As a beginner, I can’t really make the case for having 2 distinctly different leg sessions per week.
As an intermediate or advanced lifter I definitely can.
As with most things, beginners are best sticking to the basics – a Squat or Squat Variation, and a Deadlift or a Deadlift variation.
Depending on a bunch of individual factors, most males can realistically run their Squat up to 225+ and their Deadlift to 315+ in the first year of training with good coaching and programming.
Notice I said most and not all. So please don’t email and inform me as to why you cannot achieve these numbers. I know there are exceptions and so I’m not talking to you.
Most females can likely get to between 135-185 lbs on their Squat and 185-225 on their Deadlifts within the first year.
Again, yes I know some cannot and some can do much more. These numbers are very rough.
Point being…..get a good baseline of strength in a couple of comprehensive basics before you add to the workload.
Once some basic functional strength has been established, my next step is to align the next phase of training with the client’s goals.
If they are a physique-oriented athlete then usually the intermediate phase of training is a basic upper/lower split with two lower body days per week.
Lower body work is generally pretty evenly distributed between quads and hams/glutes….as up to this point, it’s likely that neither are really well developed.
My usual lower-body physique template looks something like this:
Squat or Squat Variant
Deadlift or Deadlift Variant
Quad-focus movement
Knee Flexion movement
Calves
Abs
An actual week of training might look like this:
Monday:
Back Squats
Romanian Deadlift
Leg Press
Seated Leg Curls
Standing Calf Raise
Decline Sit Ups
Thursday:
Conventional Deadlifts
Hack Squats
Lying Leg Curls
Leg Extensions
Seated Calf Raise
Hanging Leg Raises
This is an example set up straight out of my 4-Day Upper / Lower Hypertrophy program. (This is my recommended program for intermediate physique-oriented trainees).
However, what happens over time is that the demands of a comprehensive leg day are simply too much drain on both time, recovery, and energy.
It’s also difficult for someone to train hard enough to bring up a lagging body part in this split.
So as someone advances in strength and ability it’s both necessary and normal to split things up more and more.
This is pretty common with the upper body.
It’s exceedingly rare to see an actual competitive bodybuilder – enhanced or natural – train the entire upper body in a given session.
It’s just not possible to dedicate enough time, energy, and effort into every single body part in a full upper session.
So athletes split things up into “Push-Pull” or Chest Days, Back Days, Arm Days, etc.
This is done for a reason.
It’s becoming more common to also see athletes splitting up Hams and Quads for the same set of reasons.
It is nearly impossible to full isolate your hamstrings from your quads in a workout and you should not try to do so.
Sessions are “Hamstring Focus” or “Quad Focus” – but really never “Hamstring/Quad ONLY.”
In my KSC Method for Power-Building Program the Hamstring and Quad focus days look like this:
Tuesday: Deadlifts + Hamstrings
Conventional Deadlifts
Hip Extension exercise (RDL, 45 degree ext, etc)
Leg Curls or Glute Ham Raise
Seated Calves
Decline Sit Ups
Saturday: Squats + Quads
Back Squats
Hack Squats or Leg Press
Leg Extensions
Standing Calves
Hanging Leg Raises
So it actually really is a simple progression:
Novice: Squats / Deadlifts (or their variants) 2-3x per week
Intermediate: 2 full lower body sessions per week
Advanced: 1 Quad dominant, 1 Hamstring dominant session per week.
I really can’t think of a scenario where a physique-athlete would need something more or different than that basic progression.
Andy
2 Full Lower Body Sessions Per Week, Use this:
The Baker Barbell Upper / Lower Hypertrophy – Andy Baker
1 Quad dominant, 1 Hamstring dominant session per week, Use this:
The KSC Method for Power Building – Andy Baker
