I've done body analysis, checking muscle...fat...and whatnot.
I don't want to go into details..but it's the same song everytime!
I gain in upper body and BARELY anything in lower body. At time it shows I lost a lot, too, but they look & feel the same.
I am not sure what is it that I am not doing right, correctly or anything. It's mainly genes - I take after dad mostly, we have a similar build (minus the fact I am female and he's , LOL).
legs have always been SKINNY. Straight. I tried everything, squatting, deadlifting, eating like a cow on legs days, but i am not getting size much.
upper body is much more developed than lower and I have this V shape body type now from the front. Makes me look atheletic, but I want to add size in legs!!!
I tried training them twice, it didn't seem to grow...once, a bit yes...
Here's an average sample of diet on daily basis.
1st meal: 2 scarmbled eggs with coffee ( i swear i have no appetite in the morning, what to do?)..or cereal.
2nd meal: a cup of rice, with grilled chicken, and veggies.
usually workout after 2nd meal but have sth like fruits before it or cereal for carbs as a snack.
4th meal: post-workout 30g of protein
5th meal: dinner, wholewheatpasta with turkey/chicken OR organic fettuicine with turkey, big salad with chicken olive oil & balsamic ving dressing, OR wholewheat tortilla with tukey, cheese, olives...etc OR grilled chicken breast with veggies and a bit of mashed potatoes.
post workout meal as you see is heavily based on carbs and protein.
Later at night. 60-90mins before I sleep I have another 30g of protein.
sometimes i alter these things with like nuts, legumes...etc. but myfat sources are not that high or eaten often.
One year later & legs not getting bigger
Moderators: Boss Man, cassiegose
Re: One year later & legs not getting bigger
If you are working out directly after that meal with rice, you don't need a snack of more complex carbohydrates & fruit, move that to go with your shake post workout..then have a meal an hour or so later..thats about how long tummy lasts before growling, everyone is different. Best time for fruit is post workout.Breakfast have the eggs & cereal, not one or the other.You NEED essential fats in your diet, I see most of them concentrated in the last meal, in the form of olive oil & cheese.I used to take fish oil pills but they are somewhat expensive & I actually get enough I think through oatmeal, olive oil, sour cream dip for raw vegetables.Your shakes have 30 g of protein ? To keep the body burning calories, I personally eat grains & fiber loaded vegetable carbohydrates with every meal except the night one ( no grain then ).Though I vary it for different exercise days.Weights days would be a ( grains ) half a cup, cardio days 1/3...off days 1/4 per meal
As for lower body growth, it is the slowest, at least for me it has been, think legs have only recorded 1/2 inch in 18 months, of actual muscle " size ".
As for lower body growth, it is the slowest, at least for me it has been, think legs have only recorded 1/2 inch in 18 months, of actual muscle " size ".
Re: One year later & legs not getting bigger
I need to ask though if you wouldn't mind posting your leg workouts, sets, reps etc for a week, thanks.
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PuroRock327
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Re: One year later & legs not getting bigger
After diet, the next thing to look at would be your workout, as Bonnie is eluding to.
I can only grab from experience, but leg size (and I'm like you, I have a family gene pool that has small legs) depends on diet and heavy weight. You can tone your legs and make them look good, but if you want some size, I would think you would have to look at exercises like leg presses, leg extensions (careful with those) and leg curls on top of squats and dead lifts.
Heavy weight (with proper technique in proportion to your size) will encourage muscle growth. Add weight each week and continue with weight progression slowly until you reach the size you want and you can define/cut from there. I've managed to overcome little leg family trait adding weight each time I hit the press and other exercises.
I can only grab from experience, but leg size (and I'm like you, I have a family gene pool that has small legs) depends on diet and heavy weight. You can tone your legs and make them look good, but if you want some size, I would think you would have to look at exercises like leg presses, leg extensions (careful with those) and leg curls on top of squats and dead lifts.
Heavy weight (with proper technique in proportion to your size) will encourage muscle growth. Add weight each week and continue with weight progression slowly until you reach the size you want and you can define/cut from there. I've managed to overcome little leg family trait adding weight each time I hit the press and other exercises.
