Have you done much for walking lunges? that could be a good way to throw something new at your legs while keeping the load on your back pretty light. I have really been hitting lunges (both bb and db) hard and have seen decent growth in my quads. just an idea for help on your wheels. other than that your upper body looks good and i think you will have a great V once you loose a little more fat. good luck and diet hard man!
i try walking lunges but usually they are at the end of my workout and by then my legs are burning and screaming so i only do 3-4 sets of 10. plus i cant manage much weight other than 45# db because ill fall over from the fatigue. i mean with what im doing, and all the pointers i get have helped with increasing strength, but i never notice any real growth.
[quote]drmzappas wrote:
…plus i dont use straps or belts. i prefer to do it all natural.[/quote]
What does this even mean? Natural? You aren’t judged on your unequipped lifts or grip strength. I understand injuries are holding you back, but if you could squat/leg press/etc more weight ‘safely’ by wrapping your knees and wearing a belt, why wouldn’t you? It seems like a great excuse.
You have a good upper body and would look great cut, but unless you score up those legs, its going to be a tough road.
Good luck.
[quote]laujik wrote:
[quote]drmzappas wrote:
…plus i dont use straps or belts. i prefer to do it all natural.[/quote]
What does this even mean? Natural? You aren’t judged on your unequipped lifts or grip strength. I understand injuries are holding you back, but if you could squat/leg press/etc more weight ‘safely’ by wrapping your knees and wearing a belt, why wouldn’t you? It seems like a great excuse.
You have a good upper body and would look great cut, but unless you score up those legs, its going to be a tough road.
Good luck.[/quote]
x2
If you have had that many injuries I would think that you would take every precaution to make sure you dont hurt anything again.
[quote]ritzgooch23 wrote:
I mean you can’t even see your abs.[/quote]
The thread title mentions that he’s 12 weeks out from a show. He doesn’t need to be ripped right now. I’m guessing he understands that this is what he’ll be working toward during these 12 weeks. And in his first picture you CAN see slight ab definition.
At this point minus legs and what others have pin pointed you’re where you need to be for your first time. It takes alot to step on stage and with the assumption that you’ll follow through, that should be the only motivation you need to get after those AM HIIT workouts. You don’t want to step on stage not feeling confident.
Get yourself cut up and lean during the next 12 weeks and use it all as a learning experience. If you step on stage confident I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself and be eager to do it again at which point you’ll set yourself up to improve. You’ll have the time and determination to bring up your legs and other weak points and add that overall mass already mentioned. Good luck.
[quote]drmzappas wrote:
i try walking lunges but usually they are at the end of my workout and by then my legs are burning and screaming so i only do 3-4 sets of 10. plus i cant manage much weight other than 45# db because ill fall over from the fatigue. i mean with what im doing, and all the pointers i get have helped with increasing strength, but i never notice any real growth. [/quote]
I think lunges are (part of) your answer. You just admitted how hard they are, and they are great for fat loss. Those and split squats which should really take the pressure off your back, plus going deep with a manageable weight on exercises like these for a decent amount of reps will cause a burn, and could theoretically strengthen up your knees.
Foam rolling the IT band can potentially really help your knees too if you don’t typically do that sort of thing… have you read any of cressey or robertson’s stuff like the bulletproof knees article?
Your upper body has great size but you really need to bring up the legs (and obviously lose a good amount of fat) if you want to have a great stage appearance. You can honestly probably hit legs AM and PM twice a week (Mon - AM: Quad Dominant, PM: Hip Dominant; Thur repeat). Maybe you can do some trap bar deads. I find those to be a good exercise that doesn’t hurt my back since I don’t have to go that last 4-5" which is usually where rounding occurs, for me anyway. I can do these for relatively high reps and still use a heavy weight, and I feel it in my quads and hips. That might help you out, but of course these are things that work for me, and everyone is different. Good luck.
First off, I tend to agree with masses. Good upper development, not enough on the low side. I concur with the lunges, they’re a great change of pace plus they’ll help immensely with any imbalances you may have (or have not) noticed.
I read your leg day and to me it seems like you’ve got some possible volume issues to deal with. IME if you want growth, then stop over-thinking/complicating your training. Pick two-three movements you’re strong with and ramp up the weight on your lifts. Consider the tried and true 5X5, or Wendler’s 5-3-1 for packing on some size as well.
