My Legs From Leg Pressing Only!

[ergo]

I herniated 3 disk over ten years ago. Broke my left knee in 2 places 3 years ago. Plus I am 45 years old. You can build great leg's from leg pressing. Muscle only responds to stress created. Muscle does not know what exercise your doing. It takes me 1 hour to an 1.5 hours to train quads. 20-30 minutes warm up (leg press). then 5-8 working sets leg pressing once a week. My stats. 6'0", 220lb, body fat, well really low. An example of my workout for quad's would be, warm up 1 plate per side 20 rep per set increasing 1 plate each set. 8 plates 30-40 reps, 9 plates 20-30, 10 plates 17-25, 11 pltes sets of 12-15. Back down to 8 plate 2 sets of 20. There are different variance's to my workout this is just one example were I choose to use 8 plates a side for my first set. A may choose 9 plates a side for my first set, in this case 8 would be in the warm up range and my rep range at 9 plus plates would be extended probably in the 4-8 range per set. I may choose 7 plates as my first set and try to push for 50 reps! then 8 for 20-30 and so forth on. Either way the intensity level of this training forces quad development. Oh and I'm a classic ectomorph. My nutrition and supplementation are spot on.

[Big]

excellent work, very informative. and on the body fat, I'd say "really low" is accurate, looks very very low indeed.
How about some upper body pics?

[Kale]

Wow nice work dude.. To me there is no difference between leg press and squats mechanically except for me at 52 is a necessity

[ergo]

Due to my back injury and diagnosed tendonitis in both knees, I start my quadriceps training with the back pad of the leg press machine upright in the 90-degree position. This allows me to keep my back perfectly flat, and I can generate the most power from this angle. My feet are placed high and wide. I consider this to be my power position (“power stance”), utilizing not only my quadriceps but also my hamstrings, glutes and adductor muscles. I’m not trying to directly stress any particular area of the quadriceps. I want total area development. Remember, though, that leg pressing is primarily considered a quadriceps movement. I allow my knees to track outward toward my armpits when he weight is descending, while I keep my back flat against the pad. I want heavy weight and higher reps, the number of which decreases with weight increase, never going below 12 reps. For my last 2-3 sets, I place my feet lower and closer together on the platform. Doing so increases the difficulty of the exercise, so I adjust the weight downward, to be able to attain my desired rep range, usually 15-20 reps per set. Muscle responds to stress created, not sheer poundage. When the weight is decreased from 900 pounds to 700 pounds, it doesn’t mean that the exercise just got easier. My range of motion will be less with my feet closer and lower than when I am in my “ power stance.” I do not let my knees track over my feet. If you’re watching, it will appear to you that I’m doing a legal press. Hopefully this might help Mac173 to avoid his tendon pain. Understand that even though my training is adapted to my injuries, my legs have never looked better. One exercise, maximum effort, then rest for a week. An example of one of my workouts: On leg day, I think about the workout all day. I know that this bodybuilding day is going to be more painful and more hazardous to my gym longevity then any other workout day. From the time that I slide into that leg press until the last set, I become an aggressive animal, not willing to accept failure and believing that on this day I will set a personal best. For example, recently the first set that I was willing to count was 8 plates on each side for 37 reps. When I was done with the set, with my heart rate 150+, and my hands cramped from holding on to the ass pad of the machine to keep myself locked in nice and tight, I was Fu@#king pissed that I pussed out and did not go for 40, after coming so close! Then I did 9 plates for 25, 10 plates for 20, 11 and a nickel – 1000 lbs. even – for 2 sets of 12. Back down to 8 plates, feet lower, for 2 sets of 20 reps. Totals: 7 sets, 146 repetitions, not counting warm-ups, 3 to 5 minutes of rest between working (post-warm-up) sets; workout time 1 to 1.5 hours. When done, I thank God that I do not have to do that again for 7 days. This is an actual workout performed within the last six weeks. One exercise, maximum effort, then allow the quads to rest and repair for days. I usually alternate a heavy leg press workout, such as above, in one week, with a slightly lighter one the next week. The alternating one relies heavily on rest-pause technique. An example of a rest-pause workout: feet high and wide (power stance), eight plates per side after thoroughly warming up, five sets, each 15-20 reps, a slow, controlled negative, full range of motion, pause in the hole, a complete stop then drive it out, and repeat for each rep. I find that this alternation of weight-generated stress on the muscle with explosive (rest-pause-drive) stress on the quads stimulates growth and the development of more strength and endurance for the heavy workouts. I use this technique for other muscle groups, as well. I have done the same for clients whom I have trained, and it works very well. However, I am not an advocate of high-rep training for the upper body.
Calf and hamstring are worked separately, and seldom on quad day. Yes, I have competed many times in the past. I am a hard gainer who has learned through trial and error what is best for me. I also would emphasize that the weights and reps that I mention above are effective for me, but the principles will work for anyone! It is crucial not to get hung up with the ideas that a certain amount of weight promotes growth for anyone, and that a lesser amount is not effective. Strength depends on the individual. You may use three plates instead of eight, and generate the stress required to promote growth for you, at a particular stage in your development. It is the method, not the poundage, that matters. For example, you will get more benefit if you are able to warm up, then do three plates for forty, four plates for thirty, five plates for twenty, and six plates for two or three sets of 12 to 15, drop the weight to four or five plates, and finish with two sets of twenty, than if you do eight plates for five or more sets of 6 to 8 reps. I have trained with partners who insisted upon matching my weight levels, believing that otherwise they were not lifting heavy enough. In fact, unless they were at the same strength level as I was, they ended up (1) sacrificing form for poundage, (2) failing to reach their desired rep ranges, or (3) injuring themselves. Once again, the body only knows stress on the muscles, not how many pounds you put on the leg press machine. Your muscles can’t read the pound numbers on the plates. By the way, I do no cardio, and get shredded using only intense lifting, which elevates my metabolism, and strict dieting for at least 12 weeks pre-contest, with 6 to 8 meals per day, also raising my metabolism, and manipulation of only carb intake for fat loss.

[InsaneInTheMembrane]

You are a great inspiration to those who have suffered any form of injury and think they're out of the running for good. Perseverance is the name of this game, and you have that in spades.... Good on you mate! Cheers

[Misery13]

awesome wheels.