T Nation

Need Extra Quad Accessory Work

Powerlifting
#1

Am currently in a volume phase and looking to build up my quads.

High rep lots of set squats don’t seem to be doing the job rn. Seems like my quads burn out fast after half a dozen reps I can’t drive through the whole movement and finish explosively. Load feels shifted onto my hips.

So I’m thinking I need a solid way to hit some quads after squats. So far I got Front Squat, Lying Leg Press and Leg Extension (maybe the hack squat when it gets fixed).

Any other ideas or would loading these up be sufficient?

Perhaps me and high rep squats were never meant to be? Which other methods have worked for you guys?

Also specifically for the leg Extension it feels great on the quads but would these be safe to load up say in the 8RM range?

#2

Ive been meaning to try these out, maybe they’d interest you:

I seen people at a gym near me uses heels elevated with a dumbbell or KB in goblet position

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#3

It’s like a sissy squat. I’ve been meaning to give it a try on the machine set up that locks in your feet and shin but it was moved somewhere and I can’t find it in the gym today

#4

Yeah seems like a good move.

Julian Smith owns a gym near me and he does them all the time on IG and Yotube

#5

Give 1 & 1/4 reps a go.

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#6

That sounds like a good way to fuck up your knees. Leg extensions aren’t very popular with powerlifters for that reason, but if you choose to do them you have to go light and do lots of reps. Try pausing at the top.

I have had good results with Bulgarian split squats. Only problem is I hate every moment, but it’s probably worth it.

Generally speaking, if you have a muscle that has trouble growing you need lots of volume and lots of reps.

This is why if you had asked me I would have told you to do cluster sets instead. They make it easier to maintain good technique and they don’t have the side effect of teaching you to conserve energy for the later reps, which high rep sets do. And after this you would do leg press or whatever for high reps.

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#7

Have you ever done those for high reps? That sounds like it would be torture. I have only done them on my light squat day for technique work to try and work on the bottom position. I could see something like 5x5 with 2 minute breaks working well.

#8

I’ve been doing lunges but going from one side of the gym to the other is a bit annoying. What would the advantages of split squats be over that or leg Press?

For clusters so like 4-5 reps rest 10-15 sec and go again?

#9

Do you have access to a sled? Pushes and reverse drags will safely blast your quads.

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#10

You could do reverse lunges instead, stay in one spot. I don’t know if Bulgarian split squats are inherently better than lunges but I never really got anything out of lunges, if you aren’t getting anything out of them then give it a try. One advantage for me is that on lunges I have to limit ROM or my knee will hit the floor on each rep, with Bulgarian split squats your back foot is raised so that is not an issue. Also I do them holding something (power rack) for balance, making balance a limiting factor is not going to increase hypertrophy.

Leg press might be better than split squats, but it depends on the machine and yourself. Some leg press machines don’t go all the way down and others are at a weird angle that hurts your back. I used to train at a gym that had three leg press machines and each one sucked for a different reason. If you need a second quad exercise then do both leg press and split squats.

I would do something like 5x5 with 1-2 minute rest (depends on what you can handle). If you are already doing a bunch of high rep hypertrophy work then just increase the weight each week but otherwise you could add a set or two each week up to 10 sets or so, and keep the weight the same. That is a good way to increase work capacity but if you are already pushing assistance work you might burn out too soon.

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#11

What % of your 1 RM are you using?

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#12

Last couple of weeks been using 55-60% 1 RM 10-15 reps.

#13

Actually no I don’t think so lol. As nice as my current gym is that’s something it doesn’t have

#14

I never got anything out of leg presses until I started using a band to make a strength curve that worked better for me. With leg press, it could be really hard on the bottom and super easy as I got closer to full knee extension.

I put a lifting belt on real loose, put the middle of the length of the band between myself the and belt and put the loops around the middle of my foot. I instantly started feeling my quads a lot more on the leg press.

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#15

I think my gym has a plate loaded leg Press that can tweak the strength curve

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#16

Very high rep BW walking lunges and weighted lunges for 3 x 10 per leg on separate days works great. I believe lunges to be the greatest leg builder after squats.

#17

You ever played around with Blood Flow Restriction? I been doing it for my biceps and triceps and always walk out with nasty pumps

I saw an article on EliteFTS called “Grow BIG quads without lower back pain” and they cover a lot of BFR/Occlusion stuff. Might be worth a look.

#18

Lol a bit on my arms. It’s just some gimmicky shit that might make a 0.1% difference lol. My legs ain’t so small that I could occlude them anyways tbh I dunno if anyone’s leg could be (?) given all that deep blood vessel action going on

#19

Possibly. These guys were using knee wraps to tie off their legs, so I could see that being massively effective compared to the occlusion bands you see on amazon

#20

Tru.

Speaking of wraps how did your end up going? I’m not using mine right much but I got and tried out a little some Inzer Iron Zs as beginner wraps and Lilliebridge Wraps