Top trainer Phil Learney’s masterclass on anatomy and training for different body parts continues with quadriceps.
Nothing screams “athlete” more than a sizeable set of quadriceps.
They might not have the same raw explosive power of the glutes and hamstrings but quads are the real showstoppers in the gym. Thick muscled legs are a sure-fire sign that “you squat, bro”.
Apart from looking good, impressive quads will help you run faster, jump higher and squat heavier. But to get them, don’t think a few leg extensions and the occasional squat will cut it—you need volume, high reps and above all the right muscle
movement patterns. Muscle Anatomy As the name suggests, quadriceps are made of four different muscles. The vastus medialis runs down the inner side of the thigh to the knee.It is responsible for knee extension and
adduction of the thigh.
Running down the outside of the thigh to the knee is the vastus lateralis, which is also responsible for knee extension.
The rectus femoris, which extends across the middle of the thigh, is used for flexing the hip and knee extension.
Sitting under this muscle is the vastus intermedius, which also extends the knee. Knowing how to vary knee extension
movement patterns for each muscle will lead to better and more balanced gains.
Muscle Movements Downhill skiers, you may be surprised to discover, have some of the bestdeveloped quads in sport. Why? Because of the shin angle—the angle between the feet and the shins is small because the knees track so far forward.
It is the same with speed skaters and ice hockey players—where do they put their weight? It is always forwards to the front of the boot.
Cyclists have incredible quad development too. Again, this
is due to the knee travelling forwards putting stress directly on the quads. Exercise classes brought about the myth of not
allowing the knees to be in front of the toes when squatting.
The idea has become ingrained—but try walking up a set of stairs without your knee going in front of your toes.
The knee is meant to come forwards—it is a fundamental
biomechanical movement. The real problem is that everyone
sits on their backsides too much and the hamstrings and glutes become weaker, which moves loads to the quads and hence the knee joints.
Due to weak hamstrings, people can’t stabilise their knees properly and this leads to injuries—first to the knees and then the hip.
By replicating the quad-stressing shin angle of skiers and skaters when squatting in the gym you can prevent this and maximise quad gains.
It is possible to class quad movements as either hip dominant or quad dominant. Again, it is to do with the angle of the shin.
If the shin is perpendicular, the hip leads the movement—so it is hip dominant. If your knees go in front of the toe or move forwards of perpendicular, the quad is dominant.
The further forward the knee is the more quad dominant the move. One way of achieving this is to elevate the heels when squatting. Think about women wearing heels: they never hit their glutes or hamstrings because they are always on their toes, hitting their quads because the knee is forced to track forwards.
This reduces the muscular activity in the glutes and the hams, an area of huge concern for many females. Powerlifters lift with their hips—they wear flat shoes.
But Olympic lifters wear specialist shoes with elevated heels—loading the quads more and helping them transition into Olympic lifting derivatives (power cleans, high pulls etc).
Slipping small weight plates under your heels is tantamount to wearing a pair of Olympic lifting shoes.
Try This Workout
Back squat Go heavier
3 sets 12-15 reps
Low-foot leg press
3 sets 15-20 reps
Narrow-stance squat
3 sets 15-20 reps
Leg extension
3 sets 25 reps
Back squat (with heels elevated) As explained, elevating the heels will reduce activity in the glutes and hamstrings and put more stress on the quads.
Adopt a wide-feet position with toes turned slightly out—this will hit your vastus medialis muscle. Sometimes people turn their feet out but unless you turn your hips out too, it doesn’t work.
As a coach I often see people forgetting where their feet are. They don’t think about using the correct angle or where their knees and hips are.But these factors are important. Low-foot leg press Place your feet low on the leg press so the knee travels in front of the toes or in front of the ankle and hip line.
Crank up the repetitions to 15-plusmost people’s quads are comprised predominantly of slow-twitch fibres, and have more muscle endurance.
The bottom half of the range on leg press—and indeed the squat— are the best way to target the vastus intermedius and the rectus femoris.
These muscles create the sweep across the front of the leg and provide thickness and depth to the quad.
This isometric tension means you will create contraction on the outer quad before you have even started the squat movement. Leg extension Due to the flexion of the hip, leg extensions do not hit the rectus femoris well but they do target all the other quad muscles. The exercise is often excluded from athletes’ programmes that are more targeted at using the hips but it should not be disregarded.