I noticed that no one has mentioned front squats. I’m kinda surprised as they have a high bang-for-buck ratio when dealing with back/form issues. Also, when done properly (by this I mean as deep as you can go) they’ll all but eliminate the need for doing those seated leg-extensions (all but a waste of time IMO). IME these and lower quad dominant leg-press will develop a much thicker, defined and more capable (strong) knee joint than anything else. Of course some light, dynamic strecthing and warming up is in order (but I figure you probably already knew that).
Best wishes, and good luck in the upcoming comp!
T
[quote]CDQAR24 wrote:
First off, I tend to agree with masses. Good upper development, not enough on the low side. I concur with the lunges, they’re a great change of pace plus they’ll help immensely with any imbalances you may have (or have not) noticed.
I read your leg day and to me it seems like you’ve got some possible volume issues to deal with. IME if you want growth, then stop over-thinking/complicating your training. Pick two-three movements you’re strong with and ramp up the weight on your lifts. Consider the tried and true 5X5, or Wendler’s 5-3-1 for packing on some size as well.
I noticed that no one has mentioned front squats. I’m kinda surprised as they have a high bang-for-buck ratio when dealing with back/form issues. Also, when done properly (by this I mean as deep as you can go) they’ll all but eliminate the need for doing those seated leg-extensions (all but a waste of time IMO). IME these and lower quad dominant leg-press will develop a much thicker, defined and more capable (strong) knee joint than anything else. Of course some light, dynamic strecthing and warming up is in order (but I figure you probably already knew that).
Best wishes, and good luck in the upcoming comp!
T
[/quote]
Front squats are great for quad development. I personally put them above back squats if that is your number one goal. I also love dumbbell or barbell walking lunges. They both have always hit all muscles in my legs harder than almost any other exercise.
well i have always thought about using straps and belts, but i dont want to get reliant of them. I am more keen on trying to naturally work the stabilizing muscles to increase strength. But i also know to get more bulk and strength in my legs i have to lift heavy.
natem: im ok with them ripping me apart. I wouldnt have made this post if i didnt want honest opinions. But thanks. I definitely am going to contimue to try competeing and see where i go. Def know ill never make the olympia. hahaha.
As a fellow tall person 6’4". I speak from experience when I say when it comes to building mass on long legs… Use single leg exercises. Prop back foot up when squatting, similarly split squats. Makes a huge difference and easy on the back (keeps it from rounding out).
Front Squats are also great, but still a little tougher on the tall man
[quote]Randizo wrote:
As a fellow tall person 6’4". I speak from experience when I say when it comes to building mass on long legs… Use single leg exercises. Prop back foot up when squatting, similarly split squats. Makes a huge difference and easy on the back (keeps it from rounding out).
Front Squats are also great, but still a little tougher on the tall man[/quote]
I definately agree with you on both accounts. However, I still believe that tall or short, big or small front squats are superior to back squats for quad development. That being said, I wouldn’t recommend going so deep as to round your back OP. To help with that, since your’e a taller man than myself, may I suggest a wider stance to stimulate the ‘teardrop’ and increase your ROM.
[quote]drmzappas wrote:
well i have always thought about using straps and belts, but i dont want to get reliant of them. I am more keen on trying to naturally work the stabilizing muscles to increase strength. But i also know to get more bulk and strength in my legs i have to lift heavy.
[/quote]
First off I really agree with the single leg work 100%. Probably best bet, especially for back issues. Listen to the tall guys who have been there, not the guys with perfect leg/torso ratios for squatting. There is a good article on here about leg development for tall lifters and mentions that back squats are not ideal.
I totally understand where you are coming from about the straps and belts. I am just saying you can work up to a certain weight without the straps and/or belt and only use them on your maximal work sets. This way you are still working them to an extent. Hell, do some grip strength and isolated back work at the end of your workouts if you are seriously worried. IMO you should also be wrapping, or at least using neoprene sleeves of some sort for your knees to keep them warm, especially with past knee issues.
I don’t feel natural is a great word though. It seems like you are comparing them to steroids. Your main focus is hypertrophy as a bodybuilder if Im not mistaken, which means that grip strength is not a priority. You are using back/front squats for leg hypertrophy, not back/grip strength. Its not as effective to try and do both.
You are competing for aesthetics, not deadlifting cars and lifting atlas stones.
I’m 6’3" and my legs have been coming along nicely with:
Wednesday: Squats, Single leg leg press, hamsting curl machine, calf raises
Saturday: Deadlifts, Leg press, Lunges, Ham curls, calf raises
The leg press I go high reps on, usually 12/10/8/6, usually aiming to barely finish the last one.
