I guess I’m one of those weird people who actually sees quad growth with back squats (and not ham/glute growth).
What I’m noticing is that my “lower” thighs, toward the knees, aren’t developing nearly as much as my upper thighs. There’s a taper down to the knee. I’d like to even this out.
Which exercises help develop the lower thigh?
I know Gironda had his “sissy squat with the burlesque bump” to target lower thigh development, but I’d rather stick with something a little more, um, “normal”… if possible.
I’ve ONLY done back squats and SLDLs for leg development, which means 1) I’m open to pretty much anything, and 2) I have no idea what might or might not work for me. I’m willing to try things out, but I’d like to narrow my options down a bit first.
the best way to develop the lower thigh is to get brutally strong on a handful of leg exercises (squats, front squats, hack squats, leg press, etc) while gaining a lot of bodyweight
Front squats. also any one leg movements where the knee is pushed as far over the toes as possible.
I also get quad growth from back squats, although i never feel it lower on the quad when im preforming the movement, or with any kind of soreness the next day/days.
But when I front squat hard I always feel it primarily in my lower Quad region and my VMOs get sore the next day pretty consistantly. Since discovering this I now front squat about twice as often as Back squat and the mass around my knee is getting more balanced with my glutes and upper thighs.
[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
Just get bigger legs you retard
[/quote]
lower-thighs that’s a new one to me[/quote]
Um. How about I rephrase to “my current thigh training seems to hit my rectus femoris well, but not my vastus lateralis or vastus medialis, and I’d like to hit them better”.
And it sounds like front squats are probably what I’m looking for; thanks tork.
[quote]zraw wrote:
High reps and very very deep, on the legpress or the hacksquat after having done squats and some legcurl pre exaust will do the trick[/quote]
Front squats with a somewhat narrow stance and going deep IMO. I back squat wide as hell and I mainly get bigger glutes, hamstrings and adductors, so I know that feel bro.
A lot has to do with genetics, as is talked about in that thread. There’s a 100 lb girl in my class with great “overhang” to her lower quads. Would look out of this world at 250.
if you really want to focus on your vastus medialis, you know just to be sure, i suggest the backwards sled drag. just drag something in your backyard. its like a partial, eccentricless leg extension for fifty+ reps and you can always get another rep(step)
I’m working on the same issue. Back squats and SLDL’s filled out my Glutes, Hams and Upper Quads(hips). So now I’m giving Front Squats, Hack Squats a whirl. Also incorporating some high rep leg press with plenty of extension at the end. Definately feeling it in the right area.
Gironda would recommend a knees together hack slide for lower and outer thigh. Here’s his description verbatim. Adopt a comfortable position on the hack slide machine. Keep feet close together (touching or almost touching). Lower into squat posiion, but concentrate on keeping the knees together as you drop downwards. Go as low as possible before pushing up to a straight leg position. Bounce twice at the bottom before rising. Lower and repeat.
These helped me a lot with the same problem you have. I set the hack squat platform so I’m leaning as far back as possible since the machines back then were at a 60 degree angle instead of 45 degrees like most are setup today. I also put my feet as far up on the platform as possible
front squats sound like a pain. i can go to my backyard whenever i want to sled drag and focus on getting a burn deep inside my teardrops. not much effort to it. it feels good getting a great burn, and then adding another plate and it hits even deeper
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
I find limiting the ROM on leg extensions really gets the ole teardrop burnin’[/quote]
and a good amount of stress on the knee joint, backs slowly out of thread ;)[/quote]
ya but it feels ok I think. I stay in the 20-25 rep range anyway so there’s not too much stress[/quote]
actually most of the streess on the knee joint comes from the bottom half of the movement especially the start, if you think about it ur knees are not that strong when bent, but when close to lock out they are quite stable and can handle more stress, so by limiting the ROM to the top half or third its actually ‘safer’ on the knees.
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
I find limiting the ROM on leg extensions really gets the ole teardrop burnin’[/quote]
and a good amount of stress on the knee joint, backs slowly out of thread ;)[/quote]
ya but it feels ok I think. I stay in the 20-25 rep range anyway so there’s not too much stress[/quote]
actually most of the streess on the knee joint comes from the bottom half of the movement especially the start, if you think about it ur knees are not that strong when bent, but when close to lock out they are quite stable and can handle more stress, so by limiting the ROM to the top half or third its actually ‘safer’ on the knees.
