Since the dawn of time, when caveman powerlifters were seeing who could pick up the biggest rock, people have always trained quadriceps with hamstrings. It just seems automatic. Get the legs done on the same day so you can devote the remainder of your week to training those body parts which actually matter, like arms, back, and chest. Besides, who could possibly train hamstrings when the quads were still sore? For most of bodybuilding’s brief recorded history, hamstring and quadriceps training has been lumped together.

Sometimes, however, training like this just isn’t enough. Sometimes, perhaps as a result of this tendency to limit leg stimulation to once per week, the legs lag to a point where they are halting overall physique development. When your legs reach this point, it’s time to change the traditional leg muscle split, and instead move to a routine which focuses more resources into leg training and recovery. Here is such a routine.

Day 1 – Quadriceps, calves

Day 2 – Chest & Triceps

Day 3 – Rest

Day 4 – Hamstrings, calves

Day 5 – Back & Biceps

Day 6 – Shoulders

Day 7 – Rest

This is a very productive routine for focusing resources into leg recovery and training. Initially, you will be tackling your quadriceps when you are at your freshest, at the start of the week, following a rest day. Day 2 will involve training chest and triceps, followed by another day of rest. Day 4 requires you to scorch the hamstrings. You then complete the week with back, biceps, shoulders, and another day of rest.

This type of training requires that you limit the total amount of cardio you can use. Your legs are being stimulated to their fullest twice each week, which will require at least 48 hours of recovery for the lower body each time. Requiring those same legs to face intense cardio during the week will limit your growth. Besides, any time you are working to make gains in terms of leg size, you’ll want to limit the cardio if you wish to grow.

You’ll also notice that this training protocol requires the bodybuilder to train back and biceps on the same day, and chest and triceps on the same day. For some bodybuilders, this can be a problem. However, since the emphasis of this program is to take the focus away from the upper body, you should make the change and deal with the consequences. Your arms might lose a bit of attention, but if you can add several inches of mass to your legs, it’ll be well worth it!

A requirement of this training is that you use a lot of sets on quadriceps and hamstrings days. A minimum of twelve sets should be used, with a number around 20 being preferable. After all, the point of this training system is to dedicate the most possible training to the individual parts of the legs. Keeping your workload the same won’t do that – but bumping up the intensity and number of sets will. Go for it!

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