FITNESS 101
Click on the articles below for fitness tips.
• Exercise Science: Aerobics for Maximum Fat Burning
• Two Trains of Thought about Training
• Muscles are recommended...
• Strength Training for Children
• Training Techniques
• Destroy Fat Cells
• 7 Weight Loss Winners
Click on the articles below for fitness tips.
• Exercise Science: Aerobics for Maximum Fat Burning
• Two Trains of Thought about Training
• Muscles are recommended...
• Strength Training for Children
• Training Techniques
• Destroy Fat Cells
• 7 Weight Loss Winners
Training Techniques, Exercise, and Routines
The Techniques
Heavy-light training.
Although most fitness experts agree that the ideal repetition range for developing muscle mass is between six and 10, the muscles of the lower body seem to respond verywell to a combination of both high and low reps. Why not just train heavy all the time? Because the heavy-light system works every type of muscle fiber to the ficklest. The result is not just the strong, muscular legs of a power lifter but the polished, chiseled legs of a bodybuilder as well.
Former professional bodybuilder, Tom Platz, whb's known for having the best leg development of all time and who is unconventional to say the least, used this approach to develop his monstrous thighs and win the Mr. Universe title. Platz has performed squats with 405 for 25 reps, 315 for 50 reps and 225 for 10 minutes nonstop! The king of quads was equally capable of pushmg heavy iron, having a max single of nearly 800 pounds. There are a variety of ways you can incorporate the heavy-light principle into your training program. One is to designate separate high-rep and low-rep days and alternate at every other workout. Another method 'ls to use high-rep and low-rep training in the same work-out. lf you choose the latter, you can perform high reps or low rep: exclusively on each exercise or do both high and low reps on each.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that light day means easy day. High-rep squats can be the most brutal workout you'll ever subject yourself to. After a few high-rep squat workouts you'll probably find your heavy days feeling easier. Once you've conquered sets of 30 to 40 reps on the squat with 225 pounds, then, 4O5 for sets of five to six reps will be a piece of cake.
Ascending sets.
I learned this little-known technique from my trainer, former Mr. Eastern America Richie Smyth of New Jersey. It's an incredibly effective means of taking a muscle to total failure quickly, without using near maximal weights. An ascending set is the opposite of a descending, or drop, set. Select a weight that you can perform 10 to 12 reps with on a particular exercise, but do just six reps. Add 10 to 15 percent to the weight and continue for six more reps. Then increase the weight an additional 10 to 15 percent and repeat for a final six reps. That's 18 reps total. Take as little rest as possible between the weight changes. lf you've selected your resistance properly, the second six will start to get difficult and the final six will take a supreme effort- you may need a spotter to assist with the last two or three. lf you have a training partner you can increase the intensity by reducing or eliminating the rest periods between weight change; simply have your partner add the weight on the bar without you even racking 1t.
Continuous tension and partial rep.
Conventional wisdom says that you must always perform your exercises through the full range of motion. lf you were to cut out a third or half of the movement, that I would only develop half or two-thirds of the muscle, right? Wrong. Of a1l the exercises in the body-builder's repetoire, slow, constant tension, non-locking squatting movements have got to be the most difficult, and the most result producing exercises of all, and the best way to use continuous tension in your quad training ls to emphasize the lower range of motion and avoid locking out at the top. Squatting very deeply and coming only one-half or three-quarters of the way up not only increase the amount of time your quads are kept under tension, but it also generates greater recruitment of the teardrop shaped medialis.
There are several variations of the continuous-tension, partial-reps technique, including bottom-half reps, 1 1/2s, 1 1/4s and the popular 21 method. Bottom-half reps are exactly what the name implies! You only do the lower half of the range of motion. The combinations, 1 1/2s and 1 1/4s, are techniques in which a single repetition consists of lowering yourself to the bottom position, coming up only one-half or one-quarter of the way, lowering yourself back down to the bottom position and then coming up all the way-but never completely locking out. Shoot for sets of eight to 10 repetitions in this fashion.
