I have tried countless different lifting programs—exercises and volume/set configurations, and I still have rather skinny legs. The fact is: I will always have long, slender legs. I likely also have a much higher percentage of slow-twitch (ST) muscle fibers in my legs. (These don’t hypertrophy to the extent fast-twitch (FT) fibers do.) I suppose you can say I “didn’t pick my parents well” (in this area). I have accepted this.
I read the fitness articles—which all end up saying about the same, just packaged differently. I rarely learn anything new at this point. Essentially, they all say to squat and deadlift at some frequency and volume. The individual reality is that 1) there are responders and nonresponders to exercise, and 2) there are numerous factors that affect one’s work capacity and recoverability. So, the bottom line is: Are you getting stronger with the program you are doing? Tweak the program here and there and see what happens, but don’t mess too much with what is working. If you can tolerate some more work and recover (and adapt) for subsequent workouts do more (e.g., weights, sets, repetitions = volume). Lift with greater frequency, if that works well for you. (Those of us with more ST fibers may lift less but we recover faster.) Higher frequency is a great way to add (weekly) volume and maximize gains. The underlying concept is: “maximum adaptive volume”—i.e., the amount of training that, in any one unit of time, yields the greatest adaptive response1. For some of us, that adaptive response may not be as visible as it is for the next person. So what? There are other benefits to exercise—particularly lifting heavy weights. (Remember, “heavy” is a relative term.)
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!
1Mike Israetel and James Hoffmann, How Much Should I Train?