Try some leg-press with your feet very low and close together. Use a weight you can get 15-20 reps. Go deep and do not lock-out at the top or use any momentum. 3-4 sets after your back squat. [/quote]
I will do that, thanks man.
[/quote]
Even better if preformed on a hack squat machine with a controlled double bounce at the bottom. You want a leaning back posture instead of a bent forward posture to minimize hips/glute involvement. This is what really helped me[/quote]
I’m not sure it’s better, but it may be just as effective. I have always found it difficult to do work off the ball of my foot in a hack machine without irritating my knees. [/quote]
I’m the same, leg press is another one that I find hard to keep my knees happy. Having my feet really high helps, but shifts the focus more to hamstring which isn’t always what I want
Try some leg-press with your feet very low and close together. Use a weight you can get 15-20 reps. Go deep and do not lock-out at the top or use any momentum. 3-4 sets after your back squat. [/quote]
I will do that, thanks man.
[/quote]
Even better if preformed on a hack squat machine with a controlled double bounce at the bottom. You want a leaning back posture instead of a bent forward posture to minimize hips/glute involvement. This is what really helped me[/quote]
I’m not sure it’s better, but it may be just as effective. I have always found it difficult to do work off the ball of my foot in a hack machine without irritating my knees. [/quote]
I’m the same, leg press is another one that I find hard to keep my knees happy. Having my feet really high helps, but shifts the focus more to hamstring which isn’t always what I want[/quote]
I also think it is hard to do the leg press without risking lumbar disc damage.
Try some leg-press with your feet very low and close together. Use a weight you can get 15-20 reps. Go deep and do not lock-out at the top or use any momentum. 3-4 sets after your back squat. [/quote]
I will do that, thanks man.
[/quote]
Even better if preformed on a hack squat machine with a controlled double bounce at the bottom. You want a leaning back posture instead of a bent forward posture to minimize hips/glute involvement. This is what really helped me[/quote]
I’m not sure it’s better, but it may be just as effective. I have always found it difficult to do work off the ball of my foot in a hack machine without irritating my knees. [/quote]
I’m the same, leg press is another one that I find hard to keep my knees happy. Having my feet really high helps, but shifts the focus more to hamstring which isn’t always what I want[/quote]
I also think it is hard to do the leg press without risking lumbar disc damage.
[/quote]
if it bothers your back, try it with one foot on the floor. Obviously this won’t be possible for all models of leg press, but it helps me keep a better back position without flexing too much
per bob young…99% of the time, the big guys got that way with the basics, hard training, rest, diet and drugs… when taking the drugs, the tendons do not get the proper progression put on them. you squat 250# regular. then you take the drugs and you’re up to 300 instantly. tendons didnt get use to the 260-270-280- 290#. then when you back off the drugs, the tendons ache big time, and you give up that movement.
Try some leg-press with your feet very low and close together. Use a weight you can get 15-20 reps. Go deep and do not lock-out at the top or use any momentum. 3-4 sets after your back squat. [/quote]
I will do that, thanks man.
[/quote]
Even better if preformed on a hack squat machine with a controlled double bounce at the bottom. You want a leaning back posture instead of a bent forward posture to minimize hips/glute involvement. This is what really helped me[/quote]
I’m not sure it’s better, but it may be just as effective. I have always found it difficult to do work off the ball of my foot in a hack machine without irritating my knees. [/quote]
There’s your problem. You need to go on your balls to preferentially activate your quads on the leg press but you can get even better isolation while leaning back from the squat (ala hack squat in the farthest lean you can obtain with it) while keeping your weight entirely on your heels which is biomechanically advantageous and correct. In my opinion leg press is only suitable to doing hamstrings and it needs to be done a specific way in order to hit them in the correct way
I like the seated leg curl…only because having my ass in the air makes me feel like someone is shooting a porn vid from the wrong perspective.[/quote]
Haha unfortunately, my gym does not have one of those. Face down, ass up is not a natural position for males. [/quote]
Speak for yourself lol
Anyway, I find the lying down machine better because to me it just doesn’t make sense to work out a muscle while you are sitting on it. [/quote]
Totally agree… I just plain don’t like the seated leg curl, but am forced to use it because there’s no lying version available.[/quote]
x3
I love “double clutching” reps on hammie curls. Full rep, halfway down and then back up as one rep… Really good hamstring pumps.[/quote]
Dude, my hammies are crazy sore from doing that. What is weird is that the inner part of my thigh is sore too, like it hit the adductors too, which makes no sense. Well, I guess the gracilis flexes the knee, so maybe that’s it… ^_[1]
I like doing them that way because it takes away a bit of the momentum. It’s easy to get some momentum going for the hammie curls but the 1.5 rep technique cuts that out and let’s you hit the hammie’s harder IMO.[/quote]
Either that or just make your set consist of multiple heavy singles (dead stop after each rep): I’ve made the best progress, hammie-wise that is, by training them with an explosive concentric followed by a fast (but controlled) eccentric and a dead stop per rep.
