Leg training is punishing, unforgiving and, at times, painful. But it's in that pain that the chaff is separated from the wheat when it comes to lifters. The truly dedicated realize that building a better physique is not solely a waist-up endeavor. In the interest of symmetry and totality, right-minded lifters hit the squat rack with the same kind of will-shattering intensity as they do the bench.
For those looking to exhaust every possible technique to elicit thegreatest leg gains possible, here are five ways you can build wide-swept quads and strong, shredded hams.
1. GIANT SETS
Do each exercise in each workout consecutively, the only rest being the time it takes to move to the next exercise. When you complete the last exercise you have completed one giant set. Do 3-4 of these giant sets per workout.
2. EXTENDED SET SQUATS
This technique is a way to extend a typical set (i.e. complete more total reps) by moving from the hardest version of an exercise to an easier version. For example, front squats are harder than back squats, the same way close-stance squats are harder than wide-stance squats. So one way to extend a set of squats is by starting with close stance front squats, then moving to wide stance front squats, then racking the weight and immediately moving to close-stance back squats and then finishing with wide-stance back squats—that's one extended set.
3. Change Up the Pace
In addition to altering the number of reps you can also change the pace you work at. For example, one training style involves doing 15 reps in each set but varying up the speed. Reps 1-5 are done quickly using explosive power. Reps 6-10 are done slowly with about 5 seconds on both the positive and negative portion of the lift. Reps 11-15 are done at a normal pace of about 1-2 seconds on both the positive and negative portion of the lift. Obviously given the fact that you are doing slow slow reps in here you won’t be able to lift as much as you usually do, so keep that mind mind when choosing a weight.
This type of training is beneficial in the long run because it develops your explosive power as well as overall muscle mass. You might be wondering why explosive power is important for a bodybuilder – well, think of it this way. When you start lifting really heavy weights you are going to be thankful you have explosive power as that will help you get the weights up! As the weights get heavier you will need to start using more tricks to get the weight up and lifting the weight up quickly and explosively is a great way to do that.
The explosive reps you do in this training style will also help target those fast-twitch fibers while the slower reps maximize time under tension for improved muscle growth. Finally, this training style will definitely cause you to work up a sweat which means more calories burned, higher metabolism and less body fat!
4. Take Supersets to Another Level
Supersets involve doing two exercises back to back without any rest in between. What we recommend, however, is taking it to another level and perform ALL the exercises back to back. For example, on leg day that would mean doing squats, lunges, leg press, leg extensions and leg curls all back-to-back. The only rest you get is the time it takes to walk over to the next exercise and set up. Obviously this type of training is exhausting so you won’t be able to do more than 4 of these chain sets. Also, try doing these when your gym isn’t too busy as waiting for a piece of equipment kind of defeats the purpose.
5. Form-Change Supersets
If you really want to challenge yourself, try doing the exercise above but with different stances of squats! Typically the hardest type of squat for most people is the front squat, with the easiest being wide-stance back squats. Work your way through each of these doing 3 or 4 reps per form all part of the same set. This allows you to keep the set going even though you might not be able to do any more reps of front squats.
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