I took 20 years to know how to build the perfect quad workout. After trial and error, I did it. The workout you'll see from now on is science-based, also based on field research.
Let's go to the 6 steps. The first one is the warm-up, which is divided into two different warm-ups. There's the dynamic warm-up and the specific warm-up.
The dynamic is that one we do on the treadmill or bike. As we're training quads, it's better to go on the bike. You elevate your body temperature, and you pump blood to those muscles, which will need it.
5 minutes is enough, more than that will hamper your workout. Now, the specific warm-up, which is in the workout itself. If you trained biceps, you'd do biceps, but you are training the quads.
A spoiler: we'll start with free weight squats, so you'll start there, doing two sets, with around 20 to 30 reps each. That's just to warm up. I don't want you to get tired.
- I'm tired, bro! Step 2: the first exercise in your workout, which you'll do a hardcore set. We'll start the barbell squats, with the bar behind your head and you make that "sitting" motion.
Don't go too low or you'll round your back and hurt it. My back! Don't go up too much, or you'll lock knees and hips, making the muscle relax and losing stimulus, so your work.
. . Piece of shit!
Squats are a multi-joint exercise, so your nervous system will be turned on. Also, it works intensely the muscles we want to activate, which are the quads. You still get that bonus glute work, and in this exercise you can lift heavy weights.
Of course, safely. Don't mess around! The idea behind lifting heavy loads here is to activate as many motor units as possible.
There will be a ton of muscle activity, and you'll get big. The fibers will be at a medium elongation, allowing for more muscular torque. This favors using heavier loads, and the central nervous system activation.
We are using this exercise to build muscle, but we are preparing the musculature for the other important hypertrophy elements. A point which is important is mechanical tension, which we can do with heavy loads. Another point is muscle hypoxia, which leads to acidosis.
Third point is tissue damage. We are on the first point, generating mechanical tension and getting that muscle ready. Exercise number 2 is the leg press.
It's that exercise where you'll be sitting down pushing a platform. Be careful, watch were your feet are, don't extend your knees, and watch the movement of your hips, it may leave the seat. - This is bad for your spine.
- You're gonna need a wheelchair. Be careful not to get hurt. Leg press is an exercise which you can move heavy loads, we are still on the idea of mechanical tension, and as squats work the quads, glutes and spine erectors/lumbar, that might be dangerous.
You can wear out your lower back before the quads. Now I put you on a similar exercise, but won't tire your lower back, as it is supported on a chair. We can focus on the quads.
What I find even better is the possibility of using advanced techniques. If you want to prioritize mechanical tension, you can use cluster sets. Use loads for a maximum of 6 reps, and you'll do 20.
What? Are you insane? But 20 is more than 6!
You'll fraction it. Cluster sets are blocks of 4 reps in this case. Use the load for a maximum of 6 reps, and you'll do 4.
You'll rest 20 seconds, and then do 4 more, and so on. You'll do 20 reps with a load for 6 reps. - Where's the mechanical tension going?
- Go where the sun doesn't shine! It goes all the way up. If you want to prioritize mechanical tension, you do the cluster, if you want to prioritize another part, moving forward, which is the hypoxia, you can do the rest-pause.
That's when you go to failure or near failure, rest for 15 seconds, just to breathe, and do it again. You'll advance on the muscle fatigue, it will burn a lot. You'll do that again.
Which means you'll do failure, 15 seconds, failure, 15 seconds, failure. That's 1 set. You'll repeat that from 3 to 4 times.
For real? Do it 3 times. Regardless of a cluster or a rest pause, it's good enough.
- That's wild! - Why would I work on the tension or hypoxia? You need to get all three things to get the best hypertrophy result.
At one point, you can use one, or the other. If you wonder when to use which, I can't answer here. That's when the periodization in Muscle 60D comes into place, where it's organized.
I'm showing options. Exercise 3 on our quad workout is the leg extension. Watch out if you have bad knees, because it is an interesting exercise but if you have poor shoulders, it can be bad.
It's that chair in which you support your back and will do a kicking motion. - Just the legs, right? - Yes, any motion on top is wrong.
Careful not to push it too much on the end. Some people do that extra motion, and this makes the knees scream. The leg extension machine is a mono-articular exercise.
You can direct force directly to the quads, which was distributed to the glutes on the squats and leg press. There are other characteristics here. Studies show that during squats, leg press, lunges etc.
, there is a muscle called rectus femoris which doesn't hypertrophy during those exercises. It needs to do this, and in those exercises it does this. It can make that motion on the leg extension.
Studies also show that the leg extension leads to more distal hypertrophy, close to the knees. There's better elongation, so there is another characteristic. Also, there's something in that exercise which is not possible in other exercises, which is the peak contraction technique.
You move up, hold it for 3 seconds, and go down. We get muscular tension which leads to hypoxia. Hypertrophy goes to 3 phases during its optimization.
Mechanical tension, which we did with heavy weights during squats and the leg press, and now we are on the leg extension increasing time under tension to generate hypoxia and that burn. We are starting to work hypertrophy on another angle. We'll get into more details.
Exercise 4 on our list is the sissy squat. Don't get mad! It can be done in two ways.
One of them is very hazardous, on a bench or something like that, in which your legs are stuck and you squat, and it shouldn't even exist. You'll do the sissy squat the old fashioned way. You'll do with your body weight, supported by the tip of your toes, and you'll squat.
You'll move your knees towards the floor and your torso will bend slightly back, - leading to knee flexion and hip extension. - I don't understand a thing! When you squatted, you bent your knees and hips.
What this causes? You elongate the muscle at one end, but shortened it at the other. You couldn't get the maximum elongation, which we are getting here.
This exercise gives you the most tissue damage possible. Now, we have the third piece of the hypertrophy puzzle. This exercise elongates the muscle - as much as the leg extension.
. . - Shortened the muscle.
We are preparing the musculature to this point of elongating it, which leads to further tissue damage, and that's another key point for hypertrophy stimulus. Many people say it's bad for the knees, but the sissy squat done like this is better on your knees than the leg extension. It demands from your knees, if you have poor knees, you need to be careful.
Maybe less range of motion or reps, and this exercise is perfect for the role of muscle elongation. How many sets? Don't go overboard, it's the cherry on top.
3 sets are good enough. I want you to understand that the idea is the elongate the quads, just this. Remember in the beginning about the amount of sets you would do on squats or leg extensions?
If this is your first rodeo, just do 3 sets. We don't know your body's reaction. If there is a lot of muscular pain, keep that number.
If you did it and it was alright, you can raise the sets on them. I'd raise them on the squats, but if it still was alright, you're maybe half-assing it. Place the stimulus, feel your body's reaction, if you notice that it was alright, increase that stimulus.
If it was rough, try holding on until you get used to it. Now, click on this video about the mistakes you should avoid on your leg workout. If you get this perfect training and make those mistakes, you're ruining it.
Click it!
