Monday 30 May 2016

Quad Defining Exercises

Quadriceps are one of the most important muscles in our body because they are extremely powerful and are used for most exercises or sports such as football or even table tennis. Just think about it, on the leg press how much weight can you take? Far more than what your biceps can take when benching, maybe 3 to 4 times as much. That is why it is so crucial to train such a large and powerful muscle. The quads rest in your thigh and they are your driving power for sprinting and fast paced sports such as rugby and rowing. Usain Bolt has massive quads which allows him to accelerate in high speeds. Now, looking at the exercises which would suit this kind of muscle....
The quads are right above your knee and so you have to be careful when putting load on your quads you don't over work your knee joints otherwise it could lead to some permanent injures. I would advise not to do the leg press because, as I have learnt from personal experience, it can damage your knee and prevent you from fully functioning your leg when playing a sport. I would advise using your bench press max weight on the leg press max if it has to be done. And finally always do a non-weighted warm up to make sure the blood is flowing to that massive muscle.


Jumping Lunges
Lunges are a great way to warm up but also a great exercise for your quads too! Your using body weight so it should be fairly easy if your fairly fit. But the trick is to jump to your new lunge position every time you switch leg. This obviously makes it much harder but increases your quads explosive strength - the quick muscle reaction in your quads. Doing 10 reps 3 sets is a good start.

Weighted Lunges
The next exercise is weighted Lunges. There are two ways you can do this and I will tell you why each one may or may not work best for you. The first way to do this is to get a barbell with your desired weight up and behind your head. The problem with this is that some people may feel pain resting this weight on there rear neck - spine. Plus I wouldn't advise this exercise for teenagers as it will put pressure on your spine and may result in injure which could affect your growth. So the alternate for this is to have two dumbbell weights in your hands while you do the lunge. This exercise has exactly the same impact.


Jumping Squats
Squats, squats, squats, something you would get for a punishment in PE right? Well it is I would say the best exercise for ultra quad definition. For a warm up Squats are good and for the main activity jumping squats can be better. This again builds up explosive ability of your quads and is very easy to do. Once this become easy for you try touch your knees to your chest every time you jump like a tuck jump. 
You can even do weighted squats. However, be careful, only do jumping weighted squats if you have very good balance. I would recommend young adults and elders to not perform jumping squats as it can put a strain on their spine which can lead to health problems.


Sprinting
Ever wondered why Usain Bolt and amazing sprinters like him ran so fast? Its because they had massive quadriceps made of pure lean muscle trained by run fast for a short distance. Quads are the main drivers of fast sprinting. And if you put that the other way round it works too, sprinting is the main exercise for your quads! So instead of your usual 30 minute jog add a 1 minute sprint every five minutes, do this five times and I guarantee your quads will pop in no time. But remember to take breaks so your quads are always performing their best.