Thread: legs 2x a week

Originally Posted by benverner

Keep in mind I am a knucklehead so I will probably go heavy both days but adjust the volume down.

One heavy day and one light day, or you will quickly burn out.

What is the purpose of a "light" day?

It can be for active recovery, or speed work, or even to focus on form. Its always good to work on basics.

Do you really think that the majority of the people out there need to do speed work. For an athlete who is competing in a sport ........ok. But for the average bodybuilder? As far as acticve recovery wouldn't it just be better to take the time off or do some cardio work? Form work for the majority of the people on this board is redundant unless you are transitioning into a new exercise that you have never before performed. I am a little skeptical of Light days in that it seems to be a way to convince yourself NOT to train heavy. Just my thoughts.

If I am hitting legs 2x a week(depends on the week according to my revolving split) then depending how I feel I will go heavy both days. It just seems a bit over taxing on the CNS. Then I get worn down and feel like missing days. Thats just me.

I can go through periods of training legs 3 times a week all heavy days (especially when olympic lifting).

My next cycle of training will be fairly heavy legs 3 times a week and legs even on the fourth day. I will do the O-lifts 2 days a week, one day of 1 sets of 20 reps squats and RDLs, and then the fourth day of Kettle Bell work.

so I guess the answer is to do it until I start to feel overtrained/get tired of doing it, which may or may not come.

Yeah, Train them as hard as you can but be aware of signs of over training.

Originally Posted by benverner

so I guess the answer is to do it until I start to feel overtrained/get tired of doing it, which may or may not come.

Do it in a planned manner. Like you can push it for so many weeks until you have to back off the intensity and unload.

It all depends on how much volume you plan on using each session. It also depends on the level of effort exerted. A planned deloading phase could also be implemented in order to facilitate recovery from a period of overreaching. As well, you could also train your other body parts for maintenance only so your body is better able to allow your legs to adapt faster.

Generally, it is a good idea to alternate intensities (As in a percentage of your 1RM) for optimal progress regardless of other factors. I use everything from about 60-85% of my 1RM each session at the moment. Occasionally I will use anything from 60-100% of my 1RM in a single session.

Training light, as someone said already, can serve many purposes. I believe the reason it speeds up recovery is because it increases the number of mitochondria somewhere (I remember seeing something like this). I also use it for speed work and to improve my form.

It's also definitely possible to train heavy twice a week. I train heavy three times a week, and each time my legs are involved (clean and presses, farmers' walks; deadlifts; front squats, SLDLs). As another person said, however, low volume is something I find necessary. I only do fifteen repetitions including my warm ups for most exercises (3x3 ~ 50%; 3x2 90%+). For each of those heavy days, however, I also have a light day where I use just the bar (or very light weight with DBs). This means that, essentially, I'm working my legs some way or another six times a week. That's a lot, but it isn't too taxing on my CNS because three are light days and help recover from the heavy days.

Legs once a week max- I would never train any part of my body directly more than once a week

Perhaps I should've added that I train for functional strength. Going for hypertrophy, I would personally allow much more time between working my legs for full recovery. Six times a week is something I do just because I like mixing powerlifting, weightlifting and strongman training together for the most possible functional strength.