I’ve been squatting since college track days and my legs are still shaped like that of a runner. I go deep. My hams are almost touching my calves.
For the amount I squat, my legs just don’t seem to be showing. Is once a week enough for squats? My weight is at a plateau as well. Any suggestions?
I’m 6’5 and have long legs, could that be part of the problem? Most of the guys I see with the tree truck thighs are as tall as a leprechaun.
Are high reps better? Or low reps with lighter weight. thanks
I don’t know the answer to your question, I’m struggilng with the squat myself. However, my legs look strong. I have the tree trunk genetics you’re talking about, but I am not a strong squatter at all you most likely squat alot more than me.
I have a friend who is a runner like you and is one of the strongest squatters I’ve seen, and his legs have not grown in size much. They look very defined, but big? Not by any means.
[quote]yogaroots wrote:
I’ve been squatting since college track days and my legs are still shaped like that of a runner. I go deep. My hams are almost touching my calves.
For the amount I squat, my legs just don’t seem to be showing. Is once a week enough for squats? My weight is at a plateau as well. Any suggestions?
I’m 6’5 and have long legs, could that be part of the problem? Most of the guys I see with the tree truck thighs are as tall as a leprechaun.
Are high reps better? Or low reps with lighter weight. thanks[/quote]
I think different people will give you different answers. You should also provide more information: what is your training like, what kind of volume (rep, sets, weight) do you use for your squats? You’ll get more answers if people know those.
However, I think almost everyone here will agree that you can squat twice a week, especially when you’re at a plateau. Your legs can take the damage. I’m assuming you don’t train legs any other way (like you don’t do track practice 6 times a week)
If you’re determined to break that plateau, then i would suggest this. it’s just 8 weeks and should be worth giving a try:
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1909127
good luck!
[quote]yogaroots wrote:
I’ve been squatting since college track days and my legs are still shaped like that of a runner. I go deep. My hams are almost touching my calves.
For the amount I squat, my legs just don’t seem to be showing. Is once a week enough for squats? My weight is at a plateau as well. Any suggestions?
I’m 6’5 and have long legs, could that be part of the problem? Most of the guys I see with the tree truck thighs are as tall as a leprechaun.
Are high reps better? Or low reps with lighter weight. thanks[/quote]
I would recommend doing them twice a week.
Also do 3 sets of 10, 8 and 6 reps. After each rep increase the weight.
Make sure you stretch and warm up too.
I’m also having a problem finding info on squats -
I’m currently doing around 20kg for 6 sets going down from 6,6,5,4,3,2 increasing weights as rteps get lower if i can handle it.
would you say this is ok or i should do less sets higher reps?
i’m just looking for mass
We have 3 squat threads going right now, we should compress them all into one. And sticky it.
Is the rest of your body growing? Are you eating enough? At your height it takes a lot of added mass to get your legs bigger.
Your link works man, nevermind.
Here is the thing about back squats, or any exercise for that matter. You will get stronger and your muscles will hypertrophy but you the muscles that get stronger and hypertrophy are those doing the majority of the work.
The fact is that tall people like you and I (I am 6’4") have to lean our torso over quite a bit when squatting to equalize how far our femurs extend back. What this does is really closes the hip angle down putting a huge stretch and a tremendous amount of tension on the glutes and hamstrings, and in this case the quads do not get alot of bang for their buck in with regard to how much weight you can back squat and the size you can get out of the quads compared to how much size you could get out of front squatting much less weight. You have to find exercises that keep the glutes and hamstrings out of the movement, these movements are those which your torso stays quite straight relative to the body. Front Squats, Hack squats, Lunges, step ups, etc…
Of course not everyone is created equal and there are some taller guys you can stay pretty upright will deep squatting, there are not many though…
Hopefully i dont get flamed for saying this; but tall people could try a smith machine for a while as it allows them to place there feet slightly forward to more easily get deep so there is less strain on the back as you can keep your back more upright. This may allow you to go deeper and heavier than you normally . You could use the smith for a month and then go back to the regular squat to try to get buy sticking point. Just something to think about.
Also, many people are under the false perception that they can only squat once a week. This is not true; dont know if you are only squating once a week; but if you are, increase this to twice a week.
Ya, I agree. I don’t understand most judgements on lifting frequency, you can pretty much lift as much you want as long as you’re not overtraining. For the next two weeks, I’ll probably be squatting everyday because I’m trying to learn the exericse, that doesn’t mean I’m going to be pushing a full rack tho. But I will be busting my ass.
I remember reading somewhere that tall guys sometimes benifit more from the leg press than squats when It comes to growth, I’ll try and find the article; It was on here a while back. Something to do with the length of your levers and stuff.
[quote]yogaroots wrote:
… My weight is at a plateau as well. Any suggestions?
…[/quote]
Just caught this or I wouldn’t have asked my earlier question.
Your problem sounds like it is not enough food.
Rippetoe’s program works well for beginners, and Madcow’s 5x5 or the Texas Method works well for intermediate lifters. If you follow these programs closely and eat A LOT, your legs will get bigger.
Eat.
Also, milk.
Eat.
[quote]yogaroots wrote:
I’ve been squatting since college track days and my legs are still shaped like that of a runner. I go deep. My hams are almost touching my calves.
For the amount I squat, my legs just don’t seem to be showing. Is once a week enough for squats? My weight is at a plateau as well. Any suggestions?
I’m 6’5 and have long legs, could that be part of the problem? Most of the guys I see with the tree truck thighs are as tall as a leprechaun.
Are high reps better? Or low reps with lighter weight. thanks[/quote]
I would say the problem is food intake, as you said your weight has also stalled. Also, you said that you’ve been squatting since college, have you kept the same set and rep scheme since then, or have you changed it from time to time? What’s your current routine and diet look like?
training makes you strong, eating makes you big
Seriously how much can you squat…what is your bodyweight?
I doubt you are squatting 200kgx20reps (just an arbritary goal to shoot for)
Figure out what part gives out first in the squat (bottom=posterior chain, top=quads/abs) and work on some isolation movements to add mass to those areas after your squats. Maintain the weight in the squats for 1 month while you force the areas to increase, the next month drop the isolation and pile the weight. Do same cycle for 6 months and evaluate where you are from there.
I’m 6’2 and used to squat religiously for leg mass but it just never came. I switched over to leg press and well lets just say my jeans don’t fit anymore. My squat was at about 255 pds for 8 reps (it stagnated there and my numbers weren’t going up so I decided to try something else).
I started leg pressing and could only do about 4 plates on each side for 10 reps; now I can do 9 on each side for 10 reps. Try ditching the squats for 6 - 8 weeks and try legs presses, you won’t regret it; this is all assuming you are going for size.