2 day a week leg split

**mikeh40+** · 11-15-2009, 12:33 PM

ok, i have always had growth issues in my legs, they are strong, but have never grown the size i am looking for, here is what i`m thinking, now keep in mind i workout at home,
i have a couple of squat stands, and the bars and free weights, as well as a universal machine with a leg attachment for extensions and standing ham curls

my upcoming leg workout.
ok got some ideas
since my quads are so slow to grow i need to get in 2 training sessions a week, this would be 1 day legs, followed by a couple days upper body /one rest day then leg day #2 to see if this will help.

what i`m planing is going with
front squat and alternating on next leg day with back squats
dead lifts on both days or alternating between SLDL
leg extensions alternating day with lunges
standing ham curls next day none
calf raises both days

also, thinking of going with one day heavy followed by the alternating day of higher reps and moderate weight,

reps would be on heavy day, a 5x5 for each exercise....

alternating leg day would be 10-8-8-8

ok, thoughts? idea`s?

GettinITDone · 11-15-2009, 12:42 PM

That's essentially what I do (school, work, and overall time permitting). I'm currently back on Layne Norton's split (I'm sure you've seen threads on it), and it calls for one day of lower body power and one day of lower body hypertrophy. Never thought that my legs could handle two sessions a week, but sure enough, recovering is fine. Power days are made up of 5x5 set/rep scheme and hypertrophy days are 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps. You're split looks great though. Give it a shot; I feel like working legs twice a week has really contributed to my leg improvement and development.

**mikeh40+** · 11-15-2009, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GettinITDone

That's essentially what I do (school, work, and overall time permitting). I'm currently back on Layne Norton's split (I'm sure you've seen threads on it), and it calls for one day of lower body power and one day of lower body hypertrophy. Never thought that my legs could handle two sessions a week, but sure enough, recovering is fine. Power days are made up of 5x5 set/rep scheme and hypertrophy days are 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps. You're split looks great though. Give it a shot; I feel like working legs twice a week has really contributed to my leg improvement and development.

thank you this is just what i`m looking for in feed back, i`ll change the scheme then to the 5x5 on heavy and 4 sets of the 12-8 reps, much thanks for your input

GettinITDone · 11-15-2009, 12:51 PM

No problem Mike. What I occasionally (probably 3rd-4th week) do is drop the reps even more on the power day; usually 3 sets of 5, 1 set of 4, then one of three. That allows me to go even heavier, yet still not quite getting to the 1RP. Then a 2-3 weeks after that, I'll do 1RP. Might give that a try. By the way, Layne's split often calls for supersets on the hypertrophy days. I used to do some supersets, but it's harder at my university gym being that it is pretty crowded and it's hard enough to get on one machine/rack/etc., much less two. Might give it a try; mainly the more isolation exercises.

**mikeh40+** · 11-15-2009, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GettinITDone

No problem Mike. What I occasionally (probably 3rd-4th week) do is drop the reps even more on the power day; usually 3 sets of 5, 1 set of 4, then one of three. That allows me to go even heavier, yet still not quite getting to the 1RP. Then a 2-3 weeks after that, I'll do 1RP. Might give that a try. By the way, Layne's split often calls for supersets on the hypertrophy days. I used to do some supersets, but it's harder at my university gym being that it is pretty crowded and it's hard enough to get on one machine/rack/etc., much less two. Might give it a try; mainly the more isolation exercises.

i will keep that in mind, plus it will keep the leg routine from getting stale as well..

tps154 · 11-15-2009, 05:46 PM

it looks good to me. i used to kill my legs once a week, but have also switched to 2x a week and the size and strength increased immensely since then. i like to do heavy work, but focus on the movement as im doing it and do it sort of slowly. i currently do 3 compound exercises followed by either a hamstring or quad focus exercise, depending on which muscle group i am focusing on that day.i finish it off with 1 calf exercise as well.
i usually do something like squat, leg press, front squat followed by leg extensions and seated calf raises. the next time i do it, 2 or 3 days later, i do deadlifts, sldl, walking lunges, leg curls, and standing calf raises. this way i hit the quads, hammys, and calves each day, but basically focus more on front or back

**mikeh40+** · 11-15-2009, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tps154

it looks good to me. i used to kill my legs once a week, but have also switched to 2x a week and the size and strength increased immensely since then. i like to do heavy work, but focus on the movement as im doing it and do it sort of slowly. i currently do 3 compound exercises followed by either a hamstring or quad focus exercise, depending on which muscle group i am focusing on that day.i finish it off with 1 calf exercise as well.
i usually do something like squat, leg press, front squat followed by leg extensions and seated calf raises. the next time i do it, 2 or 3 days later, i do deadlifts, sldl, walking lunges, leg curls, and standing calf raises. this way i hit the quads, hammys, and calves each day, but basically focus more on front or back

ok, thanks for your input as well bro,, lots of really good ideas here, appreciate them all!!

