Lagging Legs

[mitch911]

Currently im pretty satisfied with my body. I know theres always areas for improvement but from what i was til now has become a huge transformation as far as fat loss muscle gain. I dont want to be a big mofo or bodybuilder, just have a lean muscular look. I know alot of you guys are gunna hate me for that, but thats just what i want right now. So basically im trying to maintain what i have at the moment. On the other hand my upper body overpowers my skinny chicken legs. I dont wanna feel embarassed to wear a baithingsuit or shorts come summertime. How do i go about training to bring up my legs without adding more mass to my upperbody, without loosing what i have on my upperbody. I have always trained my legs, but the upperbody grows so much faster or its the fact that my leg genetics suck as i look at my dads legs and he has the same structure, athough hes not built so his physic doesnt look funny.
my leg routine goes something like
leg ext 4 sets super set
leg curl 4 sets super set
calf press( seated sometimes standing sometimes)
squats 4 sets
all in the 15-20 rep range

Should i hit my legs at a lower rep range less sets and maybe every 4 days, and split the upperbody up for 2 other days with less sets higher rep range?

 

[somewhatgifted]

Maybe you have a strong back and get little use out of squats, try smith front squats, place your feet 1 foot in front of the bar and go to 90 degrees, do 4 sets (working). Also try to super set your quad ext with drop sets or doing two legged then 1 legged supers. Try hack squat drop sets eg. 4 plates x10 3 platesx10 2 platesx10 plate x10. youll need help but his will make for an intense workout. Training legs is often regaurded as painful, if it doesnt hurt your not working hard enough. some guys puke after squats even pros ;like jay or branch. Intensity my friend, hit those legs with the ferocity that you would hit jessica alba wearing nothing but a belt doggy style.

 

[mitch911]

Maybe you have a strong back and get little use out of squats, try smith front squats, place your feet 1 foot in front of the bar and go to 90 degrees, do 4 sets (working). Also try to super set your quad ext with drop sets or doing two legged then 1 legged supers. Try hack squat drop sets eg. 4 plates x10 3 platesx10 2 platesx10 plate x10. youll need help but his will make for an intense workout. Training legs is often regaurded as painful, if it doesnt hurt your not working hard enough. some guys puke after squats even pros ;like jay or branch. Intensity my friend, hit those legs with the ferocity that you would hit jessica alba wearing nothing but a belt doggy style.

hahah love jessica comment bro..you might be onto somethin about the squats and the back..my back is really thick and very developed..thats the funny looking part thick ass back to a skinny ass and pencil legs in my opinion..i know about the pain when it comes to legs..i leave the gym waddling like a penguin, and usually i walk or ride my bike to the gym but leg day i drive lol gym is only 5 mins away. il try out the drop sets and front squats in the next workout forsure. Rep range wise. ive always done higher reps as im told larger muscles..this fibre that fibre stuff..should i just hit the 10 rep range? for upperbody i hit 8-10 reps range but legs its usually 20. Which has me thinking if the 8-10 works well for the upper why the hell am i not doing it for the lower!

 

[somewhatgifted]

hahah love jessica comment bro..you might be onto somethin about the squats and the back..my back is really thick and very developed..thats the funny looking part thick ass back to a skinny ass and pencil legs in my opinion..i know about the pain when it comes to legs..i leave the gym waddling like a penguin, and usually i walk or ride my bike to the gym but leg day i drive lol gym is only 5 mins away. il try out the drop sets and front squats in the next workout forsure. Rep range wise. ive always done higher reps as im told larger muscles..this fibre that fibre stuff..should i just hit the 10 rep range? for upperbody i hit 8-10 reps range but legs its usually 20. Which has me thinking if the 8-10 works well for the upper why the hell am i not doing it for the lower!

Your definetley working your legs as you feel the pain but could you be overtraining or training your legs for endurance?(most say 4-6 power/some mass, 6-10 mass/power, 12+ for endurance) and if you are doing 8-10 with great success and 20 with little success then the chioce would be clear drop your sets up your weight. Give it a try any way. Good luck.

