BIGGER QUADS: 5 Mistakes Keeping Your Legs Skinny

“How to get bigger legs?” is a common question I get. See, most people fail to understand that developing an impressive set of legs isn’t just about working hard. There are 5 mistakes people make during their quads workout that severely limit their leg growth. Today I’ll explain what those quad workout mistakes are, go through how to fix them, and then show how to implement this into your quad focused leg day so you can start growing monster quads fast.
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The quadriceps are a group of 4 muscles located in the front of your legs. Meaning? You need to program your quad workout carefully. And while some people can simply squat and see great quad development, others aren’t so lucky. Why? Let’s dive into the first training mistake and find out.
Barbell squats are often recommended as the best exercise to grow bigger legs but they demand a lot from your core and lower back muscles to help stabilize the weight. Now this isn’t a bad thing, but if your main goal is to grow your legs then it can be an issue. And this is where machines can come in handy. Exercises like the hack squat, with the use of the back support, help minimize the stability demands of the exercise. As a result, you’ll be able to truly push your quads close to their limits without worrying about other muscles fatiguing first. Don’t have access to a hack squat machine? Another option is to use a smith machine squat during your quad focused leg day.
The next mistake preventing you from growing monster quads has to do with your exercise execution. It’s been shown that the more forward your shin angle is, the greater the knee movement and the more the quads will be involved compared to the glutes and lower back muscles. But what if you have limited ankle mobility? One option is to invest in a pair of lifting shoes for a slight heel lift. Or use a couple weight plates to elevate your heels onto as you squat. This tip doesn’t just apply to squats. A low foot placement on the leg press could also increase quads activation. And lastly, you can also apply this concept to lunges and Bulgarian split squats.
Applying the previous tips to your quads workout will reduce the tension placed on other muscles and move it to the quads. As a result, you’re not going to be able to lift nearly as heavy as you used to. So it’s absolutely crucial that you don’t let your ego get the best of you and let your body “cheat” to get the other muscles to help out. Control the weight and spend about 2-3 seconds on the way down of each rep, and you’ll experience far more growth in your quads despite using lighter weight.
The next mistake has to do with your workout programming. Remember how your quads are made up of four muscles? Well one of them is “special”. It’s called the rectus femoris. It attaches at the pelvis and travels down the middle of your thigh. Because of its unique anatomy, during classic leg exercises like squats and leg presses, the rectus femoris doesn’t get very well activated. It is instead best activated in exercises like the leg extension or sissy squat where only your knees extend and your hips remain locked in place.
The last mistake has to do with effort. We know that to maximize growth, you need to push yourself hard enough during your sets to reach at least within 3 reps of failure. So when it comes to your leg days, be honest with yourself, are you truly pushing yourself hard enough? Or do you stop your sets when you just start to feel the burn, and in reality could have done 5 or even 10 more reps? Given the sheer size of the quad muscles and the blood flow it receives, this is not going to feel comfortable. But the willingness to push through this discomfort is often what separates those who have an impressive set of legs from those who don’t. Consider using a pre-workout supplement to help with this.
Alright let’s quickly cover how to apply it to your routine to get bigger legs. First, if you’re doing regular barbell squats and not feeling it much in your quads, try temporarily switching that for a heel elevated squat or a machine like a hack squat or smith machine squat. And for your leg presses and split squats, consider using the quad focused form to further emphasize the quads. Second, throw in a leg extension and/or sissy squat at the end of your workouts to emphasize the rectus femoris. Lastly, lighten the weight to force your quads to do the work but push yourself hard to reach close enough to failure.

[@JeremyEthier]

Hope you enjoyed this one! What muscle group would you like to see me cover next? Comment below! Also, see below for all the studies referenced in this video. Cheers! BACK SQUAT MUSCLE ACTIVATION www.researchgate.net/publication/23466524_A_Biomechanical_Comparison_of_Back_and_Front_Squats_in_Healthy_Trained_Individuals SMITH MACHINE SQUAT REDUCES DEMANDS ON LOWER BACK MUSCLES pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25434609/ MACHINES VS FREE WEIGHTS pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34609100/ RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SHIN ANGLE AND QUADS ACTIVATION pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18591759/ FOOT PLACEMENT ON LEG PRESS AND QUADS ACTIVATION pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18545207/ RECTUS FEMORIS ACTIVATION ON SQUATS pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27032805/ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31230110/ RECTUS FEMORIS ACTIVATION ON SQUAT VS LEG EXTENSION pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34743671/ EFFORT NEEDED TO MAXIMIZE GROWTH www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7725035/ PREWORKOUTS MORE BENEFICIAL FOR LOWER BODY STRENGTH pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29065278/

[@oldmanextermination6982]

