Let’s Talk Quads!
The quadriceps are some of my favorite muscles to talk about in the human body, especially when it comes to athletic performance.
But what are they and how do they work?
As the name may indicate, the quadriceps are a group of 4 muscles located on the anterior part of the leg primarily responsible for extension at the knee joint. But did you know they also cross the hip?
This is important for everyday activities such as walking, running, squatting, and jumping. This goes double for athletes, as a strong set of functional quads can aid in a lot of sport-specific movements and help the knee from suffering injury. And I speak from a wealth of experience in this regard.
As mentioned earlier, the quads are primarily involved in knee extension but also cross at the hip.
For this reason, it is important that in addition to regular leg extensions with the hip flexed; to produce fuller, more powerful quads, we must also train the quad with the hip extended (glute contracted!)
Some of my favorite exercises for this include the reverse nordic (assisted or unassisted), the banded knee extension (either prone or standing), and the banded terminal knee extension (leaning back).
These isolated exercises are great because they allow you to fully stretch the quad at both joints while allowing the quad to produce most of the force from those positions. You must have a fair amount of strength, mobility, and joint integrity in order to perform these exercises, so ensure to work with whatever modifications are necessary to perform without pain. And, as always: as the exercises become more comfortable, be sure to progress!
These exercises work great as activation protocols, or auxiliary isolated work in addition to your main compound lifts to enhance quad function.
Hope this helps, and, as always, stay on the mats!
