Not doing Legs Anymore

J

jwbond

New Member
I hate doing legs (except for deads, which I will still do), my legs never grow anyway. They look like toothpics!


I am finding myself less motivated to train recently and dropping out leg presses out of my routine sure would make each workout easier.


I am tempted to drop leg presses and starting doing 4x a week rather than 3x. If I still do deads I will still be hitting legs decently....


looking for advice...
 
a body without legs is like a car without wheels. if they are thin then punish them, i know its hard cos i had skinny legs and they grow sooooo slowly. but they must be done as i would have looked rediculous with a large upper body and thin legs.
 
Listen! Get your sorry *** down off that ledge and start working those legs as if your life depended on it!

Oh darn. He jumped!  
wow.gif




Seriously JB, you have to change your attitude to leg work first. Saying stuff like, "My legs never grow anyway. They look like toothpics!" is not conducive to making progress in the leg department. Sure, it'll take a concerted effort but you need to think positively about any progress you make. It's so important with legs that you work them regularly and give them a chance to grow. It does take time and you will have to be patient, particulalrly considering that they are obviously lagging behind the rest of your body and you'll want them to catch up really quickly.

Seeing that you are going to continue with deads, how about doing deads from a slight platform to emphasize the quad work and/or using a snatch grip?

I would also recommend getting into front squats; the loads you use have to be lighter than for back squats so they don't take as much out of you but they are still a really good leg builder.

I can't remember if you had a long-term injury that prevented you from squatting? If not, then I would also recommend learning to squat with the bar on your scapular spine rather than the high bar squat variant. Once you are flexible enough in the shoulders to hold the bar lower, it makes the whole movement more solid; there is noticeably less stress on your lower back which allows you to focus better on your hip and leg drive during a set and there's also much less stress on your cervical vertebrae.

At the end of the day, working legs is never going to be easy because you are working some of the largest and most powerful muscles in your body but the satisfaction that comes from attaining a new squat goal is on a level with deads (improving your squat numbers will definitely help your dead numbers to go up too).
 
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(jwbond @ Apr. 29 2008,2:42)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I hate doing legs (except for deads, which I will still do), my legs never grow anyway.  They look like toothpics!


I am finding myself less motivated to train recently and dropping out leg presses out of my routine sure would make each workout easier.


I am tempted to drop leg presses and starting doing 4x a week rather than 3x.  If I still do deads I will still be hitting legs decently....


looking for advice...</div>
My chest will always look like *** and my bench press will always suck. That's why I prioritize and make the bench press or other chest exercises my most important ones.
 
If you REALLY don't mind having toothpick legs, then don't bother training them...

...but I suspect that secretly you would love to have rippled massive muscular legs!
mad.gif


Have you tried uni-lateral exercises? One-legged leg press, split squats, lunges etc. They allow you to work the thighs really hard without destroying your lower back and CNS. Might want to give it a try.
 
I have your problem too, except for the &quot;giving up&quot; part. I tried 20 rep sets, rest-pause, and everything under the sun and nothing seemed to work. I have finally grown a bit and gotten definitive shape in the wheels though, since I retrained my squats for ATG, starting off light and now at 405.
And I mean starting light, like 135, just to work on form. What it is, I believe, is the full ROM working the muscle more completely. I still don't have big wheels, but they sure look better and I'm glad for the efforts. Hasn't been that long, either.
 
Thanks for the input guys, I just needed a kick in the arse!

Maybe I will try to reinvigerate myself by dropping leg presses and start doing squats at 135lbs to work on form. Maybe if I start moving around bigger weights I will have more motivation for it, like deads!


Thanks everyone!
 
I almost forgot to ask...


Do any of you do direct calf work?

Have you noticed increases in mass on your calves as your squats go up (even without direct calf work)?
 
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(jwbond @ Apr. 30 2008,3:53)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I almost forgot to ask...


Do any of you do direct calf work?

Have you noticed increases in mass on your calves as your squats go up (even without direct calf work)?</div>
I never noticed an increase in calf size due to even the heaviest of calf raises (400 lbs or so on the vertical &quot;sled&quot;).

Walking with weights as in a backpack provide great strain. I noticed Jump Ropes work wonders as well.

Strain leads to hypertrophy, so I'll have to conduct a routine with measurements to validate my comments.

Look JW, you've given me a project!
 
Take a look at your signature.
<div></div><div id="CODEHEAD">CODE</div><div id="CODE">Squat PB: I hate squats with a passion!</div>
There's the answer to your problem. As Steve has suggested, from now on this is your favorite exercise. Do everything within your power to learn good form before going heavy, though.
 
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(9to5lifter @ May 02 2008,6:33)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Take a look at your signature.
<div></div><div id="CODEHEAD">CODE</div><div id="CODE">Squat PB: I hate squats with a passion!</div>
There's the answer to your problem. As Steve has suggested, from now on this is your favorite exercise. Do everything within your power to learn good form before going heavy, though.</div>
I think you are right.

Anyone have good text or video on proper squat form?
 
My Google consultant has given me this video.

Bgates recently posted a video of his lifts, including the Back Squat, which was nearly perfect form.
 
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(jwbond @ May 02 2008,12:03)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Anyone have good text or video on proper squat form?</div>
There is a terrific series on youtube called 'Squat Rx'. I think there's about 18 videos that thoroughly explain and demonstrate the squat. Check it out.
 
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(colby2152 @ Apr. 30 2008,9:03)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I never noticed an increase in calf size due to even the heaviest of calf raises (400 lbs or so on the vertical &quot;sled&quot;).

Walking with weights as in a backpack provide great strain.  I noticed Jump Ropes work wonders as well.

Strain leads to hypertrophy, so I'll have to conduct a routine with measurements to validate my comments.

Look JW, you've given me a project!</div>
got to agree on this as i have said in another thread my calves grew after doing running for a few years,and i mean a lot.
big people fat or mucular all have big calves that must say something weight plus tut.
 
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(quadancer @ May 02 2008,8:30)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">El Viejo, thanx for the squatrx vids...I was wanting to learn the method of front squats and there it was: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NRmdtSvmQQ</div>
Your welcome. I think I got that link from this forum, but maybe not. Anyways, those guys really went through a lot of trouble making those videos just to post them on youtube for free. Notice the gym he is in. Nothing but power racks along one wall and olympic lifting stations with platforms on the other wall. Not a machine in sight! Wish I had access to a gym like that.
 
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