Hello Jeremy! Is it possible to make a video about how people with disabilities/diseases such as Diabetes for instance can work out? As you know, things such as carbohydrates restriction simply cannot properly apply to a diabetic (at least type 1), especially with the dangers of hypoglycemia and all during workout. Simply put, it's very hard to truly cut off carbohydrates (though obviously they can't be mindlessly eaten either) as such parameters break that. There are also other parameters like Insulin. As it is decreed by the Units injected or the schematic of the insulin pump, rather than the usual metabolism. All of this makes it hard to know where to start, really. A video about what path a diabetic could take to work out/get in shape would be appreciated, if possible :)

[@jhonalexander2909]

Please make a Video On Full Body (POWER) Workout. I mean (Strength + Speed) = POWER

[@tarundbeast]

Calves

[@1996squareenix]

my king, what about the calves? that's the part of me that won't grow 😭

[@thiissguyy]

Hey Jeremy what's your opinión on using belts whyle lifting?

[@DOMDZ90911]

The thing about training your legs to failure is that you'll reach the pain threshold long before you reach actual muscular failure. In order to grow your legs you need to push through the pain.

[@jeromekun7153]

Yup. And also your cardiovascular endurance as well.

[@heavymetalmixer91]

Except the calfs. At least for my body, if I reach the pain threshold my calfs collapse (or whatever the term is) and they get stuck in the upper position, so I have to forcibly do a ton of stretching to get them back down.

[@Bunny11344]

Yup I had to get past the burn to actually see some growth I was stuck with chicken legs cause I couldn’t stand the burn before

[@faxxxxx]

@@heavymetalmixer91 that called cramp and it no joke

[@alexworm1707]

Do whatever you enjoy, while challenging you to some extent, building muscle is a marathon, the more you enjoy it the longer you'll stick to it.

[@juliafloridausa]

00:58 Relying too much on squats 02:39 Exercise execution 04:40 Going too heavy 05:37 Neglecting the Rectus Femoris 06:50 Effort

[@aesop730]

Thank you

[@MG-pw7jp]

Thank you!!

[@firstnamelastname7941]

Thanks

[@yashwardhansinghchauhan6989]

🫡🫡🫡

[@nathaniellebullecer6623]

This is really helpful and saves me time..

[@wollins2]

I've been a personal trainer for over 25 years and it sooo refreshing to see someone who actually knows what he's talking about. All this info was spot on and also was given in a clear and concise manner. Kudos to you!

[@gerald8052]

u think u can help me out ?

[@MH-cw6qn]

This is in fact one of the best leg videos ive watched, reps are the key as well to 100% failure on quads i use 5 x 25 reps and experience great growth contrary to my heavy low rep powerlifting days.

[@vickasmine7378]

how about other muscle?

[@Brukner841]

I wholeheartedly agree, they respond so well to high volume, I have to train them 3 times a week to get results tho, but I just do full body, 1-2 exercises for lower body, never really get sore, no pushing past some crazy pain, and they still grow.

[@ethanstewartstevenson7309]

This channel is a fine example of someone who has a solid, attainable physique, who is passionate about what they do, and knows their information. You don't have to be a fake natty to be a good influencer. Great content.

[@mfyameen]

Thank you so much for this video. Finally feeling squats in my quads, and it's already made a huge difference!

[@sean.momentum]

Which exercise did you think helped the most? I really think exercises like the sissy squat is under rated!

[@laurentpecriaux1345]

I love starting my legs day with leg extension. I feel it's a good warmup and makes my knees ready for the next exercises. Since I am doing this I have no more knee pain. The Bulgarian Split is one of the best, but i do not have good balance so I use a bench in front of me just to avoid focusing on my glutes/quads during the execution. this really helps me a lot

[@Scientifica4148]

Doing heavy Bulgarian split squats to failure have literally made my quads explode in a few months. Defenitely worth checking out (also if you have knee pain or discomfort with squats, it‘s a great alternative)

[@cdsmetalhead99]

Damn that’s gotta be tough to have your legs blown off bro 😔

[@tyson6762]

Im thinking about trying these as regular back squats haven't really added hypertrophy to my quads. They got much stronger, just got bigger. How much growth did you see?

[@Scientifica4148]

@@tyson6762 I saw significant growth and definition: it‘s noticeable in my pant which now fit really tight over my upper leg. I can‘t give you any exact measurement though. In terms of strenght I started out with two 14kg DBs and worked up to two 26 DBs for 5 reps. I would suggest to add reps each workout and once you hit 10-12 add weight and go back to 6reps and repeat the process. I started doing these as back squat alternatives too.

[@trueshura6722]

Yeah dude Bulgarians are sooo good. I just wish they weren’t so brutal haha

[@tyson6762]

@@Scientifica4148 Heck yeah thanks for the feedback I'll give these a try!

[@medi_michi]

Last tip is the most valuable I think - most people with small legs I see in the gym certainly don't train them hard enough (or at all)🙏

[@shifty5917]

I sit in front of computer 24/7 and yet I have huge quads. So, sometimes it could be genetics? Like I often see people with nice pecs even tho they don't really train them. I am obviously not trying to say that bodybuilding is uneffective for building muscle. Ofc training helps.

