Weak legs, they suck!!

[MASSIVEMONSTER]

my legs suck. i got 18.5 inch arms lean and 25.5 quads (my left one is 25, right 26????) and 16 calves. 210 at 5`8, lean.

i only have a hack squat and leg extension at my gym for quads and a standing calf raise. also have dumbells for lunges but dont really use.

My current routine is 15 reps on stack on leg extension then run over to hack and do 4 plates for 8-10 reps. repeat three times and do couple more extensions at end. Usually 8 sets or so.
For calves, I do 8-10 reps, 5 heavy sets of standing raises - my calfs are genetically shit which pisses me off as thinking of competing but legs will drop down places.

What should i be doing to bring up my quads and calves.
Should I just go super heavy, 8-10 reps on hacks with 5 plates, how low,below parallel?

I gotta sort it as if I can bring legs up to 27 or so and calves up to 17, i could compete and do really well.

 

[Twoguns]

Dude you gotta squat, then squat some more. Then deadlift, then deadlift some more.

 

[MASSIVEMONSTER]

how low on the squat? parallel or lower? What rep range is best for maximal growth?

 

[thelion2005]

Hack squat builds a more "tear drop" quad in appearance. You will not get the larger upper thigh gain, but you'll develop a more pleasing looking upper leg.

I'd continue to do the hacks to parallel only. They can kill the knees below that point. And the extensions. However, I'd do the extensions first to pre-exhaust and then do all my squats. Rep range for extensions ... 8-10 .... squats .... 8 to 6.

As for calves, upping the body weight seems to increase calves. More and heavier work can keep them the same or even make them smaller.

Try this .... Do 3 x 8 with a moderate weight every day for 2 weeks. Up your body weight 5 pounds. Bet you'll add 1/2 inch. Light stretching before and after. Do before quads.

What about hamstrings?
You should be doing some type of ham curl, 4 x 10-8. Do them first, then calves, then quads.

 

[MASSIVEMONSTER]

so do calves every day? 3 sets of 8, with a light weight??

i do a lot for hams, sldl 3 sets, curls 4-5 sets.

 

[fortunatesun]

how low on the squat? parallel or lower? What rep range is best for maximal growth?

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=332299

 

[CO B-man]

They do suck and I am also a proud member of squats suck ass club. No they are great for your body I just hate doing them. Maybe try working on a stair climber machine when you are doing cardio!! Something is better than nothing. Regardless at one point or another both of us will need to face reality and suck it up and plain and simply do squats! I actually plan on my next cycle focusing mainly on that starting from kindegarten squats if I have to but as long as you have the mental focus it will happen. Good luck my friend.

 

[Recruit]

I never do under 20 sets of legs not including calves...squats, lunges, and deadlifts are a must...

 

[boston789]

Squats suck but legs grow quickly. If you really hate doing legs just do squats and then some extension and/or leg curls. Thats good enough for a leg workout

 

[ItalianMuscle27]

You have to squat bro.. Than squat again... Than do more squats. It will pack on mass quick.. I cant squat anymore because of my back, and just stick with hacks and press. Hacks are excellent for teardrop.. I did notice my legs got smaller when I stopped squatting, but my health is more important at this point.

 

[fortunatesun]

I cant squat anymore because of my back,

http://www.uwlax.edu/strengthcenter/videos/video_index.htm

Might not be an answer for your specific problem, but try these: look under the heading Legs-strength in the link and scroll about halfway down to Step-Up 18".
The Russian and Bulgarian lifters have had success with these. Been giving them a tryout myself and can tell you they target the quads very well and give you all the additional balance,stabilization and support group work that make the difference with free weights. At the same time, they take almost all the pressure off your back, except for what is required to carry the weight.
Do them like they demonstrate in the video: reps for one leg first, then the other. They may help you get back some of that mass you lost.

 

[ViperHMS]

Just like everyone else said here already, YOU HAVE TO SQUAT! Personally I like to just break parallel when squatting. I do this because in high school I did powerlifting competitions and in order for your lift to qualify you must break parallel. Start with a low weight say 50% of you 1RM and just learn the proper form first, without this your squats will be nothing. I see to many guys that just go down 6in and then go right back up, it is just a waste of time. I usually do not do more than 6 reps when training for strength. I'll do a warmup set and then 3 more sets progressing up to 80% of my 1RM and then the last set i'll try to do as many as I can with 95% of my 1RM.

