There
is no doubt that most workouts start with some variation of the
squat—widely acclaimed as the best lower-body movement—exercise choice,
foot position, and advanced training techniques all allow you to
emphasize one particular area of the legs over others. It is great if
you want to thicken up your quads, fill out your glutes, or beef up your
hamstrings because of a weakness—or simply because you want to
prioritize an area for a length of time.
Each
of the workouts has a different focus. It is necessary to find one that
suits your needs for the next 4-8 weeks before switching to another
specialized program. Or simply follow a solid overall mass-building
plan.
Mass-building
comes with a set of rules. That means starting your workout with the
most challenging exercises and heaviest loads, hitting the thighs from a
variety of angles, keeping the volume (number of total sets and reps)
high, and training to muscle failure.
Altering
your foot placement on the leg press allows you to recruit leg
musculature in slightly different ways. Putting your feet up higher on
the sled shifts some of the emphasis from the quads to the hams and
glutes because a greater degree of hip flexion/extension is taking
place. Also, don't shortchange the depth of your knee bend—which should
reach 90 degrees—by going too heavy—that also limits glute and
hamstrings activation. Unless you're following a pre-exhaust routine,
save the single-joint movements for last.
The workout follows a reverse-pyramid protocol, which allows you to take more total sets to muscle failure. As the rep target goes up, be sure to lighten the weight commensurately. The workouts target four muscle groups: quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. To shorten the workout, you could eliminate exercises for calves, hamstrings, or both; if so, hit calves and hammies on a different training day.
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