How to best develop "teardrop" muscle on inside leg just above knee

[xcelbeyond]

By the way no one answered my question from before, and I'm sure I should know this by now, but what are "sissy squats"?

I'll attempt to answer this (not 100% sure).

I've always thought they're done without weights. Stand either in a power rack or next to a solid vertical bar, legs together and in "front of you. This is why you need to hold onto a bar, because you're leaning back. Keeping knees together, squat down while leaning back. Sound correct?

xcel

 

[joshbarnett]

you will NOT be able to lift as heavy with these. just try them and tell me how your quads feel. we can break down the philosopy/theory and how the movement causes more work on the quadriceps but until you try them you will not know if it works for you or not. my quads are still pretty damn sore from monday so next leg day try what i put above and let me know what you think.

 

[Veinlover]

Phil:

Interesting--you think extensions don't do much for quads?--I always feel like they are worked. Silly me.

I assume you feel squats and front squats are the best possible leg exercises. Do you feel hack squats and leg presses make a meaningful addition to the routine, or would you just stick with the basics? How about lunges?

Thanks. I appreciate being able to pick your brain on this one. Workout time is not unlimited, and I always want to make the best possible use of it.

 

[Veinlover]

you will NOT be able to lift as heavy with these. just try them and tell me how your quads feel. we can break down the philosopy/theory and how the movement causes more work on the quadriceps but until you try them you will not know if it works for you or not. my quads are still pretty damn sore from monday so next leg day try what i put above and let me know what you think.

Hey, cool, I've never tried the quote thing before! Josh: What do you mean by "these"??? Are you talking about box squats? When you do them, what role does the box play, exactly: I've always assumed all it does is give you a real good clue when you are down to the right level, and that's about it--is there more to it? Do you pause "sitting" before you straighten back up? I would think perhaps you lose your momentum, and that is what makes it so hard. For example, on the bench, if you fail on a rep and wait a bit and then try to lift it back to the rack, its unlikely to ever work, even though its a weight you can do for reps, but there's something about losing the momentum that kills it. At least that's how it is for me.

 

[monster74]

my two cents and that wont buy much these days

I have a severe atrophy in my right vascular medialus SP? The spot you are talking about and Phil has commented and offered a great amount of advice. Thanks Phil and Randy.

I talked to my homie about it and he is a retired orthopedic surgeon. He says leg extensions, especially the last three degrees of the lift with the foot rotated to the outside exposing the meat of medialus. He actually recomended just doing them with out any weight then going on to weight everyday in combination with a reqular leg training routine.

All in all I have found that I just destroy my legs on leg days. That when I come to the gym I am sick with it and I leave my body to be fueled by the emotions that are inside of me. Thats what really makes them grow. ANd I do the other stuff.

 

[LEX]

just to reinforce that DNA determines the quad, and that leg extensions are notnessisary, check out my pics in the members photo section, those are with no leg movement in 19 months, and prior to that only maybe once a month to retain my flexabilty. I have not done a set of extensions in more that 5 years and I have never done toes in and toes out oh and never ever had a knee pain despite being able to do 20 plus reps with more that 1000 on a leg press. Not a brag response cause I am no genetic wonder but I was blessed with some quads, I just dont think the answer you are looking for is in foot position or some extension, stick with basic moves. just my thoughts. LEX

 

[Veinlover]

LEX your legs are great (I mean it, really nice), I can't believe you haven't done a leg lift in a year and a half--or a year before that photo was taken. That's fucking amazing. Its hard to believe they kept their definition that well. I used to think I had good legs, but they just stopped growing. I'm not lean enough at the moment to tell how defined they are. I can kind of relate to the genetics thing, though, I do arms specifically only once every few weeks, because they seem to just grow naturally, and of course they get worked in every lift except legs.

So, do I just keep pounding on my legs and hope to beat the genetics, or do a more balanced routine and live with the results? I find squats the most debilitating lift I do, way more so than deads, they just kill me. I could probably have amazing arms if I worked them, but I am trying to keep in balance, which to me is the most important thing, and why I am upset about my legs. The funny thing is I have great calves, which is almost every one's problem. They are 18" vs 25" quads, and I just do a few standing calf lifts and the rest is nature.

When you did work legs, what lifts did you do?

 

[LEX]

Vein,
I loved one and a quarter squats and one leg , leg press, both movements done very controled all the way down and heavy. Keep pounding um man, keep it simple.

 

[joshbarnett]

yes you pause for a second positioning your body perpendicular to the floor then move into the squat position and explode up.

 

[Veinlover]

yes you pause for a second positioning your body perpendicular to the floor then move into the squat position and explode up.

Josh: Thanks for the post, but unfortunately it is not clear to me at all: What do you mean "positioning your body perpendicular to the floor"? We are talking about box (bench) squats, right? Why using a box would your body get out of the correct squat position in the first place? If you did sit up straight while "sitting" on the box, the bar would roll right down your back or you would fall over backwards. I must be missing something here.

 

[MikeS]

Check this out on box squats:

http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/ls9.htm

Louie Simmons is a well known powerlifter in his 60s, I think, still
uses relatively low dose AS and is still doing personal bests I believe. He is from Ohio and has a very exclusive gym.

 

[joshbarnett]

louie has a gym in columbus, ohio and my strongman friend got his program from him. lots of box squats and rack good mornings from the bottom position as well as glute/ham raises.

veinlover: when you are sitting on the box move your body into the upright position(perpendicular to the floor) just as if you were standing. the bar doesnt fall off your back when you stand does it? then lean forward slightly into a squat position and explode up. does this help.

 

[Veinlover]

MikeS, first I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the lead to deepsquater.com. Not only was the box squat article incredibly illuminating, but there are tons of other great articles in the archives section as well. Plus, I suspect its a great Forum. For those of us who don't have a strength coach, it is so hard to know if you really are on form or not, because so many others in the gym could be more wrong than you are. It is so hard to find a truly accurate reference point, and clearly deepsquater provides great insight. It is worth remembering it is geared to powerlifting, not bodybuilding, but in terms of form and basic lifts, it seems wonderful.

Josh, yes, after reading the article and thinking about your comment, my concern about sitting up straight (perpendicular) made no sense, as you said, you begin standing more or less straight, and don't fall over then. The arch in your back creates a platform for the bar to rest on, even if you are "perpendicular". What i found most interesting and educational is the concept of going "back" not "down" in the squat, which can be exaggerated with the box, and I am confident that after a bunch of box squats my form will improve considerably.

NOW, the MOST interesting thing is every deep squat article makes clear the muscles used in a good squat are the dorsal ones--back, hams, glutes along with abs. NO mention of QUADS. While of course they play a role, it doesn't sound like the squat is really meant as a Quad exercise. That being the case, what IS the best overall QUAD lift??? maybe leg press or hack squat? Lunges? It sounds like the quads are ancillary muscles for the squat, not the primary drivers, and as such, will not be maximally stressed. Interesting perspective, since we have previously decided the squat is the best quad lift there is. This is not meant to be critical of all of us, it was a kind of "ah ha" experience for me to think in those terms, but it opens the door to the question how best to work the Quads, which is where I basically began the thread.

By the way guys, thanks for having patience with me, I really am trying to think this one through and get to the bottom of the most effective way to work quads, and I feel I've learned a lot about squats, but still am not sure on the quads.

 

[joshbarnett]

activation of quads with a closer stance and a wider stance will hit glutes, low back(especially with box), and hams. trust me, if you squat as heavy as you can and use the different variations of the squat your quads will grow. you just have to be patient and consistent.