**mikeh40+** · 11-15-2009, 11:15 PM

ok fella`s thanks for everyone`s input, here is what i came up with for the
2 leg day training routines,

workout #1
Back Squats
SLDL
Standing leg curls
calf raises

workout #2
Front Squats
standard Deadlifts
lunges
calf raises

what i will do is alternate my reps and sets every other week i will switch between the 2 workouts, so i get the best of both rep ranges and sets in each exercise once each week,
I plan on doing a 5x5 workout on workout #1
and the workout #2 will be 4 sets of 8-10 reps.

then the following week, i will make
workout #1 4 sets of 8-10 reps
and workout #2 the 5x5

each week i will change back and forth on the 5x5 and 4 sets of 8-10 reps..
hows this look now?

tps154 · 11-16-2009, 12:08 AM

really like the setup, your hitting every part of the leg each workout. and mixing it up will surely help you keep from getting bored, and keep the results coming. enjoy growing man

GettinITDone · 11-16-2009, 12:21 AM

Looks solid Mike. Another thing I forgot to mention (though you might have figured on your own) is that the 5x5 is five working sets. I usually throw in two warm up sets to get some blood flowing; I stick with 1 set of 12 with just the bar, and then 135 for reps, and then start with my "working" reps weight. For the higher reps day, I would say one warm up set would be sufficient seeing as you won't be going as heavy. Just thought I'd throw this out there. Let us know how you like it; well I guess you will in your log.

**mikeh40+** · 11-16-2009, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tps154

really like the setup, your hitting every part of the leg each workout. and mixing it up will surely help you keep from getting bored, and keep the results coming. enjoy growing man

much thanks bro!!! got it all logged on my thread tonight, did my first workout ,,, frickin killer

Quote:

Originally Posted by GettinITDone

Looks solid Mike. Another thing I forgot to mention (though you might have figured on your own) is that the 5x5 is five working sets. I usually throw in two warm up sets to get some blood flowing; I stick with 1 set of 12 with just the bar, and then 135 for reps, and then start with my "working" reps weight. For the higher reps day, I would say one warm up set would be sufficient seeing as you won't be going as heavy. Just thought I'd throw this out there. Let us know how you like it; well I guess you will in your log.

right on buddie, and they were working sets alright, thanks for helping out on my thread as well,,your tips are a big help!! posted a few leg pics from before and after, june of this year to now.. not much to look at but a bit of growth in the last couple of months anyways..

Determined 08 · 11-17-2009, 12:46 AM

Looking good man! I need to try something like this cause I can't train upper body now cause of shoulder problems so going to the gym once a week to thrash legs (the hardest day of the week) is hard when your JUST training legs.

And it's usually an hour an a half of straight pounding maybe I'll switch it up let me know how it works for ya

**mikeh40+** · 11-17-2009, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Determined 08

Looking good man! I need to try something like this cause I can't train upper body now cause of shoulder problems so going to the gym once a week to thrash legs (the hardest day of the week) is hard when your JUST training legs.

And it's usually an hour an a half of straight pounding maybe I'll switch it up let me know how it works for ya

i`ll let ya know, first workout was a couple days ago, and i did the 5x5, pain is all i can state at this time,, lol..

Determined 08 · 11-17-2009, 11:41 PM

Yeah thats the problem I've had when I did try a 2 day a week leg split. I would train quads and calves so hard knowing I didn't have to do anything else that when I went to do hams later that week me quads hurt so bad that it was hard to do any hams or calves.

Like doing seated ham curls the pad killed my quads that I couldn't even do em

tps154 · 11-18-2009, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeh40+

i`ll let ya know, first workout was a couple days ago, and i did the 5x5, pain is all i can state at this time,, lol..

haha always the first few... so hard to walk. i think the key is you gotta get that second one in. i used to do this and then decide i couldnt do the second one, when i forced myself to go, i just did some lightweight exercises and got a good stretch in. the next week when i did it, i really felt alot less sore. so, try it out i guess and see if it helps you. weve all been there tho...good luck walking for a week or so ha

Dung · 11-27-2009, 07:34 AM

I was also thinking of working out the legs 2xtimes a week so this program is, thank you, inspiring.

Can you write your back workout day 'cause for me it seems that back day needs adjustment too 'cause of deadlifts(best back workout) you perform in leg days.

**mikeh40+** · 11-27-2009, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dung

I was also thinking of working out the legs 2xtimes a week so this program is, thank you, inspiring.

Can you write your back workout day 'cause for me it seems that back day needs adjustment too 'cause of deadlifts(best back workout) you perform in leg days.

check out my sig. i have a training log going where i post every workout i do,
thanks for checking out this post, so far the 2x a week leg split is working really well and i have it tweaked finally in my new training log,only thing i dont do is dead lift on back day, for me deads are for leg day so thats when i do them, also so feel free to check it out, and make sure to say hello if you stop by!