I have recently switched to doing a full body workout on Monday, Wed, and Friday. The lifts those days are being altered here and there based on things I have seen on this site and is far from perfect. As of now there is basically 1 main Leg exercise on each of those days. Usually a variation of BB Squat, Lunges, DL, Leg Press etc.. (As I said my details are not cleaned up yet, and I will likely be posting another thread about that after I review some of the full body workouts in the sticky in more detail).

My question is, If I am working out my legs M,W,F, is it ok to run or use the elipitical on off days? I know I shold give my legs 48 hrs rest, but is that mainly said for actual heavy lifting as opposed to cardio?

As I said I am just trying to refine a new routine and I am trying to map out a general plan for lifting and cardio.

Not sure if it matters for this general question but I am 26 years old, 5'10" about 180 lbs, body fat=?. My goals are to build more strength, not bulk up like a body builder, but get some better shape to my muscles and some functional strength. Probably loose around 10-15 lbs maybe?

My main question is on the possibility of overtraining legs, I will have another post about my lifting routine later on for some advise/tweaks. Thanks for the help!

Since you said you were still working on a program, I won't go too much into it, but get rid of the leg press. Squat, DL, Lunge. That's all you need for now.

As far as overdoing it, that's going to be an individual thing. It depends on how you react. If you think it's hurting you or making you lift less, than just stop the cardio or lower the intensity. Another way around this if you want to keep it in is do the cardio after you workout and leave the rest days for complete rest.

Since you are new to this, you can probably experience muscle gains and fat loss simultaneously. However, don't get used to it, at least not in a quickly changing way. It will work to begin, but after a while you're going to have to focus on fat loss or muscle gain. In general, you need to eat at a deficit to lose fat and a surplus to gain muscle. For obvious reasons, it's very hard to do both at once.

It all depends on intensity and volume. How many reps and sets per leg exercise?

Ride-On:
Thanks. As of now it FEELS fine, so I guess I'll continue. I can not leave those days for complete rest only because I workout 12:00-1:00 on weekdays on my lunch break, so in reality, I only have about 45-50 actual mins. I can usually get in 5-6 different lifts (sometimes alternating every other set between 2 exercises) but there is no time for cardio. My nights are pretty busy, so I can run here and there, but I don't want to make that part of "the plan" just because it can change frequently. Setting Tues/Thus lunches as cardio will make sure I get a MINIMUM of 2 days.

I am not really new to lifting in general, just new to taking it more seriously with a set plan. I have been lifting steadily for years, with no real end goals, and a a lazy amount of cardio sprinkled here and there. So Im not expecting huge results asap, nor will I get frustrated quickly. Just Keeping track of an actual plan is a step-up for now, lol. Thanks for the advise, It doesn't feel like Im overtraining, it feels good, I just figured Id check on here (from a technically correct stand point) in case I was unknowingly counter-acting my lifts by overworking.

Kinzo242:
As of now it's pretty much only 1 leg exercise each day. a light warmup set to loosen up then typically around 3 sets of 10 for now. I may be changing that depending how I feel, and when adding more weight (..and what I read on here). So, its not like I'm blasting my legs with a few lifts each time. My legs do feel a little shaky after (the good kind of shaky) but at the same time I am able to get out of bed the next the morning without grunting about how sore they are. Because of the somewhat lower intensity on leg lifts, I assumed the cardio would be ok...but you know what happens when you ass.u.me...

I'm failing to see why you can't leave those days for complete rest if you need to?

Also this "just new to taking it more seriously with a set plan. I have been lifting steadily for years, with no real end goals, and a a lazy amount of cardio sprinkled here and there" is almost the same thing as being completely new. Just keep that in mind when you think you can design your own routine and what not.

I can, but then there is no cardio. Like I said, Its hit or miss in my evenings to run/jump rope/elipitical (ie:home based cardio I have access to at strange hours) but my 12:00-1:00 slot is guarenteed open everyday. By getting a more serious plan I want to avoid "cardio if theres time" and know that at least Tues and Thurs are guarenteed... unless thats considered counterproductive whcih is why I'm asking.

I know what your saying. My sloppy plan with no set goals has been going on since I graduated college in 2006. This is because the 8-9 years prior, all my workouts have been with strength and conditioning coaches and were all specific to sports. Football had me doing alot of olympic lifits and power lifts. And then my S&C coach in college (College lacrosse, too small for football at the collegiate level) had slightly different routines more tailored to Lax. After graduating I continued doing workouts from college athletics. This was good if I was tackling or hitting people, but was really unnecessary for my current life and left me a little more bulky. So Im trying to cut up a little and get into a more well rounded routine.

I'm not really "making" a routine on my own, I am using some of the sticky threads as a base and making it work with my time schedule as best I can.

Well if you have 8-9 years experience with Oly lifts, than you're right, that's not a beginner

A serious plan does not NEED to include cardio. IMO, it's good just for cardiovascular health. But then again, if you're lifting regularly, that's a big help also. Intensity will depend on whether or not you're strengthening the heart muscles or increasing the volume, both of which are good things but achieved differently. That's beyond the scope of this conversation though.

Bottom line is that training specifically depends on your goals, and since yours right now is to build muscle, weight training needs to come first. Add cardio if you want, but not if it's causing you to lose rest or perform worse in your lifts.

The running may or may not be counterproductive, depending on what type of running it is, when you do it, and how long you do it for. What are you planning on doing?

As much as people quit lifting in this world and end up sitting on the couch, Im not going to tell the OP to quit anything. Just workout hard, eat well, sleep well and if you are up to it....DO you cardio as often as you want.

So many people start and stop with fitness that I hate to confuse anyone or tell them to do this and not that. Just encourage them..jmho...