muscle recovery

**gonnagethuge** · 05-10-2012, 05:14 AM

Not sure if this is the correct section to post this in but i guess that it's a nutritional issue as much as anything else.

My problem is with DOMS, particularly with my quads. After training legs my quads take a long time to recover and i'm finding that when the time comes to train them again that they are still slightly sore. Is it a bad idea to train them in this condition?

I only go to the gym three days out of every 7 so i don't believe i overtrain them. I get doms in other bodyparts but quads are far and away the longest to recover.

I am eating on a calorie surplus using katch mcardle as a guide and finding that i am gaining some weight so i don't believe i'm underreating.

I eat 2g of protein per lb of lean body mass. Thia works out around 250-260g at the minute. Is it worthwhile increasing this to 2g per lb of total body mass? I hear a lot of theories that anything more than what i currently do is overkill , so i'm not too sure on what to do.

**Turkish Juicer** · 05-10-2012, 07:51 AM

Your problem is not diet related.

You need to stretch and do cardio for increasing the pace of recovery.

I could have just told you to buy Glutamine (''bro, I used to have the same problem but a magical Glutamine supplement has saved my life!'') but the truth is you must get involved in deep fascia stretch after an intense leg training and cardio the next day will definitely help with with this issue as there is no better way of circulating blood.

**gonnagethuge** · 05-10-2012, 08:28 AM

Thanks turkish,

What sort of quad stretches do you recommend will do the trick? I train a heavy 4-8 rep on squats (either front or back) then i reduce weight slightly and hammer out a rest paused 20rep set.

I do a bit of cardio, not much but some.

Also why might it be that it only really seems to be quads that suffer

**Turkish Juicer** · 05-10-2012, 08:46 AM

You are obviously hitting your quads harder than any other muscle, which is why the feel sore for the longest time period, as this is completely understandable.

Stretching in between sets, after workout and the next day will help the most. This does not mean, however, you should not stretch them in the following days, as you will benefit from daily stretching in between two quad training sessions.

Mild cardio, such as walking on a treadmill the next day for about 30-45 min will help a lot, as you will see this yourself. I would take it easy on the incline since you don't want to put further stress on your joints after an intense leg workout.

I will PM you a great link regarding quadricep stretch exercises in a moment since I can't share the link here as the boar rules wouldn't allow it.

**gonnagethuge** · 05-10-2012, 09:08 AM

Originally Posted by Turkish Juicer

You are obviously hitting your quads harder than any other muscle, which is why the feel sore for the longest time period, as this is completely understandable.

Stretching in between sets, after workout and the next day will help the most. This does not mean, however, you should not stretch them in the following days, as you will benefit from daily stretching in between two quad training sessions.

Mild cardio, such as walking on a treadmill the next day for about 30-45 min will help a lot, as you will see this yourself. I would take it easy on the incline since you don't want to put further stress on your joints after an intense leg workout.

I will PM you a great link regarding quadricep stretch exercises in a moment since I can't share the link here as the boar rules wouldn't allow it.

Thanks bro, i'll have a look at this and implementing it to see if things improve a bit. I hit both legs and back equally hard but legs for some reason seem to be sorer for longer. I quite enjoy the pain but when it comes to the folkoweing leg wirjout it's a but of a problem.

**gonnagethuge** · 05-10-2012, 09:09 AM

Excuse my terrible phone spelling lol

**gbrice75** · 05-10-2012, 09:11 AM

How often are you training legs? What is your detailed routine?

You know, you don't have to absolutely DESTROY your legs (or any muscle group) to promote growth. That's a huge misconception in this game. You need to do enough to stimulate growth; further damage doesn't promote further growth... only further damage and additional recovery time.

Originally Posted by gonnagethuge

Also why might it be that it only really seems to be quads that suffer

Either you're working them harder/more than other groups, or that's simply the way your body works. I work the SH!T out of my delts, and almost never get sore. It doesn't matter how intense, or how much volume, or even using an exercise I haven't touched in a year - no DOMS.

**gonnagethuge** · 05-10-2012, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by gbrice75

How often are you training legs? What is your detailed routine?

You know, you don't have to absolutely DESTROY your legs (or any muscle group) to promote growth. That's a huge misconception in this game. You need to do enough to stimulate growth; further damage doesn't promote further growth... only further damage and additional recovery time.

Either you're working them harder/more than other groups, or that's simply the way your body works. I work the SH!T out of my delts, and almost never get sore. It doesn't matter how intense, or how much volume, or even using an exercise I haven't touched in a year - no DOMS.

Thanks GB,

I train legs three times over every 2 weeks. I use only one exercise each leg session so front squat one day, leg press the next, back squat the next rotate. I use the strategy outlined above. One thing to note is that i haven't been doing this long however since starting it i've seen considerable amount of growth in my quads and a really good strength increase compared to what i was seeing previously.

**gonnagethuge** · 05-10-2012, 09:40 AM

Effectively a typical quad session will be.

Front squats.

132X12 warm up

176x6 warm up

198X 6-8

154X20

**Times Roman** · 05-10-2012, 11:58 AM

Being an old bull, I'm probably the only one that spends as much time warming up as I do. But i go home tired and the next day, pleasantly sore. nothing uncomfortable.

for example, here is what i do on leg press

keep in mind i'm two months recovering from knee surgery, so i warm up legs even more so

350lbs - warm up with 5 reps
450 - 5 reps
550 - 5 reps
650 - failure (8 reps last time with FULL range of motion)
550 - failure (about 11 reps at FRM)
450 - failure (about 16 reps at FRM)

so i begin my warm up on a stationary, just to get the blood flowing a little and the lungs working. then the incline sets for warm up, just to make sure nothing feels wrong, i progressively add weght until the peak, and if all feels good, I go to failure. then the remaining sets are drop til failure.

the other thing I'd like to add is this full range of motion thing. I see alot of guys going for the heavy weight, and then only doing half presses, which doesn't give them full benefit. If you are not getting full range of motioin from your rep, then get real, drop the weight until you can. much better to get FRM at a lower weight than to hit a certain number and do a shitty routine.