Lower Body Training?

[ckritcoad]

For the past year I haven't been training my lowerbody. The most I have done is power cleans. The main reason for this is because I was a catcher in College and my knee's went to shit. I also played football and my 40 time went from 4.5 to 4.75 because of the torture I was putting my knees through. I have been out a few years now and am finally getting my speed back. I am starting to get some pretty good size up top, but my lowerbody is stagnent for good reason, I don't work it. I have decent size quads because of the years of catching. (The first time I did squats when I was 15 my 1 rep max was 330 because of catching all those years, and I was about 150 pounds at the time.) Anyway, I am still involved in football and baseball on a recreational level and enjoy having my speed back so I don't want to lose it again. What would you all suggest for my lowerbody. I really want to work it to even out my body size, but I don't want to lose my speed.
Thanks for your time and replys!

 

[onerepmaximum]

I don't think that having big legs has to mean that you are slow. My wrestling coach in high school had legs like a tree trunk and he was almost a world class sprinter. He was a receiver in the USFL for a while actually. To answer your question, I'll just tell ya what I like to do. You will probably get a lot of advice and most of it will probably be better than mine.

squats 3x8-10
leg press 3x20 supersetted with hack squats 3x5-however many I can get
stiff legged dead lifts 3x8-10
leg curls 3x8-10
Sometimes I will do lunges instead of squats

 

[Screwball]

IMO, one of the best things you can do to rehab your knees is to squat. Give box-squatting a try. They are easier on the knees than free-squats. Good luck!

 

[ckritcoad]

Thanks for the replys guys. I will see how it goes. Start off slow and progress.
Thanks,

 

[Mike_Rojas]

Sit back when you squat to save those knees

 

[d3track]

i'm gonna throw in russian deads to the floor
its another option, and i just personally like them

leg extensions should be done before every quad workout for a warm up IMO