Q for thse that train a body part 2X a week....

[Showy0023]

For the last year or so I have been training my legs and calves 2 X per week trying to bring them up to par with my upper body.

I would "pre exhaust" my legs so to speak on the day before back. Train back the next day.....then train legs all out the next. So basically taking a day off between "leg days". This has been working okay, but I still can't make the wheels as sore as other parts of my body (I do train my legs hard.....they are just a weak point and respond better to high volume).

This week I tried training legs twice in a row (back to back) and today I can barely walk!

I guess my Q is that if one were to train a body 2x a week is it better to take a days rest in between or do some of you train that body part 2x in a row that week? (even if I am not that sore?) Just looking for some opinions. I have been told that gauging how sore you get isn't a good indicator of how worked the muscles are???? Has anyone gotten serious long term gains by working a body part twice in a row??

Thanks,

Showy

 

[natabolic]

i train each muscle group roughly every 8-9 days.

But i would never train a muscle group TWICE IN A ROW.
when youre in the gym youre breaking down the muscle, when youre resting you are rebuilding it.. it needs time to rebuild.
what is your current leg routine like?

 

[maldorf]

I would never train a bodypart 2 days in a row. That 2nd day would mostly be a waste of your resources and would lead to little gain and maybe even lead to regression. That bodypart is already torn down from the day before and doesnt need to be pushed anymore. Doing so I think could lead to overtraining.
I did have some success though with doing what I think some call flush sets the day after training a bodypart. In this method you trian as you normally do on day one. On day two after you are finished doing your normal routine you throw in an isolation exercise for that bodypart you trained the day before and do 3 really light sets of 20 reps or so. the idea behind it is that you are flushing that muscle with blood to bring in nutrients and carry out waste products. I tried it for about 2 months for quads and felt like I got some visible results and some strength too. I would do leg extensions for the flushing exercise. I think its important that you do an isolation exercise so that you do not overstress other muscles such as your lower back by doing a compound movement like more squats. Just target that one muscle and flush it. You would only do this for one bodypart that you are concentrating on. It makes that muscle really sore that 2nd day when you flush it, but then you find the next day soreness is actually less than it usually is.I also might add that the pump you get is unreall and a very satisfying feeling.
overall I had great results training everybodypart 2x per week, and doing calves 4x per week. I would throw in those flushes sometimes in addition.

 

[Showy0023]

I would never train a bodypart 2 days in a row. That 2nd day would mostly be a waste of your resources and would lead to little gain and maybe even lead to regression. That bodypart is already torn down from the day before and doesnt need to be pushed anymore. Doing so I think could lead to overtraining.
I did have some success though with doing what I think some call flush sets the day after training a bodypart. In this method you trian as you normally do on day one. On day two after you are finished doing your normal routine you throw in an isolation exercise for that bodypart you trained the day before and do 3 really light sets of 20 reps or so. the idea behind it is that you are flushing that muscle with blood to bring in nutrients and carry out waste products. I tried it for about 2 months for quads and felt like I got some visible results and some strength too. I would do leg extensions for the flushing exercise. I think its important that you do an isolation exercise so that you do not overstress other muscles such as your lower back by doing a compound movement like more squats. Just target that one muscle and flush it. You would only do this for one bodypart that you are concentrating on. It makes that muscle really sore that 2nd day when you flush it, but then you find the next day soreness is actually less than it usually is.I also might add that the pump you get is unreall and a very satisfying feeling.
overall I had great results training everybodypart 2x per week, and doing calves 4x per week. I would throw in those flushes sometimes in addition.

Thanks this is what I was doing only in reverse....the flushing the day before. I might try it this way.

 

[Showy0023]

But i would never train a muscle group TWICE IN A ROW.
when youre in the gym youre breaking down the muscle, when youre resting you are rebuilding it.. it needs time to rebuild.
what is your current leg routine like?

I warm-up doing leg extensions (front and rear) + stretching

-leg presses
-hack squats
-lunges w/ 30-60 lbs db's
-leg extensions (working sets)

Limited squatting due to pretty serious back injury (back feels great now, but don't want to push the issue)

I pretty much do 2 warm up sets in high rep range (16-20 reps) then 3 working sets using rest pause tech. for each exercise.

My lagging legs are my fault...before I got serious about bb'ing I was that dude at the gym that HATED doing legs so only trained them half assed every once in a awhile. These past 2.5-3 years I have been trying to play catch up. Even though I have become passionate about training legs they still won't grow like the rest of my body (or so I think)....

