Good Leg Routine?

[megad]

My doctor told me that I need to strengthen my quads and hams to get rid of this knee problem of mine. I'm finally able to squat pain free, so I'm gonna take advantage of it. Here's what I'm thinking about doing for a while:

Squats 5x5
SLDL 3x8
Leg Press 3x8

 

[Him1]

I think thats good. Thats very similar to my leg w/o, except, I do leg ext or lunges(depending on week) instead of leg press. Dave Palumbo recommends only doing one exercise targeting hams, and look at the size of his legs.

 

[endpoint]

I would swap the leg press for a low step up.

I dont know what your problem is....but step ups are usually a good start for building VMO which in a lot of cases promotes proper patella tracking. or PPPT

 

[SofaGeorge]

I got a kick ass piece of advice from Night Fly. She, Spatts, and a few others reworked my leg routine several months back.

I hit squats for 5 x 5... then finished leg day with 2 sets on the leg press at 20 reps. The two high reps sets were a killer finish... and I saw my leg size go up 1 1/2 inches in about 12 weeks.

 

[megad]

I would swap the leg press for a low step up.

I dont know what your problem is....but step ups are usually a good start for building VMO which in a lot of cases promotes proper patella tracking. or PPPT

Would I do these heavy? and How do I do them?

and BTW, I have patella tendonitis

 

[JoBu]

The 5x5 is meant for heavy weights...are you sure you're good to go with very heavy weights at this point? How about some variations on the standard squat...box squats, lunge squats, front squats?

JoBu

 

[megad]

I can go heavy.
It just flames up when I run, jump, ect.
Once I get my quads and hams stronger it should go away completely

 

[Baoh]

I would swap the leg press for a low step up.

I dont know what your problem is....but step ups are usually a good start for building VMO which in a lot of cases promotes proper patella tracking. or PPPT

Absolutely excellent advice.

 

[Dirty Workout]

I got a kick ass piece of advice from Night Fly. She, Spatts, and a few others reworked my leg routine several months back.

I hit squats for 5 x 5... then finished leg day with 2 sets on the leg press at 20 reps. The two high reps sets were a killer finish... and I saw my leg size go up 1 1/2 inches in about 12 weeks.

Yeah I started doing the high rep legs 20+ on DC and that has clearly been the body part that has seen the most growth.

I just started thinking though- if super high reps are so good on legs why wouldnt they work for other muscles? I mean its all the same muscle fiber, right?

 

[endpoint]

Would I do these heavy? and How do I do them?

and BTW, I have patella tendonitis

I would use them as a finisher. maybe 2 sets of 10-15 reps.

get something low to step up on....like a cinder block or something. about.....maybe 6 inchs high. stand behind the block with weight on your shoulders (like you are about to squat) step up onto the block one leg at a time. step back down and repeat with the opposite leg leading.

 

[megad]

I would use them as a finisher. maybe 2 sets of 10-15 reps.

get something low to step up on....like a cinder block or something. about.....maybe 6 inchs high. stand behind the block with weight on your shoulders (like you are about to squat) step up onto the block one leg at a time. step back down and repeat with the opposite leg leading.

Thanks a lot, I'll try this my next leg day.
Any specific place I should position my foot on the platform? (i.e. just toes on the board or whole foot on the board)

 

[endpoint]

Thanks a lot, I'll try this my next leg day.
Any specific place I should position my foot on the platform? (i.e. just toes on the board or whole foot on the board)

place the whole foot on the block.

make sure your knee is directly inline with the foot (pointing in the same position). this will be the main point you will have to watch with squats as well. Make sure your knee is inline with your foot.

with step ups make sure your feet are pointing straight ahead.

 

[SofaGeorge]

I just started thinking though- if super high reps are so good on legs why wouldnt they work for other muscles? I mean its all the same muscle fiber, right?

It's pretty much my pattern on every thing now that I'm doing 5x5 as my core.

I do 5x5 on my base exercise... then 2 sets of 8-10 on my secondary exercise for that bodypart... then 2 sets of 20 reps with my third exercise for that body part. This gives my 5 heavy sets... 2 medium sets... and 2 high rep sets.

I feel like I hit both types of muscle fiber very well.

 

[collegiateLifter]

I just started thinking though- if super high reps are so good on legs why wouldnt they work for other muscles? I mean its all the same muscle fiber, right?

Not necessarliy a good induction. (form dictates fuction) Leg extensors are unique in that you need them to be fatigue resistant so you can stand on your feet all day, etc. Perhaps this is why DC only recomends the really high reps on legs... Platz did very high reps on squats, but did he do upper body similarly? i'm gonna venture that he didnt.