Twenty-ones are another popular variation on partial reps. One set consists of seven reps in the top range of motion, seven in the bottom range of motion and then seven covering the full range of motion. To increase the intensity even further, do your continuous-tension reps slowly, with five seconds on the eccentric movement and five seconds on the concentric movement.
High reps. I've already touched on high reps in the section on the heavy-light system, but high-rep leg training is so result producing that it bears mention on its own. When I say high reps, I'm not talking about 12 to 15; I'm talking a minimum of 20 and occasionally as many as 50 and beyond.
Many old-school lifters insist that you must keep your reps in the four-to-eight range and always strive to increase the weight if you want to develop mass and get stronger. If you're a powerlifter, football player or strength athlete, that's good advice. You'll get strong as an ox by training with low reps, but, if you want to look like a body-builder and not a lineman, you must use different training systems that work every muscle fiber and engage every energy system. Enter high-rep training.
Now, I'm not suggesting that you eliminate heavy leg training. You just always include heavy low-rep training and lighter high-rep training in your program. There's a trick to doing high-rep quad workouts: You have to get the breathing right. Unless you pause and breathe between reps, you'll find yourself quitting due to a searing lactic acid burn in the muscle at around the 12th to 15th rep. Breathing squats are a form of rest/pause training. Do the first 10 reps in a continuous fashion as you normally would. On the second 10 take a breath after each rep. On the third 10 you'll probably need two or three deep breaths at the top to recover after each rep. On the fourth and fifth 10-if you get that far-you'll be gasping for air, taking several deep breaths after every rep. Breathing in the rest/pause fashion will allow you to complete a great number of reps with poundages that you never thought attainable.
If you're used to training exclusively with low reps, you'll need to build up your endurance gradually. Start with 20 reps and work your way up to as many as 40 or 50. At that point increase the weight, drop back to 20 reps and start working your way up again. Keep an accurate training journal and try to beat your previous best at every workout. If you train with a partner, make a contest out of it and challenge each other to break your rep records. It's a brutal, but incredibly effective, way to train. If you do it right, expect to be lying on your back for several minutes, gasping for air after each set. Toward the end of the set it becomes a matter of mental toughness more than anything.
Regressive weight pattern. This is the opposite of the conventional pyramid system. Pyramiding entails increasing the weight and decreasing the reps with each set. It's a good system for developing size and strength, especially if you're starting with basic exercises like squats or deadlifts and working up to very heavyweights.
The regressive weight pattern may be even more effective. Begin with your heaviest weight on your first set, when you're fresh and strong, then decrease the weight and increase the reps with each set. To use this system safely, you'll need to warm up thoroughly beforehand.
The rationale behind regressive sets is that all the lighter buildingup sets in a pyramid are wasted and nothing more than warmups. By the time you get to your heaviest set, you're so fatigued from all the warmup sets that you can't lift as much as you might have. With the regressive weight pattern you don't tire yourself out before getting to your productive work sets-therefore, all your sets are productive. Coincidentally, the regressive system was one of Platz's favorite techniques.
Postexhaustion. Postexhaustion is an extension of the heavy-light principle. Select two exercises to superset-a heavy compound movement and a lighter isolation movement. Start with the basic compound exercise and work it heavy; following it with the isolation movement to flush the muscle and produce a maximum pump. You get the benefits of training every type of muscle fiber and energy system in the same workout. A sample quad workout would be heavy leg presses performed for a six-to-eight-rep max followed by leg extensions for 20 to 30 reps.
Preexhaustion. This is another variation of the heavy-light system. What makes it different from postexhaustion is the order of the exercises. Once again, you select a heavy compound movement and a lighter isolation movement to superset, but this time you do the isolation movement first. Preexhaust is a great system if you want to perform heavy basic movements like squats but have difficulty with them due to lower-batk or knee problems. You work the quads to total failure on the leg extensions, then, at a point where most people quit, continue to blast your quads even further by using the synergism of the powerful hip, lower-back and hamstring muscles on the leg presses. Since you prefatigued your quads, you can use much lighter poundages on the squats and still receive the benefits-without subjecting yourself to injury. If you can squat with 275 to 315 easily for reps, then 185 to 225 pounds can seem just as heavy when your quads are preexhausted.
