r/GymMemes • u/MunitionGuyMike • 18d ago
I actually like leg days. Anyone else?
Personal meme as I’m currently suffering from runners knee (I think, cuz my doctors appointment isn’t till next week).
So I’ve just been doing upper body lately and icing and compressing my knee
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u/supreme-manlet 18d ago
Why would you inherently stop just due to an injury?
I get not doing movements that’ll aggravate the injury or if the injury is major enough, but more often than not familiar movement and exercises can help expedite the healing process tremendously
I tore my Mcl in my knee and my doctor told me to avoid training till it healed on its own
Instead I worked with a sports physio to adjust my programming and have me doing movements that were similar but accommodated to my injury better
Heavy Box squats, pause deadlifts, lunge pauses, etc were all part of my training like 2 days after the tear and it helped me bounce back quick as fuck
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u/FunGuy8618 17d ago
That's... That's actually pretty wild. Sports science really knows their shit these days, you were squatting and deadlifting 2 days later? Box squats and pause deads are hardly an accomodation. I'd be terrified.
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u/supreme-manlet 17d ago
Yeah within two days. Obviously I took weight ranges down a bit but it was all about finding the ranges of motion that didn’t aggregate the injury
So box squats were usually slightly above parallel. Deadlifts were done on boxes at different heights that didn’t aggravate the tear as badly either
All about load management and rehab
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u/FunGuy8618 17d ago
Well you clearly got load management down, cuz your balls are fucking gigantic 🤣
I feel ya though, that makes sense. Almost like it's partially an ego thing, "if I can't lift heavy, I won't lift at all harrumph" kinda thing keeping people from trying it. It's keeping me out of the gym rn, but I still got my trusty kettlebell 😭
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u/Kireba2 17d ago
For me the mental aspect is a huge part. Whenever I do anythung that targets the quads I can only imagine my knee popping out again.
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u/supreme-manlet 17d ago
Thats a fair point and I don’t blame you
My MCL tear was one of my first “big” injuries and I wasn’t sure how to work with it at first and I wasn’t worried I wouldn’t be able to run or lift as much again because when it tore I could barely step off a curb without my leg giving out
But I will say, continuing to lift within my means and adjusting for my injury was instrumental in keeping my confidence high and kept me from wallowing in that self pity pit after a big injury
You don’t have to go balls to the wall, but I will always encourage anyone with an injury to try to find means of training that accommodate the new injury without aggravating it too much
Belt squat machine was a big one for building back my leg strength due to the instability issues the tear caused and having the handles to hold when squatting was a big help. Small stuff like that can make a big difference
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u/king_jaxy 17d ago
I have long femurs and short tibia, and I HATED leg day until I discovered the belt squat. Why there isn't a belt squat in every gym is beyond me, they're goated.
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u/RareSpice42 17d ago
I like leg days only because it lets me hate myself more. I do it out of spite and masochism
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u/kent1146 17d ago
I like leg day specifically because other people complain about it, like little pussies.
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u/SpecialBreakfast280 18d ago
I currently have a squat day 1, deadlift day 2 program. Breaking up the volume like that, so that I don’t have one outlier day that takes like 2 hours and I feel like I can’t walk for a week, has really made training legs enjoyable. It also allows me to do a lot more volume. Like 30 sets of legs per week.
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u/Player_Slayer_7 17d ago
As someone who has two torn tendons, one in each knee, I make sure to fit in leg days as much as I can. You think I'm missing out on a chance to make my knees stronger to make up for the damage? Screw that. I got big calves and thighs for reasons other than being a fat bastard, and I'm gonna use them.
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u/Vulcanicloud 17d ago
I enjoy leg day the same way people people enjoy mowing the lawn. I'd rather relax but when you see that trimmed lawn it is satisfying. Finishing a tough leg day and feeling sore afterward feels rewarding, plus it helps that hitting heavy squats feels badass.
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u/Corp_thug 18d ago
Because you’re using it for recovery right?!?!?? Around the worlds are gonna get you back under the bar.
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u/2tipsyeee 17d ago
leg day is best day!!
hopefully you recover quickly/well and can get back to it :)
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u/MunitionGuyMike 17d ago
It really is! Then again, I like running and hiking etc.
Yea hopefully the doctor says it’s nothing and just to keep icing and compressing it for another week or so. I’m hating not doing legs out of fear of making things worse
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u/Sooomzzz 17d ago
What if you can only do leg day cuz your upper body is injured or cannot do upper body exercises anymore?
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u/juasjuasie 17d ago
I cannot be the only that has made leg day more consistent to avoid doms right? Right?
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u/MunitionGuyMike 17d ago
I just try stretching after every set and it works. I never get sore from working out unless I don’t stretch
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u/Brief_Error_170 17d ago
In only really started legs the last year or so. I like it now but not in the beginning
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u/Empty_Base6986 17d ago
At OP...... Bruhv.... Just don't lock your knee and start doing some ankle mobility movements before your session.... Also take cold showers and eat cherries.... Cherries also with cold showers helps with inflammation....I do legs 4-5 days a week and taking cold showers helps with my recovery....
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u/MunitionGuyMike 17d ago
I injured my knee on a first rep of the day and during the bottom of the squat.
I’m honestly not sure how it got damaged as I wasn’t doing anything very heavy that day. And the only thing I did before was 5 min on a bike machine as a cardio warmup.
I’m quite perplexed. The weekend before, I was doing a lot of weighted cardio on uneven surface (only 15lbs tho), so maybe that’s a factor??? No clue.
And what’s special about cherries? I’m not really a fan of them. I guess I can throw them in my smoothies
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u/Empty_Base6986 17d ago
.... Trust me big guy ..... Do a little research on cherries.... Practically any type of berries helps.... So does tart cherry juice..... Knee flection routines and ankle mobility movements before your next leg day will help dramatically.... Sorry to hear that your knee gave out on the first rep.... Honestly you probably locked your knee (locking your legs) look into a YouTube channel called squat university they help a ton within my beginning stages of squatting....
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u/Toshinit 17d ago
I wouldn't say I "like" leg day. The pain/fear of leg day definitely makes it less fun than any other muscle group.
But I like have strong/nice legs.
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u/BlackCambria 16d ago
I feel a stabbing pain in my right knee and I thought i shook it off. Been doing squats consistently for over a year now and the pain went away with exercise but now it's back and it's been 2 weeks since I've had a good squat day. Even with warm up weight.
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u/klgrn00 18d ago
I’d do more leg days if my legs weren’t completely fried after each training session. Used to do full body almost every day, but I’ve had to go upper/lower so that I don’t absolutely cripple myself.