These allow a lifter to perform 20 reps with their 10 RM with brief breaks of 10 to 15 seconds, enough rest to restore a bit of ATP. If that's too tough, try adding more reps to the mix by using ladder sets. The energy expenditure is high, but the payoff is fulfilling. It's safe to infer that increased time spent under tension, higher reps, higher lactate, and even an aerobic angle to leg workouts can all drive quadriceps growth, so think of using higher-rep sets on leg day.įor example, breathing squats are grueling sets using your 10-12 rep max for up to 20 reps. The muscles are geared towards endurance-based work, and it's safe to say they have a higher distribution of slow-twitch muscle fibers.įurthermore, in the athletic world, speed skaters, skiers, and cyclists – or athletes in sports where the legs use prolonged efforts instead of short bursts – often have proportionally massive quad size. A number of coaches, though, are coming on board with the idea of a higher lactate, less anaerobic approach to training the quadriceps to trigger growth.įrom a skeletal perspective, walking, standing, and doing basically anything on the feet requires the quads to be relatively active all day. This is all well and good, and I agree with it. Stimulating the CNS helps trigger more activation of high threshold motor units, fast twitch muscle fibers, and also releases more HGH and Testosterone to help muscles grow. Well, we know that heavy lifting is a great way to stimulate the nervous system, especially when using big movements. What's the best rep range to use for optimal leg development? This will change over time, and once it feels "easy," it's time for a denser roller! If you don't foam roll regularly, this will likely feel uncomfortable at first, and your muscles will feel tender. Doing so can affect lateral knee tracking and loosen up muscle fascia so that each muscle gets a chance to pull its own weight.
Invest in a dense foam roller and work on the soft tissue on the front of the thigh and especially the side of the thigh, towards the IT band.
Looking at the quality of your muscle tissue is an important step to regain or maintain balance in this area.
They end up taking on a greater percentage of the load. Rolling the VMOįor many, VMO activation can be inhibited because the muscles around it are stronger and much tighter. With this variation, be sure to lean forward, which puts more emphasis on the lead leg and changes the body's geometry so that the knee tracks forward over the toe, hitting more VMO. This is among my favorite lower body movements and a great way to target the VMO. It won't take much weight to feel your quads (especially the VMO) working overtime. Adjust the box height according to your ability. The lower the box, the greater the stress placed on the knee. The knee should point where the toe points at all times. A good rep should show no compensatory action, such as the knee falling inwards towards the midline of the body. Once the reps become easy, increase the range of motion with a higher step rather than add weight, but be vigilant about your knee tracking. To get the VMO to do the most work, squeeze the knee tight at the top. Be sure to stand up tall at the finish position. Let the working leg carry the entire load. The Peterson step-up encourages forward tracking of the knee over the toe, along with a ball-of-the-foot contact point of the working leg, both of which encourage quad activation, with emphasis closer to the distal (knee) end of the thigh.Īvoid pushing off the ground with the non-working leg.
Though typically performed with just bodyweight, don't underestimate this exercise, especially as a primer for other quad exercises. So what exercises or practices incorporate single-leg training with knee tracking? Peterson Step-ups Remember, the more forward the knee tracks over the toe, the greater the emphasis placed on the quads, so adding this element to the mix would be another suitable step. To exploit that, step one would be to go for single-leg movements. One of the primary roles of the VMO is to stabilize the knee. Unfortunately, there aren't many ways to make the VMO more active, and there certainly isn't a way to isolate it directly. Many lifters have difficulty developing this muscle and it turns into the lagging link of the quad group. The vastus medialis obliquus (VMO) is the teardrop muscle located on the inside of the knee.
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