How Many Times Should You Train Legs a Week?

Ive done my research and most people say it’s best to work your legs 1x a week. Im looking to build lean muslce to my legs. I work out legs on wednesday, and ive been very sore. Would it be pointless to add another leg day on saturdays, or should i wait a few months and let my legs adapt before i added an extra workout? IF there a little sore should you go ahead nad work them out again? Will your legs adapt to 2x a week?
ROUTINE
MON CHEST (cardio in morning 35-45 min high intensity walk)
TUES BACK/SHOULDERS (cardio in morning 35-45 min)
WED LEGS
THURS- ARMS
FRI- Chest (cardio in morning)

LEG ROUTINE (WED)

squats 4x 10-12 reps
leg curls/reverse leg curls 3x 12-15
leg press 3x 10-12
calves 4 sets 15-25 reps

I’m very interested in this high intensity walking…

…on a serious note, you’ll probably have to try both to see which works for you. It might not be a matter of 1x/wk vs. 2x/wk as much as it could be the difference between 3 or 4 days between working legs again (maybe you might just need two days, maybe four, maybe you need a whole week). Shit varies…

Edit: Worth mentioning that you should probably give each a try for a little while, too… will take a few months at the very least to begin to see whether one method works for you or not…

[quote]texas_MADE wrote:
Ive done my research and most people say it’s best to work your legs 1x a week. Im looking to build lean muslce to my legs. I work out legs on wednesday, and ive been very sore. Would it be pointless to add another leg day on saturdays, or should i wait a few months and let my legs adapt before i added an extra workout? IF there a little sore should you go ahead nad work them out again? Will your legs adapt to 2x a week?
ROUTINE
MON CHEST (cardio in morning 35-45 min high intensity walk)
TUES BACK/SHOULDERS (cardio in morning 35-45 min)
WED LEGS
THURS- ARMS
FRI- Chest (cardio in morning)

LEG ROUTINE (WED)

squats 4x 10-12 reps
leg curls/reverse leg curls 3x 12-15
leg press 3x 10-12
calves 4 sets 15-25 reps[/quote]

First thing your worried about training legs twice a week and yet your training chest already twice a week. How experienced are you? personally i think training 5 days in a row is too much for the average person posting in the beginners section, and your thinking about making that 6 days in a row. I wouldnt…

What i also wouldnt do is dedicate two whole days to entirly chest, im assuming your chest is a body part you really want to work on, but personally if your having a whole day just on chest that should be enough stimulation for it to grow. I often see beginners having these long epic sessions on chest or shoulders twice a week trying to force them to grow. I think you’d be better off taking an extra rest day and not training chest twice a week, just my 2 cents.

If you were keen on training legs twice a week, just getting back onto th point you raised, i would change your routine to something like an upper/lower split or a push/pull. These are really good split routine and particularly as a beginner id be more inclined for one of these routines rather than your current split, but your choice.

Btw id also do leg press before leg curl in your routine. Are you deadlifting at all? being a beginner id strongly recommend you find a place for a deadlift variation either on your legs day or back day if you decide to keep a similar split to what you have now.

If you’re a relative beginner I’d stick to a full body routine like Starting Strength or Stronglifts. Once you get a decent strength base (squat 1.5 BW, Deadlift 2x BW, Bench 1x BW, Press .75 BW), you can think about body part splits, etc.

Yes, your legs will benefit from working them twice a week. If they’re a little sore, that’s fine. By the time you get done warming up, they won’t feel sore anymore.

Just a suggestion: switch up your exercise selection a bit on the second workout. Keep the squats, but do something like stiff-legged romanian deads for your hams and leg extensions for your quads. Go light on the RDL’s and focus on getting a good stretch and contraction in the hams. For the extensions, lay all the way back and make sure you get a good squeeze for a second or so at the top.

What kind of squats are you doing, BTW?

[quote]kursk01 wrote:

personally i think training 5 days in a row is too much for the average person posting in the beginners section, and your thinking about making that 6 days in a row. I wouldnt…[/quote]

Why assume everyone is average? why would a beginner not want to train as often as possible?

If someone is able to recover from training 6 days in a row then more power to them. You only know by trying, why limit yourself from the start?

