Is my lifestyle killing my legs?

[boneyendoplasm]

Hey guys,
I ran SS back in the early part of this year and got my squat up to 225x3x5. I then had an illness and tore my right quadricep over the summer playing sports and was unable to do lower body lifts. In August I went on SS for legs to quickly rebuild my leg strength since my quad had healed, but I'm having a problem. I cannot seem to recover from my squat workouts anymore, and I have not yet hit the weight I was previously at. I'm eating the same amount of food I was when I ran SS the first time, and I weigh less this time around (lost weight due to summer illness). There are some additional things that are different. My job now requires me to walk 1-1.5 miles Monday-Saturday and I have to stand on my feet for several hours on Mondays and Saturdays. Additionally, I have to climb flights of stairs every day. I'm still getting 7-9 hours of sleep every night and I absolutely do not drink. Is my job keeping me from recovering? My upper body has no issues recovering from bench, pullups, and ohp.

Edit: I should probably include that I just had a birthday and turned 29. I'm not old yet, but thirty plus is just around the corner.

[ColoWayno]

You should be able to do SS with that level of activity. What is your height/weight? Describe a typical days worth of eating. When in the day do you work out? Are you getting some Pre workout carbs? What's going on with your post workout routine (shake, carbs, BCAA's, etc). Are you taking creatine?

It takes a bit to get used to standing a lot but you should get used to it in a week or two.

[Christopher John]

Plasm, I'm kind of in the same boat as you and a similar age (27). My walking and standing took a huge uptick during month two of my current run at SS over what it had been during the first month. You adapt after a couple weeks, as CW mentions above. I've scaled my workouts back to two a week recently, but that's not so much a recovery thing as it is a time issue.

Also, eating the same amount you were before might not be enough unless you were eating 3500-4500kcals/day.

[boneyendoplasm]

I'm 5'5'' 138lbs currently. I'm eating 2800kcals/day and 180g protein. It sounds like I'm skinny but I actually have a large waist for my height (30inches). Thats down 3 inches from where it was in the spring. 2800 has been enough for me to gain at a rate of about 1lb a week since I started squat SS LP. The leg fatigue has sort of gotten progressively worse. It wasn't until I hit 195x3x5 on squat that I noticed fatigue issues, and that was about 2 weeks ago. Instead of adjusting it seems like my legs are going in the opposite direction. I could try eating more, but 3500 kcal/day would be 1000kcal or more over my TDEE.

Edit. I don't take creatine. I just try to eat within an hour or two of working out. It's usually a meal or a shake. I've been using muscle milk. I work out early as hell in the morning. Its unfortunately the only time I can work out. Im definitely weaker and fatigue easier in the morning compared to working out in the evening, but I've been doing it for a long time. Preworkout meal consists of eating 1 cup (dry) of oatmeal.

[Sean Herbison]

I don't take creatine.

I'd try it. It works for most people, and it's cheap enough that you won't waste a lot of money even if it doesn't do anything for you.

[madmaxaus]

If you're eating the same amount as you were before, but now you're walking a few miles per day, you need to increase your calories.

[Greg Esres]

I cannot seem to recover from my squat workouts anymore

What does "not recovering" mean? Are you failing to increase weight every session? Are you getting weaker? Or are you just tired and sore?

[boneyendoplasm]

I was getting weaker. Was unable to lift the weight from previous workouts. I actually haven't been sore since about the 4th or 5th workout. I decided to take a week off and work my way back up slowly. I guess everything was just too much for my legs body to handle. I've always been a slow recoverer.

[Greg Esres]

I guess everything was just too much for my legs body to handle. I've always been a slow recoverer.

The amount of exercise you're getting at work doesn't sound very demanding. I have a hard time imagining it's impacting your workout at your young age and early stages of progress. You might try giving yourself a couple of extra days rest before your next squat workout just to see if that's your problem.