Should You Train Quads And Hamstrings On The Same Day?
Table of Contents
Introduction
This article will aim to unpack this fully, I will cover all the key points pertaining to this. I hope that you enjoy reading this article.
Should You Train Quads And Hamstrings On The Same Day?
Squats and squatting variations will engage both the hamstrings and quads to varying degrees. So if you are including a squat on leg day, you are effectively working both.
I personally do train both quads and hamstrings on the same day with the isolation work as well. However, I choose to do quad and hamstring isolation work together on one day only.
If you can’t recover well from squats, hamstring isolation and quad isolation work on the same day, then you should do the individual isolation work on separate days.
What Stage Of Training Are You?
If you are an advanced bodybuilder or compete in bodybuilding seriously, it may make a lot more sense for you to split the two body parts up in your training. At that level bodybuilders impose a lot of demand in their training on each muscle group.
To hit both the quads and hamstrings with sufficient intensity and focus, it would make sense to have a separate day for each in your workout program.
In my case, I do hamstring and quad exercises in the same workout once a week. The other day where I incorporate leg work in my routine, I mainly focus on the compound movements only for legs.
This ensures that I can recover easily from my leg training workouts. If you hit quads and hamstring isolation work twice a week and hit both muscle groups in the same session, it can prove a lot more difficult to recover from.
Compound Exercises That Hit The Quads And Hamstrings
The biggest compound exercises that target both the quads and hamstrings to varying degrees is the squat and deadlift. If you do either one, you are working the body as an entire unit and recruiting both of these muscle groups.
Training squats and deadlifts in the same workout is too hard for most people and very difficult to recover from. It is advisable to squat and deadlift on different days. Both exercises are very taxing on the central nervous system.
Different variations of squat will have different recruitment of the quads and hamstrings. Hack squats, high bar squats and front squats will hit the quads harder.
A bulgarian split squat with the front leg further forward, and a low bar back squat, will engage the hamstrings a lot more than the quads.
Fatigue In Your Workouts
After doing many heavy sets of squats in a workout you could get very fatigued. You may just have the energy to throw in some quad isolation work at the end. But you don’t have the focus and energy to incorporate extra hamstring training in.
In this case it is perfectly fine to split up the quad and hamstring isolation work into different workouts. There are many options to structure this, I will go over a sample workout plan later in this article.
Many people like to group their hamstring isolation work with glute training. Working the glutes and hamstrings together is very natural. Movements like the romanian deadlift and the reverse hyper hit both muscles to a great degree.
Sample Split
I am now going to go over a sample split that you can follow if you wish to do your hamstring and quad isolation work on separate days.
You could choose to do a more quad focused workout one day and a hamstring focused workout another. This way you could recover more easily between sessions and give maximum attention to each muscle group.
Here is a sample plan below:
Workout A: Front squat, leg presses (feet low and close together), hack squats, leg extensions.
Workout B: Low bar back squat, leg presses (feet high and wide stance), romanian deadlift or reverse hyper, leg curls.
The example above is a good way to structure a workout program to split up quads and hamstrings to some degree. Workout A is more quad centric and workout B is more hamstring and glute focused.
Both workouts incorporate compound squatting movements. In workout B you have the choice of doing either a romanian deadlift or a reverse hyper. Personally, I prefer reverse hypers nowadays.
Reverse hypers are a fantastic movement for strengthening the posterior chain and they are easy to recover from. They are also fantastic for lower back health, you can do them multiple times per week very easily.
Final Thoughts
Should you train quads and hamstrings on the same day? The vast majority of people should.
If you are using very heavy weights in the squat and finding that you are fatigued afterwards, it is a good idea to split the hamstring and quad isolation work on separate days.
You could also choose to have a more quad centric workout on one day and a more hamstring focused workout on another day. This would allow for better recovery and you can be stronger for each session.
Overall, it is a personal choice. You can make progress training quads and hamstrings on the same day as well. The most important thing is consistency, good nutrition and applying progressive overload to your training.
If you have any comments please leave them below. As always, stay safe and enjoy your training!
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