Well, you’re not going to do a thing about size or brining anything up in 12 weeks. I’d focus on getting as lean as possible. Are you working with a prep guy?
Yeah, forgeting the “let’s bring this up” approach (he doesn’t have time really), let’s focus on maintaining LBM while dropping fat.
What I think works well (based on my own experiences only):
-Keep lifting as heavy as you can, your body needs a reason to hold onto muscle
-Keep the HIT work AWAY from the weight sessions, it’s too draining on your body, and you won’t be eating enough on a contest diet to recover well enough
-If you HAVE to add some cardio after weights (and I only do this at the very end when it’s really down to the wire), do some easy steady state just to burn an extra 100 cals or so. I actually prefer to do my steady state first thing in the morning, with NOTHING in my stomach *you can opt for a fat burner and some BCAAs, but no fruit or anything that can serve as real fuel)
-Cycling your daily intake of cals and carbs will prevent your body from adjusting to the lowered numbers. This will keep your metabolism humming along better.
I’m sure I’ll come up with more as people make other suggestions… overall, a decent amount of size on a pretty tall frame,… good stuff bro.
S
thanks everyone so far for all your coments and support. I know am 10 weeks or so out from the comp. I will try to update all pics.
Starting today March 1, I have begun a 30 min low intensity walk in the AM. I also am going to continue with 10-20 min of cardio after my workout. On sat Feb 27 my new leg routine was: front squat 5x5 at 205, single leg press 4x8 at 300, barbell lunges 3x8 at 135, standing single leg curls 5x8 at 75, single leg extension 4x10 at 115.
I am trying to keep up the heavier weights with all body parts to make sure i keep as much lean muscle mass as i can. as well as increase overall low intensity cardio (walking) to help burn a few extra calories.
My diet now is:
wake up: 20 grams protein, 3 cytolean pills
breakfast 30 min later 1 cup eggwhites, 1-2 whole eggs, 1/4-1/2 cup feta cheese
9am: 50 grams casein, 1/2 cup almonds, 2 bcaa pills
noon: 8-12 oz chicken, 1/2 cup rice, 1 cup broccoli, 4-5 of each omega pills and flaxseed pills, 4 bcaa pills
3pm: wasa cracker, 6-8 oz chicken, 2 bcaa pills
5pm: 50 grams casein, 1/2 cup almonds, 2 bcaa pills
630-8 workout
postworkout: 40 grams whey, 30 grams carbs, 6 bcaa pills
9-930pm: 8-12 oz chicken, 2 cups salad, 1tbsp oil, 1 tbsp vin.
beadtime: 3 zma pills, 3 bcaa pills
DC: I wish i had a prep guy. There is no one at my gym that has done shows before, or are capable of trying them for that matter. I go to a small no name gym just because all the others around ar fufu gyms. So needless to say i am one of the biggest and strongest. Not that matters, or is something to brag about.
Most of what i am doing is from what i know being a doctor, and studied, and read in many types of magazines, and from what i read on here.
[quote]drmzappas wrote:
i try walking lunges but usually they are at the end of my workout and by then my legs are burning and screaming so i only do 3-4 sets of 10. plus i cant manage much weight other than 45# db because ill fall over from the fatigue. i mean with what im doing, and all the pointers i get have helped with increasing strength, but i never notice any real growth. [/quote]
Have you tried adding in barbell split squats with your rear leg elevated?? I’ve started incorporating these into my program and I’ve noticed numerous benefits, not just in adding size but also the athletic benefits that come from doing unilateral work. I’d definitely try to add these in if you want to work on your legs. I find that doing lower reps (5 reps or so) with a barbell instead of dumbbells will help you put some meat on those legs.
Tuesday 3/2 Leg workout:
- 7x10 leg extension 225
- 5x8 front squat 225 (smith rack)
- Single leg squat (with rear leg elevated) 5x5 185
- prone single leg curl 5x10 25 (3 second hold)
- lunges 3x8 55 pound dumbbells
- seated single leg curl 4x10 90
- good mornings 4x12 barbell only
- single leg extension 3x8 90
yesterday 3/3 chest workout:
- flat bench 15x135, 12x225, 12x275, 10x300, 8x315, 5x335
- incline bench 12x135, 10x185, 10x205, 8x225, 6x245, 10x185
- incline dumbbell press 10x80, 10x9, 4x8 at 100
- pec deck flies 4x8 180, 10x165
- flat bench with 225 4x10
- cable flies 4x8 80
- decline bench 4x8 225
- hammer strength machine presses 3 sets to failure 90 pounds