Changing foot positions. Here's an unconventional way to work every section of the quadriceps group thoroughly: Change your foot position with each successive set on a particular exercise. On squatting movements you can vary your stance from wide to medium to narrow. You can also vary the angle of your toes. For example, pointing your toes out 45 degrees and taking a wide stance recruits the adductor muscles more, while a narrow stance with your toes forward recruits the quads more and works the hips, glutes and adductors to a lesser degree. On leg presses you simply change your foot position on the platform. On leg extensions you can point your toes in to work the outer quads, out for the inner quads and straight ahead for overall quad development.
The Exercises
Front squats. Left to their own devices, few people will volunteer to do front squats on their own. The reason is simple: Front squats are probably the only exercise that's harder than regular squats. They're difficult to execute because they require extra balance and coordination to hold the bar on the front of your shoulders.
The rewards of front squats are well worth the added effort. They develop the quadriceps better than almost any other exercise because placing the bar on the front of the shoulders enables you to maintain a more upright posture. It puts more emphasis on the quads while at the same time reducing stress on the lower back, hips and glutes. Back squats. Squats are unquestionably the most effective quad builder of all. For maximum quad development, do bodybuilding squats, placing the bar high on-your traps and using a medium-to-narrow stance. If you lack flexibility, elevate your heels on a one-inch board or mat to help maintain your balance Most important, squat deep! As strength coach Charles Poliquin is fond of saying, "Squat down and don't come back up until you leave a mark on the floor."
Don't be afraid to perform deep squats. According to most strengthtraining experts, the majority of injuries caused by squatting are due to poor form. In his book Weight Training, a Scientific Approach, Dr. Michael Stone, one of the nation's leading experts on weight training, writes, "Squatting in which the top of the thighs goes below parallel has been erroneously associated with damage to the meniscus and ligaments. Although bouncing and other improper techniques can cause knee damage, there is little evidence that squatting is harmful to a healthy knee." To avoid injury, use impeccable form and keep your torso rigid at all times. Lower yourself slowly and always maintain control. Keep the torso erect and push through with your legs, avoiding the tendency to lean forward and use your lower back.
Hack machine squats. Getting a full range of motion is crucial on hack squats. Performing deep hack squats without locking out will give you the greatest possible quad development. You should squat deep enough that the backs of your calves touch your hamstrings. A common mistake is to use too much weight and only work the top half of the movement. Lower yourself slowly and under control, and don't bounce out of the bottom position. Drive through with your heels-not off the balls of your feet. As with regular back squats, if you're fully warmed up, you use good form, and you have no knee injuries, you have nothing to fear from doing hack squats to below parallel.
Leg Extensions. While not the best mass builder, leg extensions are the most effective exercise for isolating the quadriceps. They're great at helping define and separate the quads, and they're also an excellent finishing movement. Leg extensions are particularly effective when used together with a compound exercise. Hold every rep for two seconds at the top of the movement and squeeze for a maximum contraction. Lower the weight slowly and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Lunges. Lunges are a good quad builder and a great way to develop the glutelhamstring tie-in and the separation between the quads and the hamstrings. Lunges are most effective as a quad builder when combined with a quad isolation movement, such as leg extensions. There are many different ways to perform lunges. For the ultimate in quad development, lunge deeply holding dumbbells and step onto a block or step, emphasizing the bottom of the range of motion.
Sissy squats. Why are they called sissy squats? Legendary trainer Vince Gironda once answered, "Because they make a sissy out of the strongest squatter!" When performed as described below, they're a super way to work your quads from the lower medialis and lateralis all the way to where the rectus femoris inserts into the hip area. To keep maximum isolation on the quadriceps without involving the glutes and hips, lean backward and maintain a straight line from your shoulders to your knees as you squat-don't flex at the hips. Hold on to an upright support to maintain your balance. Sissy squats are best done last in your routine when your knees are fully warmed up. Like the leg extensions sissy squats are very effective when combined in a postexhaust or preexhaust superset.
