i want to build big quads, how does this routine look

[MarshallPenniford]

I am struggling to believe that is even a serious question. For any exercise to be effective it needs to be done full range. Any exercise not done in full range will not stimulate enough muscle fibres to cause any substantial growth.

I am struggling to believe that with a body that good (compliment), you think for an excersise to be effective ROM is important. You want to explain to me how dead's build a big back with zero ROM. Or, how I have huge forearms but never train them?

 

[needsize]

First off, thanks for the compliment.
I think for an exercise to be as effective as it can be, then full ROM is very important. ie, your example, the deadlift, you're right, it is a short range of motion, but it's not exactly zero either. To a certain extent, I think that increasing the range of motion on deads, does increase it's effectiveness as a size builder. For that reason, and to work on my sticking point, I did deads off of a of a 5" box for 6 months. I did make great size gains throughout my whole back while doing this, I only stopped as I developed bursitis in both hips, making that range too painfull.
When I was younger and more into lifting big than concentrating on form, I tried all kinds of exercises that were heavy and not full ROM. I made very little gains at all throughout this time period. When I finally sucked it up, dropped all the weights and started going full range on everything, that's when I really started to grow!!

 

[MarshallPenniford]

No problem, I was really impressed with your pic of the upper-pec development in that other thread as well. Sorry if my tone up above sounded rude.

Here's my take on it, and let me start by saying that I am the first to snicker at the guys squatting 3 plates with a 2" ROM. I do absolutely no forearm training as I mentioned, I just work exclusively with dumbbells. As my grip strength keeps progressing, my forearms keep growing. I do no specific forearm excersises -- things that would involve a ROM. Same goes for abs, I hit them more than enough on squats. My feeling is that as long as the muscle is getting worked (contracting in some way) and the resistance is progressively increased that muscle will grow. This is my experience, I may be wrong though!

 

[needsize]

No problem, I was really impressed with your pic of the upper-pec development in that other thread as well. Sorry if my tone up above sounded rude.

Hey, thanks again, and no worries, as far as I'm concerned this board should be all about intelligent debate.

I agree with the rest of what you said as well, if a musle is being worked with progressive resistance then it will grow, and even more so, I think abs and forearms grow better than other bodyparts that way. But at the same time, using the same theory of adding progressive resistance, if you do the exercise in a full range, you will cause more fibres to be recruited to complete your set then if you did any sort of partial.
I believe that most of the gains that I have ever made were made this way, but as just about anything else in bodybuilding, it is just a theory, but one that has proven itself as far as my body goes.

 

[MarshallPenniford]

Needsize - I agree with you 100%. Question though, for those 2" squatters, can they offset that by loading up more weight. In other words, load a bar with 400lbs instead of 225lbs and do a partial squat and just hold it until your about to die, then re-rack. Do you think that method could systematically exhaust and recruit the same or even more fibers than a full ROM? (I realize you might not hit the glutes or hams the same way as a full squat).

What do you think?

 

[needsize]

Been there, tried that, bought the t-shirt, didn't work. Back in the day I tried the heavy partial squats, I built some quad muscle out of it but not nearly enough. Eventually, after listening to the nationally ranked powerlifter that I used to train with (he's good for an 800+squat), I finallly pulled a plate aside off the bar and learned to go rock bottom. Over time, I've gone past where I was to 400+lbs for sets of 5 ass to the floor, and now my quads don't even vaguely resemble the ones I used to have.
It was humbling to take that step and pull all that weight off the bar, but looking back, I'm pretty glad that I did!

 

[MarshallPenniford]

Been there, tried that, bought the t-shirt, didn't work. Back in the day I tried the heavy partial squats, I built some quad muscle out of it but not nearly enough. Eventually, after listening to the nationally ranked powerlifter that I used to train with (he's good for an 800+squat), I finallly pulled a plate aside off the bar and learned to go rock bottom. Over time, I've gone past where I was to 400+lbs for sets of 5 ass to the floor, and now my quads don't even vaguely resemble the ones I used to have.
It was humbling to take that step and pull all that weight off the bar, but looking back, I'm pretty glad that I did!

Once again, I'm going to agree as well. The squat may be a difficult excersise to acheive the same results. Looks like I came full circle and disagreed with myself up above. ;-) And, like I said, I do use a full ROM with good form, but I have read a lot about the benefits of static contraction excersises, so I want to try them at some point. As well, simply streching a muscle and attaching a weight to it will cause massive growth, so there must be ways to get good growth somehow.

 

[needsize]

I do use a form of the static contraction idea in my training and have found some benefits. What I do is on the last rep of the last exercise, I will try to slow the negative down so that it lasts for around 30 seconds. By doing this I feel that any muscle fibres not already recruited during the exercise are goinf to be brought into play as this pushes the target muscle well beyond failure. This idea is based on a system of training that I read about where the whole workout was done as 30 second negatives, didn't buy into that but I have found it to be a great addition to my regular workouts.
Actually, leg day is the only one where I haven't incorperated this concept into the workout; the idea of a 30 second negative with 400+lbs on my back didn't really appeal.
Did this rant actually have anything to do with your last reply.......

 

[MarshallPenniford]

Yes. Same principle. Have you read about x-rep training. I think that's what they call it.

 

[needsize]

I don't think I've ever actually heard the term x rep, but it may be the same idea