[@afellowmanofculture4165]

Yess and doing about 7 exercises is useless keep it to like 4 or 5 and increase weight, try reaching to 8 or 10 reps with 2 or 3 left in tank.. this is what works for me

[@medi_michi]

@@afellowmanofculture4165 Lol my genetics for legs truely suck and the only thing that has really added some size was reducing volume to 10-15 sets/week, focusing on technique and pushing the intensity with dropsets or cluster sets to failure and beyond (except for barbell squats) + a solid calorie surplus

[@afellowmanofculture4165]

@@medi_michi i feel u.. must be nice having good genetics

[@MNZGamin]

Legs are significantly dependent on genetics but people aren’t ready for that yet

[@docalberto7334]

You're improving a lot the quality of your videos! Much more scientific and explicative! Perfect work with images/anatomy's muscles 💪🏻

[@shlagin9354]

At 3:03 another reason for less quad activation is likely a lack of hip mobility. Practicing deep squats while holding onto something to stabalize myself has greatly helped my squat

[@islander1]

I was meaning to say, honestly there's no such thing as too much squatting. There's too much INCORRECT squatting, and there's "not enough eating and recovery" to support "a lot of squatting" but otherwise, no...

[@niyahtalley30]

Well done Jeremy 👏🏽 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 the amount of time, effort and RESEARCH you put into your videos you definitely deserve some awards!!

[@itscoolvin]

your not you’re

[@niyahtalley30]

@@itscoolvin You seem lonely 🙁. .your comment makes no sense🤣

[@gabyintothewild]

I swear by heel elevated squats and bulgarian split squats for my quads, but I never thought of elevating my heel during those bulgarians! You are awesome Jeremy, thank you! 😁🙏❤

[@sean.momentum]

I learnt from this, to really focus on that push of the knee forward too. 11 years in and still learning!

[@lucasvarley9764]

Really really awesome video! I'm curious, have you ever tried Next Level Diet? I got a custom build up muscle meal plan from them.

[@mwebembezijesseibrahim4361]

I had skinny quads but now there is huge change of my quads thank you bro for the teaching I know now the muscles groups to work upon

[@schonkigplavuis8850]

hows it going? you got strong manly legs yet?

[@sigepcane]

1. Relying too much on squats 2. Exercise execution 3. Going too heavy 4. Neglecting the Rectus Femoris 5. Not putting in enough effort or training to failure

[@kobalt77]

Wonderful Jeremy, thank you ! So cool that you explain the science and the research results.

[@malathi9682]

Perfect perfect perfect video for myself...thank you so much..i do barbell squats but don't feel in my quads ...oh god finally someone is there to speak about this..thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@christopherbyrd4808]

That is almost certainly due to hip back/hip forward motion rather than allowing your hips to spread out some and following down/up with the hips. Most people shoot their hips back naturally and don't learn up/down which emphasizes the posterior chain instead of the quads.

[@JonasMondrup]

elevated heel on the goblet squats with close foot placement blew up my quads over this winter bulk. It will burn them out completly, however i always focus my main quad movement on the hack squat machine alternating high rep/volume and low rep/high intensity on my various leg days which is 2 every week no cap.

[@n.conagz]

Been watching your channel since 2020 and apply what I learn to my workout routine. I find it amazing coz I keep learning continuously as I watch your vids Jeremy, keep it up 💪.

[@kamalmirani2150]

Thanks for guidance & sharing... Your presentations are masterpiece.

[@johnayala1348]

Jeremy Ethier, thank you so much for really going through this so professionally and so much detail. I'm starting back working out and working out my legs is my number one goal in 2024. Thank you again brother.

[@maitlandbezzina2842]

Wow I’ve been in the gym for almost 4 months and just doing squats, deadlifts and seated calf raises on leg days, this makes me want to switch up my training program big time so that I’m not neglecting specific muscles. Thanks for the advice. ❤

[@Jaca.01]

I'm not used to commenting videos but I was watching lots of videos about this topic, squats and all that stuff and this one here is fck amazing. Thank you man for all the things I know understood

[@sean.momentum]

Welcome to the community! What did you find was the difference from this video to the others you watched?

[@WildBill1911]

I had skinny legs compared to my upper body so I focused more on legs to even out my body. I began every workout with high incline walking on the treadmill. Did weight training for legs twice a week. This worked for me.

[@reneaceballo]

Thank you! Been following you for a long time you always have amazing, eye opening videos.

[@iceman7733]

I'm really picky about work out advice and I really enjoyed all of this. Superior content, thank you.

[@M4PAT]

My dude i can confidently say you know your shit man. I been doing some crazy leg extension and leg press workouts and for the first time in YEARS im seeing my rectus femoris. I have built legs naturally thanks to playing alot of sports lol in the past but now im seeing some great added build up in the femoris as well. Great stuff bro.

