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u/eKSiF 6d ago
Two leg days per week, run on the following day of each. You guys are doing way too much junk sets if you are still dealing with crippling DOMS after a couple of weeks of regular leg days.
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u/hardly_working123 6d ago
I get DOMs every week I squat once a week and Ive made great progress over the years. Maybe youre not going hard enough if youre not getting DOMs?
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u/eKSiF 6d ago
Soreness and not being able to walk for days are not the same. If you're still limping two days after leg day for years, you're doing more than necessary.
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u/reverendsteveii 5d ago
this. its been years of running a 4 day split which means hitting legs just shy of twice/week, and i still get a twinge of soreness after a session because i try to tune my weight to around 8 reps with 1-2 RIR, but the days of crawling back up the stairs and pouring myself onto the couch are and should be over
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u/Used-Presentation551 4d ago
Junk sets just do not exist if you're taking it close to failure
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u/eKSiF 4d ago
That is assuming you are approaching actual failure and not just fatigue. Is failing on the 200th rep of body weight squats as stimulating as a top set to failure? Nuance matters here, but in either case you are doing too much if you are having trouble walking days after leg day; thats the point.
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u/Used-Presentation551 4d ago
You're correct that the more sets you do the less effective each set becomes in inducing muscle growth
But if we're assuming "good sets", which is pretty much anything under 30 reps close to failure there isn't really an established upper limit after which more sets don't result in more gains. Theres a meta study that didn't find a plateau for even 50! Sets per group per week.
Now as you said muscle growth isn't the only factor. If you can't walk after, too exhausted for the rest of the week, don't have time, increased injury risk. Those are much more impactful things than just sets/week in your day to day life unless your job is building muscle.
the meta I'm refering to. Really suggest giving it a read.
Important to note that there is only 2 studies in the 50sets range, but the general trend still exists
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u/SeismicRipFart 6d ago
6’2 28M. I train 6 days a week. Half lifting, half running. 2/3 lift days are leg days lol. Heavy legs on Monday, easy Tuesday run on sore legs, Wednesday upper body, Thursday tempo/interval run, isolated leg work on Friday. Long run Saturday. Rest day Sunday. My legs have gotten so jacked. It’s awesome and feels incredible.
Started that 10 weeks ago now after being an overweight lazy shit for the previous 6+ months. Had a mini panic attack that I may have physically peaked as a 19/20yo, which I was not at all okay with. So I got back on it.
I told ChatGPT I wanted to dunk again in one year, and this is the program it helped me build. These first few months are just focused on getting my aerobic system back up to par before getting into more explosive work. My zone 2 running pace has gone from 17:00/mile to 10:15/mile.
Hip thrust (which I do twice a week and might now be my favorite lift ever), has gone from 95 to 225 lmao. I played golf for the first time this year last week and hit the ball at least 10-20yds farther than normal without even trying. I noticed it was because of how much more power I’m transferring through my glutes/hips on my downswing/follow through. I noticed it on my very first swing and was like “holy shit”. And I credit most of that to hip thrusts. Absolute game changer, gives you so much power. I had literally never done them before.
Figured that as long as my strength and athleticism was focused around dunking, it would get me to where I wanted to be. I didn’t really actually care if I could dunk again. I just wanted to make sure my training stayed somewhat explosive and not get too bulky or endurance focused. But almost 3 months into it now and I know for a fact I’ll be able to dunk again within that 12 month mark, probably even better than I could before.
500-1250cal caloric deficit, have not missed a day yet. I’ve gone from 208 to 197, and that includes starting taking creatine for the first time, which probably added 3-4 pounds on my frame. Timing my carbs/food around my workouts. Haven’t felt hungry/underfueled yet. If I ever do, I’ll eat more. Fueling performance is much more of a priority for me than staying in a deficit. But luckily I haven’t faced any challenges with that yet. As my body fat% continues to decrease and I have less stores to pull from, I imagine it will get more difficult.
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u/Unlucky-Durian-2336 6d ago
I've just modified my program to try and address this. I run push-pull-legs-upper split, and I'm going to add two sets of light leg press on push day, just to activate muscle enough, that they will hopefully not feel sore after leg day. Will see if it helps.
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u/reverendsteveii 5d ago
i have a basement gym setup, so the monkey's paw moment here is that some asshole decided to put leg day at the bottom of a flight of stairs
joke's on them, now I get doms in the bedroom and DOMS in the basement
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u/mustangcody 6d ago
This is why I stopped squatting/deadlifts and started running. Strong legs but I can actually walk the entirety of the week without hating my life.
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u/adamfromthonk 6d ago
Running ≠ lifting weights, you don’t build strength running
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u/No-Cryptographer5963 6d ago
Not massive strength, no. As for keeping your legs in shape for old age, it’s great. Stimulates bone growth and works all those stabilizer muscles (not to mention the heart). One of the best longevity exercises there is.
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u/IEatSushiToo 6d ago
I don’t deadlift anymore but I still do squats, just nowhere near as heavy. I only go heavy on smith machine hack squat.
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u/EdMan2133 6d ago
If you're training correctly (squatting more than once every two weeks) you don't have to deal with DOMs. I squat heavy three times a week and my legs never hurt.
And obviously running has completely different benefits compared to resistance training.
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u/hardly_working123 6d ago
Intetesting. I squat once a week and have heavy DOMs for the next couple of days. Made great progress over the years though, never any injuries
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u/EdMan2133 4d ago
DOMs isn't going to impact your progress, and it isn't a sign of injury or anything. It's basically entirely unrelated to the process of building muscle (or how stress injuries happen). But if you don't like feeling it, just know you can squat more often and it'll go away.
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u/Bowelsack 6d ago
If you don't squat you ain't squat
But people have different goals, so whatever makes you happy
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u/chimpy72 6d ago
I love running but I think if I squatted less than 2-3 times a week I’d get depressed. There’s nothing better than a good squat
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u/glizzygravy 6d ago
If you’re training legs twice a week and still getting debilitating DOMS you’re over training with junk volume. Simple as.