Building Mass on Quads

Not sure what’s been said so far, looking at who posted I can tell you have plenty of good information.

You mentioned when carb loading. I eat more carbs the day of leg training. Bulk of the carbs 40 minutes to an hour before i train. I heard carb loading the day before will help, if your in a competition, but considering the situation I would eat to train.

[quote]tomasr54 wrote:
if im trying to build up mass on quads is it best to take my day off from training the day before i train quads or the day after? and what are the best days to carb up to help building mass on legs, the day before, day training quads or day after traininig quads? or all 3? i typically decrease carb intake to 1/3 on my days off of weight training from my usual carb intake to help promote decrease in body fat.

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I know I am chiming in on an old thread here but I am curious what approach you ended up taking for leg day. I usually dont cycle carbs except on off days, and even then its a small reduction because I am trying to bulk and want my body to keep metabolizing protein even on off days. (May be crazy). My back squat is up to 225 for reps but I feel like I get more out of my quads from high reps of lower weight. With the 225 I get burned out long before I feel a good burn. I have recently started doing low box squats with lighter weight and I wobble out of the gym looking like I am drunk. My leg day follows triceps and shoulder day with two days off after. Legs work out consists of

Leg extensions x2 (Pre exhaust for squat)
Back Squat 5x5 (Replaced with low box squat about 2 weeks ago 3 sets)
Leg press x3 (Narrow footing)
Hack Squat x3 (may drop these because after the box squats I have little gas left for these)
Lying leg curls x2 (Pre exhaust for stiff leg)
Stiff leg dead lift x3
Calf rises on press machine x2
Seated Calf raises x2

[quote]tomasr54 wrote:
if im trying to build up mass on quads is it best to take my day off from training the day before i train quads or the day after? and what are the best days to carb up to help building mass on legs, the day before, day training quads or day after traininig quads? or all 3? i typically decrease carb intake to 1/3 on my days off of weight training from my usual carb intake to help promote decrease in body fat.

[/quote]
I know I am chiming in on an old thread here but I am curious what approach you ended up taking for leg day. I usually dont cycle carbs except on off days, and even then its a small reduction because I am trying to bulk and want my body to keep metabolizing protein even on off days. (May be crazy). My back squat is up to 225 for reps but I feel like I get more out of my quads from high reps of lower weight. With the 225 I get burned out long before I feel a good burn. I have recently started doing low box squats with lighter weight and I wobble out of the gym looking like I am drunk. My leg day follows triceps and shoulder day with two days off after. Legs work out consists of

Leg extensions x2 (Pre exhaust for squat)
Back Squat 5x5 (Replaced with low box squat about 2 weeks ago 3 sets)
Leg press x3 (Narrow footing)
Hack Squat x3 (may drop these because after the box squats I have little gas left for these)
Lying leg curls x2 (Pre exhaust for stiff leg)
Stiff leg dead lift x3
Calf rises on press machine x2
Seated Calf raises x2

To build mass on quads try this

  1. Pre Exaustion movement- Sissy Squats, done properly nothing gives a better burn)- try 4-6 sets

  2. Quad Complex - with no rest-
    a) Lex Extensions X 10 (Feet Narrow)
    b)leg Extensions X 10 (Medium width)
    c) Leg Extensions x 10 (Feet Wide)
    d) Dumbell Lunges, 12-15 steps per side

  3. Squats, lighter weight

  4. To finish and kill your quads totally, get on the stationary bike for 5 mins, set the tension so you can only do 45-60 RPM- keep adjusting the tension so you last the whole time-

[quote]Gerrard08 wrote:

To build mass on quads try this

  1. Pre Exaustion movement- Sissy Squats, done properly nothing gives a better burn)- try 4-6 sets

  2. Quad Complex - with no rest-
    a) Lex Extensions X 10 (Feet Narrow)
    b)leg Extensions X 10 (Medium width)
    c) Leg Extensions x 10 (Feet Wide)
    d) Dumbell Lunges, 12-15 steps per side

  3. Squats, lighter weight

  4. To finish and kill your quads totally, get on the stationary bike for 5 mins, set the tension so you can only do 45-60 RPM- keep adjusting the tension so you last the whole time-

[/quote]

Overkill, in my opinion.

Do you have access to a sled or Prowler? Pushing the prowler while staying on your toes hits the quads pretty good. Also, you can put some straps on the sled and pull it while crouching low and walking backwards. This movement gives me a pretty insane pump in my quads. I have also done these movements with a car, so if you don’t have a sled or a prowler, a car can work just fine. This doubles as a very good conditioning finisher at the end of your workouts.

No sled, but I have been thinking of building on for awhile now. I have been getting decent results from my current routine, just mixing up lifts from time to time.

[quote]skiracer wrote:

[quote]y0lked wrote:

[quote]yarni wrote:

[quote]skiracer wrote:
I find squats don’t do much for my quads. Yes, they do something, but no, low-bar deep squats don’t hit my quads anywhere near what they hit the ass, hams, and lower back. Yes I’m going past parallel. Doing 20xbreathing squats etc is a great mass builder, but not so much for the quads specifically unless your build is very different than most.

FRONT squats hit the quads much more directly. I would love to figure out how to do them but simply don’t like either grip version once you start getting up in weight. If anyone knows any moves that hit the quads squarely, I’d love to do it, but I don’t think an ass/ham focus move like regular squats is great advice for quads.

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But you are talking specifically about low bar squats - putting the bar higher on the shoulders allows you to keep more upright (in the thoracic spine) like in the front squat. The problem with front squatting (if mass is the goal) is that long sets are not really practical. The shoulders (front deltoids in particular) will fatigue faster than the much larger and more powerful muscle counter-parts in the legs.

