How Do You Hit the Outer Quads?

I have been squatting with a shoulder width stance and feet lightly pointed out in a V. I am noticing that my inner quads ( the teardrop) and the middle quad are sore and growing, as well as my glutes.

Is there any tips, out there to hit the outside more when squatting? I don’t want the pencil leg look with a huge upper body, so developing my legs is very important to me.

Thanks in advance.

Keep your feet together. I’ve been really focusing on this approach myself the past year and I’d like to think it’s helped quite a bit.

S

Definitely listen to Stu, I think he knows a thing or two. :slight_smile:

Towards the later part of a workout, get on a hack squat or something and find a rep range (for most it seems to be parallel or so to not quite-lockout) that feels good with quads and a weight you can hit a higher amount of reps with. Getting a little blood there in addition never hurt anyone. :slight_smile: It will likely also help mind-muscle connection, as your quad will feel like it’s fucking tearing off your leg.

I really like hack squats with a close stance, leg extensions in a “pump rep fashion” where you only do the top half of the movement pointing your toes out, Hacks where you put your toes on the bottom of the platform and do a “sissy squat” really hit em’ hard…and as you get stronger on your squat, pending you’re using a form conducive to quad growth, not only glute/ham, they’ll grow.

I’m not absolutely certain about this, but I don’t think you can target different parts of your quads. They all connect to the same tendon and they only move the knee one way. When you change your squat stance, you’re changing the action of your hips, not knees.

Hey dudes…

How would you set a squat session? Would you say narrow on the light sets and hitting regular squats for overall?

Or say regular squats for overall and close stance hack squats for outter?

[quote]belligerent wrote:
I’m not absolutely certain about this, but I don’t think you can target different parts of your quads. They all connect to the same tendon and they only move the knee one way. When you change your squat stance, you’re changing the action of your hips, not knees.[/quote]

In my experience, you can definitely specifically target the vastus medialis.

Set up a leg press station with low weight, put your heels together and your feet everted at about 45 degrees each. Position your feet about half off the plate, similar to how you would on a calf-raise exercise. Do a few sets of leg presses like this and you’ll feel a very specific burn in the tear drop area.

In my experience, front squats. And hack squats if ya have a good machine, which I almost NEVER do. :frowning:

ebomb… your new avatar is sick! Looking great man.

[quote]belligerent wrote:
I’m not absolutely certain about this, but I don’t think you can target different parts of your quads. They all connect to the same tendon and they only move the knee one way. When you change your squat stance, you’re changing the action of your hips, not knees.[/quote]
Yes, they have the same insertion, but they have different origins and therefore different functions. Vastus medialis, intermedius and lateralis originate on the femur, whereas the rectus femoris originates on what I think you Americans call the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS). This means that the “vasti” can only extend the knee, whereas the rectus femoris can extend the knee AND flex the hip (great way to make it stand out when posing, try it).

Since how well you stretch a muscle apparently affects how recruit it, exercises like sissy squat variations (where the RF gets very stretched) can hit it in a way that normal squats can not.

Foot positioning is another way to tweak the exercise for your needs.

Hope that made sense.

[quote]belligerent wrote:
I’m not absolutely certain about this, but I don’t think you can target different parts of your quads. They all connect to the same tendon and they only move the knee one way. When you change your squat stance, you’re changing the action of your hips, not knees.[/quote]

I like your avatar. However i just sold 10oz gold about 2-3months ago… :frowning:

[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
Hey dudes…

How would you set a squat session? Would you say narrow on the light sets and hitting regular squats for overall?

Or say regular squats for overall and close stance hack squats for outter?

[/quote]

The first option would be ok, as long as you use those first sets accelerating in the concentric phase as much as u can to prepare for the regular ones.

In the second option I’d do close stance and on the upper half of the platform.

[quote]kakno wrote:
This means that the “vasti” can only extend the knee, whereas the rectus femoris can extend the knee AND flex the hip [/quote]

does this mean that you can target vasti with leg extensions ? (vs leg press/squat)

Thanks !
Mathieu

[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:

Or say regular squats for overall and close stance hack squats for outter?

[/quote]

This. Even a close stance on a leg press worked wonders for me outer quads.

Also, I recall reading a study in which they studied the leg mass of body builders on a cutting diet who used differing forms of cardio for fat loss - while a majority of all cardio forms lost the test subjects leg mass (over x amount of weeks), the bike actually ADDED mass in the vastus lateralus. I’ll try to see if I can find that study, but for now, you have to take my word for it.

[quote]TRTblastcruise wrote:

[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:

Or say regular squats for overall and close stance hack squats for outter?

[/quote]

This. Even a close stance on a leg press worked wonders for me outer quads.

Also, I recall reading a study in which they studied the leg mass of body builders on a cutting diet who used differing forms of cardio for fat loss - while a majority of all cardio forms lost the test subjects leg mass (over x amount of weeks), the bike actually ADDED mass in the vastus lateralus. I’ll try to see if I can find that study, but for now, you have to take my word for it. [/quote]

I’ve read that study as well.

Frog squats w/ feet together on tip toes…on the leg press, it’s pretty awkward to do with weight on your back.

Considering it’s for physique and not strength…

[quote]waylanderxx wrote:

[quote]TRTblastcruise wrote:

[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:

Or say regular squats for overall and close stance hack squats for outter?

[/quote]

This. Even a close stance on a leg press worked wonders for me outer quads.

Also, I recall reading a study in which they studied the leg mass of body builders on a cutting diet who used differing forms of cardio for fat loss - while a majority of all cardio forms lost the test subjects leg mass (over x amount of weeks), the bike actually ADDED mass in the vastus lateralus. I’ll try to see if I can find that study, but for now, you have to take my word for it. [/quote]

I’ve read that study as well.[/quote]

I can confirm this.