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Building Bigger Quads
Best Exercises For Strong, Muscular Thighs

 

By Ron Harris

 

Have you ever heard people snicker “cluck, cluck!” when you walked by their blanket on the beach and wondered where the chicken was? If you are a serious weight trainer with some good muscle mass in the upper body but your legs aren’t much to look at, they were probably making fun of you, chicken legs. Whether you simply want to look trim and athletic or desire a more heavily muscled physique, the name of the game is always symmetry and proportion. All your muscle groups should be equally developed from front to back, side to side, and top to bottom. Strong, muscular thighs will set you apart from the wannabes who only pump up their chest and arms to look good in the clubs. A really great body looks strong all over even with no clothes on. The largest group of muscles in the lower body is your quadriceps or quads for short, a muscle with four segments that runs from your hip joint all the way to your knee. If yours are not quite what they should be, it’s time to do something about it now. Here are the very best ways to force your quads to grow fast.

 

The Squat

The king of all lower-body exercises is the barbell squat, and it is also the most difficult to perform. Few things in life are as uncomfortable as having a few hundred pounds of iron digging into your traps, and feeling like both your lungs and thighs have been filled with stinging hydrochloric acid. But the rewards are many. Not only will squats force the thighs to grow, they also seem to have an overall residual effect on the metabolism that stimulates overall growth. This is believed to be related to the growth hormone release that results from hard training on the squat. The form is actually quite simple. With a barbell laying across your traps and rear deltoids, step back from the squat rack and position your feet shoulder-width apart and pointing slightly outward. Next, lower yourself into a sitting position, with your femur bones parallel to the ground. Be careful to keep a slight arch in your lower back rather than rounding it, and lean forward only ever so slightly throughout the set. Stand up and repeat. A weight belt is useful to protect the lower back unless you have already strengthened it with good mornings and hyperextensions, and a spotter is recommended. If no spotter is available and you wish to go heavy, try using a Smith machine.

 

Leg Press

The leg press is a good change of pace from squatting, and is particularly suited for taller trainers or those with pre-existing lower back injuries. Very few men with long legs have the proper body mechanics for squatting, but they often find that leg pressing allows them to build thigh mass. There are many varieties to choose from with different angles and designs. Whatever you do, don’t get caught up in the trap of piling on plates until you are only able to lift the weight up and down a few inches. As with the squat, strive for a complete range of motion and lower the platform until your thighs are parallel to it. The seat back usually adjusts, so if you find your torso preventing such a range, you may have to adjust it back all the way. Many trainers prefer the leg press to the squat because there is no balancing involved and the back is totally supported.

 

Hack Squats

A final type of compound pressing movement for the quads is the hack squat, a machine that usually has you standing upright and leaning backward at about 45 degrees. It is renowned for its ability to isolate the quads, particularly the outer section responsible for the “sweep” or outward curve. 

 

Leg Extensions

The leg extension is a versatile movement, which can function as either a warm-up before pressing or a mass builder. Typically it is done for higher reps such as 15-20, but you can also include a couple of heavier sets of 10-12 to get the best results. Slow and controlled rep speed with a pronounced squeeze of the quads at the top will make this exercise far more effective than the ballistic motion often seen. If you have never experienced a pump in your quads before, try a drop set on this apparatus. Start with a weight you can handle for 10-12 food reps. Once you reach failure, take about one-third of the resistance away and try for another 10-12 reps. If you are a real glutton for punishment, take another half off the plates remaining and grind out a final 10-12. You might not want to try this if you have to drive a stick shift home or walk up any stairs any time soon.

 

Lunges

Finally we have the lunge, which can be done with a barbell across your back or holding a pair of dumbbells. It’s really nothing more than an exaggerated deep step, pushing up from the balls of your feet. You can do lunges either standing in place or walking. A great finisher for your quad workout is a nice leisurely stroll across the gym floor and back. You will feel these in your quads, but also in your glutes and hamstrings. 

 

Top 8 Tips for Quad Training

 

1. Hard Work Is All That Works

Ever wonder why so many guys either skip leg training altogether or don’t put out much effort?  I’ll tell you – proper leg training hurts. It’s exceedingly uncomfortable to say the least. The lactic acid burn you experience when taxing such a large amount of muscle tissue at once, coupled with the inevitable oxygen debt that accompanies a tough set of squats or leg presses, is no picnic. A lot of guys experience all this and decide to spend more time lying down on a nice padded bench and pumping up their pecs or doing curls. This is how the saying originated that “leg training separates the men from the boys.” Come on now, you aren’t afraid of a little hard work and pain if you know it will pay off with some powerful quads, are you?