 

[instant.muscle]

like my bro's said squat n deadlift, the actual movement under stree makes a hormone trigger more ghg, true shit

 

[Twoguns]

so do calves every day? 3 sets of 8, with a light weight??

i do a lot for hams, sldl 3 sets, curls 4-5 sets.

In my opinion, I wouldn't do calves everday. I do them with legs once per week. Heavy. I wouldn't treat calves unlike any other body part. Give them at least 48 hrs rest.

 

[ViperHMS]

like my bro's said squat n deadlift, the actual movement under stree makes a hormone trigger more ghg, true shit

Many people that never train legs or do deads begin to see great gains once they incorporate squats none the less deads into their routine. A friend of mine finally started doing squats and over the past 2 months has gained about 15lbs and has never, nor never will, touch roids. Legs are SO NEGLECTED!

 

[c3bodybuilding]

Bro if the gym has bars, you can squat. Just rig something with a bench as a rack. It can be done. You will need the help of a couple of guys to get it up and spot, but there's no way around it. If you want wheels you need to squat. But I would consider a new gym. A gym without a rack is not a gym at all!

 

[OMEGA]

honestly to get legs started you must put them under high rep high endurance training for months maybe even a year.

after that you can begin adding mass though heavier weight. Its hard to explain but its true.

ever wonder why swimmers who make the trasistion to bodybuilding have such awsome upper bodies? or runners who do the same and have awsome wheels?

I believe that some type of base is built through their previuos actvities


for you , just squat, deadlift and calf raise with higher reps and for more sets for a while

Arnold would sometimes just squat for 10 sets for months to build up the whole leg complex pre competition (according to his book)

 

[VascularitY]

o boy o boy luvin this thread...

Dude if you want big legs you have no choice but to squat. If you cant figure out how to do them in your current gym, find a new gym...thats all there is to it. I squat with my feet fairly close together, inside shoulder width and slighty past parallel. Not only will you see leg development quickly but your poundages will increase very fast. Keep you rep range on your heaviest sets between 5-8, and never go below 4 because you will be sacraficing your form, and that leads to injury.
If you have problems squatting with a free bar because of lower back pain, squat on a smith machine, it will allow you to keep your spine angle more vertical and remove most of the stress off of your lower back.

Good Luck and remember this.....lots of guys have big arms, the ones that get respect are the ones with big arms and bad ass legs

 

[mlong23]

Apparently you are no massivemonster then. Just kidding.

Like everyone is saying - Squats is the key. A leg routine is worthless without them usually. You are also doing no hamstring movements. How long have you been working out? Your current workout system for legs is a waste of time, if you are going for bigger legs.

This is an example, you can always add in stuff and delete others. But this is a good workout for someone that doesn't know exactly what to do, which is what you sound like.
Leg Workout
Squats 4-5 sets, 6-10 reps
Leg Presses 4 sets 6-10 reps
Leg Extensions 3-4 sets 8-12 reps
Leg Curls 3-4 sets 8-12 reps
Stiff Leg Deadlifts 3 sets 6-10 reps
- Throw in some walking bar lunges in the middle of the workout if you feel like it.

Calves
Standing calf raise 3-4 sets 8-12 reps
Seated calf raise 3-4 sets 8-12 reps

 

[mlong23]

honestly to get legs started you must put them under high rep high endurance training for months maybe even a year.

after that you can begin adding mass though heavier weight. Its hard to explain but its true.

ever wonder why swimmers who make the trasistion to bodybuilding have such awsome upper bodies? or runners who do the same and have awsome wheels?

I believe that some type of base is built through their previuos actvities


for you , just squat, deadlift and calf raise with higher reps and for more sets for a while

Arnold would sometimes just squat for 10 sets for months to build up the whole leg complex pre competition (according to his book)

Are you fucking serious. I completely and respectfully disagree with you. 1st, please don't bring Arnold up when talking about training legs. His sucked plain and simple. You make no sense in saying to train high reps to then lower that a year later to normal reps to gain size. What a waste of a year. Here's a thought about runners and swimmers, they are obviously already genetically superiour in those muscles for their sports. Other wise they wouldn't be at the level they are.

 

[mlong23]

Wow after rereading your post, you need to get to another gym. That is crazy, they don't have a leg press machine or a squat rack.

 

[Jayhawk21]

Sometimes I wonder why I do squats and deadlifts. I go past parallel and have increased my deadlift strenght by 300% in the last 3 years, but I don't gain weight since I've started doing them. I train for mass, but I see huge guys doing only curls, light weighs, and no big compound movements except bench presses..and they are still huge.