In prior months, we have reviewed Triceps, Delts, Glutes, Obliques, Pecs, Lats, and Traps. I will provide links to these diaries at the end of this one. This is provided to our readers so that we may learn more details of how our muscles interact with nerves, our layers of fat, and the fascia that envelopes it all in one spider man like net that runs around and through our muscles, our skeletal system and our organs.
Join me below as we look at the quads and maybe if time allows a few exercises that may incorporate the quads or isolate the quads so that you may strengthen them to help get you off your butt and out of that recliner.
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First, a visual as a reference point.
The quadriceps are really 4 muscles (thus the term quad) on the front and lateral side of the femur. As you can see the rectus femoris is central and larger than the other two shown quad muscles. The fourth is the vastus intermedius which lies almost directly under the rectus femoris. The vastus lateralis lies on the outside of the thigh and on most exercisers is the "trophy muscle". People who do multiple heavy leg extensions can isolate this muscle to a degree by the angle of the feet under the lift pads by turning the toes inward by about 30 degrees. If you rotate your leg on the lifts slightly outward, it targets the rectus femoris and the vastus medialis more.
All four of the quad muscles are involved in leg extension. However, only the rectus femoris is implicated in hip flexion actions. The other three quad muscles originate at the top of the femur but the rectus femoris originates at the pelvic area. Again, understanding the network of fascia and how it threads and girdles the hip area you begin to understand the relationship in training or over training the quads or hamstrings in any exercise routine. If the quads are over developed, it can pull too strongly through the fascia and cause pain and strain in the hamstrings and lower back. If the hamstrings on the back of the upper leg are over strengthened, it can cause muscle strains in the lower back, abs, and the quads. Again, notice how everything in the lower body can translate into lower back pain if the balance is not within certain parameters. The lower back and spine are crucial to transmitting nerve messages to the brain and causing us many sleepless nights or visits to a doctor or physical therapy sessions.
In watching the video below, keep in mind that model only shows the lower segment of the quads where it connects to the kneecap. It is the right leg.
Please notice that the above video is only a small segment on the rehab of the quads after an injury. More than likely, it is from a sports injury perspective.
Many who are regular WHEE readers know that I have argued long and hard for balancing the strengthening and conditioning of our muscles. I firmly believe there is a fortune to be made for someone who can test athletes for muscle balancing and have the knowledge to regiment a conditioning program for athletes to prevent a large percentage of their injuries. I went to Google and simply typed in quadriceps and clicked on
"news" and it came up with a huge cache of recent quadriceps injuries players. This goes on for several pages and most of it is very recent. It looks like it is primarily baseball that is involved but if you did this same drill in the fall, I'm sure football or soccer would be predominate. In the winter, basketball would be supreme. Just think about all the millions of $$$ that sports teams are losing just from quadriceps injuries. And this doesn't speak at all to the human pain and suffering that non-athletes endure from muscle imbalances.
Leg Extensions
Al four of the muscles are recruited to do one of the most common exercises you find in a gym for developing the quads- The leg extensions.
I honestly don't use this exercise much at home because I don't have a great machine for this exercise. I use a Hoist v3in my home gym but the leg extensions aren't designed great for heavy lifts. I'll insert one quick video on setup on a machine just to give you a couple of ideas. Please notice that he indicates that the knees need to aligned with the pivot point of the lift. Most any good trainers will make sure you know how to adjust the equipment properly. Most all leg extension stations on a bench are built similar to my Hoist 3 in that your leg actually lays over the pivot point and thus it places more strain on the tendons around the knee than necessary. Again, I don't recommend using heavy weights on leg extensions unless you have exercises for months doing other quality quadriceps exercises like the squat or lunges. Once you have developed the knee area extensively by doing side lunges, rear lunges, plyometric lunges and squats, then you might want risk heavier weights.
With all that said, the one great benefit to me for the leg extension is that it isolates the quadriceps so well. Probably only the bicep curl comes close to this isolation of a muscle group in an exercise. One can use a leg extension machine or station with low to medium weights and quickly determine your quads fitness level. Usually, within one set of 15-20 lifts, you can begin to feel the lactic acid buildup in your quads. Many people avoid this pain for one simple reason- it hurts like hell. Others think it is responsible for muscle soreness in the next 24-48 hours. This simply is untrue. Personally, I also use to hate doing an exercise that created this painful experience. Runners often experience this pain. I have after running for 3 miles or more but it comes much more quickly in my quads from the leg extensions than any other exercise. I am convinced there is much more to be learned from the intersection of strengthening muscles and a balanced experience with lactic acid buildup. With running you can sometimes run through the acid buildup but I have yet to ever achieve this in lifting. Maybe I need to do more research on this body mechanism to see what scientific reports have been done already.
Prior diaries:Triceps
Delts
Glutes
Pecs
External Obliques
Lats
Traps
In all of these diaries, if you choose to review them at some point, I think it is critical to understand that our muscles are used primarily to move our bones in efficient ways that allow us to do life's functions. Whether it is getting out of a chair, picking yourself up off the floor, or having sex with your partner, it simply will not be performed without strong muscles moving your skeletal system. As we age and muscles are allowed to wither away, we place our health in jeopardy.