To get the best results from your leg training, you need to work them just like you work your upper body: from various angles and positions. I like to compare leg workouts to chest workouts. It is common practice to work the chest on an incline, on a decline, or on a flat bench. We use all of these positions to train our chest from various angles because we know it brings great results. But for some reason, we don’t do the same thing for our legs. This might be why you see so many dudes with giant chests and little toothpick legs.
Many physique athletes have become so indoctrinated by popularized programming that they have forgotten how complex the legs actually are. Your quadriceps and hamstrings are complex. Your legs are built from an extraordinary amount of muscle that passes through multiple joints and performs an incredible amount of movement.
Despite the intricacy of our legs, most of us train them through the exact same angle every time. Although it’s become common practice to train our upper bodies in multiple planes of movement, we generally stick to very little variation for our legs.
If you want to increase the size of your legs, you need to learn how to train them from multiple angles. If you’re not sure where to start, I’ve got your back! Here are some ways you can make small changes to your body position to alter muscle recruitment and thus improve the size and shape of your legs.
1) Vary Your Squat Stance
When you change the width and foot position in a squat, you change the muscles that are working hardest. Vary your squat stances often to put emphasis on the muscles you need to grow.
I suggest trying three different squat positions: wide with toes pointing out, shoulder-width with toes very slightly out, and a narrow stance (feet inside the shoulders) with toes straight ahead. By experimenting with your stance, you’ll be able to feel which muscles are working hardest. Keep in mind that your toe angle doesn’t have to be extreme. One inch either way will be enough.
If you’re experimenting with your foot angle, you don’t need to stress about how low you squat or how much weight you do. We’re bodybuilding, not powerlifting. Do squats to the best of your mobility.
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