[@andreslakemary]

I’m very happy that I find out your channel, it has been a great help in the last weeks for me, understanding the right forms of exercises, specially the one about gluteus. Honestly, I don’t do pre-workouts because I didn’t have a good experience in the past. Since I only can work out in the afternoon, the effect of them keep me awake all night and on top of that this itching feeling really drives my nuts after I drink it.

[@xteb65]

That's the right call, it's much more important to get good sleep.

[@sean.momentum]

Form and technique, your body adjusts. Like the comment above me - sacrificing sleep from a preworkout isn't ideal. How has your training been coming along lately?

[@andreslakemary]

@@sean.momentum it has been pretty good, thanks for asking. Just trying to get the best form possible but I’ve seen some positive results, there are exercises I don’t take the chance to do them with that much weight because I don’t want to get injure. Honestly I’m not on the rush to get bigger, I just want that the exercise I do is right, even if it takes an extra time to reach my goals.

[@sean.momentum]

@@andreslakemary love your mentality The aim of the game is to always keep playing ain't it?

[@saltypatriot1768]

one of the only youtubers i started watching when i first got into working out, and still watch

[@CamberFitness]

“Push yourself hard enough for them to actually grow!”🦵I think that’s probably most peoples’ issue…

[@captainofthewhitetower]

Well Camber fitness you can’t top the weights when you have a low back bulge.. wish I can put more weights to top myself but sadly i can’t

[@Alexis98765]

@@captainofthewhitetower less weight, more reps simple

[@JackWoodrup]

@@captainofthewhitetower i stopped squatting a few years ago and now do almost exclusively super high rep walking lunges for my legs. 6 x 50m up a moderate hill 2x per week. One of my stronger body parts.

[@banrg1]

The problem is we are afraid of back and knee pain

[@CamberFitness]

@@captainofthewhitetower pushing yourself hard enough doesn’t mean stacking on as much weight as you can. I have a crooked spine and always had problems deadlifting and squatting. I finally decided a few years ago to start over with squats with only 100 lbs to start and making sure form was important. Pushing yourself to failure can be done with lighter weight too…. And there are plenty of leg exercises you can do that aren’t squatting….

[@OllieTastersall]

Really good video, thanks. A follow-up on the hamstring muscles would be great.

[@misterjohnpattersn]

I think he already has one! I know the glutes video he did talks a lot about hamstring and glute development.

[@wedeservetobehappy1754]

I am Romanian...so I recommend you Romanian Dead Lift 😂👍

[@daliab8493]

@@wedeservetobehappy1754 heheheh me too!!

[@wedeservetobehappy1754]

@@daliab8493 really? Where do you live in Romania?

[@Bored0720]

Really love the info on the rectus femoris. I normally do 3sets of leg extensions and a single leg extension on each leg day respectively, on my first training block, then do front squats and leg press on my 2nd training block. I thought I noticed my leg.get a little smaller on block 2 but i only recently started training my rectus femoris so I guess that explains it. I'll swap the leg press and dual leg extension so I can keep hitting all 4 parts every training block. Thanks!

[@thechosenone7875]

I only do 3 exercises per muscle group and see way better growth because the quality and intensity is ramped up. That’s why the best pump is within the first two exercises per muscle group. As for the video it’s spot on. When I was squatting heavy only thing I felt was my glutes and hips getting bigger not so much quads. I lightened the weight and started doing heel elevated squats and what a difference! No ego here I’ll gladly sacrifice heavy weight for better muscular development.

[@shayalkobi83]

Super educational, I appreciate the effort to put this video.

[@inaj03]

Very helpful as always! keep it up jeremy!❤

[@misterjohnpattersn]

Great content as always brother. Love the animations and graphics. Any thoughts or opinions on rep ranges for these movements to maximize growth? I often see people approaching squats with a “powerlifting” approach of lower reps, and I’ve found that higher rep work has helped tremendously in my leg development. Interested to hear your thoughts on this part of it as well.

[@Valorant_Dem0n97]

I’ve replaced Barbell Squats with Hack Squats and superset it w light deadlifts so I don’t neglect my back muscles. 🔥

[@fatemehhosseini305]

I always love your well-researched contents... Good job

[@akagrohl]

Your vids give the best tips. Hands down. The man

[@isabelarojo3003]

Thank you so much for making this video. I’m trying to help my brother to get into the gym with me but I only know exercises for butt and he wants to focus on legs. Excellent video

[@TandnG]

I have to say - it's when I switched to hack squat machine I started seeing growth in my squats, what as you said - people don't push them selves hard enough in the gym especially on leg exercises is the biggest reason for their muscles not growing. Go to your hack squat machine, put on the weight you usually do you squats with, and do 3-4 hard sets, where you go all the way down, and do it slow, incorporate slow reps with full range of motion and push through the burn - it's the only way to really reach failure or close to it when you train your quads.