If you squat like a powerlifter, the quad involvement is almost none. If you squat like an olympic lifter, quad involvement is much greater.

The powerlifter has the bar low, and therefore sits back into the squat - which causes the shins to stay vertical and minimises knee bend (more stress on the back).
The olympic lifter has the bar high, and therefore (his/her hips) can come down in a much more vertical direction - which causes the knees to bend somewhat (more stress on the knees).
Foot placement and positioning are of course other factors, but the point is that the former variation (said simply) maximises glute/hips/hamstring recruitment, whereas the later (olympic) variation does this but with more stress placed on the quads (due to the greater knee bend)

This is my understanding anyway. I’d be interested to hear other opinions
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I squat high bar and my posterior chain is far more developed and stronger than my quads. I also cant build mass in my quads from squatting. Ive gotten up to 2 plates per side for front squats but like stated above my shoulders also fatigue quicker than my quads.

I have to rely heavily on lunges and leg presses for quad development. What would u suggest for me? (no thread hijack) lol[/quote]

x2 - Leg press is lame (yes I know Dorian and Ronnie do them whatever) and it’s hard to go heavy on lunges. Suggestions appreciated. [/quote]

What types of rep ranges are you guys using who don’t feel your quads working during high bar olympic full ROM squats?

I know personally that if I go heavy (like below 8 reps) I feel my glutes and hamstrings more too.

But, try putting your 10 RM on the bar and gutting out 20 reps with it (breathing style) and tell me that you don’t feel your quads.

Moral of the story, try higher reps for better quad stimulation.

Heavy Front Squats, DO THEM

tell me why i see so many trainers and general public spending so much effort on extensions???its insane how many i see doin extensions for ME…do tell

[quote]phatphit wrote:
tell me why i see so many trainers and general public spending so much effort on extensions???its insane how many i see doin extensions for ME…do tell[/quote]

I mainly use extensions as a pre exhaust before squats, ramping the weight for a few sets. As for leg press, I have been using a high and wide stance to hit hams. Seems to be a good warm up for SLDL.

I vote for heavy walking lunges. Use a barbell on your back (EZ-curl bar works great) and save your grip and shoulder strength for another day. It takes some effort to clean and jerk the weight from the floor to across your shoulders, but take a few seconds before you start lunging. 10 steps out, 10 steps back. If you work up to 150+ lbs, you’ll probably be doing more than anyone in the gym. For reference, I’m 5’11 200 lbs with 26.5" upper legs.

40 bodyweight walking lunges (down and back twice)
20x75 lbs
20x115 lbs
20x165 lbs (x3, this is my main workout)
40 bodyweight walking lunges

I usually walk a lap around the gym in between my working sets at 165 lbs or thereabouts. That’s a 45 and 25 on each side of the bar. This hits my glutes and quads harder than any other exercise.

I have relatively poor hip mobility and squatting does little for me except make my back and hip flexors scream. This is a good alternative as I continue to work on hip mobility (thanks Adam Vogel for the recent article).

I second what Sentoguy said.

High reps and continuous tension works best with quads IMO.

I really like high rep front squats with continuous tension, leg press with 3 second negatives and no lockout for 15-30 reps, hacks in the same way, and walking lunges. 100 rep leg extension sets are also great.

[quote]ebomb5522 wrote:
I second what Sentoguy said.

High reps and continuous tension works best with quads IMO.

I really like high rep front squats with continuous tension, leg press with 3 second negatives and no lockout for 15-30 reps, hacks in the same way, and walking lunges. 100 rep leg extension sets are also great. [/quote]

Do you do your front squats in the Smith? I always felt like my shoulders and upper back would give out before my legs when trying to do them free weight style. Also, the bar against my throat didn’t feel great.

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:

[quote]ebomb5522 wrote:
I second what Sentoguy said.

High reps and continuous tension works best with quads IMO.

I really like high rep front squats with continuous tension, leg press with 3 second negatives and no lockout for 15-30 reps, hacks in the same way, and walking lunges. 100 rep leg extension sets are also great. [/quote]

Do you do your front squats in the Smith? I always felt like my shoulders and upper back would give out before my legs when trying to do them free weight style. Also, the bar against my throat didn’t feel great.
[/quote]

I do them free weight. I do agree that while it’s not optimal and sometimes if I don’t get the correct bar position, I need to re-rack and try again, but if I get good position, I can do pretty high rep sets with relatively high weight (315 x 10-12 reps, 225 x 25-30, etc).

[quote]ebomb5522 wrote:
I second what Sentoguy said.

High reps and continuous tension works best with quads IMO.

I really like high rep front squats with continuous tension, leg press with 3 second negatives and no lockout for 15-30 reps, hacks in the same way, and walking lunges. 100 rep leg extension sets are also great. [/quote]

Seeing ebom’s legs have given me a new outlook on leg extensions! Do you hold at lock out or concentrate on negatives?

I’ve done a lot of martial arts training in the past used to train for the Australian team and my legs have always been very powerful and strong but honestly once ive done 4 sets of heavy squats 1-2 sets 20xpause squats and 45deg leg press 3x 8-10 my quads are so pumped it actually hurts my knees from the pump!! I honestly believe if you push yourself to almost failure every set you’ll be cooked after squats and leg press for quads! I think
Most ppl don’t actually push the selfs enough with legs and cut their sets short as soon as the reps start to get hard!! Push yourself and progress every workout and explode on every push and I believe your quads shall Grow!