This post follows the series describing how to design adequate routines for training the different body-parts. This chapter provides you with the general guidelines for proper quadriceps training.
Leg workout is certainly the most skipped, probably because while training legs you suffer as with no other body-part. However, leg muscles comprise about 50% of your body mass, thus their training is mandatory if you want to achieve a proportionate physique.
The quadriceps is the muscle that comprises the major part of the front of the thigh, and its main function is to extend and straighten the leg. As the name implies, the quadriceps is made up of 4 heads: the rectus femoris, the vastus intermedius, the vastus medialis (a.k.a. inner head), and the vastus lateralis (a.k.a. outer head). Despite this complexity, balanced quadriceps development is not difficult, since all the heads are involved in almost all quadriceps exercises. You can only shift the focus to inner or outer head to some extend by varying your feet stance in some exercises (e.g. squats).
An adequate quadriceps workout should consist of 3 o 4 exercises. The squat is a basic compound movement that builds overall power and strength and it is the most effective way for developing the quadriceps, hence it should be present in almost every quadriceps routine. The squat has the added value of all the exercises that move the body and not the weight, namely stimulating your hormonal release. This exercise is relatively safe if you use correct form, though it is not easy to master, so you have to practice a lot. Keep your back straight and the head fixed in a straight line looking ahead of you during the whole movement, while bending through your knees. Control the weight during all the exercise and use a full range of motion (but without locking out the knees at the top of the motion).
Although none of them can substitute squats, there other good exercises for completing your quadriceps routine. You can use leg presses and hack squats for introducing some variety or if you cannot perform squats with adequate form. Lunges (done with a barbell on your shoulders or a dumbbell in each hand) involve also the glutes to a great extend. Leg extensions are more an isolation exercise that can be used for finishing your routine, or as a pre-exhaustion exercise. Once in a while, try also other squat variations, such as dumbbell squat, front squat, sumo squat, or barbell hack squat.
Many people include exercises for other body-parts such as the glutes and the abductors/adductors in their quadriceps workout, since these muscles already receive a certain amount of work with quadriceps exercises. For the same reason, another popular approach is training these muscles along with the hamstrings. Though specialized machines exist to train the glutes (which can be used for some variety), the best way to work them is using a full range of motion when doing squats. Lunges hit also the glutes and the hamstrings to a great extend. For training the abductors/adductors you can also use specialized machines (which work by opening and closing the legs respectively). Other options are attaching an ankle handle to a low cable pulley or using some squat variation (i.e. sumo squat).
If you need more information for designing your quadriceps workout, you can read the article “Build Monster Quads!” by David Knowles or the article “Training the Quadriceps!” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.
Leg workout is certainly the most skipped, probably because while training legs you suffer as with no other body-part. However, leg muscles comprise about 50% of your body mass, thus their training is mandatory if you want to achieve a proportionate physique.
The quadriceps is the muscle that comprises the major part of the front of the thigh, and its main function is to extend and straighten the leg. As the name implies, the quadriceps is made up of 4 heads: the rectus femoris, the vastus intermedius, the vastus medialis (a.k.a. inner head), and the vastus lateralis (a.k.a. outer head). Despite this complexity, balanced quadriceps development is not difficult, since all the heads are involved in almost all quadriceps exercises. You can only shift the focus to inner or outer head to some extend by varying your feet stance in some exercises (e.g. squats).
An adequate quadriceps workout should consist of 3 o 4 exercises. The squat is a basic compound movement that builds overall power and strength and it is the most effective way for developing the quadriceps, hence it should be present in almost every quadriceps routine. The squat has the added value of all the exercises that move the body and not the weight, namely stimulating your hormonal release. This exercise is relatively safe if you use correct form, though it is not easy to master, so you have to practice a lot. Keep your back straight and the head fixed in a straight line looking ahead of you during the whole movement, while bending through your knees. Control the weight during all the exercise and use a full range of motion (but without locking out the knees at the top of the motion).
Although none of them can substitute squats, there other good exercises for completing your quadriceps routine. You can use leg presses and hack squats for introducing some variety or if you cannot perform squats with adequate form. Lunges (done with a barbell on your shoulders or a dumbbell in each hand) involve also the glutes to a great extend. Leg extensions are more an isolation exercise that can be used for finishing your routine, or as a pre-exhaustion exercise. Once in a while, try also other squat variations, such as dumbbell squat, front squat, sumo squat, or barbell hack squat.
Many people include exercises for other body-parts such as the glutes and the abductors/adductors in their quadriceps workout, since these muscles already receive a certain amount of work with quadriceps exercises. For the same reason, another popular approach is training these muscles along with the hamstrings. Though specialized machines exist to train the glutes (which can be used for some variety), the best way to work them is using a full range of motion when doing squats. Lunges hit also the glutes and the hamstrings to a great extend. For training the abductors/adductors you can also use specialized machines (which work by opening and closing the legs respectively). Other options are attaching an ankle handle to a low cable pulley or using some squat variation (i.e. sumo squat).
If you need more information for designing your quadriceps workout, you can read the article “Build Monster Quads!” by David Knowles or the article “Training the Quadriceps!” included in the I.C.E. Training Program developed by Big Cat.
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