[@jambajoby32]

I get squats in for my back day and my leg day. Nothing too taxing as I’m just starting but this video is super helpful!

[@rocheuro]

this is what I really needed to watch! I hope I will get back with my trainings soon.

[@sean.momentum]

This makes so much sense. In the past, I've done back squats to grow my legs and it worked. Til I hurt my lower back, and even had incidences of pops in my lower back. Scariest shit ever. I had to take my steps back and focus on building my legs from the basics and work back up - including leg press (hadn't done this in YEARS) and then sissy squats and leg press. I really had to leave my pride at the door. People watching this, this stuff is the truth!

[@pt257]

It was only after yoga classes and doing hip openers, that squats started to work for me. I wish someone had told me earlier that I had very tight hips. Now I love squats and my quads are big.

[@sean.momentum]

YESSS love it! how long ago did you do yoga? or do you still do it too?

[@Lilcali99]

Awesome video! Thank you so much!

[@TeeMaaLyt]

The way you explain mixing science and sport is awesome! 👍

[@sulezraz]

1:13 Lower back may fatigue in Back Squat before Quads have reached anywhere near their limit. Use machine versions instead, such as Hack Squats. 4:24 Quad focused vs Glute focused by changing shin and knee angle. Also add heel elevation. 7:57 Recap

[@AidanArentz]

I find that barbell squats tax my nervous system before my legs are truly close to failure. So I "fail" on the barbell squat because my entire body/CNS is gassed before my legs are properly fatigued. This is where hack squats, leg presses and smith machine squats can really pick up the slack. You can go much closer to true muscular failure before your CNS or other muscles starts to fade out.

[@chief8079]

Maybe because you train squats using 90% of your squat 1RM consistently.

[@thenew4559]

I find this is usually the case when you're squatting too heavy (either only doing small rep sets or ego-lifting). The sheer weight on your shoulders stresses the nervous system before you can properly fatigue the muscles, especially if you're ego-lifting and not using a full range of motion. It may help to try squatting with a higher rep range and/or doing pause squats, as these will force you to reduce the weight. That and you generally want to leave a couple reps in reserve on the squat, as it's a lot more fatiguing than the machine variations.

[@avisheksilwal424]

this guy is underrated, giving better free videos than others' premium videos

[@OmphileKodisang]

True often times when i do a barbel squat i experience a lot of strain on my lower back! Great stuff

[@trentonc9141]

Hey Jeremy, thanks for another great vid. In lots of gyms, they have leg press machines that the user adds plates. They sit low and push upwards at around 45 degrees. It’s very similar to the one in 3:47 but the one I am referring to have two back angle positions (the one you are using looks like it might have more than 2 angle settings). Which is the best angle to use, the one that makes us lean back further or the one that is more upright? Is there a different area of the legs it targets based of that back angle? There are so many vids out there about that leg press machine but I have yet to find one that address the angle of the back support. As for the leg extension, do toes point up, to the outer or inwards and what do they target based on toe position? Will you be coming up with a vid about "these are the best for growth" for legs (quads, hams and calves) using BETTY? Thanks again Jeremy :-)

[@tobias.ferreira]

Please do a video on how to keep your knees healthy, free of pain or injuries. Thanks!

[@mahalo7489]

Knees over toes guy has tons

[@tobias.ferreira]

@@mahalo7489 still, he is not Jeremy

[@mhollis1231]

@@tobias.ferreira He trains professional athletes, i would trust him

[@tobias.ferreira]

@@mhollis1231 I'm not doubting him. I'm just expressing that I want to see Jeremy, in specific, talking about this.

[@smileyfacehead555]

@@mahalo7489 I used to do his stretches and exercise a lot, felt invinceble lol

[@NekoEspada]

I saw amazing quad growth when I did high rep sets of leg press in high school, people used to call me quadzilla. When I did a compound movement only program, my legs never grew, after I changed to upper lower program, starting seeing growth again.

[@nikunjmishra7293]

Extremely helpful! I always wondered why weighted squats exert lighter stress on my lower back compared to doing a smith machine squat.. I got my answer today. Truly appreciate your vid

[@rjorge3]

OMG this video was made with me on mind lol. As a skinny person, I was always taught that I needed to do very heavy lifting, squats, deadlift in order to get more mass on my legs, I've never seen the growth I've experienced in the past 2 years by doing the opposite. For 99% of us that will not be competing for Mr Universe or fitness shows and we want to keep in shape , eliminating the squat and the deadlift, saved my back. Just go to any gym and you will see the average Joe (even seasoned fit individuals) doing the Squats and deadlift incorrectly killing their lower back. I've only used literally those machines that are highlighted in these videos based on the recommendation of a trainer and it was a game changer. My calves have grown just doing negative sets and controlled reps with not heavy weight. Even on the days that I can't go to the gym, using my body weight and slow reps make my legs burn like crazy. So fellows, do not risk a back injury to try to get big, take if from a skinny person, your legs will grow (with genetic limitations of course lol) guaranteed with not so heavy weights. Great Stuff Jeremy.

