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How to build quads: 5 workout programs
Powerful, developed, sculpted quads can ensure you win a bodybuilding competition by making you stand out from the crowd. Build the quads you’ve always dreamed of with the following exercises!
Convert your puny quads into powerful pillars!
Powerful, developed, sculpted quads can ensure you win a bodybuilding competition by making you stand out from the crowd. They distinguish a harmonious, proportional, aesthetically beautiful body from an apple-shaped body with a heavy top and thin legs.
Of course, we can’t all have quads like professional bodybuilders, but we can build big, powerful, proportional and well-defined muscles that will impress anyway.
Don’t waste time now so you don’t regret in the future that you haven’t trained your quads enough or spent little time on them. You have no idea how many athletes are soaring in their pants in the gym in the summer, only to hide the results of insufficient perseverance and discipline when pumping up their quadriceps.
The quads account for a very large amount of muscle mass in our body. Their training is very difficult and takes a lot of time and effort to build at least a few grams of muscle. Intensive quadriceps thigh pumping will allow you to develop your entire body thanks to the natural surge of growth hormones and testosterone.
When doing, say, squats, the body uses a huge number of muscles to lift the weight up – the quadriceps, hamstrings, back, trapezius muscles, shoulders, and all are involved in moving and / or balancing the weight during the lift. This means general development of the muscles throughout the body, which contributes to the formation of an overall powerful appearance.
You have to ask yourself the question: Do I need this?
A little anatomy
The quadriceps are a large muscle group that has four heads on the front of the thigh. Let’s take a quick look at these heads and their functions.
Rectus femoris muscle
It starts from the ilium, occupies the middle of the thigh, covering most of the three remaining heads.
External (lateral) broad muscle of the thigh
It starts from the thighbone, runs along the lateral side (outer part) of the thigh, and attaches to the kneecap.
Broad medial femoris muscle
It also starts from the thighbone, runs along the medial side (inner part) of the thigh and attaches to the patella. This muscle is responsible for the droplet shape of the thigh.
Intermediate broad muscle of the thigh
This muscle sits between the lateral and medial at the front of the femur and attaches to the patella.
All four heads of the quadriceps are responsible for the extension of the knee joint. In addition, the rectus femoris also flexes the thigh due to its location.
Pumping up powerful quads!
Now that you know about the anatomy and mechanisms of movement, let’s figure out how to get sculpted, powerful quads. The movements and exercises presented are designed to maximize your performance every time you go to the gym. Remember to always use the correct technique and not lift too much weight so as not to jeopardize your safety.
Barbell Shoulder Squats
Squats with a barbell on the shoulders (the so-called ancestor-founder of all exercises for the muscles of the legs) are the main exercise for the development of impressive quads.
Stand under the bar in a squat rack and place the bar in a comfortable position at the level of your upper back on the trapezius muscle. Grasp the side bar with both hands for stability. Now get out of the rack and place your feet shoulder-width apart or slightly wider.
Very important: bend your knees before starting the exercise. Do not bend your hips or back, or you will get too much forward bend. Lower the weight until the hamstrings are touching the calf muscles or until you reach a comfortable range of motion (BP). Lift the load up using your hips first and then your knees. Do not straighten your legs completely at the top.
The range of motion is very individual. Using the full range of motion is almost the ideal way to do any exercise, but squats can cause problems with knee pain and back strain.
Following a tried and tested rule, squat down to a comfortable limit, then return to the starting position. Don’t skimp and take the task seriously. Squats are very difficult exercises, but the results are worth it.
To engage your inner muscles a bit more (vastus medialis), try squats with your legs slightly wider, with your toes pointing outward.
Barbell Chest Squat
To perform a squat with a barbell on your chest, stand so that the barbell is in front of you, and place it in the bend of your shoulder girdle on. Cross your forearms and lock the bar at the sides. Keep your head straight and your shoulders parallel to the floor. Remove the barbell, exit the rack, and place your feet shoulder-width apart.