 

[guyfromkop2]

do this routine, it goes sets x reps

squats 2 x 5 all the way down as far as you can go, ass to grass
leg press 1 x 20, do a weight that when you hit 12-15 you want to die, then do singles or doubles till you hit 20
glut ham raises 2 x 5 if you dont have that machine then do pull thrus at 2 x 15
if you are still able to walk after that do good mornings 2 x 5 HEAVY no belt.
calves 2 x 15-20

make sure you do abs on this day too, heavy declines 2 x 8

 

[NiteHawk]

Yes, ditch the leg extensions.

Keep the squats. Add in some leg presses and lunges too for quads. I have lately been doing the 1 leg leg press and really enjoy it. Its bringing my legs up nicely.

For hamstrings, do the stiff-leg deadlifts prior to the leg curls.

 

[spatch]

Split up Quads and Hams, dont do them on the same day. This works for me.

 

[ITguy]

Hate to say it but if the workout modifications don't help, then maybe you should quit working out the upper body all together.

You may need to repartition the muscles you have to the legs. The net lean muscle gain would be a wash as you lose a little bit of back and upperbody muscle and redistribute it to the lower body.

You would still need to slam those legs to stimulate them to grow. That part of your workout would need to stay as intense as possible without injury. Also, most people's legs can lift much more more than they think so be sure you are truly pushing your legs to the max. If they don't get sore over the next couple of days, then it may not have been intense enough.

 

[Basso]

do this routine, it goes sets x reps

squats 2 x 5 all the way down as far as you can go, ass to grass
leg press 1 x 20, do a weight that when you hit 12-15 you want to die, then do singles or doubles till you hit 20
glut ham raises 2 x 5 if you dont have that machine then do pull thrus at 2 x 15
if you are still able to walk after that do good mornings 2 x 5 HEAVY no belt.
calves 2 x 15-20

make sure you do abs on this day too, heavy declines 2 x 8

What he said!! I grabbed a chicken legged kid about a year ago and put him through this type of...well torture, went from doing sets of 10-15 with 185 (1/4 squats) to doing sets of 5 with 405(to the floor), his legs are 2" bigger now (natural).

 

[Brent]

If you can walk out of the gym without tripping atleast twice, you aren't working them hard enough. :icon_lol:

I am having the opposite problem as the poster. I am bottom heavy.

 

[guyfromkop2]

What he said!! I grabbed a chicken legged kid about a year ago and put him through this type of...well torture, went from doing sets of 10-15 with 185 (1/4 squats) to doing sets of 5 with 405(to the floor), his legs are 2" bigger now (natural).

this is pretty much what i do now, and by at least 2-3times during that i have to sit down otherwise i'm going to pass out.

and i have a 38-39" waist and i have to buy 42-44" waist baggy jeans just so my legs can fit in them.

 

[mitch911]

souds good..im definantyl going to try it out and see if i get some results, but what do i do about my upper body. Too be honest im quite happy with the upper body, if anything maybe just a little more size on the forearms and some rear delt work. So basically just looking to maintain. What should i do to maintain the size of my upper body while my legs catch up to give me a porportional body?

 

[guyfromkop2]

just keep doing what you're doing. your legs will catch up, dont worry

 

[Basso]

this is pretty much what i do now, and by at least 2-3times during that i have to sit down otherwise i'm going to pass out.

and i have a 38-39" waist and i have to buy 42-44" waist baggy jeans just so my legs can fit in them.

I'm with ya, I always have to get a waist size about 4" bigger to beable to fit pants on, thank you levi for starting the lose fitting jeans fad or jeans would be totally out!

 

[guyfromkop2]

I'm with ya, I always have to get a waist size about 4" bigger to beable to fit pants on, thank you levi for starting the lose fitting jeans fad or jeans would be totally out!

old navy wideleg or mechanic's jeans

 

[Basso]

old navy wideleg or mechanic's jeans

Thanks, I'll check 'em out!

 

[NiteHawk]

I know this has nothing to do with this topic but Basso for some reason, I think your avatar is really cool.

 

[Basso]

I know this has nothing to do with this topic but Basso for some reason, I think your avatar is really cool.

Thanks