[@danthovict381]

Actually indoor football, biking, jump rope, badminton helps you to have a bigger (healthy) legs.

[@christianarg168]

But which machines did you use for replacing deadlifts?

[@DESSIE477]

Sir, there isn't enough money to pay you for this video. You are the first one to explain explain anatomy of the thigh and what exercise activates it. Thank you so much

[@tysonrosales9447]

This is good advice in more ways than you explained in the video. Might save some people from lower back problems, or sciatic nerve damage.

[@jevonreynolds1252]

Exceptional, knowledge-building content man.

[@opgattu]

Once again thank you jeremy ethier for making me more batter by every video ❤

[@AutoMotivate]

The best option to hit your quads with limited ankle mobility is actually gaining ankle mobility. It takes time, but it will be worth it.

[@TheJakecakes]

Its doable but some people have a bone structure that inhibits it.

[@JohnM...]

@@TheJakecakes doesn't a lot of that depend on correct stance? eg toes out, etc?

[@TheJakecakes]

@@JohnM... For me it's just a bone issue in the front of my ankle. It won't dorsoflex

[@youdunknow]

Plyometrics, plyometrics, plyometrics, this helps with ankle stability

[@eric-zt6rz]

So glad I saw this video, amazing tips brother!!

[@nigelwalker6684]

This was an excellent detailed video, thanks a million

[@badumtss3570]

Hey Jeremy, great video! Tho I would like to know if leg extensions are enough for the quads to steadily grow, or do I have to mix them with barbell squats to target all muscles?

[@sean.momentum]

Ay mate, leg extensions alone; or even one exercise alone - isnt really ideal. What's your training program like? Or what exercises do you do to try and grow your legs? I've been doing ideally 4-5 exercises per session but no back squats because of a lower back problem ive had

[@josephl6289]

You need to do both. Heavy weight initiates shock for growth but does not efficiently build lean muscle. It causes exceptional inflammation. Alternating between heavy and light will cause the body to adapt to both kinds of rep schemes, building versatile mature muscle rather than water-logged and inflamed muscles from heavy lifting alone.

[@DimitriTheBarbarian]

What about squats without weight (at home)? Let’s say I can only go to the gym once a week and squat heavy but then during the week just do it at home with high reps no weight?

[@Nick199607]

@@DimitriTheBarbarian do more reps, more reps = more tention.

[@DimitriTheBarbarian]

@@Nick199607 but does it help building muscle?

[@Nick199607]

@@DimitriTheBarbarian yes

[@michaelcapper9019]

@@DimitriTheBarbarian yes but depending how many you can do it won’t make them bigger. If your doing more than 15-20 reps then it will make them leaner but a little smaller.

[@shardapeeth22]

Thanks man ! That is some nice xplanation 💕

[@kevinwilliams-ub7uy]

Great 👍 information on growing your quads/ barbell squats I do but recently strained my lower back so totally understand what your saying. Good advice.🇦🇺

[@sean.momentum]

Ive been in your situation too .. it sucks But its also been the best thing for me, being a previous powerlifter I was always 'married' to the idea of back squats But them machines and sissy squats and more; have made me love training legs again without joint pain. From Aus too btw, nice to see you here haha

[@Zhello79]

I end up using the Smith machine to squat. The Barebell is ALWAYS in use at the gym and until recently even in the early morning lol 😆

[@ericmanso7355]

U can load heavy with smith anyways ....

[@Zhello79]

@@ericmanso7355 I know.

[@Bunny11344]

Am I the only one who finds higher back pain with a smith machine than squat rack? I find the fixed movement with smith machine doesn’t work for my mobility

[@impyrobot]

@@Bunny11344 depends on your flexibility and anatomy do what feels more natural

[@tubax926]

@@Bunny11344 ideally the bar path should be straight down when you squat, which is the same as the smith machine's path

[@jfconant8430]

Excellent detail on the science of the muscles, Jeremy! However, I cycle to minimize an old knee injury, so my work in the weight room has to be very careful. What I've found so far from several sources is: Positioning the knee direcly over the foot during a lift reduces the strain on the knee joint, and works more of the glutes. So, I should look for creative ways to work my quads while protecting my knees. If you have anything in this area I'll look forward to learning from it. Thank you!

[@austinrodriguez1298]

You could try including blood flow restriction into your routine. It will allow you to add significant amounts of volume with extremely light weight about 30% of your normal working weights. Typically you’d do it on your last isolation exercises like hamstring curls or leg extensions after your main movements but if your knee was bugging you a lot you could just do bfr and still get some kind of workout in.

