can someone give me a training routine for bulding leg muscles please

Hello, I'm female 5'8 140.  I had knee surgery 7 months ago which caused the muscle in that leg to atrophy and i was honestly depressed about the whole situation and not working out for the past 7 months.  This week I started in the gym.  I've gone daily and I do about three reps of 12-15 on all of the weight machines intended for the legs, I set the weights at whatever level burns after a few pumps and I also do 15-20 minuts on the bike or climber.  I'm not able to do free range squats and lunges because my knee hurts but I am fine on all of the weight machines.  I would really like to build the muscle back up in that leg and also have toned legs in general.  Can anyone give me a routine that i can follow which will help including any suppliments or foods I should be eating and when?  Should I go everyday?  I want to do whatever possible to build my muscles.  Thanks!

Well for one, post knee reconstruction surgery, avoid leg extensions.

I'd recommend to start with anyway, some really light leg presses and leg curls for a few weeks, then start some free-weight Squats.

Hope that helps.

As for food, plenty of fruits and veges.
As for supplements, fish oils. :)

For off days from training, just go for a walk, or a very light intensity jog just to keep your heart rate up and your body conditioned.

Hi, thanks im going to try the fish oil.  It's been 7 months since my surgery so I am able to do all of the leg weight machines okay.  I really would like a routine  that will build the muscles in my legs and also to know if I am doing things correctly now by doing three sets of 12 reps on every leg machine in the gym daily.  Im reading conflicting things.  Some say to go every other day and some tell me to go everyday.  I also want to know the best vitamind and suppliments and also diet for building muscle?  Thanks! 

Aslo Im trying to keep a photo journal so here is the first picture from last week before I was exersizing and  the second picture is after a week of doing weights daily at the gym.  Does anyone see a difference or am I just hoping??  As u can see my left muscle deflated and i hope that I can bring it back.  I would love any advice on how to do this.  thanks!  Honestly I cannot do free weight squats because it hurts but I am okay on the machines and I hope that is good enough. 

Attached Image(s)

If there's pain, don't do it.

Your body will get conditioned to that point but until then let's stick to machines. :)

You're bound to find conflicting evidence and while uprising in my PT career I've found that as well, until I began siting references and began to judge credibility easier.
Anyway,

Food

Carb source - fruits and veges (have vitamin as well as carbs)
Protein source - meat, dairy, eggs, make sure it's not bad quality protein like bacon/ham.
Fat source - nuts, olive oil, avocado (fats are also in meats and eggs, animal fats are good for you, don't believe all that crap about cholestrol)

Supplements

- Fish oils!
- A multi-vitamin/mineral supplement to get all your body's required goods to keep you strong and healthy, I recommend the ones at GNC, they have everything.
- Whey protein: Don't need a fancy one, just something that'll get the job done, and personally I believe the less ingredients the better. And don't get soy protein isolate, I've read a lot of nasty studies about the effects of over-exposure to soy.

Routine and Frequency

Leg Presses, 5x10?
Leg Curls, 3x10?

Adjust the above to whatever you think you're personally able to do.
Like I said, don't go too intense on the sets, don't go to failure, and don't up the weight too much.
"Stimulate, don't annihilate."

After 4-8 weeks, up to you, start trying to add in a set or two of free-weight Squats with just your body, and your arms up in the air - maybe look at a few vids on form as well before you start that.

As for frequency, go to the gym 3 days a week - Remember, your rest days are very important!
On those rest days however, feel free to go for a walk or a very light jog just keep yourself conditioned but agian, don't go too hard.

Most important of all: Don't forget to workout the rest of your body! Muscular imbalance can be a big issue, if you focus on only one part of your body you're not gonna make progress on it because every supporting muscle isn't conditioned or as functional - and ya know what else? The body is like a chain, dominoes if you will, when one part of your body goes iffy then the rest of the body follows. So don't forget to train your upper body as well.

I recommend a full-body routine;
Alongside starting out with the leg presses and leg curls, throw in some Machine Chest Presses and some Seated Rowing (make sure you get the form on Seated Rowers right though, sit upright, good posture).

