Been lurking for several months, thought I’d register and start posting. I’m a 27 year old male, 5’ 10", 170 lbs, body-fat approx. 15%. I’ve been a gymn member since 1996, but never went consistently or paid attention to nutrition until about a year go (yeah, I’m a little slow… :-). My goal is to reach 190 lbs at 12% body-fat, for starters.
I eat 2700 cal per day, with a 20/30/50 fat/carb/prot split. Supplements include Surge, whey protein, and creatine. Also using up some Ripped Fuel, taken about 1.5 hours before lifting.
Anyway, I have a question concerning leg training. I currently do the following routine:
Tue - Chest
Thu - Arms
Sat - Back
Sun - Shoulders
I train in Tae Kwon Do Mon, Wed, and Fri. My instructor, who also works as a personal trainer for some of our students - and looks it, too! - advised me not to do leg work at all, since our legs take a beating three times per week.
Do any of you agree or disagree? If I should add a leg routine, should I work heavy or light?
I disagree. I used to participate in ketsugo karate and play varsity basketball at the high school I attended a couple years ago, and I still worked my legs out. The only time I slacked off a little was if we had a ball tourney with many games over a couple days. And then I would just cut out a couple sets of stuff the next leg day. In my opinion you’re probably only getting cardio work on your legs right now, and as such you should work your legs in the weight room as well to get the effects of heavy weight training.
Just my 2cc. I would drop the arm w/o and sub in a leg day. No need to ignore the largest muscles. If you feel you still need to isolate the arms add a set or two on the other training days, no need to have a whole day dedicated to them. As for what type of training I would mix it up. Some heavy low rep, some high rep. as well as explosive/speed work and slower concentration work.
definitely do a leg workout. since you are in martial arts, i think it would be good to do as fast as possible reps with 60% rep max like the speed workout of west side. this way you will build up your power, strength, muscular endurance. Sprinters workout there legs and that is their primary muscle group when they run, why should you not. laters pk
1st of all your trainer is an ass. martial arts training and rock bottom squats are going to stimulate the legs in two totally different ways. yes, your legs may be fatigued from the MA but that doesnt mean you dont train with weights.
secondly your current program blows. check out some of the programs here and stick with one of them for a while.
your “trainer” says that you shouldnt train your legs four times per week. why are you training your arms four times per week?
you want to reach 190? Do lots of legs. If you reach 190 of pure upper body strength, you’ll be top heavy. You need balance in your martial arts and being top heavy will screw you over.
Also, get rid of the ripped fuel for 2 reasons.
you’re trying to get bigger and ripped fuel is for cutting.
creatine and caffeine are a bad combination. creatine hydrates the muscles and caffeine, a diuretic, dehydrates the muscles. the net result, little to no progress.
You could do a split like this.
day one-chest and back
day two-legs, abs
day three-off
day four-arms, shoulders
day five-off
there is no need to do four different workouts for arms, shoulders, chest, and back. this way you could get a leg workout in too
By that logic, most athletes shouldn’t train legs, either. It’ll help your performance as long as your program and nutrition are appropriate. I’d can the direct shoulder work.
Funny, I just trained with a TKD state champ yesterday, and picked his brain a little. He trains legs in addition to all of his cardio, agility/power, and actual TKD practice. Pretty crazy stuff…
