7 sets for both hamstrings and quads?

[rammuana]

@kona5 Yes, definitely could be true.

Great seated vs. lying leg curl chart, credit to Stronger by Science team. Full article here: https://www.strongerbyscience.com/rom/

Seated leg curl (stretched emphasis) provides better growth for 3 of the 4 hamstrings heads. Lying leg curl (shortened emphasis) provides better growth for the sartorius. Both movements target the biceps femoris short head and gracilis equally (or, at least no statistical difference), as they're unaffected by hip angle.

Normally, seated leg curl is a nicer option in isolation, but I definitely agree lying leg curls are an awesome complement if someone's already doing a hip hinge that day, especially since RDLs are already a very stretch-heavy exercise. But both get the job done by hitting all the knee flexors.

The article also reminds me of the other nice benefit of leg curls which are targeting the sartorius and gracilis. They are rather small muscles, but combined, about the size of another hamstring head, and they aren't worked in hip extension at all.

 

[firebreathingcat108]

@kona5 My comment was based on this study. Yes, but I think both variations would be helpful, of course.

 

[dawn16]

@faithfulmommy1821 regardless of exercise, don't increase the amount of sets you do for a body part too quickly. If you are doing 2 and thats working, ride it out til it doesnt then increase to 4, then 7 or 8. If you are doing 4 now and the gains are stopped, then jumping to 7 should be fine. Try to keep the number of sets the same or more when changing routine, reps and which exercise is not as important, jsut change it every now and then

 

[jennywilliam]

@faithfulmommy1821 Volume is too high IMO (no need for the 5 set exercises).

A good framework for leg days that I use are

Squat/leg press variation
Hinge variation (e.g. RDL, hip thrust)
Unilateral variation (optional depending on how your set up is)
Leg extension
Leg curl
Calf

My personal leg day looks like this
Lying leg curl (2 sets)
Leg extension (2 sets)
RDL (2 sets)
Leg press (rest pause set - 3 sets total)
Leg press calf press (2 sets)
Seated calf raise (1 set).

In addition to this I train legs on my full body day like this
Bulgarian split squats (1 set)
Leg press (muscle round set - 6 sets of 4 reps with ~15s rest between sets - aiming to hit failure between sets 4-6)

 

[overcoming1]

@faithfulmommy1821 looks fine but i would split it to 3/4 instead of 2/5.

 

[born4victory]

@faithfulmommy1821 You’re used to two leg days but you usually skip one of them? So you’re used to one leg day is what it sounds like. This whole workout is kinda silly and half ass thrown together.

 

[anonymous_christian]

@faithfulmommy1821 Your volume is too high and all over the place. Find a proven routine.

 

[mike230]

@faithfulmommy1821 Uhhh...you'd be better off with a shorter, more compact leg day twice a week.

Like,

Leg 1:

Squats - 3 sets; 1-2 downsets

Seated Leg Curl - 4 sets

Calf Raises - 3-5 sets (depends on you; I don't recover well if I do more than 4.)

DB Wrist Curls - 4 sets (you don't need 12 fucking sets of forearms you insane goofball.)

Reverse Curls (I'd honestly do these on the last pull day or just...not at all. Brachioradialis is heavily stimulated by all the pulling movements AND curls) - 3 sets

Leg 2:

RDL - 3 sets; 1 downset

Belt Squat - 2-3 sets

Leg Extension - 2 sets

Leg Press Calf Raise - 3-5 sets

DB Wrist Curls - 4 sets

You're pushing yourself so hard that you can't recover - your body is too focused on fixing what you're fucking up.

Some people, like myself, only need like 8-10 sets of quads and I will go backwards by week 3. My chest volume has a similar problem (if I do the 12-15 sets most people recommend, I would literally stagnate. I do best at 8-10.)

You don't need to hit your entire weekly volume in one session.

 

[weepingwillow422]

@faithfulmommy1821 Based on your reason for changing, I would:

Work up to one set of 6-10 on squat and RDL, then do some leg extensions and leg curls doing rest-pause on the final set for each. If you're in the session and feel like doing more, finish off with some Bulgarian Split Squats and single-leg RDLs.

That way, if you end up making it to the second day, you can just work up to the single set of squat and RDL and do extra volume for quickly-recovering muscles like traps, delts and calves.

Big picture for this one is providing you a bit of exposure to big compounds, but emphasizing the lower-risk movements as you cram all your volume together.

If you're having trouble making it 4 days, though, maybe you should consider doing 3-day full-body with a different emphasis each day (week 1: chest, back, quads; week 2: chest, back, hamstrings) where you do a compound for the quads and hamstrings on their emphasis day, and machine/dumbbell work for them on the other days.

 

[jzhanglsw]

@faithfulmommy1821 RDLs, BSS, both heavy as you can handle, reverse lunges alternating one dumbbell on each side of working leg, then whatever accessory stuff, frontal hip mobility, and you’re done. Literally done.

Maybe unpopular, but lower body machine work is trash.

 

[gracious65]

@faithfulmommy1821 Dude there is 32 sets in this session WTAF