So we know squats and lunges can do wonders for your legs. For guys who look for the tree trunk effect, or the women who want the nice tone and sexy runway legs. A gym rat’s staple routine may be the back squat, leg press, leg extension, and leg curl.
What’s wrong with this? Nothing! If you’re looking to increase your chances of an ACL injury, knee pain, and a pancake booty. Now, sure, if you squat low enough, you can get tremendous glute activity, but most people aren’t squatting with their thighs slightly lower than parallel to the ground. Without full range, these exercises easily become quad dominant, and eventually hamper the glutes and hamstring ability to stabilize the knee and extend the hip.
Athletes shoot themselves in the leg (no pun intended), with underdeveloped glutes and hamstring muscles and over developed quads. These posterior muscles are responsible for running fast, stopping fast, and then changing direction. I’m not trying to pull your leg, but with a muscle imbalance, you’re begging for a pulled hamstring.
Just in case your knowledge of quads and hamstrings is pointing at your legs and saying “these things”, let me tell you what they are. The Quadriceps (front of the thigh) consist of four muscles: Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis, Vastus Medialis, and the Vastus Intermedius. The hamstrings (back of the thigh) consist of three muscles: biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus.
Gym science tells us that all we need to do is hamstring curls for the posterior chain. However, leg curls are not hip dominant exercises. Doing these exercises alone do not functionally improve the hip’s function for walking and running. Try throwing in the Romanian dead lift (rdl) and the Bulgarian split squat in your repertoire.
Caution: These exercises are not recommended for people with lower back problems. Also, one has to pay special attention not to round the lowerback and shoulders. Finally, jerking motions or doing too much weight can injure your back.
Straight leg deadlifts
1. Put a barbell in front of you on the ground with the desired weight on it. Grab it with your palms facing down with a grip a little wider than shoulder width. Bend the knees slightly and keep the shins vertical, hips back and back straight. This will be your starting position.
2. Keeping your back and arms completely straight at all times,use your hips to lift the bar as you exhale. The movement should not be fast but steady and under control.
3. Once you are standing completely straight up, lower the bar by pushing the hips back, only slightly bending the knees, unlike when squatting. Make sure to drawn in the stomach and exhale when ascending.
Bulgarian split squat
1. Using the appropriate dumbbells, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Then, put your left foot on the bench behind you so that only your instep (shoe laces) is on it.
2. Slowly lower your body so that your right knee becomes bent 80-90 degrees and your left knee comes close to touching the floor. Your torso should remain upright and slightly forward while your right leg is slightly lower than perpendicular to the floor. Push yourself back to the original starting position as quickly as you are capable. Do the desired rep range and switch legs.
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All the best and God Bless,
Ammo Athletics