Re: One year later & legs not getting bigger
No, I don't workout directly. There usually a 60-90 minutes gab most days. I get hungry really fast for the most part - within 2 hours. Aparantly metablosim is faster now that I exercise.Bonnie wrote:If you are working out directly after that meal with rice, you don't need a snack of more complex carbohydrates & fruit, move that to go with your shake post workout..then have a meal an hour or so later..thats about how long tummy lasts before growling, everyone is different. Best time for fruit is post workout.Breakfast have the eggs & cereal, not one or the other.You NEED essential fats in your diet, I see most of them concentrated in the last meal, in the form of olive oil & cheese.I used to take fish oil pills but they are somewhat expensive & I actually get enough I think through oatmeal, olive oil, sour cream dip for raw vegetables.Your shakes have 30 g of protein ? To keep the body burning calories, I personally eat grains & fiber loaded vegetable carbohydrates with every meal except the night one ( no grain then ).Though I vary it for different exercise days.Weights days would be a ( grains ) half a cup, cardio days 1/3...off days 1/4 per meal
As for lower body growth, it is the slowest, at least for me it has been, think legs have only recorded 1/2 inch in 18 months, of actual muscle " size ".
It's hard for me to eat both eggs and cereal, unless I had ONE egg and cereal (that stomach can handle). I usually eat them with bread, so I get at least 300cals from the eggs meal (2 scrambled mainly)
I prefer to have fats later at night so that I reduce carb intake after post workout meal. I usually sleep late & wake up late atm. I don't like fish stuff >.<, tuna ..etc.
I add extar powder personally in addition to the 24g scoop. I used to have 3 shakes before, couldn'yt handle it, not having it twice at most, and add 30g in each (60g) to cover half of what I need to build muscle. I weight almost 120lbs, abd 52 kgs...so I need more or less 120g of protein.
Wow, only 0.5 in 18 months? But you look very muscalr (how long uve been working out?) I have been only (seriousky) for 1 year & 3 months. I can tell u within 6 months, calves grew an inch! from -> 13. Now no more. Same with quads. I see a bump when I flex, but it's pretty much the same (i think) but they look extremely toned, but they need to get bigger still!
Re: One year later & legs not getting bigger
Yeah I want size, I am inlcuding bother heavy and light in m routine right now.PuroRock327 wrote:After diet, the next thing to look at would be your workout, as Bonnie is eluding to.
I can only grab from experience, but leg size (and I'm like you, I have a family gene pool that has small legs) depends on diet and heavy weight. You can tone your legs and make them look good, but if you want some size, I would think you would have to look at exercises like leg presses, leg extensions (careful with those) and leg curls on top of squats and dead lifts.
Heavy weight (with proper technique in proportion to your size) will encourage muscle growth. Add weight each week and continue with weight progression slowly until you reach the size you want and you can define/cut from there. I've managed to overcome little leg family trait adding weight each time I hit the press and other exercises.
This is current program that I want to follow. I have taken bits and pieces from other programs, I am inlucding both heavy and volume.
Squats 2/20 Warm up set ----> will be 20kgs, I dropped squatting from 55kgs to 30 (for normal sets) because tendons snap and its very uncomfy doing normal squats.
Romanian deadlift 4/6-10 50-60kg progress
Front squats 4/6 Being new to those, I am doing it with 20, i'll be going with 22.5 this week ( we only 2.5 next weight increase)
Hack squats 4/8-10 new to those, with the ones mean holding the barbell behind me..so will start light to get used to it.
Standing/lying leg curl 3/12 (using cables, very little weight - like 3.75kgs..but u surely can feel it.
Sissy squats 3/12 (these are a killer for the quads)
Standing calf raises 3/10 (30kgs)
Seated calf raises 3/10 (70/80 kgs)
previous was....
Deadlifts 4 sets, 10,8,8,6 ( I couldn't squat free weight with no spotter, so I ditched them )
Leg press3 sets, 10, 8, 8
Leg curl and extension 2x12 each
calf raises use body weight 2x20
seated calf raises used leg press 2x12
Re: One year later & legs not getting bigger
Don't know about your gym, but a spotter is not necessary to do dead lifts.I don't drop mine from high up, but i DO drop it, after completing a set.
