Legs can also be incredibly stubborn when it comes to muscle development. Especially for taller lifters.
Studies are quite conclusive when it comes to range of motion and muscle growth. The great- er the range of motion within a rep (within safe mobility of the individual and within reason) the more muscle fibers are activated and the more muscle you build. Stopping reps short or training with reps that are not within your full potential rob you of muscle growth. A half squat or a half lunge won't build nearly as much muscle as full reps will and bodybuilder coaches and experienced trainers know this through experience.
RECOVERY DOES NOT EQUAL ADAPTATION.
if you think that recovery from damage equals muscle growth you would be terribly mistaken.
adaptation is where you are likely at now and it’s a trap” ADAPT to your training by improving. This is what adaptation is. Recovery on the other hand is simply healing…big differ- ence. Breaking muscle down and recovering without adapta- tion is where you are likely at now and it’s a trap. In fact it’s so common I coined the term “muscle breakdown/recovery trap.” Although recovery and adaptation can and do occur many times simultaneously (which is why people get them confused) they aren’t the same thing.
Studies show that the actual muscle building adaptation process starts to happen right after your workout and it PEAKS at 48-72 hours after exercise only to decline sharply right after. In fact in as little as 4 days that muscle building signal is RECOVERY DOES NOT EQUAL ADAPTATION. This is key.
What you are after is adaptation…you want your body to try to gone EVEN IF YOU ARE STILL SORE.
How do we remedy this? By increasing the FREQUENCY of training.
The way to increase frequency is to simply DIVIDE your total volume by three and to triple the frequency of training. In other words instead of doing 15 sets of leg exercises once a week do 5 sets of leg exercises three days a week. Same total volume with triple the frequency which means you can get that adaptation signal to peak right before it drops keeping your legs in the muscle building zone all week long.
NO EXERCISE will pack on total muscle on your legs like good old-fashioned barbell squats.