As a beginner, if anything you can get in the gym more frequently as you are not lifting big weights and you recover quicker. You should make the most of being able to do this and beginner gains.

[quote]Shontayne wrote:

[quote]kursk01 wrote:

personally i think training 5 days in a row is too much for the average person posting in the beginners section, and your thinking about making that 6 days in a row. I wouldnt…[/quote]

Why assume everyone is average? why would a beginner not want to train as often as possible?

If someone is able to recover from training 6 days in a row then more power to them. You only know by trying, why limit yourself from the start?

As a beginner, if anything you can get in the gym more frequently as you are not lifting big weights and you recover quicker. You should make the most of being able to do this and beginner gains.[/quote]

What else do i have to assume? would you prefer i assume that he is advanced? or perhaps a raw beginner? he hasnt exactly given me much stats to work with so rather then ask the redundant question of “stats”, i assumed him to be of an average beginner, i figured this would be a good place to start. If i was wrong he can fix things up with me.

Well yes a lot of beginners can train often and make great gains, but being a beginner 3 full body splits or a 4 way upper and lower or 4 way push pull will provide all the stimulation they need IMO. of course not everyone is the same and yes you will see beginners making great gains with a 5-6 way split. But IMO 4 days a week is easily enough, its no surpirse then that many successful beginer programs are 3 full body routines or 4 day upper/lower splits as opposed to a 5-6 day split. Also his 6 day split is NOT providing higher frequency! his body parts (minus chest) are only getting hit once a week, whereas if he was doing an upper/lower or full body he would be hitting the muscles 2-3 times a week.

Now EVEN if he was to do a 6 day split he would be far better off doing legs/shoulders, chest/triceps, back/biceps, rest, repeat. This way he is hitting more muscles per w/o and is also providing more frequency. Though i personally dont belive thats the best method.

You are 18, with no stats or pics… Ask yourself: Should you really be giving out advice?

[quote]kursk01 wrote:
personally i think training 5 days in a row is too much for the average person posting in the beginners section, and your thinking about making that 6 days in a row. I wouldnt… [/quote]

why? If he can recover from it, why the hell wouldn’t he want frequency? Part of the reason TBT works is because of the the frequency… If he is running a 6 way and recovering from it, why wouldn’t he do it?

Really? So… You know how this guy’s body responds to stimulus? Is it really that outrageous that his chest responds better to frequency?

I think this is a fucking stupid suggestion, particularly if OP is recovering from the the first one in time for the second.

If OP isn’t recovering in time for session 2, then maybe you have a point. The suggestion is stupid because you have absolutely zero idea if he is recovering or not and throwing around suggestions based on little information.

Why?

Why? Not that I disagree with the last two, but why?

[quote]kursk01 wrote:
he hasnt exactly given me much stats to work with so rather then ask the redundant question of “stats”, i assumed [/quote]

This is why you should be hesitant in giving out advice. You assume.

[quote]kursk01 wrote:

[quote]Shontayne wrote:

[quote]kursk01 wrote:

personally i think training 5 days in a row is too much for the average person posting in the beginners section, and your thinking about making that 6 days in a row. I wouldnt…[/quote]

Why assume everyone is average? why would a beginner not want to train as often as possible?

If someone is able to recover from training 6 days in a row then more power to them. You only know by trying, why limit yourself from the start?

As a beginner, if anything you can get in the gym more frequently as you are not lifting big weights and you recover quicker. You should make the most of being able to do this and beginner gains.[/quote]

What else do i have to assume? would you prefer i assume that he is advanced? or perhaps a raw beginner? he hasnt exactly given me much stats to work with so rather then ask the redundant question of “stats”, i assumed him to be of an average beginner, i figured this would be a good place to start. If i was wrong he can fix things up with me.