Totally digging the 1.5 rep scheme though, but only doing that when not training my hammies 4-5x a week.
[quote]ElevenMag wrote:
There’s your problem. You need to go on your balls to preferentially activate your quads on the leg press but you can get even better isolation while leaning back from the squat (ala hack squat in the farthest lean you can obtain with it) while keeping your weight entirely on your heels which is biomechanically advantageous and correct. In my opinion leg press is only suitable to doing hamstrings and it needs to be done a specific way in order to hit them in the correct way
[/quote]
It’s not a problem…it’s a specific technique used to isolate the tear-drop. I have no issue with conventional hacks (I love them); but IMO…they do not focus the work on the lower quad.
Taken from Layne’s write up on his PHAT training, after describing how 1x a week killing his legs resulted in pathetic 21" legs.
One basic concept that convinced me it was important to use heavy weights was that it just made sense to me when I tried to find skinny people who squatted or deadlifted super heavy weights. Come to find out it?s hard to have chicken legs and have a really good squat. I told myself ?I am going to squat 500 lbs for reps because there is no way I?ll be able to do that with skinny legs.? I?m sure there are people out there who squat over 500 lbs for reps and do not have impressive leg development, but I certainly haven?t met them yet. So I set out on a quest to squat 500 lbs and deadlift over 600 lbs.
Over time I adapted my routine to incorporate more and more pure powerlifting movements and what I found astonished me. I started using bands and chains to help get stronger and I did box squats, speed squats, deficit deadlifts, and rack pulls. All movements I had never even heard of when I started bodybuilding. The result? As we sit today my thighs measure over 28? at the largest part and in addition to that my back has grown immensely.
[quote]bwilliamsr89 wrote:
Taken from Layne’s write up on his PHAT training, after describing how 1x a week killing his legs resulted in pathetic 21" legs.
One basic concept that convinced me it was important to use heavy weights was that it just made sense to me when I tried to find skinny people who squatted or deadlifted super heavy weights. Come to find out it?s hard to have chicken legs and have a really good squat. I told myself ?I am going to squat 500 lbs for reps because there is no way I?ll be able to do that with skinny legs.? I?m sure there are people out there who squat over 500 lbs for reps and do not have impressive leg development, but I certainly haven?t met them yet. So I set out on a quest to squat 500 lbs and deadlift over 600 lbs.
Over time I adapted my routine to incorporate more and more pure powerlifting movements and what I found astonished me. I started using bands and chains to help get stronger and I did box squats, speed squats, deficit deadlifts, and rack pulls. All movements I had never even heard of when I started bodybuilding. The result? As we sit today my thighs measure over 28? at the largest part and in addition to that my back has grown immensely.[/quote]
So what held him back? Training legs only once a week? Or not squatting with variety?
[quote]bwilliamsr89 wrote:
Taken from Layne’s write up on his PHAT training, after describing how 1x a week killing his legs resulted in pathetic 21" legs.
One basic concept that convinced me it was important to use heavy weights was that it just made sense to me when I tried to find skinny people who squatted or deadlifted super heavy weights. Come to find out it?s hard to have chicken legs and have a really good squat. I told myself ?I am going to squat 500 lbs for reps because there is no way I?ll be able to do that with skinny legs.? I?m sure there are people out there who squat over 500 lbs for reps and do not have impressive leg development, but I certainly haven?t met them yet. So I set out on a quest to squat 500 lbs and deadlift over 600 lbs.
Over time I adapted my routine to incorporate more and more pure powerlifting movements and what I found astonished me. I started using bands and chains to help get stronger and I did box squats, speed squats, deficit deadlifts, and rack pulls. All movements I had never even heard of when I started bodybuilding. The result? As we sit today my thighs measure over 28? at the largest part and in addition to that my back has grown immensely.[/quote]
So what held him back? Training legs only once a week? Or not squatting with variety?[/quote]
I can only make assumptions because I’m not him, but I would assume both. That’s kind of the idea behind PHAT. Higher frequency 2x a week, essentially focus on the weight moved one day and another focus on the muscle/pump type work later in the week.
As far as variety, he explains how he started incorporating bands, chains, boards, etc for powerlifting. So I’m assuming combo of both did the job.
They do it because they know that a legpress builds just as big legs as a squat but with a lesser risk of injury.
And when it comes to deadlift i personally hate this excerise.
After 15 years in the gym i dont know a single person who has deadlifted at a serious level that don’t suffer from some kind of lower back injury thanks to it.
There are safer ways to build hams/gluteus and erectors, the GHR or hyperextensions are 2 good examples.