I recently went on a major cut to reduce my BF below 10% for the first time. I’m now ready to focus on adding mass – particularly in my lower body.
I love to train, so I’m looking for a 6-day split. I also train in my home gym, where I have minimal equipment. For that reason, I was thinking of running nSuns’ 6-day squat focused program…
…but there’s a lack of volume for the glutes, hamstrings, and calves. Do you think this program would be sufficient? Or is there another one that comes to mind as a good fit?
One other note: I started TRT 6 months ago and have a high dose (200 mg). So I’m still in the ‘newbie TRT gains’ phase, which has been great.
High Bar Back Squats, Front Squat
Deadlift, RDL, BB Hip Thrusts
Lunges, Split Squats
Sprints/Jumps
Those will movements will get your legs and lower body where it needs to be. I don’t know what snuns is, but working legs 2-3x a week will get your lower body caught up quick. Tons of great programs on this site.
Appreciate it, brother. Where I struggle is, I’ve had these movements in my programming for a long time, especially the staples (squats & DLs). I know it really looks like I skip leg day, but I never have, and I’ve been training for 8 years. For some reason, everything else has just filled out a lot better – I’m sure I’ve been doing something wrong – and I also store pretty much all my body fat in my thighs, which seems unusual.
How much do you squat? Do you squat to depth? How tall are you?
If you were at a full gym I would say leg press, hack squat, etc would be a nice addition. But if you are working out at home back squats, front squats, lunges/split squats, and RDL have to be your best friends.
My back squat 3RM is 500 @ 182lbs. My legs weren’t skinny anymore sometime after 345ish lbs. If you turn that 1RM into a 10RM or get to a point where you can do 240 for 5 sets of 10, your legs will not be skinny anymore.
Appreciate the insight. Are you of the “strength camp,” whereby increasing your 1RM is the best way to induce hypertrophy? In other words, what rep range would you recommend I work in? A lot of people have recommended high-rep squats to induce the pump and stimulate muscle growth, but I know there are many others who advocate strength above all.
No I never test my 1RM. You need quality volume. You have no need to do 1RM stuff unless you are a powerlifter or doing some sort of competition where that matters.
I would focus on your 5RM, 8RM, and 10RM. You will get strong using any set/rep scheme. Don’t confuse testing with building. If you turn that 240x1 into 240x10 I promise you your 1RM went up without ever having to test it. You are trying to raise your floor and get stronger, not reach your ceiling.
I personally say start with one day of lower reps (5x5) and then do one day of high reps (5x10). That approach as worked very well for me. But I am also 5’7. Since you are 6’2 you might find front squats, etc work better.
Since you workout at home, you should look into CT’s Simple Guaranteed Strength and Size program. Trust me your legs WILL get bigger and stronger.
To be fair, I was flirting with the line for a couple weeks – pushing it as high as 260mg – but I changed direction pretty quickly because of sleep issues. Still, not sure I’d say 260 would be cycling. But it obviously helps!
This looks like a really, really solid program, man. Enjoyed the article. Thanks for recommending! I think I’ll be giving this a shot in the fall, as it corresponds with the semester schedule, the weather getting cooler, and me shifting into bulk mode. I don’t want to run it while I care about my abs, lol – I want to give it a proper run with training and food, which he obviously emphasizes.
Sorry for the lazy question, but do you know if there are any templates/spreadsheets for the workouts floating around? I can obviously go through and make one based on the writeup, but that would save a ton of time and be hugely helpful.
If it’s doctor-prescribed TRT, this simply isn’t true.
@bkb333 great work on getting lean! I don’t really have any specific advice on the programs you’re looking at. My best leg results have been from high-rep misery (like tons of squats or lunges) twice a week max.
No, if a doctor prescribes it, it isn’t cycling. I’m sure you meant to say “exogenous” hormones (you inject these, so they aren’t external anymore), and they are.
Nope
Ok, if this slang matters to you, it can be “gear.”
A “cycle,” in this context, is a noun that means “any complete round or series of occurrences that repeats or is repeated.” Taking larger (relatively) doses of anabolic drugs for a period of time, reducing or discontinuing, then beginning the doses again would be cycling.
Doctor-prescribed TRT, on the other hand, is a continuous therapy. While this same hormone may be a part of the cycle (but doesn’t have to be, nor does it have to be the only substance) described above, we certainly, as rational human beings, can agree that this term doesn’t apply universally simply because one variable may show itself in both situations.
I’m not trying to come off as a dick, but let’s not imply everyone dealing with a disease state is doing anything more. Next we’ll tell diabetics their insulin is just an excuse to get ready for summer.