[@DensityMatrix1]

Reverse sled drags. I’ve had knee surgery. There is no reason you cannot develop quads. In fact, if you have an injury you must develop quads

[@Gavin-The-Maniac]

All this info was spot on Great vid

[@frje77]

Thanks Ethier, really good you explication about this point. Blessings

[@shreyasr2482]

Hamstrings are the most under development muscles, so i request you to upload a video on hamstrings

[@redstang70]

In an odd way it means more watching a video on how to develop better quads from someone who doesnt exactly have crazy developed quads himself. I see all these videos from people with massive and detailed quads on how to train them and we all know that even if they half assed it their quads would still grow due to genetics (and PEDs in some cases). I take this guys more seriously as he is also in the same place as most of us...trying to improve his quads! Great information here.

[@RajeevKumar-wl6ei]

not sure if this helps - but I used to be the chicken leg syndrome guy even though I trained hard for 20+ years on my legs (or so I thought), I like this guy's advice too don't get me wrong. But Ryan Humiston (also on YT) gave me a tip that helped me finally break through and start looking better proportioned. His game-changer tip: Volume. Instead of doing 4 sets of 8 reps let's say for a hack squat with 2 plates (225 lbs) each side, I do 8 sets but 15-20 rep range with the same weight (needed time to work up to it though), and add a strict progressive overload system by tracking your weight week on week...I'm seeing results at 40+ years of age. Strange...I never thought I'd see the day ...but here I am almost close to looking proportioned. I hope to keep continuing and pushing and getting bigger wheels. It seems like this type of stress was what I needed for my lower body genetics, not the strength training kind.

[@diorr2757]

@@RajeevKumar-wl6ei do you do that for each excercise you do?

[@RajeevKumar-wl6ei]

@@diorr2757 yes.

[@diorr2757]

@@RajeevKumar-wl6ei ok thanks im going to try that out

[@RajeevKumar-wl6ei]

@@diorr2757 good luck..another tip that changed it for me was focusing on flexing the muscle rather than moving the weight aka mind muscle connection and it made a big difference.

[@bryantvanwinkle6171]

I'm so glad I watched this video. My glutes are getting too big. I haven't been targeting my quads correctly.

[@damianpatel252]

Great video ! Btw your leg tatt is freaking insane !!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥 looks so dope!

[@Red88Rex]

My gym doesn’t have a squat rack so I use the smith machine. It’s perfectly fine. My legs and butt look like tree trunks only from squatting, Romanian deadlifts, and leg extensions. I have lower back joint issues so I don’t do certain things but those are comfortable for me. Twice a week and to the point where I’m seriously uncomfortable. Some people are just elitist and not putting in the work.

[@emptysoul2757]

Find a new gym

[@IM-uh5tk]

1:02 hack squats or smith machine squats > barbell squats 2:42 form/execution 4:45 going too heavy 5:40 ignoring rectus femoris 6:55 effort

[@anzumerkenist8717]

thanks!

[@HF-jy4he]

This video is gold, thank you !!

[@lachycummings3765]

By far my fav fitness youtuber bro! ❤

[@salehaldarmaki2090]

Mistakes keeping your legs skinny: Skipping leg day

[@johnrobinson4445]

Dumbbell squats have been very effective for me. Also, standing on a wedge or even a flattened, folded-over cardboard box (better than weight plates). Both strategies make me more tired in the quads and less tired in the hips and back. My gym has no hack squat. My ankle mobility is fine, by the way. I hate to hear influencers constantly harp on that because it is a red herring. 'Nonsense' would be another appropriate term for it. Many of us simply have skeletal structures that make sitting straight and deep in the squat undoable. This is why even the most elite - and flexible! - athletes use shoes with the wedge built in. Go tell them they need to work on their "ankle mobility"! They will laugh you out of the gym.

[@kinggraham8725]

Great video bro. Thanks for the helpful tips.

[@Tautusian]

Doesn't "putting your knees more forward during the squat" (sorry) put more strain on your knee? I've been taught that as the key injury prevention thing, to keep my knee behind my toes...

[@svendiegel]

the studie that found this was reviewed decades later (so in the last few years) and what it actually found was that the force on the knee is the highest when at a 90 degree angle but it becomes lower the the more you flex the knee (or the more your knees goes over your toes as you go deep) so by stopping and reversing on the point in the movement that puts most stress on the knee anyway, you're actually adding up even more stress i can recommend the channel SquatUniversity, the guy has a phd in physiotherapy and has talked about this study too

[@alejandropelayo9288]

It potentially can, but you'd have to try it out if you have the mobility to do it as long as you don't ego lift you should be good

[@hannesioo2029]

its literally not possible to squat to depth without knees going over toes.

[@JohnnyUtah9173]

It’s not physically possible unless you’re using a Smith machine.