If you follow all these guidelines then I assure that you will see progress within the coming weeks/months. Stay optimistic. :)

You're lucky I'm bored. lol
I think I covered everything.

Have a great day.

Full range squats are much safer (and more effective) then the machines.   Just make sure to use a weight that you can handle, and always do them with perfect form.

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

Journal: http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=117358

Brihead, my ****ing God.
She has had knee reconstruction surgery, flexion and extension is painful. Use your head. ****.

Don't do squats until your knee can handle your bodyweight and the pressure of the exercise.

Sorry about the bluntness of that post, I have not been having a very good christmas. Brihead, you know I love you.
Peace.

You have purty legs

V,
    You're the Clipart Photoshop GOD!

 

what kind of pain are you having when doing lunges/ squats? where does it occur during the movement? close to parallel? the whole thing?

I find it weird you can isolate the knee joint with machines and feel no pain but the squats give you trouble.

have you tried rehab stretching exercises?

6'3"  @213

Squat 1x20x275

press:200, Deadlift:475, Bench:300, P.clean:235, Squat:385

"The only failure that is final is to stop trying to improve"

Hi Wyrms,
 
God bless you!  God bless you!  God bless you!  Thank you for taking the time to share this information and you're right leg extentions have been painful for me.  Everything you have mentioned doing makes perfect sense!  I can't wait to try this routine!  Honestly, I have beeng getting frustrated with my own physical therapists and gave up on going recently because I felt that I was not being given enough information.
 
Thanks so much!
 
 
 
 

Hi NmOney34,
 
Thanks for your response!  I know it does seem strange to me too.  I think that it hurts because it's more unstable meaning that my knee wobbles more when doing the free lunges and squats.  Also I can't do anything at more than a 90 degree angle without pain.  Thanks for the stretching tip!  I will try that.  I have tried rehab and honestly I think that it only helped in the beginning of my surgery to get me back on  my feet but after that the only time I have really been feeling stronger and better so far has been this last 2 weeks that I decided to go the the gym and try the weight machines.  I  hope that strengthening my muscles will help. 

Also NmOney34 your legs look amazing!  I wish to have a womans smaller version of muscles like that one day but I'm doubting it!  If you could share your routine that would be interesting!  Thanks.

Well, if what your doing is helping then certainly dont stop. I seperated my shoulder and all though not what happened to you, rehab stretching and hitting the gym with some rehab exercises really helped me.

I would make sure to stretch your muscles (especially surrounding muscles, aka hammys, quads, calves) 3+ times a day and look for some rehab knee stretching/movements to do through out the day along with your time in the gym. Simple things you can do at work or at home.

Like wyrms said I would keep the weight light, try to avoid going to failure. Dont be afraid to test the waters though, if you can do it, then go for it. And obviously if you feel any on comming pain, stop immediately. Im sure you are wrapping your knee also or wearing a brace, if not it will help with stabaility until you can better recover. You can eventually work your way back up to body weight squats and then normal squats, and those should really help strengthin your knee.

Thanks for the kind words btw. You have some nice legs yourself for a woman so I wouldnt knock em. Im currently on the Texas method, and squat 3 days a week. Other then squats only other thing that hits my legs are deadlifts and power cleans.

good luck!

iwillsurvive


Hi NmOney34,
 
Thanks for your response!  I know it does seem strange to me too.  I think that it hurts because it's more unstable meaning that my knee wobbles more when doing the free lunges and squats.  Also I can't do anything at more than a 90 degree angle without pain.  Thanks for the stretching tip!  I will try that.  I have tried rehab and honestly I think that it only helped in the beginning of my surgery to get me back on  my feet but after that the only time I have really been feeling stronger and better so far has been this last 2 weeks that I decided to go the the gym and try the weight machines.  I  hope that strengthening my muscles will help. 

6'3"  @213

Squat 1x20x275

press:200, Deadlift:475, Bench:300, P.clean:235, Squat:385

"The only failure that is final is to stop trying to improve"

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner but you are very welcome. :)
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

+ I agree with everything Nmoney said. Btw, kudos on the rehab stretches idea. I encourage it.

You weren't assigned physical therapy post surgery?

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