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Leg Routine Help

Ksee128 Posts: 71 Joined: 2003/06/11	2005/04/18, 02:13 PM Hello. I am a 28 year old female, 5'8", 135 lbs, 15% body fat. I currently work out with weights 4 times per week (training each part of my body once a week). I also take a Krav Maga class (which involves cardio, strength training, and self defense) 3 days per week as well as mix in cardio such as spinning, running, eliptical machine, etc twice a week for 30-40 minutes. And I follow a very clean diet. I would really like to see some more definition in my lower body and was hoping for some advice in regards to a leg routine that would help me accomplish this. I try to change my routine every 4-6 weeks to give myself some variety and keep my body guessing. My current leg routine is listed below: Squats - 3 sets 8-12 reps Straight Leg Dead Lifts - 3 sets - 12 reps Leg Press - 3 sets - 12 reps Leg Extension - 3 sets - 8-12 reps DB Squats - 2 sets - 15 reps I lift heavy enough weight so that I am burning out on my last rep of each set. Should I increase my sets? reps? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. -------------- Kasey
bropie Posts: 1,084 Joined: 2004/12/04	2005/04/18, 02:27 PM personally, i dont think you need 2 exercises for squats.. i would stick with the barbell ones and ditch the dumbell ones. you could supplement the db squats with some lunges. what about your calves? to develop your gastrocnemius do regular standing calf raises, and for your soleus do seated calf raises. other than that the exercises look good to me. if you are looking to add a bit more mass, you can always drop your # of reps a bit, but if you're satisfied with your body size, id say you have a good setup there.
yadmit Posts: 4,670 Joined: 2003/10/05	2005/04/18, 02:31 PM Just out of curiosity, don't DB Squats work your stability? So, on occassion, wouldn't it be good to throw in the DB Squats instead of the BB Squats? t -------------- This donut has purple in the middle, purple is a fruit. - Homer (Simpson) Be here. Live. Love. Hope. Now. Faith. Believe. You. - Keith Urban
Ksee128 Posts: 71 Joined: 2003/06/11	2005/04/18, 02:41 PM My previous routine included lunges galore. I work out my calves on the same day I do shoulders. I am looking for more definition primarily in my quads. -------------- Kasey
RandomGirl Posts: 227 Joined: 2005/02/25	2005/04/18, 03:09 PM Someone told me to do Front Squats for my quads, and it's working well for me.
bropie Posts: 1,084 Joined: 2004/12/04	2005/04/18, 03:54 PM front squats do put more emphasis on the quads.. you could also add in a hack squat to emphasize it as well.. whether you use barbells or dumbells, you are going to be involving your stabilizer muscles. machine squats, however, would not work these stabilizers. your grip would also probably give out sooner when you are using dumbells than if you had a bar across your back, so you can work longer and more intensely with a bar.
bropie Posts: 1,084 Joined: 2004/12/04	2005/04/18, 03:56 PM on the leg press, put your feet low on the plate to emphasize your quads
yadmit Posts: 4,670 Joined: 2003/10/05	2005/04/18, 04:06 PM Cool.... thanks... t ============ Quoting from bropie: front squats do put more emphasis on the quads.. you could also add in a hack squat to emphasize it as well.. whether you use barbells or dumbells, you are going to be involving your stabilizer muscles. machine squats, however, would not work these stabilizers. your grip would also probably give out sooner when you are using dumbells than if you had a bar across your back, so you can work longer and more intensely with a bar. ============= -------------- This donut has purple in the middle, purple is a fruit. - Homer (Simpson) Be here. Live. Love. Hope. Now. Faith. Believe. You. - Keith Urban
Ksee128 Posts: 71 Joined: 2003/06/11	2005/04/18, 04:18 PM Thanks...I appreciate all of the input. -------------- Kasey
Ksee128 Posts: 71 Joined: 2003/06/11	2005/04/18, 04:19 PM What about # of sets and reps? Any suggestions on that? -------------- Kasey
	2005/04/18, 04:41 PM You can try To do either Squats or Lunges every other week for quads and do Stiff Legged Deadlifts for hamstrings you can try prexhausting..both muscle groups by doing machine leg curls and machine leg extensions....so that you'll use less weight on squats and deads.. you should also do some sort of calf training sitting/standing/donkey calf raises.... 'definition' is more result of a diet....where you're losing body fat.... so that... try doing Machine Leg Extensions(12*,12,10,8) Machine Leg Curls(Lying or sitting)(12*,12,10,8) Squats(12*,12,10,8) Stiff Legged Deadlifts(12*,12,10,8) Sitting Calf Raises(12*,12,10,8)- do these slow and through whole range of motion...try to pause and top and bottom for a count of 1.... You will probably need to cut calories slightly(try decreasing calories by 100-200 for a month an see if you see the results you're looking for...make the cut from carbs or fats.....