The Routines
The techniques can be arranged in countless different combinations, and you can even use a different technique on each successive set of the same exercise. The sample workouts on the previous pages should give you some ideas of how to incorporate unconventional training tactics into your routine. They're high-intensity training routines designed for advanced bodybuilders. The weights listed are just examples. Adjust them to your own level of training. If you're frustrated with your current quad development, try these routines. You can develop amazing quads drugfree. You just have to be a little unconventional!
Unconventional Quad Routine #1
Front squats
Warmup 2x12x135
Set 1: Ascending set; no rest between weight changes 6x185, 6x205, 6x225
Set 2: Descending set; no rest between weight changes 6-8x225, 6-8x185, 6-8x135
Set 3: Slow, nonlocking continuous-tension set; go only threefourths of the way up; use a five-second positive, then a fivesecond negative 12-15x185 Leg presses
Sets 1-3: Regressive sets;
feet in middle of platform
6-10x720
6-10x630
6-10x540
Set 4: Descending set; change foot positions after each weight reducthon; no rest between weight reductions
Feet in middle of platform
6-8 x 540
Feet at bottom of platform,close together
6-8 x 450
Feet in middle of platform, toes wide at 45 degrees
6-8x360
Feet at top of platform, six inches wide
270 x failure
Leg extensions: Ascending sets
Set 1: Toes in
6x90,6x110,6x130
Set 2: Toes out
6x90,6x110,6x 130
Set 3: Toes straight
6x90, 6x110, 6x130
Supersetted with Dumbbell lunges:
Off step; emphasize bottom half of range of motion
3x35 x failure
Unconventional Quad Routine #2
Back squats: Alternate heavy and light every other week
Week 1 2x20-60x225
Week 2 Warmup x2
Sets 1-4:
Pyramid weight
10 x 225
8x275
6x315
4-6x365
Hack machine squats
Sets 1-3:
Regressive weight pattern; bottom two-thirds of the movement only; no locking out
6-8x315
12-15 x275
20-25 x 225
Smith-machine lunges:
Rear foot elevated on bench; bottom half of range of motion
2-3x12-15x115
Sissy squats
2-3 x failure x bodyweight
The Techniques
Heavy-light training.
Although most fitness experts agree that the ideal repetition range for developing muscle mass is between six and 10, the muscles of the lower body seem to respond verywell to a combination of both high and low reps. Why not just train heavy all the time? Because the heavy-light system works every type of muscle fiber to the ficklest. The result is not just the strong, muscular legs of a power lifter but the polished, chiseled legs of a bodybuilder as well.
Former professional bodybuilder, Tom Platz, whb's known for having the best leg development of all time and who is unconventional to say the least, used this approach to develop his monstrous thighs and win the Mr. Universe title. Platz has performed squats with 405 for 25 reps, 315 for 50 reps and 225 for 10 minutes nonstop! The king of quads was equally capable of pushmg heavy iron, having a max single of nearly 800 pounds. There are a variety of ways you can incorporate the heavy-light principle into your training program. One is to designate separate high-rep and low-rep days and alternate at every other workout. Another method 'ls to use high-rep and low-rep training in the same work-out. lf you choose the latter, you can perform high reps or low rep: exclusively on each exercise or do both high and low reps on each.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that light day means easy day. High-rep squats can be the most brutal workout you'll ever subject yourself to. After a few high-rep squat workouts you'll probably find your heavy days feeling easier. Once you've conquered sets of 30 to 40 reps on the squat with 225 pounds, then, 4O5 for sets of five to six reps will be a piece of cake.
Ascending sets.