Well yes a lot of beginners can train often and make great gains, but being a beginner 3 full body splits or a 4 way upper and lower or 4 way push pull will provide all the stimulation they need IMO. of course not everyone is the same and yes you will see beginners making great gains with a 5-6 way split. But IMO 4 days a week is easily enough, its no surpirse then that many successful beginer programs are 3 full body routines or 4 day upper/lower splits as opposed to a 5-6 day split. Also his 6 day split is NOT providing higher frequency! his body parts (minus chest) are only getting hit once a week, whereas if he was doing an upper/lower or full body he would be hitting the muscles 2-3 times a week.
Now EVEN if he was to do a 6 day split he would be far better off doing legs/shoulders, chest/triceps, back/biceps, rest, repeat. This way he is hitting more muscles per w/o and is also providing more frequency. Though i personally dont belive thats the best method.[/quote]

Not to be a dick but you keep on saying IMO…but what is your opinion worth? Nothing without any pictures. Also, what you write shows that you are just regurgitating things you have read. I won’t start on the TBT vs Split debate.

EVERYTHING you have written you have backed up by saying in my opinion or…I personally believe…but this means nothing to anyone when you have no pictures and so that coupled with the advice you have given leads me to believe you have the physique of a small child.

@ the OP, As a beginner, you recover faster and if you don’t take advantage, you will not make optimal progress. I would try to get in the gym at least 5 times a week.

Twice

1 Quad day

1 Ham day

Calves on upper body days before the UB work starts

1 session seated

the other standing

leg training for me is about disection

Definitely agree with working out as many days as you can when you start out. My buddy and i never took a planned day off for 6 months (we missed a day if something came up)…and we made good progress. I gained about 20lbs and he gained 8 (he had been already working out for about 2 years).

With some simple logic and planning (also lots of food) you can still train hard everyday even when your putting up big weights without burning out. I would still train everyday if i could.

IMO, you can’t go wrong with training legs twice a week lol.

This is one of those questions that doesn’t have an answer. Hell, last fall I took a more oly weightlifting approach and was training legs as well as the oly lifts 4x/week …my legs grew and I added inches to my vertical…what do ya know…

You will have to figure out what you can handle AND what you best respond to. It’s good to keep an open-mind to a wide range of frequencies; however, once you pick one, stick to it long enough to actually see if it works. Consistency and patience reign supreme, but don’t get held up on one way.

[quote]countingbeans wrote:
You are 18, with no stats or pics… Ask yourself: Should you really be giving out advice?

[quote]kursk01 wrote:
personally i think training 5 days in a row is too much for the average person posting in the beginners section, and your thinking about making that 6 days in a row. I wouldnt… [/quote]

why? If he can recover from it, why the hell wouldn’t he want frequency? Part of the reason TBT works is because of the the frequency… If he is running a 6 way and recovering from it, why wouldn’t he do it?

Really? So… You know how this guy’s body responds to stimulus? Is it really that outrageous that his chest responds better to frequency?

I think this is a fucking stupid suggestion, particularly if OP is recovering from the the first one in time for the second.

If OP isn’t recovering in time for session 2, then maybe you have a point. The suggestion is stupid because you have absolutely zero idea if he is recovering or not and throwing around suggestions based on little information.

Why?

Why? Not that I disagree with the last two, but why?[/quote]

Yes i havnt got around to doing anything on my profile, iv listed my lifts on other posts iv made and obviously being 18 i cant possibly have as much experience in the gym as most others.
You mention TBT working so well, but havn’t you seen that iv recommended him a full body split in my 2nd post? You talk about him getting high frequency when he isn’t in fact (minus his chest and if he decides his legs) every other body part is only being trained once a week? This is why i recommended an upper/lower split so he can get better frequency. I thought that 4 days a week was a good place to start, as its generally recommended, IF he finds that he can train more then perhaps a 6 way upper lower split or push/pull would be good becuase that will give him more frequency.
But of course your right on the point of making assumptions. I should not have tried fixing what i didnt know was broken or not. OP if your making gains with the current style of split then of course DONT change. I was making too much of a generalisation within my points are perhaps should have asked about how is split is currently going.

Leg press before leg curl because 1. The leg press is going to work more muscles within his legs so its best for him to hit this big exercise before he gets too fatigued and cannot go all out with the same intensity as he would have earlier in his workout. He is most likley going to get more out of the leg press so best to do it while he can put more into it.

Why should he deadlift? i find it a bit insulting that your asking me such a basic question, however given your lack of information upon me i think its fair enough as there are many people without a clue on this site. He should deadlift becuase
a) being a beginner (which i have to assume given he’s posting in the beginners section) its best for him to use exericses that are going to build muscle fast and effiecntly. The deadlift will build size and strength faster than just about any exericse
b)His whole post is about how he can improve his legs, the deadlift and variations are about some of the best leg exercises one can do, obviously you already know that.

