Maximizing leg development… Part II

Maximizing leg development and Dan John’s take on the squat

How can you put the preceding information into practice and apply it when designing your training programs?

I’m not going to give you some universal miracle program. Instead, I’ll discuss the principles you might want to consider.

Bear in mind that virtually every exercise in this table could be moved from one category to another: it all depends on exactly how you perform it. Take the conventional deadlift: if you perform it through a partial range of motion, starting 4 – 5 cm below your knees with your knees extending over the barbell in the starting position, a posterior chain-dominant exercise automatically becomes about as quad-dominant as it can get.

When putting together a program, consider…

Similarly, if you perform a box squat with an upright torso, you make it much more quad-dominant than it normally is. Ultimately, it all comes down to how you perform the movement. When putting together a program, you could start by giving more attention to developing your posterior chain.

Gray Cook often says that the volume of deadlift movements should actually be four times that of squat movements. As Gray Cook puts it: “Keep improving your deadlift; maintain your squat movement.”

And I can see what he means: the quads are already strong enough to initiate the deadlift, so why go to extremes to make them even stronger? Instead, you should work on strengthening the weak phases of the movement.

But as a passionate squatter, I (the author of this article) still want to improve my squat and keep pushing those numbers up!

Lessons from bodybuilders…

Bodybuilders may be the best at distinguishing between exercises that emphasize the quads and those that emphasize the posterior chain. In pursuing their goals, they have learned to direct, adjust, and feel where the training load is concentrated. Recognizing that distinction depends on the much-discussed ability to consciously feel your muscles working—the so-called mind-muscle connection. Powerlifters can learn at least 1 – 2 important things from bodybuilders here. Most powerlifters, regardless of their strengths, weaknesses, or technique, mindlessly stay in the “gray zone” all year round. As a powerlifter myself, I admit that this really is the case.

My squats look like deadlifts, and my deadlifts look like squats. Seriously!!! The result is that I’m effectively doing the same movement over and over in every workout. The only difference is that sometimes the barbell is on my upper back, and sometimes it hangs down in my hands!

Lately, I’ve made a conscious effort to get out of the “gray zone” and work with different emphases. I feel this improves my overall strength while also making my workouts much more varied and less monotonous.

I deliberately structure my workouts so that if the plan for today is to emphasize the front of my thighs, I perform my exercises accordingly. I let my knees travel further past my toes and make a more conscious effort to use my quads. The front squat is one of my first choices for emphasizing the quads.

Conversely, when I want to focus more on my posterior chain, I try to keep my shins as vertical as possible during lower-body exercises. In this case, the aim is not a large range of motion, but to push my hips as far back as possible to shift the training load onto my glutes and hamstrings. To load the posterior chain, I prefer Romanian deadlifts and trap bar deadlifts. This may surprise you, but a great many people use too much weight for Romanian deadlifts. Don’t let your knees drift too far forward from a vertical shin position, especially as you come out of the bottom position or rise.

Summary…

To sum up, if you want to develop your thighs, the front of your thighs, or your quadriceps more, let your shins move moderately past your knees during movements that extend your knees and hips, and keep your torso as upright as possible. Conversely, if you want to place more training load on your posterior chain, keep your shins as vertical as possible and lean your torso forward in a controlled manner.

Author: Janar Rückenberg (translation)

Source:Turg.Fitness.ee

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