I learned this little-known technique from my trainer, former Mr. Eastern America Richie Smyth of New Jersey. It's an incredibly effective means of taking a muscle to total failure quickly, without using near maximal weights. An ascending set is the opposite of a descending, or drop, set. Select a weight that you can perform 10 to 12 reps with on a particular exercise, but do just six reps. Add 10 to 15 percent to the weight and continue for six more reps. Then increase the weight an additional 10 to 15 percent and repeat for a final six reps. That's 18 reps total. Take as little rest as possible between the weight changes. lf you've selected your resistance properly, the second six will start to get difficult and the final six will take a supreme effort- you may need a spotter to assist with the last two or three. lf you have a training partner you can increase the intensity by reducing or eliminating the rest periods between weight change; simply have your partner add the weight on the bar without you even racking 1t.
Continuous tension and partial rep.
Conventional wisdom says that you must always perform your exercises through the full range of motion. lf you were to cut out a third or half of the movement, that I would only develop half or two-thirds of the muscle, right? Wrong. Of a1l the exercises in the body-builder's repetoire, slow, constant tension, non-locking squatting movements have got to be the most difficult, and the most result producing exercises of all, and the best way to use continuous tension in your quad training ls to emphasize the lower range of motion and avoid locking out at the top. Squatting very deeply and coming only one-half or three-quarters of the way up not only increase the amount of time your quads are kept under tension, but it also generates greater recruitment of the teardrop shaped medialis.
There are several variations of the continuous-tension, partial-reps technique, including bottom-half reps, 1 1/2s, 1 1/4s and the popular 21 method. Bottom-half reps are exactly what the name implies! You only do the lower half of the range of motion. The combinations, 1 1/2s and 1 1/4s, are techniques in which a single repetition consists of lowering yourself to the bottom position, coming up only one-half or one-quarter of the way, lowering yourself back down to the bottom position and then coming up all the way-but never completely locking out. Shoot for sets of eight to 10 repetitions in this fashion.
Twenty-ones are another popular variation on partial reps. One set consists of seven reps in the top range of motion, seven in the bottom range of motion and then seven covering the full range of motion. To increase the intensity even further, do your continuous-tension reps slowly, with five seconds on the eccentric movement and five seconds on the concentric movement.
High reps. I've already touched on high reps in the section on the heavy-light system, but high-rep leg training is so result producing that it bears mention on its own. When I say high reps, I'm not talking about 12 to 15; I'm talking a minimum of 20 and occasionally as many as 50 and beyond.
Many old-school lifters insist that you must keep your reps in the four-to-eight range and always strive to increase the weight if you want to develop mass and get stronger. If you're a powerlifter, football player or strength athlete, that's good advice. You'll get strong as an ox by training with low reps, but, if you want to look like a body-builder and not a lineman, you must use different training systems that work every muscle fiber and engage every energy system. Enter high-rep training.
Now, I'm not suggesting that you eliminate heavy leg training. You just always include heavy low-rep training and lighter high-rep training in your program. There's a trick to doing high-rep quad workouts: You have to get the breathing right. Unless you pause and breathe between reps, you'll find yourself quitting due to a searing lactic acid burn in the muscle at around the 12th to 15th rep. Breathing squats are a form of rest/pause training. Do the first 10 reps in a continuous fashion as you normally would. On the second 10 take a breath after each rep. On the third 10 you'll probably need two or three deep breaths at the top to recover after each rep. On the fourth and fifth 10-if you get that far-you'll be gasping for air, taking several deep breaths after every rep. Breathing in the rest/pause fashion will allow you to complete a great number of reps with poundages that you never thought attainable.
If you're used to training exclusively with low reps, you'll need to build up your endurance gradually. Start with 20 reps and work your way up to as many as 40 or 50. At that point increase the weight, drop back to 20 reps and start working your way up again. Keep an accurate training journal and try to beat your previous best at every workout. If you train with a partner, make a contest out of it and challenge each other to break your rep records. It's a brutal, but incredibly effective, way to train. If you do it right, expect to be lying on your back for several minutes, gasping for air after each set. Toward the end of the set it becomes a matter of mental toughness more than anything.
Regressive weight pattern. This is the opposite of the conventional pyramid system. Pyramiding entails increasing the weight and decreasing the reps with each set. It's a good system for developing size and strength, especially if you're starting with basic exercises like squats or deadlifts and working up to very heavyweights.