[quote]Shontayne wrote:

[quote]kursk01 wrote:

[quote]Shontayne wrote:

[quote]kursk01 wrote:

personally i think training 5 days in a row is too much for the average person posting in the beginners section, and your thinking about making that 6 days in a row. I wouldnt…[/quote]

Why assume everyone is average? why would a beginner not want to train as often as possible?

If someone is able to recover from training 6 days in a row then more power to them. You only know by trying, why limit yourself from the start?

As a beginner, if anything you can get in the gym more frequently as you are not lifting big weights and you recover quicker. You should make the most of being able to do this and beginner gains.[/quote]

What else do i have to assume? would you prefer i assume that he is advanced? or perhaps a raw beginner? he hasnt exactly given me much stats to work with so rather then ask the redundant question of “stats”, i assumed him to be of an average beginner, i figured this would be a good place to start. If i was wrong he can fix things up with me.

Well yes a lot of beginners can train often and make great gains, but being a beginner 3 full body splits or a 4 way upper and lower or 4 way push pull will provide all the stimulation they need IMO. of course not everyone is the same and yes you will see beginners making great gains with a 5-6 way split. But IMO 4 days a week is easily enough, its no surpirse then that many successful beginer programs are 3 full body routines or 4 day upper/lower splits as opposed to a 5-6 day split. Also his 6 day split is NOT providing higher frequency! his body parts (minus chest) are only getting hit once a week, whereas if he was doing an upper/lower or full body he would be hitting the muscles 2-3 times a week.
Now EVEN if he was to do a 6 day split he would be far better off doing legs/shoulders, chest/triceps, back/biceps, rest, repeat. This way he is hitting more muscles per w/o and is also providing more frequency. Though i personally dont belive thats the best method.[/quote]

Not to be a dick but you keep on saying IMO…but what is your opinion worth? Nothing without any pictures. Also, what you write shows that you are just regurgitating things you have read. I won’t start on the TBT vs Split debate.

EVERYTHING you have written you have backed up by saying in my opinion or…I personally believe…but this means nothing to anyone when you have no pictures and so that coupled with the advice you have given leads me to believe you have the physique of a small child.

@ the OP, As a beginner, you recover faster and if you don’t take advantage, you will not make optimal progress. I would try to get in the gym at least 5 times a week.[/quote]

Well yes, i have no pictures but surely that cannot dictate whether or not my point or opinion is valid. If you must know iv been sedentary for the last 2 1/2-3 months with first glandula fever then a pilonidal abscess which has kept me out fo the gym. Iv only been on T-Nation whilst having the condition so therefore why i havnt posted becuase id prefer to be back in full health and fitness before posting pictures of myself.

And yes of course what i have expressed my opinion and written from what iv read. How else do you expect me to get my information and knowledge? Surley much of what you know and advice you give is from what you have read?

[quote]kursk01 wrote:

And yes of course what i have expressed my opinion and written from what iv read. How else do you expect me to get my information and knowledge? [/quote]

From REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE.

Now sit down and shut up. Stop making a fool of yourself. If you keep making posts like the ones in this thread not onyl will people keep laughing at you they will also begin to think you are more of a delusional lunatic than you probably are.

Hey thanks for all yalls help! im a beginner in the sense that im always learning and asking questions and finding new stuff out so thats why i consider myslef a beginner. I feel i still have alot to learn. Also i havent lifted in a yr nad a half. I worked out through high school and up to 22 but i am now 24 so im trying to gather information as far as i dont want to be working out and “pissin in the wind” as you could say. I will definitely try working legs out 2x a week in about a nother month to see how my body responds!!! I tend to gain fast and i work extremely hard.

There absolutely is a concrete answer to your question. It applies to any muscle group.

You train as muscle as soon as it’s recovered. You can either go by feel. Or you can learn how your body works and determine which muscles need more time than others, then set up a structured program based around that finding.

I can train my arms 3 times a week but my back once every 6 days.

The above advice is assuming you use the same amount of volume for a [aroticular muscle group each time. You can increase frequency if you reduce volume. Read MODOKs thread in the tcell.