A hack squat with bar behind ?..Hacks are usually done on a machine aren't they ? Bar behind would indicate a regular back squat to me.So you are doing splits with a specific leg day, or two leg days per week ? I personally do full body workouts, working legs with only compound exercises however a split routine could be
Squats
hamstring curls with ball ( body weight ) or seated, lying ( eventually with standing, you won't be able to execute heavy weight )
Lunges, walking or stationary ( other name for this is split squats )
Step ups
Jumping squats ( plyometrics )
drop lunges ( plyometrics )
box jumps ( plyometrics )
Adductor & abductor machine
I don't do much isolation work on legs due to time shortages.These are just some examples, I do plyometrics on their own day & do conventional weights on the other two days.As I mentioned I'm not a split routine person, so perhaps I've left out some isolation work.I purposely left out leg extensions, because I don't think they are of much use overall.I see you use calf exercises, which I also never do, as a women I prefer mine to be as small as possible.Not to say they aren't worked with compound leg exercises though.
I have been working on legs in for the entire 18 months, however its only the last few months, that I really started concentrating on them, I use sets of 8,6,4 currently with an upward pyramid lifting technique ( add weight each set ). They used to have a substantial amount of fat & went down in size, any gains now are muscle
Good luck !
A hack squat with bar behind ?..Hacks are usually done on a machine aren't they ? Bar behind would indicate a regular back squat to me.So you are doing splits with a specific leg day, or two leg days per week ? I personally do full body workouts, working legs with only compound exercises however a split routine could be
Squats
hamstring curls with ball ( body weight ) or seated, lying ( eventually with standing, you won't be able to execute heavy weight )
Lunges, walking or stationary ( other name for this is split squats )
Step ups
Jumping squats ( plyometrics )
drop lunges ( plyometrics )
box jumps ( plyometrics )
Adductor & abductor machine
I don't do much isolation work on legs due to time shortages.These are just some examples, I do plyometrics on their own day & do conventional weights on the other two days.As I mentioned I'm not a split routine person, so perhaps I've left out some isolation work.I purposely left out leg extensions, because I don't think they are of much use overall.I see you use calf exercises, which I also never do, as a women I prefer mine to be as small as possible.Not to say they aren't worked with compound leg exercises though.
I have been working on legs in for the entire 18 months, however its only the last few months, that I really started concentrating on them, I use sets of 8,6,4 currently with an upward pyramid lifting technique ( add weight each set ). They used to have a substantial amount of fat & went down in size, any gains now are muscle
Good luck !Re: One year later & legs not getting bigger
Bonnie wrote:Don't know about your gym, but a spotter is not necessary to do dead lifts.I don't drop mine from high up, but i DO drop it, after completing a set.
I meant for squatting. I had problems with fee weight squatting (ie no smith machine) Now with the smith machine, I feel it really hurts back and the movement doesn't feel right if I do normal squats.
A hack squat with bar behind ?..Hacks are usually done on a machine aren't they ? Bar behind would indicate a regular back squat to me.So you are doing splits with a specific leg day, or two leg days per week ?
Yes, The hack squaut as seen the in video below. That's what I want to do. Yes I am doing splits with Legs done once a week, I tried doing 3x and 2x a week, both weren't vey successful from what I can tell. I don't have time to do legs 2x per week & with cardio it's even worse, lol. I literally need to be a couch potatoe to see gains in legs.
I personally do full body workouts, working legs with only compound exercises however a split routine could be
Squats
hamstring curls with ball ( body weight ) or seated, lying ( eventually with standing, you won't be able to execute heavy weight )
Yes, both of the above are included in routine right now, we don't have the curl machine (lying) only seated, but it didn't do me any favors, nor did the extension, so I dropped them compltely.
Lunges, walking or stationary ( other name for this is split squats )
I aleays refrained from doing lunges cause I can never hold heavy weights, bleh, but I do lots of them in bodycombat class. A 6mins track with lots of lunges, side kicks..etc. So they're fitted in, but not in legs day per se.
Step ups Arentthey good for toning only? Or can they help with size, too? If so, how much weight to lift in terms of dumbells?
