Killer Quads

Many novice weight lifters put a tremendous amount of effort and time doing many different variations of benchpresses, flyes and curls to develop a chiseled chest and bulging biceps. In this entire workout a few sloppy sets of cable pressdowns, pull-downs or rows may be performed for a minimal amount of upper back and triceps training - sometimes even a few crunches for the abs. This is an extremely ineffective routine as the upper back is much larger than the chest and the same as for the triceps and biceps - yet the larger muscles get a mediocre workout because they are not visible in the mirror. Aside from the obvious effects of developing hunched shoulders and arms that only look big when flexed, the entire lower body (quads, hamstrings, glutes, lower back and calves) are completely neglected despite being the most powerful muscles in the human body. Not only does the effect of having a developed upper body supported on toothpick legs look ridiculous but a great deal of growth potential in the upper body comes from a solid lower body routine. Therefore, it makes sense to develop an effective routine first for the largest muscle group - the quads.

At the start of the workout it is best to do some light stretching and cardio (no more than 5 minutes) to get the legs warmed up. Another option that is purely a matter of preference is to perform leg extensions as the first exercise in a quad session. Leg extensions are such a mild exercise that very little energy will be burned and the advantage is the knees and quads will be fully warmed up for the most intense exercise next - squats. Working sets of squats should always be preceded by warm-up sets (the number depending on the maximum poundage to be used with each warm-up set increasing by 90 pounds in pyramid style). It goes without saying that squats need to be performed as deep as possible for best results. The next (and possibly last) exercise in this workout is any plate-loaded machine - leg press or hack squat. After all this a set or two of lunges can follow if there is still any quad energy remaining (lunges are completely optional at this point). However, if leg extensions were not performed at the beginning they should definitely be included at the end.

Suggested Quad Workout

• Leg Extensions 2-3 x 10-15
• Squats 2-3 x 6-10
• Leg Presses or Hack Squats 2 x 10
• Lunges 2 x 15 (optional)