Outer Quad exercises

[jbw55]

I've got decent legs, but at 5'10" they're more lean than thick. I've got good definition in the upper thighs but what I lack is that overall "sweep" and would like to build up my outer quad to acheive this. Any advice on particular exercises to do this? I currently do leg extensions focusing on keeping my toes pointed in, which I _think_ helps hit the outer quads. my overall leg routine is this (currently)

Squats (5 sets)
Hack Squat (machine)(3 sets)
Leg extensions (3 sets)
Leg curls (hams) (3 sets)

any advice?

 

[macDbol]

your routine looks good,,probably throw one more exersice in there for quads,,either sissy squats(a lost art) or front squats...its all trial and error see what your body reacts to

 

[kingsquat]

Do you ever go heavy on your squats? Try doing some of your sets in the 6 and under range. Be sure to go at least to parallel. Heavy squats will make anyone's quads grow, if you do them right. You might try some heavy leg presses also, but they have a tendancy to make your ass grow!

 

[jbw55]

does feet position help at all

I basically do 5 sets of squats: pyramidding the weight up, and down on reps, I don't go full failure because I don't use a human spotter. Here's what it looks like:

Warmup set, 10-15 reps, easy,

set 1 : 10 reps

set 2: 8 reps

set 3: 6 reps

set 4: 4 reps

(these are rep goals that I shoot for, I usually end up doing 9-7-5-3, once I hit these rep goals I increase the overall starting weight of the pyramid)

Has anyone ever got any different feedback from their legs based upon feet position (i.e feet parallel vs duck style)? I'm all natural, still growing a bit but not as fast as I used to, was wondering if those on gear saw quicker results (on the outer quads) by moving the positioning of their feet?

Thanks,

 

[Freak Show]

First, balance out your routine a little. You have way too many quad exercises vs. hamstring exercises. Sure it won't help quad development but they are ESSENTIAL for overall development and knee stability. Keep the routine up and I guarantee you will one day have knee problems to go with your "lean" legs.

As far as exercises to hit more outer quad: First, try a narrow stance squat. Feet should be no more than 10-12 inches apart. You can try putting a board under your heels to keep emphasis on the quads, but you don't necessarily HAVE to. Second, you sound like you almost got the foot position for the extensions, but make sure you do this. Toes in. set the seat back far enough where you're leaning back. As you come up, push with your ankles as if you were trying to push your legs away from each other. It's hard to truly isolate outer quads but these two helped me tremendously.

 

[bignate73]

ahhh. the old toes in myth. nice. joints bend one way, now you go and put shearing forces on it. only one way to do leg extensions, straight up and straight down. anything else is asking for some nice friction in your knees.

leg presses or squats, nice slow and controlled. your outer thighs will grow first, the last thing to grow will probably be your teardrop. it'll come along. hit some walking lunges or single leg squats for variety.

 

[MonStar1023]

Something that always helped my outer quads with shaping and definiton was leg extensions with my feet completely together. 12-15 reps of them really got my outer squats on fire. I would suggest a set of leg extensions with your feet completely together, really focusing on the contraction, and then immediately do a heavy set of squats, with your feet shoulder width apart. Good luck bro<

 

[Robboe]

Outer quads? WTF?....

Knock the sets down to 3 sets per exercise - even 2 maybe.

3 sets direct ham work is fine, especially after the 2 squatting movements.

Stick at it and you will see results.

 

[The mann]

heavy ass squats to work the whole damn leg!!!!!!!!!!all the way down,too.

 

[MrMuscle]

bump this. my teardrop is good, but my outer quads lack to

 

[bignate73]

bump this. my teardrop is good, but my outer quads lack to

you know why........i dont even have to say it. lets just say it rhymes with twat, and starts with an S.

 

[Robboe]

er... 'Swat'?...haha

Muscle: you're quit a big mofo. Keep doing that leg workout given and stop worrying about outer quads.

 

[jbw55]

follow up

Just wanted to follow up with those that gave me advice and let you know any results I see. I'm giving this the priority in my legs (building outer quads), not really giving priority so to say, but just being more aware of it to see if I see or feel any changes.

I did my last leg workout on Wednesday, same routine as above (in the first post). The biggest change is that I went ALOT heavier on the hack squat machine, didn't think I'd get 3 sets out of it, but I did with a 10-8-6 rep count and pyramiding the weight 40lbs per set. The biggest change I made was in my technique. I placed my feet farther down on the platform (more under my ass than I had been before) and I also narrowed my stance a bit, feet were pointed slightly outward. All reps ended with a BIG contraction and Flex at the end, I tried not to "lock" my knees and unflex my quads but instead tried to keep constant weight on them throughout my set.

I kept my toes straight, not pointed in, during the extensions.

For the first time, I can actually feel soreness in my outer quad, this being 2 days later. So I would say that I feel like I actually worked them out pretty good (better than not feeling it like before). Only time will tell if I start to see them grow.

 

[MonStar1023]

BUMP for buffal2001

 

[Welsh power house]

bump this muthafukka one time!

 

[Cackerot69]

Um, what's the function of the outer quad opposed to the entire quad?

 

[wildage99]

You got these excersies that are for outer thigh development:
Front Squats
Hack squats
Any squat or leg press with toes pointed straight and the feet close together.
Adductor machines and movements.

 

[kingsquat]

WTF??? Why not just do some deep, heavy squats and make your WHOLE quad sore. Not to mention making your ass and hams sore also. If you can still buy pants off the rack, then you don't need to be worrying about your outer quad.

A lot of times, people don't train their legs heavy enough to hit the whole quad. Let me let you in on a little secret... leg extensions aren't the answer.

 

[jbw55]

WTF??? Why not just do some deep, heavy squats and make your WHOLE quad sore. Not to mention making your ass and hams sore also. If you can still buy pants off the rack, then you don't need to be worrying about your outer quad.

A lot of times, people don't train their legs heavy enough to hit the whole quad. Let me let you in on a little secret... leg extensions aren't the answer.

>>If you can still buy pants off the rack, then you don't need to be worrying about your outer quad.


That's actually pretty funny, I can't do this anymore, not saying that I'm huge (don't really know what my quads measure), but I usually wear a 30 inch waist in Jeans, always from the gap, and I can't fit into the the regular cut so I have to buy the baggy cut ones, and I usually jump a size or 2 in the waist to get a good fit, but they no longer sell them in the stores, I have to buy them on-line!!

And forget about suits, thank god for casual work dress, back when I had to wear a suit everyday, I just ended up getting custom suits made, cost a fortune ($500+) for just a normal suit.