Perform this exercise as if you were doing a squat with a barbell on your shoulders. You will find that you can keep your back a little more straight. Chest squats develop quads slightly better than traditional shoulder squats, which require stronger hips.
If you are new to the chest squat and need extra stability, do them for a while on the Smith machine until you become comfortable with the weight.
If you are tall and either lean forward a lot or your heels are off the ground at the bottom, try placing two to four and a half kilograms of weight plates under each heel for added stability. This technique can be used for both squats.
Hack Machine Squats
To develop the outer part (lateral muscle) of the quadriceps, there is nothing better than squats in a hook machine. With a moderate weight setting, stand comfortably under the pads of the machine, with your feet shoulder-width apart in the center of the foot plate. Lower until you reach full range of motion, then return to starting position.
Make sure you don’t accelerate too much on the downward movement, as this will put a huge strain on your knees. Do the exercise at a constant pace. Again, as with all leg exercises, do not fully straighten your knees at the top.
Some gyms do not have this trainer, but you should not despair, because there is always a way out. Just grab a weighted barbell and hold it behind your calves (similar to a deadlift, only with weights behind the buttocks).
Straighten your back, keep your head straight, and start lifting with your leg muscles until you stand completely straight. Without straightening your legs all the way, lower the weight down to its original position, but do not touch the floor.
This exercise requires strict adherence to technique and can only be performed with a moderate weight that you can easily lift.
Leg press
Another great way to build up your leg muscles is the traditional 45-degree leg press. The advantage of this simulator is that it practically does not load the lumbar region and focuses more on the hips.
Sit on the machine and make sure the seat is pushed back enough to achieve its full range of motion. Place your feet in the center of the slab shoulder-width apart. Raise the load up without fully bending your knees and pull out the safety latches.
Lower the stove as much as possible, constantly controlling your movements, and raise it back to its original position. Try not to do half or partial reps – you are fooling yourself and not developing muscles.
If the leg press machine in your gym is constantly busy or just isn’t there, you can choose another option. Many gyms have additional machines for this muscle group, including selectable weights and Hammer Strength multifunction machines.
Leg extension
For perfect isolation of the quadriceps hamstrings, an extension machine is best suited. Sit on the simulator, put your legs behind its working shoulder and lean your back against the support cushion. Adjust the calf pillow so that it fits exactly into the 90-degree angle of the foot and ankle.
At a medium pace, lift the weight and immediately squeeze the muscles at the top point, then return to the starting position. Try not to keep your weight on top, as this will put more stress on your knees, especially on the patella tendon.
To pump up the upper quadriceps a bit, try the following extension. Do the exercise as above, but this time tilt your upper body forward so that at the top the angle between your torso and legs is 90 degrees or less. You will need to take a little less weight, but the result will exceed your expectations!
Lunge
Lunges are a great exercise for shaping your quads. Thanks to them, the muscles look pleasantly round and toned. While many say that lunges engage all of the thigh muscles and develop the hamstrings and glutes in the same way, in this article we will focus our attention on how lunges can be used to train the quads.
Place a relatively light barbell on your shoulders, as if you were doing squats with the barbell behind your shoulders. Exit the squat rack and put one leg forward in front of you. Bend your other leg so that your knee is a few centimeters from the floor.
Do not touch the floor with your knee. Make sure your knee does not protrude beyond your toes, otherwise take a wider step. The other leg will stay behind at all times. After you crouch down, return to the starting upright position and place the leg that you lunged with on the other. Repeat the exercise, changing legs – this will count as one repetition.
A good alternative to barbell lunges is Smith machine lunges. Just lunge with one leg and do all reps in that position. You do not need to put your foot on after each rep, do all the reps for one leg first, then change the position and repeat.
The favorite exercise for most athletes is walking lunges. They are performed in the spacious part of the hall; make sure you have about 10 meters of clear space for steps.
The essence of walking lunges is very simple – you lunge, then put your other leg forward and make the next lunge with this leg. That is, in this exercise you are constantly moving forward.