most agree the PC is superior to the quad in athletic movements such as jumping. what exactly is the quad functional for?
jumping, sprints, everything involving your legs.
[quote]kickureface wrote:
most agree the PC is superior to the quad in athletic movements such as jumping. what exactly is the quad functional for?[/quote]
None really.
Nature has just put the largest muscles on the body on the front of the legs for no apparent reason.
The “rally around the P-chain” movement is really overblown. In my opinion, the only thing to keep in mind is that the quads are a very strong muscle group that easily becomes involved in many movements. You shouldn’t go out of your way to train them. The posterior chain is a little easier to miss, so it requires a little bit of special attention in most people.
That’s pretty much it.
[quote]kickureface wrote:
most agree the PC is superior to the quad in athletic movements such as jumping. what exactly is the quad functional for?[/quote]
Who agrees? The internet??
Show me a big squatter with small quads. Go on.
People have COMPLETELY taken what Louie et al have been saying out of context. Like Wendler said, unless that shits hanging over your knee, you’re not quad dominant.
Knee extension (squatting and lunging movements), double leg jumping and the acceleration phase in sprinting.
I think being quad dominance/functionality depends on your activity. For squatters it’s less of an issue that a field sports player where it could affect mechanics and injury. If you are Nominal Prospect quads are very functional for leg extensions.
[quote]kickureface wrote:
most agree the PC is superior to the quad in athletic movements such as jumping. what exactly is the quad functional for?[/quote]
Just checking my understanding here…
I thought that the major function of the quads was decelerating you as you squat. Therefore, properly done squats should get the quads, right? I find pistols (one-legged squats) are really hard to beat for quad work, since it’s pretty clear on the way down if they function right.
Since most people are quad dominant (due to glute/hamstring inactivation), they tend to overuse them. This leads to bad body dynamics and increased risk of injury. It is a skill to be able to use the posterior chain correctly and one that most people (as in, of the general population) never master. Coaches who must train people to use their PC then have to make a sales pitch to even get it on the radar, and this is what skews the discussion.
Sound about right?
– jj
I agree with Hanley that people obsess too much with the posterior chain.
If you want to squat big with wide stance - PC is king.
But if we are talking about general athletic activities, anterior chain is just as important. Lombard’s paradox is in action in near every part of running, jumping, etc.
My guess is that the demands of normal sedentary lifestyle neglect PC more than AC, so for most people, it’s immediate jump when they strengthen their weakness.
The posterior chain can produce the bigger part of the power/force during some activities, it’s just not the be all, end all of lower body strength, IMO.
[quote]mldj wrote:
I agree with Hanley that people obsess too much with the posterior chain.
If you want to squat big with wide stance - PC is king.
But if we are talking about general athletic activities, anterior chain is just as important. Lombard’s paradox is in action in near every part of running, jumping, etc.
My guess is that the demands of normal sedentary lifestyle neglect PC more than AC, so for most people, it’s immediate jump when they strengthen their weakness.
The posterior chain can produce the bigger part of the power/force during some activities, it’s just not the be all, end all of lower body strength, IMO.[/quote]
x2 my raw squat took off by adding quad work
I agree. I got appreciably quicker off the line by adding in front squats.
i only came up with the question because i thought i got rid of my quad dominance in the gym- but when i ran around playing some random sports for fun i noticed my quads got reasonably sore. i figured athletic movement (sprint/jump/etc) required a lot of quad, or i was using my quads too much and my pc was sleeping.
In my opinion one of the only places in which quad dominance is a real concern is in sprinting. Overreliance on the quads will cause you to adopt inefficient mechanics, basically doing a series mini-jumps down the track instead of a fluid “pull.”
so… you decided…that since your quads are whats always sore when you’re doing athletic movements, that they are not as important while doing athletic movements and you cant think of what their function may be?
[quote]brian.m wrote:
so… you decided…that since your quads are whats always sore when you’re doing athletic movements, that they are not as important while doing athletic movements and you cant think of what their function may be?[/quote]
i figured i might be quad dominant.
What do the Quadriceps do?
I’m pretty sure there important for straightening out your knee. So any activity in which your knee bends would probably benefit from strong quads.
And I’m pretty sure the Inner Quad has some aid in hip extension.
Besides obviously being used in the Squat, Deadlift, Clean, and Snatch, the Quads are pretty fucking important for any sport where you use your legs.
The Quads are also a big source of leg drive in the Bench Press.
And if you don’t have strong, healthy Quads then your knees are probably going to be fucked up.
There’s Kirk’s 1000X2
If you don’t think Quads are important, keep in mind that both Kirk Karwowski and Ed Coan did a lot of Quad work. Kirks’ 1000X2 and Ed’s 900lb Dead dead at 220 should be evidence enough that Quad work is important for powerlifting. Even if you’re a heavily geared, wide-stance powerlifter, just look at Matt Kroc’s 1000+ Squat and 810 Deadlift at 220. He also does a lot of Quad work.
The Truth is, you can’t know for sure how strong you’ll need to make yourself to reach your goals, so you gotta make everything as strong as possible.
[quote]kickureface wrote:
brian.m wrote:
so… you decided…that since your quads are whats always sore when you’re doing athletic movements, that they are not as important while doing athletic movements and you cant think of what their function may be?
i figured i might be quad dominant. [/quote]
I think what people might be getting at is the fact that you arent quad dominant, you may have just had a weak posterior chain. Theres a difference.
I rarely, if ever, get posterior chain DOMS from playing any kind of sport. Does that make me quad dominant? No. It means I just dont get a lot of hamstring and glute DOMS from playing sport.
It really depends on what someone means by quad dominant. Is it a strength or flexibility issue? The former can usually be rectified by some type of concentrated loading on the weaker antagonist. A flexibility issue can spring up a whole crop of problems. Quad dominant in this case would mean that the quads and hip flexors are stiff/short but not always strong per se. This can lead to “weak” or more appropriate, inhibited glutes and overworked hamstrings due to their being stretched beyond normal resting length. A muscle that doesn’t rest at optimal length whether short or lengthened will not fire optimally.
Not to mention the dysfunction at the hip with the inability to extend at the hip and substituting lumbar extension. Knee dysfunction and pain can aslo be associated with “quad dominant” issues.