The regressive weight pattern may be even more effective. Begin with your heaviest weight on your first set, when you're fresh and strong, then decrease the weight and increase the reps with each set. To use this system safely, you'll need to warm up thoroughly beforehand.
The rationale behind regressive sets is that all the lighter buildingup sets in a pyramid are wasted and nothing more than warmups. By the time you get to your heaviest set, you're so fatigued from all the warmup sets that you can't lift as much as you might have. With the regressive weight pattern you don't tire yourself out before getting to your productive work sets-therefore, all your sets are productive. Coincidentally, the regressive system was one of Platz's favorite techniques.
Postexhaustion. Postexhaustion is an extension of the heavy-light principle. Select two exercises to superset-a heavy compound movement and a lighter isolation movement. Start with the basic compound exercise and work it heavy; following it with the isolation movement to flush the muscle and produce a maximum pump. You get the benefits of training every type of muscle fiber and energy system in the same workout. A sample quad workout would be heavy leg presses performed for a six-to-eight-rep max followed by leg extensions for 20 to 30 reps.
Preexhaustion. This is another variation of the heavy-light system. What makes it different from postexhaustion is the order of the exercises. Once again, you select a heavy compound movement and a lighter isolation movement to superset, but this time you do the isolation movement first. Preexhaust is a great system if you want to perform heavy basic movements like squats but have difficulty with them due to lower-batk or knee problems. You work the quads to total failure on the leg extensions, then, at a point where most people quit, continue to blast your quads even further by using the synergism of the powerful hip, lower-back and hamstring muscles on the leg presses. Since you prefatigued your quads, you can use much lighter poundages on the squats and still receive the benefits-without subjecting yourself to injury. If you can squat with 275 to 315 easily for reps, then 185 to 225 pounds can seem just as heavy when your quads are preexhausted.
Changing foot positions. Here's an unconventional way to work every section of the quadriceps group thoroughly: Change your foot position with each successive set on a particular exercise. On squatting movements you can vary your stance from wide to medium to narrow. You can also vary the angle of your toes. For example, pointing your toes out 45 degrees and taking a wide stance recruits the adductor muscles more, while a narrow stance with your toes forward recruits the quads more and works the hips, glutes and adductors to a lesser degree. On leg presses you simply change your foot position on the platform. On leg extensions you can point your toes in to work the outer quads, out for the inner quads and straight ahead for overall quad development.
The Exercises
Front squats. Left to their own devices, few people will volunteer to do front squats on their own. The reason is simple: Front squats are probably the only exercise that's harder than regular squats. They're difficult to execute because they require extra balance and coordination to hold the bar on the front of your shoulders.
The rewards of front squats are well worth the added effort. They develop the quadriceps better than almost any other exercise because placing the bar on the front of the shoulders enables you to maintain a more upright posture. It puts more emphasis on the quads while at the same time reducing stress on the lower back, hips and glutes. Back squats. Squats are unquestionably the most effective quad builder of all. For maximum quad development, do bodybuilding squats, placing the bar high on-your traps and using a medium-to-narrow stance. If you lack flexibility, elevate your heels on a one-inch board or mat to help maintain your balance Most important, squat deep! As strength coach Charles Poliquin is fond of saying, "Squat down and don't come back up until you leave a mark on the floor."
Don't be afraid to perform deep squats. According to most strengthtraining experts, the majority of injuries caused by squatting are due to poor form. In his book Weight Training, a Scientific Approach, Dr. Michael Stone, one of the nation's leading experts on weight training, writes, "Squatting in which the top of the thighs goes below parallel has been erroneously associated with damage to the meniscus and ligaments. Although bouncing and other improper techniques can cause knee damage, there is little evidence that squatting is harmful to a healthy knee." To avoid injury, use impeccable form and keep your torso rigid at all times. Lower yourself slowly and always maintain control. Keep the torso erect and push through with your legs, avoiding the tendency to lean forward and use your lower back.