[@htetnaingkyaw_Overcome]

I remember the first days of my training. I shut down my body everyday. Became literally sick after a few days. Rest day is needed guys. Good sleep also. Consistency is the key. Keep learning from the pros like him. You won't see any change to your body after watching this video and working out. That's why I said consistency is the key. Keep grinding. Keep learning. I believe we all can be like him one day if we keep pushing. Good luck.

[@Insp.CountMortisWinshipKlaw]

I drink watermelon for muscle recovery and penis strength

[@shelfcloud487]

@@Insp.CountMortisWinshipKlaw Wow! Sounds super fact based by science.

[@Insp.CountMortisWinshipKlaw]

@@shelfcloud487 You are a troll, an uneducated troll who parrots what he’s told

[@Insp.CountMortisWinshipKlaw]

@@shelfcloud487 Let’s see how smart you are. What is the great lymphatic system and it’s function?

[@shelfcloud487]

@@Insp.CountMortisWinshipKlaw I’m the troll? I haven’t been told anything. You’re the one that won’t answer a question.

[@chandankumar-fu9ki]

so mich clean and smooth info about mistakes..feels good 2 see ur video..

[@Sbur2880]

Great advice! Thank you.

[@frtggfgdg]

I stopped doing squats completely and the only "heavy" exercise I do is the leg press, due to the massive increase in heart rate I get when I train my legs which causes nausea and dizziness for me... Would be great if you can make a video concerning the cardio problem at leg days as I'm sure I'm not the only one who suffers from this, thanks :)

[@jorge2766]

You must prepare your heart for the leg day. How? High intensive cardio workout, HIIT... Your heart is making you stop before your legs muscles.

[@akumaquik]

@@jorge2766 Happens to me all the time

[@LEX-ff4gh]

Dude i have the fucking same, training for 7 years but i experienced it now for like a year. Do you smoke cigs?

[@frtggfgdg]

@@LEX-ff4gh Yeah I guess that's partly to blame, but I don't smoke all that much :/

[@frtggfgdg]

@@jorge2766 I train 6 days a week so a seventh day for cardio would be too much for me, I gotta rest you know :D But I do hit my leg muscles, my heart gives me issues only at different squat variations and a bit less when I'm leg pressing, I usually feel the heartbeat only after the exercise

[@tylerwilcox7449]

Do front squats also create high activation for your quads similar to these workouts ?

[@sean.momentum]

Front squats do have high activation compared to the back squat (weight shift difference) But the sissy squat and leg extension would focus on that rectus femoris better because of the double joint bend. What movements are you doing in your leg workouts?

[@kkech1]

Front squats are the absolute best. Not only do they have the highest quad activation, they also train your core like no other.

[@sean.momentum]

@@kkech1 agreed! Love a good front squat Once people get that core, ankle and shoulder flexibility it's a great movement

[@RELAXcowboy]

While learning how to deal with my bad hip pains I learned and easy Mind trick for the squats. For more of the gluts, focus your mind on lifting from your heels making your feet feel like your heel is the press point that you lift from. To do quads focus the press point to the balls of your feet. Keep in mind that you do not need to move to different positions to do this. Keeping your mind focused on the heel or the balls should make the rest of your body follow the commands. This requires you to NOT let your body compensate and do it's own thing. Keep control of the movement and do it slow till you get the hang of it. Be honest with yourself and don't try to "cheat" the movements. To get a good idea of the difference, squat with heel focus then squat will ball focus one after the other. I don't know if that makes sense but that's what works for me.

[@chandankumar-fu9ki]

i considered you as the best fitness nd youtuber among all workout youtubr..thnk u so much

[@Oliver_bohman]

When i started to train volume meaning 10-12 reps failure on every leg exercise and even harder on leg extension my legs grew 10-12 inches in 6 months and i did all these things in this video. So yes i'd say this video is Valid information

[@qswedasf]

03:25 - for love off god please don't do this with big weight if you want any knee ligaments left. This form is actually pretty shit for your knees

[@martinjohnson4796]

Yea i cant believe the issue of knee pain was completely ignored. Ppl are gonna watch & think its the right form & end up hurting their knees

[@bquattrog]

This is a great video! 👍🏻👍🏻

[@artistarvybe4704]

Great Video! Highly informative

[@starald]

5:29 Never will I ever take advise from anyone who racks their plates like this. I have squatted for 36 years and love the exercise, but just watching this video makes my knees hurt. Be very carful when practicing these tips...

[@jamesTWisco]

Rather than using machines for Quads because of the back issue - just back off on the weight a bit and pause at the bottom. Dive bomb squats use the back as a cushion at the bottom. If you plan for a full second or more pause at the bottom - you'll tend to lower softer which is better on the eccentric. I don't have machines so I have had to get good at bracing to get the full value from my leg day.

[@julissagarza5390]

Great video! Can you please do a video on box squats and the beneficial factors of doing them, thank you!

[@noahbrewster8263]

Super good video! Thanks

[@waltermedinabarista5642]

Amazing video, very clean 👌🏽