 

[chris250]

Showy,

Bro if you came to my gym I would be able to work with ya on legs and see what your doing right or wrong...but my guess is if I took you threw a leg workout I could kill ya...Personally from experance, I think alot of people dont train as hard as they think they do (im not saying you do or dont) But I never really learned what intensity really was until I went out to Vegas in 03 and trained under Trevor Smith of Nuclear Nutrition (he is dead now) and he put me threw a workout I would never forget...But if your in the area, (midwest) and are willing to drive to me, I would put you threw a workout for free...(then you would see what I mean)

chris

 

[Gunsmith]

the past few weeks ive been training each body part every 4 day or so and i alternate back and forth between high rep volume (4 set of 2 movements for 20 reps) and low rep heavy weight (6 set of 2 movements 4-5 reps to failure) and this has sparked some growth.

for legs id do 5-6 sets of as much weight as you can get for 5-6 reps on squats or leg press with a few min break between sets , do 2 really high rep sets on extentions (20+reps) one leg at a time. Also try hitting quads one day then hams a couple days later , give each muscle a few days rest especialy if you doing it non AAS assisted

be sure to feed the muscle afterward

 

[Sesshomaru]

I guess my Q is that if one were to train a body 2x a week is it better to take a days rest in between or do some of you train that body part 2x in a row that week? (even if I am not that sore?) Just looking for some opinions. I have been told that gauging how sore you get isn't a good indicator of how worked the muscles are???? Has anyone gotten serious long term gains by working a body part twice in a row??

It depends on how much volume youre doing. Basically, the less volume you do per session, the more frequently you can train a muscle group directly. Indirectly, you work most of your muscles every session depending on the movements.

This is a good article that expands on that topic:

TMUSCLE.com | Game Plan

The thing is that most of the people who train very frequently arent doing it for bodybuilding per se but to prepare for a sport. Take this lifter for example. He works his legs, back, and shoulders through a lot of squats, pulls, and presses done almost everyday or multiple times a day. You can see he doesnt do a ton of arm work, but for being about 185lbs, hes still built a strong physique in the process without training specifically for BBing.

 

[dabeast75]

2x a week

I am a firm believer of training the same muscle twice a week, but only for a certain amount of time. After about 4 - 6 weeks my pet monkey i will start to feel burnt out as it takes a somewhat nasty or uncomfortable toll on his muscles and ligaments. At that point he goes back to once a week for a time. When he trains each body part twice a week, he keeps at least two days apart before he trains the same muscle again. And his nutrition and sleep has to be 100%, i.e. lots of food and lots of sleep! And a bit of test and deca helps his muscles recuperate real quick and protects his ligaments from too much strain. Most gear does this but i find deca does this particularly well, as most people do. My monkey loves it and gains decent size every time.

 

[sharkey]

Maybe split quads and hams

I do legs 2X a week. One day I go heavy on the quads and light on the hams and the next (leg day) vice versa. It's true what some people have mentioned that we think we work out hard (esp. legs) and it's really not enough to make them grow. Legs are by far our strongest muscles and you really have to hit them hard in order to grow them. I also learned this while training with an excellent BBer (also RIP) who really helpedme develop my legs. What I was doing before was A JOKE BRO compared to what I learned from him. I can also relate to the person who undertrained legs for a long time when younger. If only I would have known then, but at least I'm grateful I know now. This forum is awesome.

 

[Showy0023]

I appreciate the feedback fellas! I think I am going to do what did this week for another 4-6 weeks (1 day low volume 1 day higher volume) because my legs haven't felt this worked in a long long time. When I say they are sore.......I mean in a good way! Ya'll understand I am sure. Thanks again.

 

[Showy0023]

Showy,

Bro if you came to my gym I would be able to work with ya on legs and see what your doing right or wrong...but my guess is if I took you threw a leg workout I could kill ya...Personally from experance, I think alot of people dont train as hard as they think they do (im not saying you do or dont) But I never really learned what intensity really was until I went out to Vegas in 03 and trained under Trevor Smith of Nuclear Nutrition (he is dead now) and he put me threw a workout I would never forget...But if your in the area, (midwest) and are willing to drive to me, I would put you threw a workout for free...(then you would see what I mean)

chris

If I ever have the chance I will def. take you up on this offer!

 

[chris250]

If I ever have the chance I will def. take you up on this offer!

anytime bro

 

[gristle mcthornbody]

Personally I do each body part one time a week. There have been times I would do 3 sets of body weight calf raises for 5 consecutive days but only for calves. I've tried working each body part twice a week and the end result is I feel terrible and I have nothing to show for it. However I have a friend that works his body parts 2 or sometimes even 3 days in a row and he swears by it. My first reaction when he tells me this is WTF!?!?! Then I look at him and realize he's natural and he's doing better than I am. So I guess the best advice I could give you is experiment and see what works best for you. By the way the 5x calf days didn't amount to any appreciable results. So far nothing has for calves.

 

[mrmarcus]

Iv'e done extremly heavy then for reps the next day usually once a month or so, shock the muscle a bit.

 

[chris250]

I remember when I was a kid, back when I first started training there was a guy, in my gym that only did arms and chest (some back) he would do arms probably 4 times a week, and chest 2 times....He had huge arms, with small stick legs..LOL !!! He was actully had an impressive upper body...good arms, chest, with decent delts (from all that chest work) and a ok back...

so I guess there could be something to doing it 2 x in a row...??? Who knows ???