My vastis medialis are small in comparison to the rest of my quads. I don’t have a huge outer sweep, but I still wish my tear drops were bigger.
This may start a heated debate, but as much as squats have helped build my legs, I find my VMs grow the most from heavy leg extensions.
I do my squats with the bar high and go very low, but I never feel the burn in the VM the way leg extensions provide. Oddly enough, I only feel my VMs on leg extensions (not the rest of the quads).
I have had “hit-and-miss” results with hacks. Have any of you specifically tried to make your VM bigger? And what exercises or techniques worked?
Since you have to keep your torso more upright, it forces your knees to go further over your toes than a back squat which will put more emphasis on the stus medialis.
Do what works for you. In my case for example, my VM grows best when I squat ATG. If leg extensions give you the best VM development you can possibly have, do with it as you please.
Do keep in mind though that you can experiment with all kinds of leg exercises. For example, you can try varying your squats by improving you flexibility. Find out what’s best for you.
[quote]tonyc wrote:
daltron wrote:
Squatting deep with a closer stance and deep close stance leg press do wonders for the VM.
Oh really? The closer your stance on squats, the more emphasis there is on the lateralis.[/quote]
It also depends on foot angles. The wider the angle, the more the emphasis on the VM. I also remember CT mentioning that the VM responds better to medium rep ranges whereas the lateralis reacts better to lower reps.
If Tirib sees this he’s going to make fun of me again haha…
Stretching in the sissy squat position for 90-120 seconds after your squats hacks leg extensions or whatever you are doing. You’ll develop some VMOs to the best of your ability if you add 100s of lbs to your squats and stretch the muscle aggresively over time.
They would look like this if you have good flexibility. It’s easier to put a barbell around waist height and LIGHTLY hold onto it, don’t let your arms hold you up tightly or else you lose some bodyweight in the process, just use fingertips.
How about frog stance squats, leg press, and hack squats. The frog stance really isolates the VM. I am doing catch-up on the VM myself and that’s what I have been using, it’s working quite well but when you VM was lagging as badly as mine, it takes a while to catch them up. I have been doing them exclusively until the VM catches up, I will not return to regular squats until my VM is fully caught up or surpasses the rest of my leg. It’s been my bane for years, the rest of my quads grow really fast.
I did these last week, plan on doing them tonight. Really felt DOM in my VM.
Place your feet high on the platform, toes pointed out, wide stance, and squat as far down as the machine will allow. Note: the higher your feet are on the platform, the lower you will be able to go.
Thanks a lot for the input. I’m taking notes here. I did not know that by angling your legs and feet out that you would engage more VM, but that does make sense.
