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)

Training Split Examples

Obviously there are many options available when deciding which muscle groups to train and on which days. A bit of planning and experimentation is definitely required to maximize muscle recovery time. It is important to realize that growth occurs during rest and not while training - despite the 6-7 day per week routines used by some professional bodybuilders (most of those guys are both very genetically gifted and chemically enhanced). Usually 3-4 intense weight lifting sessions per week is plenty and it should be noted that the entire body doesn't necessarily have to be trained in a seven day week. For example, an effective routine could be training three days every week with 1-2 days between workouts and a training split of four 30-45 minute workouts would take 9-10 days to train the entire body. Alternatively, the same four day training split could be carried out with four workouts per week - both are very effective options. Below are some examples of four day training splits.


Workout #1

• Chest, Upper Back (for thickness), Biceps
• Quads, Calves
• Shoulders, Upper Back (for width), Triceps
• Lower Back/Hamstrings, Abs, Forearms

Workout #2

• Quads, Calves
• Shoulders, Abs, Forearms
• Upper Back, Lower Back/Hamstrings, Biceps
• Chest, Triceps

Workout #3

• Quads, Calves
• Chest, Shoulders, Abs
• Upper Back, Lower Back/Hamstrings
• Biceps, Triceps, Forearms

The Big Three - Vital For Any Workout Routine

While machines and cables certainly have their place in any serious weight lifter's arsenal, a solid foundation of strength and muscle mass is built with compound free weight movements. Here are three of the most basic movements that have withstood the test of time and are mandatory in any routine - the squat, deadlift and benchpress.

Squat
There's no simpler way to say it - the squat is a must in any effective workout program. They may make one feel dizzy, see stars, and puke afterward but no other exercise will come close to adding as much total body mass (with the possible exception of deadlifts). Many novice lifters do not include squats or even train lower body - this is a huge mistake! As well as the obvious effect of having a developed upper body supported by toothpick legs (which looks ridiculous) neglecting lower body training actually impairs upper body growth. Large amounts of testosterone and growth hormone are released during heavy leg exercises like squats resulting in overall muscle mass increase. Not to mention supporting a weighted barbell on one's traps during the entire movement is quite a task for the upper body.

Deadlift
There may be no better barometer of strength than the deadlift. Since no racks or other apparatus is required it is truly a battle of man versus weight. Second only to the squat in intensity, the deadlift is another must in any serious training routine. Although thought to be primarily a back exercise (both upper and lower) a host of other muscle groups are brought into play. These include the traps, forearms, quads, hamstrings, the entire ab region and more. Deadlifts are also an excellent movement for burning fat because almost the entire body is used in one explosive movement (like the squat).

Benchpress
What is the first question asked between anyone that has ever been in a gym - "How much do ya bench?". Although much more weight can be used for squats or deadlifts, more injuries usually result from the benchpress mostly due to over-inflated egos (using too much weight) and poor form. Nevertheless it is fundamental exercise that works the entire chest region as well as the shoulders and triceps. Even the upper back and abs are used as stabilizers throughout the movement -bringing almost the entire upper body into play. No matter what choice of angle (flat-bench, incline or decline) or whether performed with a barbell or dumbells the benchpress is a must for any training routine.

Conflicting Muscle Groups

It is virtually impossible to isolate a single particular muscle group by itself - especially the larger ones. Large muscle groups are best trained with multi-joint compound free weight movements which can require many secondary and stabilizing muscle groups for assistance. For example, the squat primarily works the quads but also greatly employs the calves, hamstrings, lower back and glutes as well as the entire upper body in order to support and stabilize the weighted barbell. This is very important to consider when designing a proper training split to avoid overtraining.

Quads are best trained on a separate day because squats and other overall leg movements (such as leg presses) will be required for maximum growth and much energy will be expended. The only rule of thumb for training quads is the hamstrings and lower back must not be sore or overtrained. Lower back and hamstrings should be trained together since the exercise for best overall development of both is deadlifts. Since deadlifts require almost as much energy as squats they should be performed when the quads are strong.

There are two major categories of muscle groups in the upper body - push and pull muscles. Push muscle groups move the weight away from the body and include chest, shoulders and triceps. Chest training requires both the shoulders and triceps to be strong but shoulder training only requires triceps for the most part. Pull muscle groups move the weight toward the body and include the entire upper back and biceps. The upper back can be trained together with the lower back or with other muscle groups of the upper body but almost all require the assistance of the biceps. There are many variations of upper body splits that work well and it really just takes some trial and error to find the right one (one size does not fit all). And finally the finishing muscle groups - calves, abs and forearms recover quite quickly and can be trained with most other groups but not more than twice per week.

Tips To Keep In Mind For A Solid Training Split

Once a decision is mode on how many days to weight train the next step is to actually create the training split. An effective routine will hit all muscle groups in the body hard while allowing plenty of recovery time between workouts - this can be even more difficult when other physical activities are thrown into the equation (such as martial arts, sports or dancing). While there are many options on how to do this properly, a few important points must be kept in mind.

1. Don't rely too much on machines or cable equipment as free weights are the superior choice for building muscle. Workouts should be built around the three most fundamental compound exercises - squats, deadlifts and benchpresses. All three of those are great for adding size and strength in a short period of time but each one should be done on a separate day due to the amount of energy required for each (especially squats and deadlifts). Other compound free weight movements such as pullups, shoulder presses and bent-over rows as well as intense lower body movements like leg presses can then be added to this foundation. Finishing exercises should always come last in a workout unless a pre-exhaust routine is desired (performing isolation movements before compound ones to exhaust the major muscles first - such as performing flyes before benchpresses).

2. Despite what is written in popular bodybuilding magazines, 20-25 sets for a single muscle group is overkill for a natural lifter. Even large groups like chest or quads usually get a good workout from 6-8 sets performed intensely. For smaller groups such as biceps and calves, 4-6 sets is plenty. The back however will require 8-12 sets because it is responsible for many different movements (horizontal and vertical pulls as well as stabilizing work of the lower back).

3. Be aware of secondary muscle groups involved while training major groups - triceps with chest is one example. Because secondary muscles are typically weaker than the primary groups they assist, they usually are worked to the max and require time between workouts to recover. Therefore it is wise to design workouts with this in mind (in above example, triceps should not be trained he day after chest as this could lead to overtraining).