 

2. Quads Need Higher Reps

The muscles of the lower body generally have a higher proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers, which evolved over centuries as hunter-gatherers where our cavemen ancestors were on their feet all day walking and running. Because of the higher endurance these fibers are suited for, legs require a higher number of reps to stimulate growth. While your chest or arms might be able to benefit from 8-10 reps, chances are your legs will need to do 12-20 reps to achieve the same results. In fact, 20-rep sets of squats are still revered in some circles as the absolute best way to build the thighs. The great news is that when you do high reps, you also burn a lot of calories and are essentially blending cardiovascular training with your weight training. Not a bad deal, especially for those of us who find cardio about as exciting as watching paint dry. Occasionally to really shock the quads, try doing sets in the 30-50 rep range. 

 

3. Quads Can Handle More Volume

Because the quads are comprised of so much muscle mass and they are already used to carrying your bodyweight all day whenever you walk, stand, or run, they can tolerate heavier training volumes than smaller muscle groups like the arms or shoulders. Once you pass the beginner and intermediate stages of weight training, it is not unreasonable to perform as many as 15 or more work sets for quads. It’s actually one muscle group that seems to thrive on more sets, though there is a point of diminishing returns. You’ll know if you cross that line because you will feel like Mike Tyson just knocked you out. 

 

4. Beware the Big Butt

It can happen to anyone with the right (or wrong, depending on how you look at it) genetic disposition: heavy pressing movements for the legs have the potential to develop the gluteus maximus muscle to gigantic proportions. While some people will appreciate the look and enhanced thrusting power during lovemaking of such a bubble butt, others will find it too much for their tastes. If you notice this happening to you, a few immediate measures must be taken. First, you should always pre-exhaust the quads with leg extensions before doing any presses so that the glutes don’t have the chance to lift quite as much. You may even try supersetting with no rest from leg extensions to leg presses. Also, many men faced with this dilemma have found that hack squats allow them to train the quads very hard without overly involving the glutes.

 

5. Never Bounce at the Bottom of Your Reps

A pervasive myth still circulates in gyms all over the world that heavy leg training, in particular squatting, is murder on the knees. Sure, it can be – if you use terrible form. If you simply drop the weight rather than slowly lower it under control, and rebound out of the bottom with a snapping bounce, your knees will definitely be making some orthopedic surgeon a wealthier man sooner or later. A 300-pound squat can generate many times that amount of force on the tendons and ligaments around the knee if you practice the aforementioned hazardous performance technique. 

 

6. Arrange Cardio Carefully

Though cardiovascular work is excellent for shedding body fat as well as keeping your ticker pumping along nicely, it can interfere with effective quad training. Try doing some squats the day after running a marathon and you’ll really see what I mean (I wouldn’t advise this). To ensure that your quads are both fresh for their workout and have a chance to recover from it, I suggest not doing cardio either the day before or after training quads. If you really feel this is too limiting and cardio is a huge priority in your routine, at least give the quads a chance to rest by not doing cardio the day afterward.  

 

7. Allow for Recovery

Some muscle groups like the calves and abs recover very fast from training and can be worked two or three times a week. Even the arms can usually bounce back and be ready to go again in a couple of days. The quads are different, both because they are so large in area and because they are so powerful. When you get to the point where you can squat for several sets with 300, 400 or more pounds, or leg press more than double these amounts for high reps, your legs will need a solid five to seven days to regenerate from the damage inflicted at the cellular level. Additionally, you should be so wiped out from a brutal quad workout that training them again will be the furthest thing from your mind for at least four or five days. Most lifters make good progress training quads once a week.

 

8. Don’t Skimp on Warm-ups

Finally, it should go without saying, but a thorough warm-up process should always precede quad training. First and foremost is a general five to seven minutes of light cardio on the treadmill, stationary bike, or elliptical trainer. This raises the body’s core temperature and starts bringing blood into the lower body so the muscles and connective tissues are more supple and resistant to injury. Some stretches, such as runners do before setting out on a jog, will further loosen things up. And finally, gradually ease into heavy lifting with several progressively heavier warm-up sets. This is definitely a situation where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so absolutely never skip or rush through this process. 

 

Basic Quad Routines

 

Routine A

 

Leg Extensions

3x 12-15

 

Leg Press

4x 20, 15,12,10

 

Lunges

3x 15 (each leg)

 

Routine B

 

Squats

4x 20, 15,12,10

 

Leg Extensions

3x 20, 15,10

 

Hack Squats

3x 10-15

 

Routine C

 

Leg Extensions

5x 10, 12, 15, 20

 

 

Superset with

 

 

Leg Press

 

5 x 20, 15, 12, 10, 6

 

 

Ron Harris got his start in the bodybuilding industry during the eight years he worked in Los Angeles as Associate Producer for ESPN’s “American Muscle Magazine” show in the 1990s. Since 1992 he has published nearly 5,000 articles in bodybuilding and fitness magazines, making him the most prolific bodybuilding writer ever.Ron has been training since the age of 14 and competing as a bodybuilder since 1989. He lives with his wife and two children in the Boston area. Facebook Instagram

 

 

 

 

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