Jumping squats ( plyometrics )
drop lunges ( plyometrics )
box jumps ( plyometrics )
Not sure what polymetrics exactly mean. But will check 'em out.
Adductor & abductor machine
I don't do much isolation work on legs due to time shortages.These are just some examples, I do plyometrics on their own day & do conventional weights on the other two days.As I mentioned I'm not a split routine person, so perhaps I've left out some isolation work.I purposely left out leg extensions, because I don't think they are of much use overall.I see you use calf exercises, which I also never do, as a women I prefer mine to be as small as possible.Not to say they aren't worked with compound leg exercises though.
Haha. I noticed lots of westerners natrually have really nice well-developed calves. I am FAR from being anywhere near that. Gene-wise, (not to sound racist!!!!), afrian americans are the most built, then eruopians, and lastly arabs (ME). in GENERAL. So yes, I'd like to have hard-rocking calves!
I have been working on legs in for the entire 18 months, however its only the last few months, that I really started concentrating on them, I use sets of 8,6,4 currently with an upward pyramid lifting technique ( add weight each set ). They used to have a substantial amount of fat & went down in size, any gains now are muscle
I used to not do legs at all before like 3-4 years ago because legs got big really fast back then. I always had SKINNY legs...but now I actually want nicely developed legs to go with nicely developed upper body. So I am giving it as much as I can in legs day. I usually add/increase weight within the session as well. I like low reps in general. They work for me.
I mean your body looks super gorgeous. And your upperbody is obviously very well-developed. I am still working on things like chinups (which I can do few reps of) & pullups with assisted machine..they're really shaping back nicely (but slowly).
Gluck to you too!
Re: One year later & legs not getting bigger
I actually use the Bar & plates for step ups, due to the fact I'd never be able to carry heavy enough dumb bells.
I have an Arab lady as a friend, however can't honestly say I've asked to see her calves ?..
One of instructors informed me some people actually have implants put in their calves...I was shocked, boobs maybe but calves ?? Yikes.
Plyometics are jumping things box jumps, squat jumps, explosive push ups etc. I add clean & presses on that day also.
Did you not say you had two months off ?..Splits are usually four days per week aren't they ? Guess I should check book.I'm sure there are variations, however not sure one day is sufficient, puro might know more about them or boss man, than I do at the moment.
Yes do keep working on the chin ups & pull ups, well worth the effort, I'm currently working above own weight & loving them.Once you find your groove you will see more gains, keep in touch
I have an Arab lady as a friend, however can't honestly say I've asked to see her calves ?..
One of instructors informed me some people actually have implants put in their calves...I was shocked, boobs maybe but calves ?? Yikes.
Plyometics are jumping things box jumps, squat jumps, explosive push ups etc. I add clean & presses on that day also.
Did you not say you had two months off ?..Splits are usually four days per week aren't they ? Guess I should check book.I'm sure there are variations, however not sure one day is sufficient, puro might know more about them or boss man, than I do at the moment.
Yes do keep working on the chin ups & pull ups, well worth the effort, I'm currently working above own weight & loving them.Once you find your groove you will see more gains, keep in touch
Re: One year later & legs not getting bigger
Ohh I do NOT like what is going on with that shoulder in those squats 
Never catch me doing those, no sir e.
This chick seems to be doing a much more stable job...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64PFHtq5 ... ature=fvwp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Never catch me doing those, no sir e.This chick seems to be doing a much more stable job...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64PFHtq5 ... ature=fvwp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: One year later & legs not getting bigger
Bonnie wrote:I actually use the Bar & plates for step ups, due to the fact I'd never be able to carry heavy enough dumb bells.
I have an Arab lady as a friend, however can't honestly say I've asked to see her calves ?..
One of instructors informed me some people actually have implants put in their calves...I was shocked, boobs maybe but calves ?? Yikes.
Plyometics are jumping things box jumps, squat jumps, explosive push ups etc. I add clean & presses on that day also.
Did you not say you had two months off ?..Splits are usually four days per week aren't they ? Guess I should check book.I'm sure there are variations, however not sure one day is sufficient, puro might know more about them or boss man, than I do at the moment.