Hack machine squats. Getting a full range of motion is crucial on hack squats. Performing deep hack squats without locking out will give you the greatest possible quad development. You should squat deep enough that the backs of your calves touch your hamstrings. A common mistake is to use too much weight and only work the top half of the movement. Lower yourself slowly and under control, and don't bounce out of the bottom position. Drive through with your heels-not off the balls of your feet. As with regular back squats, if you're fully warmed up, you use good form, and you have no knee injuries, you have nothing to fear from doing hack squats to below parallel.
Leg Extensions. While not the best mass builder, leg extensions are the most effective exercise for isolating the quadriceps. They're great at helping define and separate the quads, and they're also an excellent finishing movement. Leg extensions are particularly effective when used together with a compound exercise. Hold every rep for two seconds at the top of the movement and squeeze for a maximum contraction. Lower the weight slowly and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Lunges. Lunges are a good quad builder and a great way to develop the glutelhamstring tie-in and the separation between the quads and the hamstrings. Lunges are most effective as a quad builder when combined with a quad isolation movement, such as leg extensions. There are many different ways to perform lunges. For the ultimate in quad development, lunge deeply holding dumbbells and step onto a block or step, emphasizing the bottom of the range of motion.
Sissy squats. Why are they called sissy squats? Legendary trainer Vince Gironda once answered, "Because they make a sissy out of the strongest squatter!" When performed as described below, they're a super way to work your quads from the lower medialis and lateralis all the way to where the rectus femoris inserts into the hip area. To keep maximum isolation on the quadriceps without involving the glutes and hips, lean backward and maintain a straight line from your shoulders to your knees as you squat-don't flex at the hips. Hold on to an upright support to maintain your balance. Sissy squats are best done last in your routine when your knees are fully warmed up. Like the leg extensions sissy squats are very effective when combined in a postexhaust or preexhaust superset.
The Routines
The techniques can be arranged in countless different combinations, and you can even use a different technique on each successive set of the same exercise. The sample workouts on the previous pages should give you some ideas of how to incorporate unconventional training tactics into your routine. They're high-intensity training routines designed for advanced bodybuilders. The weights listed are just examples. Adjust them to your own level of training. If you're frustrated with your current quad development, try these routines. You can develop amazing quads drugfree. You just have to be a little unconventional!
Unconventional Quad Routine #1
Front squats
Warmup 2x12x135
Set 1: Ascending set; no rest between weight changes 6x185, 6x205, 6x225
Set 2: Descending set; no rest between weight changes 6-8x225, 6-8x185, 6-8x135
Set 3: Slow, nonlocking continuous-tension set; go only threefourths of the way up; use a five-second positive, then a fivesecond negative 12-15x185 Leg presses
Sets 1-3: Regressive sets;
feet in middle of platform
6-10x720
6-10x630
6-10x540
Set 4: Descending set; change foot positions after each weight reducthon; no rest between weight reductions
Feet in middle of platform
6-8 x 540
Feet at bottom of platform,close together
6-8 x 450
Feet in middle of platform, toes wide at 45 degrees
6-8x360
Feet at top of platform, six inches wide
270 x failure
Leg extensions: Ascending sets
Set 1: Toes in
6x90,6x110,6x130
Set 2: Toes out
6x90,6x110,6x 130
Set 3: Toes straight
6x90, 6x110, 6x130
Supersetted with Dumbbell lunges:
Off step; emphasize bottom half of range of motion
3x35 x failure
Unconventional Quad Routine #2
Back squats: Alternate heavy and light every other week
Week 1 2x20-60x225
Week 2 Warmup x2
Sets 1-4:
Pyramid weight
10 x 225
8x275
6x315
4-6x365
Hack machine squats
Sets 1-3:
Regressive weight pattern; bottom two-thirds of the movement only; no locking out
6-8x315
12-15 x275
20-25 x 225
Smith-machine lunges:
Rear foot elevated on bench; bottom half of range of motion
2-3x12-15x115
Sissy squats
2-3 x failure x bodyweight