. Frontsquats one day w/ splitsquats or lunges,sldl,calfs and next Monday back squats,one leg squats or legpress, SLDL, Calfs

+1

 

[highlander555]

I also wouldn't think of "calves" as part of your legs, even though they are technically on your leg. When I think of legs, I think of either a quad, or hamstring dominate exercise. I would throw in one more of those on your leg day, probably either a leg press or a weighted lunge or something.

PS- thats not to say you shouldn't work your calves though!

 

[stevius]

While program and exercise selection is very important you have to factor in how well you recover, and your current lifestyle. Fatigue management is very important, and if you get the balance wrong your workout frequency and subsequent performance is affected.

The compound program outlined means a lot of smaller muscles take a pounding so you could consider isolation exercises like sled work to give your core a break if muscle mass if your goal.

So long as your lifts are going up then carry on. Concentrate on Strength, speed, and quality of contraction- not going for failure by doing more reps but aiming to fail by trying harder to do less reps better. When you're hitting 300-400lbs in your lifts (assuming you're not already) strip some weight off and crack out the volume programs.

 

[19psi]

i've made great gains al lmy life doing 3-4 sets of squats once a week. got to the point a few years ago i could do 465 for 8,6,5 reps. not much compared to some guys, but great progess from when if first started. a few years later and not much training, i can still get 405 for 10 on my first set.
i don't know how guys do 10 sets of squats. i think they really aren't pushing htemselves to use more weight and really hit the muscles. 3 sets later i can barely walk and i'm sore as shit for 4 days.

 

[enigma4dub]

i've made great gains al lmy life doing 3-4 sets of squats once a week. got to the point a few years ago i could do 465 for 8,6,5 reps. not much compared to some guys, but great progess from when if first started. a few years later and not much training, i can still get 405 for 10 on my first set.
i don't know how guys do 10 sets of squats. i think they really aren't pushing htemselves to use more weight and really hit the muscles. 3 sets later i can barely walk and i'm sore as shit for 4 days.

your difficulty can be related to lack of frequency. the more you squat the better. to work the lower half of your body you should squat at least twice a week. i dont get sore ever, really. and i work at high percentages of my maxes, with a good amount of volume. this lack of soreness is directly linked to frequency

 

[19psi]

interesting. i always made good gains though so i figured it was working. i just figured the soreness was part of the game when it came to legs!

 

[DaveTSI]

all i do for my legs is squat and sldl's occasionally. yes your doing enough. just make sure the weight is heavy and you going deep and your legs will grow

 

[iggy]

Just mix it up every week man. One legged db squats really give me a good burn after a hard squatting session. Lunges burn your glutes. Heck, Deadlifts on back day even help your hams a lot. Just lift heavier and dont do the same routine every week bro.

 

[enigma4dub]

Just mix it up every week man. One legged db squats really give me a good burn after a hard squatting session. Lunges burn your glutes. Heck, Deadlifts on back day even help your hams a lot. Just lift heavier and dont do the same routine every week bro.

switching up for the sake of switching up is not the answer. muscle soreness is not an accurate indication of a good workout. progress over time is.

 

[iggy]

yeah but i'm saying if hes at a peak and can't grow anymore, muscle confusion is the answer for a period.

 

[SaiBoT]

Try omni-squats!!! Squatting with different foot angle, distance, vary your rep range and speed and grip distance with the same bar you can do the, front squats, zercher and hack squats w the bar behind your back. The possibilities are endless! No need for other exercises other than those you have on your routine. Those are the best!

 

[Elementality]

Ever since I started doing a lot of different exercises for legs other than squats like hamstring curls, quad curls, lunges, decline/horizontal leg presses, hack squats - switching it up every week. Just changing it up every week, but recording weight and increasing it my squat endurance and power has gone up drastically. I only do legs once a week.