It's more like I am taking 2 months off before joining the workforce, haha. I just graduated and need the mental break. This is routine:
Friday: Legs
Sat: Chest/Triceps
Sun: Shoulders
Monday: Light day (yoga stuff, or being active more than usual)
Tuesday: Bodycombat ( I need the light day before it, cuz its extremely a tough class and I need muscles to be NOT sore.
Wednesday:Back and Biceps.
Thursday: off.
I would usually alternate off days between monday/thur with cardio.
Yes do keep working on the chin ups & pull ups, well worth the effort, I'm currently working above own weight & loving them.Once you find your groove you will see more gains, keep in touch
That's awesome. How long did it take you to do 10 reps of chinups? I usually cheat a bit, where arms aren't extended fully, and give myself a slightly push from the floor and do them, I can do up to 8 on a good day. Although I can do ONE clean rep of chinups, ie arms fully extended. I have A LONG way to go before I can do pullups. Can hardly lift 35kgs of own weight with the assisted machine.
Re: One year later & legs not getting bigger
I did try RPM a number of times, but I find it extremely boring. Jut biking, adding resistance...there is no variety in it in the sense of movement, other than standing, sitting, add or reducing resistance. I do agree, it IS a killer for the leg, I just dont find myself enjoying it. If anything I would do it on biweekly basis, but I am worried doing 2 cardio sessions after each other (in days) will kill muscles. IF I do this...amatlack wrote:skully, ever tried spin (cycling) class? They do a number on legs and keep them TOO big for tastes, but I love spin so much that I just can't stop! If your gym is Les Mills, try an RPM class sometime.
Friday legs
sat chest/tri
sun shoulders
mon rpm
tues bodycombat
wed back/bi
thur off
Wouldn't that not allow muscles to recover?
Plus I choose those days, cuz those days are the ones available at a good time with good instructors. I wouldn't be able to handle doing RPM on Sun, cuz i now legs would still be sore from fridays workout!
Re: One year later & legs not getting bigger
thwy don't offer bodycombat on sats, plus there is NO way in hell i can do any cardio other than light after legs day. bodycombat means lots of kicking and jumping and lunges...thats why doing it tues when it is offered with also a good instructor, is best for me as legs recovered by then.
if id bike id rather do it the natural way, but thats imposible here.
if id bike id rather do it the natural way, but thats imposible here.
Re: One year later & legs not getting bigger
Awwwww! You 're doing great as well, too - so in the end, health is number 1 priority! the other stuff are just the icing on the cake or whatever they say =P, LOL.
Yeah, it is genes in this case, I'd have to say. I really just want quads and hamstring to pop out now, you know?
I might do RPM every other week & skip bodycombat, just to add a little variety in routine!
I agree, I am doing pretty well compared to before. Mentally, physically, emotionally even. It's been a slow process, but the fact it has been steady for this long means there is only more progress to come. Even if slow..and disspointing at times, THERE is progress
Yeah, it is genes in this case, I'd have to say. I really just want quads and hamstring to pop out now, you know?
I might do RPM every other week & skip bodycombat, just to add a little variety in routine!
I agree, I am doing pretty well compared to before. Mentally, physically, emotionally even. It's been a slow process, but the fact it has been steady for this long means there is only more progress to come. Even if slow..and disspointing at times, THERE is progress
Re: One year later & legs not getting bigger
Gosh I don't get notifications from this thread.Lets see I started chin ups end of February 2010 ...somewhere in journal is one & only 3 sets of 10..but I think the first set of ten was maybe done within 4 to 6 months, can't recall anymore.I personally would say that full range of motion is more important that multiple half done ones.Though there is a half range of motion training method, which I'm not really familiar with yet.Pull ups are hard, last instructor reminded me of how I came to do mine.I practiced " horizontal " pull ups THEN tried the regular ones..we had no assist machine where I was..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO1-zyqnn2c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
these are actually a lot harder than they look, keep your core tight, spine neutral.The easier they get, lower the bar closer to the ground.Good luck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO1-zyqnn2c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
these are actually a lot harder than they look, keep your core tight, spine neutral.The easier they get, lower the bar closer to the ground.Good luck